Faith Without Rights

A series of questions...

Suppose for a minute you had no rights as a Christian. You could not speak the name of Jesus under penalty of imprisonment and death. What would come of your faith? Would it cease? Could someone take it from you?

So you have to have a right to be a Christian? You have to have a right to pray in school? The 10 Commandments need to be posted on a courthouse? If they are taken away, does that make the 10 Commandments any less valid? If taken away, are they then meaningless because they are not in the public eye? Were they intended to be a placard or a way of life?

What if we had no voice, but all we could do was to live out lives exemplifying Christ? What if the only way we could show Jesus was through service? What if our freedom for Sunday gatherings was taken away? Would our faith diminish because of no place to meet, or is Jesus something bigger than a place or a voice? Does Jesus become less real in you if He can't be talked about around you? Would there be a noticable difference in your actions if the only way you could express your faith was through action?

What did the writer of Ecclesiastes mean when he said "You are God in heaven, and here am I on earth...so I'll let my words be few?" Does reverence toward God mean fewer words and greater action? What would the world think if we willingly gave up talking about our faith and began demonstrating it instead? Would there be less hypocritical accusations toward the church?

My point: Faith is something within...lived out...sometimes without words...heavy in witness through actions...not for self justification but love for others...it doesn't need to have rights...it can survive without them...and it fact, at times, it grows without them too.

How to Navigate this Kingdom

Conviction. I was in conversation today with a friend who was telling me about a hard time they were having. Something didn't turn out the way they wanted or anticipated and the main thing was they were unhappy. However, there were a series of choices that led to that point, all determined by what seemed good.

We live in a conviction-less society. I would pose the challenge is the same for the church. We are guided by culture instead of guiding culture. Culture dictates us rather than Scripture directing us. When we end up in a place where we don't want to be it's often our fault for getting there. We were guided by how we felt, and as you know that changes by the day...or the hour...or minute.

We as people are highly inconsistent and need something besides the head on our shoulders to guide us through a culture which tells us anything goes. But how does this happen? Scripture.

At least one reason for the lack of conviction is the secondary nature Scripture plays in guiding our lives and shaping our beliefs and convictions. Convictions guide you into what you do (helping the poor, being a good steward of what you have, loving enemies, etc) and what you don't do (drunkenness, pre-marital sex, taking advantage of others, etc). The problem is the latter half of what Scripture warns us against is now widely accepted in the church without a second thought. Convictions are not easy to live by because they necessitate sacrifice of what you may want to do, but what is not the best.

Listen to the great words of Paul (1 Cor. 10:23): "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive." Around me I see a society of people that don't think much of themselves. How do I see this? Because they try to numb their own sense of insecurity with materialism and parasitic relationships that somehow momentarily make them feel better. As a culture we've done plenty to deconstruct ourselves and to make us into nothing more than consumers...and that goes for more than just how we spend our money but also delves into how we view relationships.

Convictions are part of the construct of a person. One with few to no convictions are known for just that. One who holds to their convictions most of the time are seen with respect (that is, unless their forceful and prideful about them). With the dissolution of truth has went the foundation of Scripture, the very basis by which godly conviction is derived. People will hear how the Bible instructs them but then see it as irrelevant because it is so counter-cultural. But for those interested in a guide to help them develop convictions to live by, Scripture is the beginning and the end.

Last word...convictions cannot be held if one only thinks of themselves. Convictions are to guide who you are in relationship to God and others. It's wanting to serve God and serve others. Lack of convictions lead to the entropy of a person...soon it just destroys you from the inside.

Retreat: Kingdom and Rest

The Divine Center: where we focus all our faculties around Christ. That's no one's definition but my own, and I don't like it that much, but it's a way to start this out.

I'm retreating tomorrow. Going up to our family cabin for a day of silence. I'm not boasting. I'm excited. Keeping up with the pace of life is absolutely exhausting, and every good effort to work for the Kingdom seems to be just that: work. There are times when everyone needs to get away, to refocus, and to quiet themselves in acts of submission and surrender to God. I don't know who said it, but someone made the observation it takes more than 24 hours of silence to stop thinking about other things...to somehow just be.

