Raggedfaith

New Blog Site

2012-02-14T18:27:00.001-08:00

Hey all -

If you're reading this, you should be at www.raggedfaith.com - my new website designed by my good friend Craig Fairley at imaginecreative.com. Head on over!

A New Standard

2010-12-27T13:26:00.002-08:00

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James 1:27

I have a problem. I look up too much and down too little. I look up to what other people have and attain, but rarely do I look down to what others have lost. I desire to step up to the higher standard of living while ignoring the gift of living more simply. I grow anxious as I think about ways to increase my financial security so I feel like I always have enough but miss the joy found by those who have less.

It is quite easy to be polluted. In our world pollution is a value. We are polluted by greed, security, and opulence. Living within your means (or living below your means), using things till they've lost usefulness, and identifying with the poor on not even on the radar of our world's value system.

But they seem to be the values Jesus shows His disciples.

How then will we live and with what values will our lives be guided by? We have the choice to be mindless as we absorb the polluted value system of the world in which we live, or we can set new standards based on the example of Jesus and the call to love and value all humanity. We can live these values and demonstrate the joy that comes with them.

Who's in?

Few leaps, Many Steps

2010-08-15T19:21:00.002-07:00

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is something we want ... but we really don't want it. Faith requires trust beyond our own abilities and comprehensions. By the very definition of faith we cannot make it happen, for if we could then it would no longer be faith but self reliance.

Therein lies the challenge of faith. We cannot make it happen, for it we do it is no longer faith. Even if what we make happen by our own ability is good it turns out to be too small because it is filled more with the power of self-ingenuity than the power of God. The Christian faith is faith beyond the self. The only time there is faith in self is when we see ourselves as servants of God endued with the power of God to serve the mission of God.

My family and I are learning a lot about faith lately. What I'm learning is that God rarely solves things all at once. It's not as though there are great miracles of faith. Correction - there are great miracles of faith but they are the rare exception. What is more the rule is the small steps we take in faith that lead to miraculous things.

So many times we followers of Jesus look for the miraculous for proof that our faith is real or that God is present. What is even more formative, and need I say normal, are the everyday opportunities in front of us that afford us another opportunity to trust God.

To have love beyond ourselves to love those who hate us.

To trust that God is working when there seemingly is no activity.

To believe that it will all work out ... somehow ... even when logic can't figure out how it all will.

It's all faith. We're stretched so little - or perhaps we allow ourselves to be stretched so little. We miss out on so much when we can do it all on our own. The beauty of what I'm learning is that my call is to walk in the direction God calls and do my best to obey. He'll take care of the rest - the unseen.

The value in others

2010-07-09T03:40:00.002-07:00

"Blessed are those who esteem others more than themselves, for in doing so they participate in the Kingdom of Christ." (again, an adaptation of Matthew 5:3)

The poor in spirit can't help but see the value in others. Being poor of spirit means you realize the lowliness of your own position and lay aside your quest for importance. Arriving at such a state of poverty comes from realizing your own condition of sin.

When this condition is realized you can love others more than ever before because your expectations of them are much less. You don't expect perfection. You gracefully receive their shortcomings. Because you see the log in your own eye you have a greater understanding of the speck in your brother's (or sister's).

And it's just that - a speck. What before drew most of your frustration for your brother now draws nearly none because you understand your own shortcomings and as a result give more grace. Now that the frustrations are taken down to a speck you are able to see the vast amount of worth and beauty God has placed in this person - because this person, and all people, are made in and with God's image.

Being poor in spirit - realizing the sin in our heart that frustrates others - gives us grace to accept how others frustrate us and frees us to see God in them.

Holy Spirit of truth, help me to understand the truth of myself. Help me gain a right view of myself and others. Help me to see my sin so that through Christ I may be free from it - and therefore free to see you in those I formerly judged for their imperfections. Through Jesus Christ our Lord I ask for this grace and gift.

