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All the news to give you fits
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Christ in the Marketplace
Most Evangelicals agree that the Great Commission applies to us today, but how does a Christian make an impact in the lives of people of our culture?
Because tolerance has become the state religion, anyone who claims to know a truth that applies to all people is considered arrogant and intrusive. Religion has been classified, along with taste in music, as a purely private matter for each individual without application to anybody else.
The intellectual elite of this society have devalued the past (who wants to quote a dead white male). They have cast doubt on the existence of absolute truth (it is cultural at best and political at worst -- if you make a good argument, it is because you are trying to oppress me).
Thus we are as a culture on the brink of an intellectual black hole where no one can say anything to anyone else and where, in fact, the entire universe is believed (by some) to be a projection of their minds. The only thing left, in that view, is a sort of cosmic Jerry Springer Show where people get up and shout at each other, or just sit and watch.
Is it possible to even communicate? Overseas missionaries have always realized that they needed to learn the language of the people to whom they wish to minister. That part is intuitively obvious. What has not ALWAYS taken place is an understanding of the culture, but that, too, is of crucial importance.
The gospel, which does not change, applies to all cultures of all times and when we go back to the Scripture, we find points of contact that may not have been obvious from our own cultural point of view.
Culture is not necessarily good because it is culture. Human sacrifice was a part of the native Hawaiian religion and we need not mourn its passing. Nor do we have to incorporate it into a syncretistic Christianity in order to be "relevant."
But in communicating to people enmeshed in a particular culture, it is crucial to understand it and speak to it. This is what the Apostle Paul did in Athens, quoting their own literature and pointing out, subtly at first, a missing piece in their conception of the world.
Of course, the work of the Holy Spirit in each individual heart is complex and often beyond our comprehension. A miracle is necessary for a person -- whose mind has been darkened by the enemy -- to even consider the truth.
The truth needs to be spoken in love and demonstrated by actions for those who are suspicious. And often those statements of truth will be stored in memory and only be revisited when a person comes to a personal crisis.
Come to hear Greg Marsh continue his exploration of the topic, "Christ in the Marketplace." Welcome to those who have been discussing these issues for the past two months and bring a deepened perspective to the table and also welcome to those who jump on the bandwagon at this point.
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Regatherings
(after the Gathering we meet for food and fellowship)
3/5 Inger & Junius Stenseth's
4709 35th Ave. So. (612-721-5206)
3/19 Maureen & Felix Juarez
6644 Sheridan Ave. So. (612-866-6913)
4/2 Kay & Dick Tornquist
3232 Edmund Blvd. (612-722-9803)
4/16 (No Gathering)
5/7 Unni & John Symington
9516 Dakota Rd. (952-835-1387)
5/21 Coffee House Poetry Night II at church
Come with poems to share --
your own or your favorites
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Class Schedule
March 5: Mary Anderson & Russ Anteronen
"Social Concerns and What We Can Do"
March 12: "Compassion Survey"
March 19: Dan Reeve "The Last Concern"
March 26 - June 4: (Except Easter) Greg Marsh
"Christ in the Marketplace"
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News Flash
Agape front office announced today that it had signed rising star Greg Marsh as starting quarterback for the short spring season, March 26 - June 4. This was made possible under the salary cap by the restructuring and contract buyout of present quarterback, wily veteran, Dan Reeve.
Reeve, who will be starting for Agape the last time on March 19, could not be reached for comment, but in a statement made at the time of his last trade reputedly said, "Why do I always hear about these things from the newspapers? Do you think it has anything to do with not answering my phone messages?"
A large number of free agents are expected to follow Marsh to Agape, joining forces with an established cadre of grizzled regulars. Reeve loyalists might like to follow him, but Reeveologists state that they would need global positioning and tracking technology that is not yet commercially available in order to find him on any given Sunday.
Thanks, Dan, for an exciting season and the legacy of a winning record! Welcome, Greg. We look forward to an exciting series!
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New Web Site: www.rossolson.org
For papers on social concerns topics and links to many helpful resources as well as the obligatory pictures of the grandkids.
Ross was amazed to find the domain name available, happy to have a relatively uncommon name but also glad grandpa did not choose to remain an
Ingebrettsen and also did not -- like his brothers -- choose the name of the farm, Ruud.
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Russ Anteronen
From a testimony given at Agape Class 2/27/2000
(Being one-half Finn, he is a man of few words but was willing to save up a bunch of them and favor us with a thumbnail sketch of his life.)
Russ was born and raised in South Minneapolis. He remembers a number of things that happened around age 4 or 5. One was that he wanted to be a perfectionist but had trouble tying his shoes and decided that perfection was not attainable. Another was that after he had attended a Sunday School at nearby Oakland Avenue Methodist and came home crying, his neighbors, the Fisher's (Jerry Fisher's parents) recommended First Free and he liked it.
In Sunday School he learned about sin and came home to tell his mother that there was something about inviting Jesus into your heart that he wanted to do. She helped him accept Jesus as his Savior. His mom has reminded him of a time after that when he was trying to separate two larger boys who were fighting, saying, "Be ye kind, one to the other!" At least one of those fighters attended a Good News Club in the Fisher's house and accepted the Lord.
Later, Russ was interested in sports. He played baseball and used to chase foul balls -- too many to count -- hit by his friend, George, perhaps leading to his present track skills. Russ played basketball as well with the Stockade teams and vividly recalls one time at the Minnehaha Academy Gym, with his dad there to watch him, sitting on the bench for the whole game. That indelible image helps him to understand the importance of allowing every child to play when he coaches now and the need to balance winning and enjoying the game.
Watching one basketball tournament on TV when Cloquet, his father's home town, was playing, Russ vividly recalls being very upset about a few official calls that seemed to unfairly advantage the other team and then being angry and crying when they lost by only a point or two. But later, while crying at the funeral of a good friend who died at age 13 in an accident, there was a sudden revelation of the vast difference between the trivial and the eternal.
Russ graduated from Central High School (along with Karin Falck Olson and Linda Butterworth Beckett) and went to two years of college and then vocational school, after which he took a job in accounting. He recalls that it seemed to be assumed by many that the goals of life were advancing in a career and making money. He was admonished to save a little regularly and count on the miracle of compound interest to amass wealth for retirement, or at least later enjoyment Although Russ rejected the underlying assumption that having more money was an end in itself, he adopted the mode of living frugally. He found that when he gave as the Lord led, both of his time and money, the little that he had -- although never having a high-paying job -- was more than enough.
Russ has served by leading the Stockade (boy's club) at First Free for many years, showing patience and giving wise guidance to generations of boys, some now young men. Russ has been coaching track at Hospitality House for about 4 years. Once they took a group of about 30 kids, (selected from the 150 on the teams), mostly young teens, by bus to Seattle for a national meet.
Recently, Russ' longstanding job at the American Cancer Society was eliminated. This is a devastating blow for a person "of a certain age" who has faithfully worked for one company through a large part of his life. Rather than accept it as a setback, Russ saw it as an opportunity to reassess his goals. He decided that he could live on very little income and would rather devote most of his energy to things of lasting importance using the gifts and experiences God has given him.
Editors Note: Because of this, Russ has been hired by First Free Church as liaison to the community, and is doing tutoring at Hale School and helping shape a strategy for more of us to be involved in meeting the needs of those around us. May we all follow his example and resolve to live our lives strategically, giving cups of cold water in Jesus name, to the thirsty. We have to give the water and we have to do it in Jesus name and we have to DO IT.
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