Quality numero uno of our suburbanite lives: Busyness. It's a killer. Run the kids here and there, fix meals, clean the house, mow the lawn, get the groceries, watch the favorite sports teams, maybe have a good conversation here or there, and then catch a few hours of rest in order to do the whole thing over again. Crap...I forgot work!!!

One of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves is find time away with God. For all you parents I know it's hard. I'm there. But my wife tells me a few moments of solitude goes a long way. I know it's time for me when I start getting wrapped up in the ideals of this kingdom and the convictions toward the Kingdom seem somewhat distant.

Jesus retreated. He went to lonely places. He went there to be with God. Many times he did it after a busy day. Here's a simple challenge for anyone reading: after you tuck the kids into bed, instead of turning on the tube to 'relax'... spend some time in silence or talk with your spouse or read some scripture or read a book that encourages your faith. As you rest for the night may you take upon yourself the words of the Psalmist in Ps. 3: I lie down and sleep in peace for You, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Happy resting...

2 Kingdoms, pt. 1

Why do we need a better and more comprehensive understanding of the two kingdoms? Primarily I believe because our natural inclinations are to invest in the things of this kingdom, the kingdom of the world, without much thought toward the Kingdom of God. It's more than a monetary investment, it's how we think...where we spend our time...what we support with our convictions...how we view other people...how we view the injustices of the world...how we ignore the injustices of the world...and the list could go on. I also believe it's necessary because of certain elements of the Kingdom that are currently being emphasized.

The popular thing right now is making a difference in the world. Bill Clinton has even written a new book about it (if you want to buy it for me, I'll gladly accept!!!). Several years ago a couple we're close friends with felt the call of God to move into a city, begin a house church, and live among the people there to serve them and live as witnesses. Over the years following it moved from being a call to a trend among others. It was the trendy thing to do to 'revitalize' the city to the point where you would almost have Christian blocks of houses.

Here's the challenge: There is a big difference between working for a cause and working for the Kingdom of God. There's a difference between doing something because it's a cause and doing something because it's a call. On the surface the two can be linked, but under the surface they are far apart. To give a cup of cold water, as Jesus commands, is part of the Kingdom. The other part is teaching them the ways and life of Jesus. A life brought out of poverty but not brought into the light of the gospel I would challenge falls short of the Kingdom of God. Social improvement does not automatically mean Kingdom advancement, neither does simply preaching a message mean we're living out the gospel message. It's a both/and. Currently we're in a trend to meet the social needs, but it needs to be accompanied with the gospel message and the fruit will not only be justice but also inner transformation as well.

So this begins a series for me reflecting on the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. It attracts me because I've been very caught up in the social elements of the Kingdom lately, but I'm realizing they must be fused with the proclamation elements of sharing the gospel story as well.

Theology of a 4 Year Old

Cool little story from yesterday...

I was sitting with my son talking about God and how God lives in us through the Holy Spirit (yea, I know...deep for a 4 year old!).

Conner: "So I'm his house?".

Me: Yea, something like that.

Conner: Well, He sure has a lot of room to run around...

Profound little thought from my 4 year old son. I heard something last week that struck me in thinking about how to share faith with children. It was the thought that we should share the faith in a way that is comprehensible to them, and as they grow and mature, what we share should grow and mature as well.

So we have to look at our kids in the stage where they are. For my newborn, sharing faith with him is praying over him and singing to him. For my two year old it is reading Bible stories, praying with her, and singing songs. With my four year old it is answering questions about Jesus and the Bible for an hour and a half long car ride home.

I'm very convicted we need to be very intentional about sharing the Christian faith with our children. I love hearing stories of young people who have a deep heritage of faith in their family. They didn't have to go off and do the things most people do before they find Christ. Within their deep heritage they grow in faith until one day their crisis experience isn't deliverance from drugs or alcohol but a crisis experience in making the faith they grew up with their own.