Amen

Poor and blessed

2010-07-08T11:15:00.003-07:00

"Blessed are those in humble position, for they realize the place of this position is not their home." (Based upon Matthew 5:3)

If you were grateful for being unnoticed, would it take the pressure off of you to become noticed? If you cared little for wealth, would it be right to say you would spend little time or effort pursuing it? If you cared little for greatness, would you judge yourself with more grace?

Being noticed, wealth, greatness...all these are values of our culture, of this kingdom. They drive us to become different people. We morph from the beautiful creatures we've been designed to be into something God never intended for us to be. The gifts God has given us in our personalities and our abilities are minimized when compared to what everyone else has. Rather than having a spirit of gratitude we develop envy and exchange our unique imprint for the impersonation of someone else.

The humble person gratefully excepts the way they were designed. They thank God for it and work to cultivate and steward it so they can fully be who God's created them to be. They realize the place of honor is not defined by certain cultural status, but the place of honor is already in themselves - because God created them in a specific way.

Therefore we can rejoice in our humble position. It may not be as noticeable as someone else, but then that is not the point. The point is not to measure yourself on the cultural norms of success, achievement, and importance in the world around us. We must find our merit simply in who God has designed and created us to be. As we live out the position God has given us in the midst of this world that is based upon a hierarchy of position, we point to God's kingdom where there is only one king...and the rest of us sit on equal ground around His throne.

Heavenly Father, my maker, help me to humbly accept and delight in the way you have designed me. Take from me the weight and pressure of envy that often overtakes me. Give me freedom to love the creature you've created - with all of my gifts and abilities - and even my imperfections. You are a lover of the humble. By your grace help me live in such company.

Amen.

A Reflection on the poor in spirit

2010-07-07T13:59:00.003-07:00

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:3

I am blessed when I realize the actual state of my soul

when I see how sick and impoverished it is

prone to do and say things I would be ashamed of.

When I realize the state of my own soul I acknowledge the richness of the gift I've been given.

a life of freedom from those things that would otherwise hold me in shackles

a freedom I receive rather than work hard for

a freedom I trust rather than one I earn.

One could say you inherit the kingdom of heaven when you accept your own sense of being found wanting

of not measuring up

of continually failing

of being unable to sustain in yourself a sense of consistency of thought, emotion, or action

When you accept you are poor in spirit, there is no lower to go nor is there a higher place to stand

everything is a gift, and you receive it with joy because you realize it is of great value and have done nothing of worth to deserve it.

Lord Jesus Christ, who became poor and who lived among the impoverished of spirit, grant that we might find freedom through such poverty so that we might live gratefully receiving everything as a gift from you.

Amen.

Effort and Earning

2010-02-27T14:06:00.002-08:00

I spent three days last week at a conference of missionally minded church practitioners. We were privileged enough to have Dallas Willard as our speaker for three days. He said the following:

"God is not opposed to effort, but He is opposed to earning."

Effort comes as a response to the immense love of God. There is a desire to give oneself fully to God in response because we experienced and continue to experience life in the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is about the restoration of all things in this broken world, and it involves us putting every effort forward to be about this Kingdom of His.

Earning is what you do out of obligation. You want to be and do good because God says so, not because you've found that way of living to be true. Earning is action put forth to justify yourself before God, which none of us can do. Earning, I would say, is the impression most people get when they think about religion/church/Christianity.

But Jesus isn't about religion. His doesn't want our obligated duties - he wants followers who've found that His way is the best way to live ... the most true ... and he invites us to put every effort forward to living in this truth. Effort comes from the heart ... earning comes from the tallies we keep in our mind.

I'm challenged each day to give my full effort to God and to trust the grace given to me in Jesus. At times this is at odds with the darker side of me that wants to justify myself to God and others. The results of this type of thinking lead me to live to prove myself ... the world begins to revolve around me. Putting full effort toward the Kingdom of God leaves the results to Him (my goodness, what others think of me, the definitions I and others have of success, etc) ... I'm simply called to respond to him in efforts that come from a heart of love.

Legitimizing our Activities

2009-07-30T12:45:00.002-07:00

"Rather than finding biblical legitimation for our activities, we should be submitting all our missionary strategy, plans, and operations to biblical critique and evaluation...Mission today must be seen as arising from something fundamental, from the basic movement of God's people to the world." - Christopher Wright, p. 37 The Mission of God

I'm being challenged lately by the boxes I deal with in regard to faith and theology. It seems that we like nice, neat, packaged systematic theology. However, what I find is that it's not so neat and tidy. For instance, each sermon I work on could have a hundred different angles. There is always more to be said...other thoughts to be had on or around the text. At any given time the text can speak in different ways (granted it's still trying to say what it's trying to say). I used to think if I could just memorize what each verse meant then I would be in good shape...but then the verses spoke in many ways.

I've been brought up in a certain tradition - Anabaptist, Wesleyan, Holiness, and WESTERN. These all impact my reads of Scripture. However there are many more insights into the Scriptures from people of my same theological traditions but in different parts of the world, dealing with realities in different ways.

I've been afraid not to have my theology line up...to have it all together...to have my ducks in a row. But theology is messy, and neat theology that doesn't need to be grappled with seems to me more weak that a theology that isn't all that worked out yet (in fact, is it ever really all worked out). I've been afraid of the criticisms of those who have everything figured out and thought through...those people with all the answers. Then I realize I'm more afraid of the fact they actually think they have it all worked out.

I like what Wright says because he deals with the thrust of the scripture...the movement of it. When I think of the Bible in a sweeping sort of way...as a large story rather than a whole bunch of facts to be figured out...I feel I can breathe! I get excited about the story. The story speaks. If I think of it as facts to memorize...things stuck on a page...a systematic way to explain everything...it takes the life out of the Scriptures (for me).

A Theme

2009-03-30T15:39:00.002-07:00

As this year began I searched out a theme for me personally this year...what is God saying to me?...What is He speaking into my life?

Freedom

That's it for me. It's freedom. Time after time as I've met with my spiritual director this theme has come up. It's come up as I've tried to work through a number of things in life and ministry. Freedom.

So my question for you is this: what does God want to speak to you?

It's funny that we think of God speaking something to us and then it being over and done with. What if God speaks to us and then works with us on what He speaks? So each day we work out what He has spoken. Those who get frustrated that they don't feel God or hear God may perhaps experience this frustration because God has spoken to them...now it's time to wrestle with what He's said...sit with it...let those words shape and form who we are.

I'm being shaped by "Freedom." How 'bout you?

Anticipating Easter

2009-03-21T05:50:00.003-07:00

Easter is the time in the Christian year to celebrate the hope we have through faith in Christ. In Easter we can truly say that the powers and authorities of this world have NO power and authority over us.

I've been struck in recent conversations by the hopelessness of followers of Jesus as they digest the dismal news of our day. They see the economy collapsing. They hear of all the conflicts of the world and the uncertainty of our times. They worry about what the future will bring.

Isn't this the time we are to have hope? When all the powers of the world seem to fail, aren't we about a Kingdom that stands in the midst of the smaller ones failing? I realize it rattles our security...or sense of security, but then shouldn't we be examining exactly where we find our security?

Easter says to us that the powers of this world don't have the power. We identify with Paul's hope. They can beat him, lock him up in chains, and try to silence him, but they cannot take away his hope. The powers cannot take away our hope. No matter how much the choices of the powers (our government, bailouts, jobs, etc) effect our lives because of the resurrection of Jesus we have hope.

N.T. Wright writes the following in Surprised By Hope:

"Who, after all , was it who didn't want the dead to be raised? Not simply the intellectually timid. It was, and is, those in power, the social and intellectual tyrants and bullies; the Caesars who would be threatened by a Lord of the world who had defeated the tyrant's last weapon, death itself.