Not sure where it is, but it makes the thought of "God's faithfulness to a thousand generations to those who are faithful" all the more real.

How do you help people follow?

Recently I have been challenged to help the church be the church...to live out its mission and serve the world around them. The emphasis has been on service, but there is a crucial dimension I've missed and not emphasized as I should: the cost of discipleship.

The word Discipleship doesn't have the greatest connotations today, but it's a terrific word. To be a disciple of Christ is to learn from Him and be transformed. For one reason or another, we've gotten away from healthy transformation. We've emphasized some things over others, and what we've tended to de-emphasize is the understanding of the story of God, namely, the Scriptures.

Perhaps it is the move in our culture to allow the Scriptures to be taught to us by one person, namely on a Sunday morning. Perhaps it is not working hard enough to ask the hard questions in order to understand the Scriptures better. Whatever the case, understanding of the Scriptures is key to faith. When Jesus gives us the great commission in Matthew 28 he tells us to go and make disciples..."teaching them to obey everything I have given you." You cannot obey if you do not know what to obey, and you only know what to obey if you listen to the instruction and truth of the Scripture.

So my question is, how do we do this better in our culture? How do we do a better job at wrestling with the Scripture? How does the church do a better job at helping their people understand God's Story and their place in it? The Church being the Church is still very important to me, but the foundation of that is a deep understanding of the truth of God revealed in the Scriptures.

Understanding Two Kingdoms

I have been blessed over the last week to sit with some fine thinkers within our denomination (Brethren In Christ). I was in a course required for ordination where we discussed our denominations history and theology of salvation. I must say, I was transformed to say the least. I had never grasped how great our understanding of salvation was. Moving on...

One thing that is important to our heritage is the understanding of two Kingdom theology. In short, you have the Kingdom of this world and then the Kingdom of our God. Over the next series of posts I hope to flesh out a little more what the implications of this are, for there are many and they are important for how we understand this world and how we live in it.

When Jesus says to Pilate that His Kingdom is not of this world He is making a profound statement. With not much time today I just wanted to put up where we'll be moving here in the next series of posts. Oh yea, and I'll get to the Spirit and Holiness soon too!

An Unbelieving Nation...a Living Reality

I feel I want to give a little more treatment to the prior post, somewhat based on the provacative nature of the title itself.

First, I do not want it to come across that I'm rejoicing in the falleness of our country, or any country for that matter. My point is simply this: we should not be surprised at the evil surrounding us. There will always be falleness around us, and to wish for any other reality till the return of Christ is unbiblical. I am not saying we don't work for the Kingdom, I'm saying we do work for the Kingdom and the voice we use to describe what is around us is one of compassion and not accusation. Jesus was pretty frank when he said "in this world you will have trouble." We aren't to be surprised because of it, but rather work in a Christ-like way for its redemption. It always amazes and convicts me that Jesus only judges the self-righteous, but to the sinner he gives mercy and compassion, for it's his "kindness that leads to repentance."

So the challenge before us is not to wish we were in a better or different society, but to work for the revelation of the Kingdom in the society we're in. This is done through love, service, patience, and suffering...among other things. I long for the voice of the church to be one of sincere compassion and action on behalf of the fallen world rather than an accusation of what's wrong with the world around us. The darkness is pretty apparent. It exposes itself for what it is. It's not like we have to say "There's too much violence." No kidding. Or how about "Human rights on many levels are being violated." Sure...they are. So what are you going to do about it? How are you going to work to redeem it? It's one thing to have a voice, it's entirely another to turn it into action.

Living in a non-Christian Nation

Before you get mad, hear me out here. Jeremiah 29:11 holds these oft spoken words: "For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Great words. Very encouraging. Most of the time taken out of context.

In reading Justice in the Burbs by Will and Lisa Sampson they made an excellent point about this passage and in a larger picture the privilege it is to live in such a non-Christian place. A few verses earlier Jeremiah writes this: "And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will also have peace." (v. 7) So there is something very connected between being exiled to a place/land that is not your own...in a sense being an alien, a foreigner, or resident of someplace that is not your true home.