Hope is what you get when you suddenly realize that a different worldview is possible, a worldview in which the rich, the powerful, and the unscrupulous do not after all have the last word. The same worldview shift that is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus is the shift that will enable us to transform the world."

Dear Jesus Followers:

It is now during the times of worldwide despair in the season of Easter that we remember we have a hope that is beyond the death that we are currently seeing. It is our job to be livers of this hope...proclaimers of this hope...beacons of light that scream out against the darkness that pervades the lives of the hopeless. Put not your trust in the powers of the day that are fleeting and crumbling, but put your hope in the resurrection of Jesus who gives us the power to hope in the midst of death.

Quote

2009-03-20T19:26:00.002-07:00

"We should pray that we would become the sort of people who are safe for God to trust with miracles. We must become people who will not exploit or market or pervert the power of the Spirit. We must become people who get out of the way of God."

pg. 113 Prayer for Ordinary Radicals

Effects of War

2009-02-16T09:26:00.003-08:00

Every day I go to the NY Times website just to catch up on the news. It's a good place (and free!) to get a glimpse at what's going on around the globe and in our own country.

Today I ran across this photo slideshow of the damage done in the Israli-Gaza war. It is a good reminder that there are NO good sides to war. There is always damage and in my opinion, war is never a 100% good thing. I find myself again drawn to the love of Jesus for ALL people, not just the people who are on the good side of things...for the Muslim AND the Jew...for the Iraqi AND the American.

As we see the destruction of war and the suffering it brings, let us be reminded of Paul's words in Galatians 3:28..."There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are ALL ONE in Christ Jesus." Therefore, let us suffer with our fellow man as they suffer in war. Let us not be ignorant of their plight, even though our culture or political system defines them as the enemy. If nothing else, may we be reminded that Jesus loves them as deeply as He loves us.

Colossians Pt. 5: Living in Community

2009-01-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

Colossians 1: 19-20

Jesus makes peace. Jesus sets us free. Jesus is the embodiment of all mystery (power) in human flesh. Jesus is it. There's nothing more and nothing less. To embrace Jesus is to embrace the supremecy of Christ over all the powers. To embrace Jesus is to embrace his ideology and to let His ideology expose the ideologies of the world (that we talked about in the last post). We've got to take everything to Jesus and to His cross. What I mean is that we've got to take a hard look at our lives and see how we've bought into the mysteries (powers) of this world over and above the mystery (power) of Christ. That means there's a lot that needs to change.

1:28 - "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

Paul's entire life (post Damascus Road) was given to the proclamation of the mystery of Christ (2:2). I want to encourage you to see your mission as that of Paul. Paul hears of the potential of this group of Christians being led to something other than Christ, and he pens these words. All around us there is a world that is building itself on that which is unsustainable. Anything not built on Christ is not sustainable. It is time you and I are challenged in the way we think and live and live not as captivated by the powers of this world and begin to proclaim in our ACTIONS and MINDS (the reversal of 1:21) the mystery of Christ. What he writes in 2:2 should be our call. How can you make the following your call and challenge?...

"My (your) purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by find-sounding arguments."

How can you and I live this way? What in how you do and think needs to change so this is your purpose as well? How does Christ want to set you free from your dependance on the mysteries of this world and into the freedom of the mystery found in Christ?

Colossians Pt. 4: Loosening the Grip

2009-01-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

When we live as part of the powers of the world we live in a way that alienates us from Christ. I love Paul's words here - "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds...because of your evil behavior" (1: 21). We were enemies in how we thought because of what we did. When we live lives that are consumed with our sense of self our mental orientation focuses first on ourselves...not on Christ...not on others. Why and how does this happen?

Have you ever thought about how much you've bought into the normality of the world's systems? I'm taking heavily here from a great little book entitled, Colossians Remixed. We are all in school. Our teachers are advertisers and manufacturers of the goods we consume. We are taught to be consumers. We are taught that enough is never enough. We are bred to want the next thing without being satisfied with what we have. We are inundated with these things. These are the things that really lead us into bondage...bondage to stuff and into a false ideology that makes us think we need what we don't need.

Current trends allow us to be connected without ever being connected. We communicate without ever seeing people or hearing their voices (Facebook, texts, e-mails, twitter). In regards to consumption, we consume good without ever meeting the people in the process - those who work in slave labor to make our goods - those who loose jobs because their quality product has been undersold by a cheaper manufacturer. We have the blessing of sensing security in our own country without thinking of the great insecurity our brothers and sisters around the world face in violent or impoverished situations. We are insulated. This insulation leads us toward a lack of connection with others. A lack of having to empathize. We don't have to think about how our lifestyle and what we're being taught to do and think and believe actually hurt other people. But this is the sad truth of what happens when we just take in life centered around us. We are alienated from God and the emphasis on ourselves alienates us from others.

Colossians Pt. 3: Power

2009-01-11T13:13:00.005-08:00

"...and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."

I'm still going off of last week's sermon from Vern here...but there was a great contrast here between the powers as how the world yields power and the power of Christ. What I'd like to focus on primarily is not the world's use of power, but how Jesus displays power.

Power for Jesus did not come through ordinary means. Power for Jesus came through death. Power for Jesus came through the cross. Power for Christ meant a rejection of the way the world sees power and overcoming the world's supposed power through what was seemingly defeat. That crucifixion day it would have seemed as if the powers had won. Caesar had won. Pilate had won. They had silenced the message of Jesus. Instead of an insurrection to claim the power, you have a resurrection.

If Jesus' power came through his death and resurrection, the same is true for us, especially if you think in the context of baptism. Paul writes, "once you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ." Through the baptism waters we are made new creatures...the old is gone the new has come. We put to death the old person who was without Christ (3:5) and in so doing forfeit the power we have over our lives. If the power of Christ is to come into our lives it must mean the death of ourselves, our will, our sinful desires. In its place comes the power of Jesus to transform us into the image of the resurrected Son.

It is through death you and I find life. What is it in our lives that makes us think we have power and control that must be put to death...so that in so doing we might find life in Christ?

Colossians Pt 2: Power to Free or Enslave

2009-01-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

The power of the mystery of Christ brings freedom. The power of the mysteries of this world bring bondage.

You and I can be challenged today just as the Christians in Colossae were challenged in their day. They had people telling them that Jesus wasn't enough. Jesus was just an option...one of many ways. The book of Colossians is situated in the time of Roman occupation and governance. It was a time of polytheism (many gods). Can you imagine being a Christian at a time when many gods were worshipped all around you? There were statues erected in their image? It was expected for one to believe in many. It actually doesn't sound much different from our current situation, does it?

We face the same sense of plurality that the Colossian Christians faced. There are many gods around us as well, and while there may not be statues of them, we encounter them everyday. Look in the mirror. There's one god that we've created for ourselves. It's us. We worship us. Pull out your wallet and look at a piece of plastic or paper. Money. We worship that as well. Not only money but what money gives us - an ability to quench our desires for more; instant gratification; power to do what we want when we want. Consumption is an unseen god. We inately look for how we can gain more.

Can you see where we've bought into the same type of thing the Colossians faced? Jesus isn't enough. The ways of Jesus are not enough. There's got to be more. And that more serves us and enslaves others. It doesn't set people free how Jesus sets people free. It leads to us depending on other powers...other mysteries...rather than Christ. We've all bought into it. The question is, will you let Christ set you free from it?

Colossians Pt. 1: Mystery and Power

2008-12-31T12:57:00.006-08:00

Christ is it. Nothing else. Just Jesus. That's Paul's point in the opening chapters and verses of Colossians. The Colossians were being challenged in what they've been taught as the 'mystery of the gospel' being revealed to them. They were taught that it began and ended with Jesus, but now there were those who were challenging this mystery. They were saying, in fact, that there were more mysteries...that Christ was just the beginning (2:18, 20-23).