That's us today here where we are. We're not home (eternity), but we're in exile here. God has placed you and I where we live and wants to use us to bring peace to the places where we are. As we work toward that end we too find peace. Both are intimately connected. Instead of the constant desire to be removed from such non-Christian surroundings we should be praying for the peace of our surroundings.

I experience this in my neighborhood. There are few of faith that I know of and there are plenty of people in need of Jesus. Awhile ago it become tempting for us to move away to a more secluded place where we would in fact not see many people...but at least it would be peaceful for us! The house deal fell through, and I'm thankful. In spite of difficulties sometimes in the neighborhood we are very blessed to be here among some really good people. Yeah, they aren't Christians, but so what?! I have the opportunity to serve some really good folks and share the love and reality of Christ with them.

All this said I say "look where you are." Where has God placed you in exile? With whom should you be working for peace. The Kingdom of God for any true follower of Christ works towards this end of serving those who he's exiled to/with. So how does that play out for you.

The other day, it played out for me by mowing my neighbors lawn and having him share some wax with me for my car. Sounds hard, huh?

What's the Standard? Holiness pt. 3

I'm torn a bit with what I'm currently reading/studying regarding the Christian and holiness. To my tradition (Anabaptist/Brethren in Christ) this is a significant doctrine. I just received an e-mail from a publication yesterday regarding the lack of understanding of holiness in the American Church. I see a few issues with why that may be...

First, I'm not sure if there's an adequate understanding of what holiness actually is. My assumption would be many associate the doctrine with the generations past who viewed it as what we don't do because we're a Christian. So we don't dance, don't drink, don't smoke, don't do whatever. So holiness then becomes defined on what we're not instead of what we are.

Here is the crux. Do I want to define myself by what I'm not? If I do, it's a pretty big turnoff to Jesus, don't you think? So I'm not homosexual. I'm not a drunk. I'm not greedy (I try not to be). Etc. Get the idea? You've now just considered yourself better than all descriptions of people above. I'm thinking a better way to look at holiness is not by a standard of what we don't do, but rather by a mark of who we are, of character...and that character of Christ.

Being like God...like Jesus...is the basis for what holiness is. Jesus loved the poor, healed the sick, was patient with the ignorant (disciples), etc. True holiness is following the example of Jesus. It's being about what he was about for the sake of reflecting the character of God...becoming more and more like Jesus who was the perfect reflection of His father. It is therefore not about what we shouldn't do, but what we should be doing in obedience.

Are we afraid to talk this way in terms of obedience? There's a great tension in the Christian faith between grace and all out radical devotion to Jesus. Somewhere there's a great point in the farther right sort of the spectrum where we are wholly devoted to Christ but at the same time realize there is more than enough grace for our failures. Living the radically devoted life I believe is more life giving to a person that soaking up all the grace and just believing in a Jesus who constantly forgives. The greater Jesus is the one who transforms while sustaining us at the same time with that grace. Romans 6-8 is great in painting such a picture.

More to come on this. Next I want to look at the Spirit and Holiness...

Great New Resource!

I know, the last thing you think you need is another Bible, but the International Bible Society has put out something I think you should take a look at. It's called The Books of the Bible.

Typically Bibles are divided by chapters and verses. Because of this we tend to read things in a more separated fashion. The words become compartmentalized a little. It certainly helps with memorization, but it hinders reading the Bible as it was written...without chapters and verses...as a story. So in this Bible the chapters and verses have been removed. They have also combined books of the Bible that have traditionally been linked together (for example: Luke-Acts). The New Testament is laid out differently as well. Luke-Acts is linked with the other New Testament books written to a Gentile audience, while Matthew is followed other New Testament books written to a Jewish audience. The gospel of John is followed by the letters of John. Overall, it helps you get the story of the Story. It's a more continuous read great for devotional life. It brings things alive in a new way.

The new Bible is pretty cheap, so if you have a few extra bucks click on the link and go get yourselves one!