The word 'mystery' has great significance in the book of Colossians. At the time of its writing mystery had to do with greater and greater spiritual experiences. The more 'experiences' you had the more the mystery was unlocked (2:18). The experiences were not to exalt god but rather to hold it over the heads of the people who had NOT had the experience. It was to make them feel inferior and certainly less spiritual. It was an exercise of power.

Christ is the source of creative power (1:16). The passage our church is trying to memorize throughout this series on Colossians (1: 15-20) tells of the powers of this world...and how Christ is BEFORE them all. These things (1:16) in and of themselves are a shadow of power (2:17). The Roman empire which is ruling at the time of this letter was a shadow of power. The vast forms of spirituality of the day were all shadows of power. The key to understanding power was that the power is power to LORD OVER others. The mystery of the challengers of the Colossian Christians was to lord over them and make them feel inferior. Here again we confront the thought of power as something to be used against others.

Not so with Jesus. The mystery of Christ was power not used to lord over but to bring freedom and liberation (1:13-14; 2: 9-12, 14, 15). He doesn't use power to condemn us but to free us...to reconcile us and the world to God (1:20). And herein we see one of the first things we must take note of about the book of Colossians: the difference in the understanding of power.

Hope Full

2008-12-30T11:19:00.003-08:00

One becomes hopeless when his eyes are taken off Christ and focused inward on himself. One becomes hopeless when he looks at the chaos of the world without the prospect of redemption. The troubles of this life are too great for an individual to bear. In fact, I'm not sure we were meant to bear them at all. The weight is too heavy and must be bore by the shoulders of God. Whether it be the troubles of the day or the wars of the world - no individual can handle these things on their own, nor were they meant to.

The human life, then, become about trust, faith, and perseverance.

Trust in God over and above self, institutions, governments, money, or anything we rely

upon for our sustainability that is in and of itself not sustainable.

Faith in that we are calling things that are not as though they are - believing in the unseen -

peace instead of war, love instead of hate, justice over injustice.

Perseverance in that we continue to live out the life of Christ in the midst of surrounding

death.

To surrender to the evils of ourselves and the world destroys the flicker of light that represents hope - hope for our own lives and for those who depend on our light to see - for they would not know how to see through the darkness and tragedies of our world without the small light we boldly, yet frailly, carry.

Therefore let us carry this light in faith that Christ will magnify it, that the darkness would flee, and all may find hope.

Things Have a Price, but No Value

2008-12-15T17:14:00.003-08:00

I was watching CNBC the other morning (don't tune me out yet!) and one of the commentators said something very telling, and in some ways, a bit scary. This is a paraphrase of what he said:

"Very few things have a value, they just have a price that people are willing to pay for it."

So it struck me that there is little value in what we deem valuable. Houses have fluctuated in their worth depending on the market for them. We've seen oil come down over 2 dollars a gallon in the last few months. Food prices seem to be going up a bit. While my wife and I were Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving weekend (Saturday...not Black Friday) many of the stores we went into were holding sales of 70% off. Why? My thought, at least, is because the psychology of the market is pegging us as much less willing to spend. This is in stark contrast, supposedly, as to not long ago when people were blowing money on anything and everything and therefore getting themselves into debt buying things they didn't need. So the price on the 'stuff' comes down, because we're not willing to pay for it...or as much anyway.

So if those types of things hold a price, there are certainly those things that are valuable, even though they can't be measured in dollars and cents....relationships, marriages, children, etc. Those things the good ol' MasterCard commercials would call priceless. These are things you can't assign worth to because they are beyond any sense of compensation. Their value is immeasurable.

So if we look at the things that hold a price tag, would it be fair to say purchasing these things ought to hold little worth in our life? I'm talking more about the above and beyond things more than the gallon of milk. When we think about what we purchase for ourselves, it adds little value to our life. In some instances it may take away from the value of our lives. What we buy may steal valuable time from honest and intimate relationships.

There are things in this life that do hold value...invest in those things...give yourself to them. You will find that they are greater than you. You will not be able to possess them because they are not something to be owned but treasured. After you're done reading this, look upon your spouse, child, friend, or neighbor that way...as someone with immeasurable value whose worth can never be determine and whose well being is worth giving yourself for.

Peace.

Carrying the Cross Amidst Bombs

2008-11-26T12:39:00.003-08:00

I'm wrapping up a three week series with our church talking about the subject of peace. As I was finishing things this afternoon I moved from my work space into the living room to turn on CNN. What I saw was the news reports of terrorist attacks in India...ongoing...with many dead. And here I am preaching on peace.

Peace is a core conviction I hold as a Christian...it's something I believe Christ-followers should represent. However, it is incredibly hard to think of how this violence can end without retaliation. I must admit, when I encounter issues of violence my first inclination is toward violence...to combat evil with evil, but this is not the theme of the gospel.

I am realistic in believing there will always be wars and rumors of wars until the return of Christ. I am hopeful, however, that Christians can stand for peace, for well-being and mercy toward both the oppressor and the oppressed. It is difficult to imagine freeing the oppressed in a non-violent, non-military fashion, but this is our story in Christ. This is how Jesus brought freedom to the oppressed. This is how Jesus freed the oppressor. He did it by setting us free from our sinful inclinations toward evil and the abuse of power. He showed us the way through submission and service.

I must admit, I feel a little awkward preparing to share something that seems so unrealistic in today's culture. However, I feel it must be said...it must be talked about. So in the midst of a violent world we proclaim love for our enemies and prayer for those who persecute us.

May your Kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

When Did Politics Become Our Savior?

2008-11-02T17:21:00.004-08:00

I've been in numerous conversations over the course of the last several months regarding the elections. I've posted only one post on it, but here are my parting words (there may be more) on whatever will happen in a few days...

Politics can only do so much. They are not our savior. Perhaps many agree with this statement but are blinded to how entrenched they have become in trusting our government to do the church's work. When we place the government or a president in the role of savior we forfeit both Christ as above all these things and we forfeit our role. Notice the tone of many conservative Christians is that if we get the right man/woman in office, then they will legislate this or that and everything will be ok. Let me ask you, when did Christ followers believe the way the Kingdom comes is through legislation?

What we have just done is forfeit our role and in a way have become Pharisees. We've just said that if there was a right law then people would follow it, because it would be the law and it would be a good law and they would have to. But when has making something a law dealt with the issues of the human heart? The one thing Scripture says that law does is point out our sin...what is meant to bring life actually brings about death. Because a law or laws are passed does not mean people's hearts will be changed. Frankly it just gives us something else to break.

Instead of hoping legislation will change hearts we have to do the hard work of the Kingdom and work to change hearts through the ways of Jesus...through grace, mercy, and love (oh, and humility). Working this way with people is much more messy and frustrating. There are no clearly defined lines. One day an individual we seek to help may be doing well, the next day they may have turned their back on any progress and fallen off the wagon. Maybe that's why we want legislation. It's clean. It's black and white. You follow it or you don't.

Did you ever notice the way of Jesus isn't that well defined? It isn't that black and white, is it? It's messy. It's frustrating. It breaks down all the walls of self-righteousness.

Wednesday, November 5th will come. It will be a day, once again, where Christ followers will be called to take up the cross and do the work...no matter who is in.

Parched

2008-11-02T12:30:00.003-08:00

Last week was decent, but it seemed to be laced with times of spiritual dryness and apathy. My reaction toward these times was less than stellar. I didn't view them as a chance to press on, but a chance to soak in the doldrums of seeming spiritual emptiness. At times I even thought to myself, "now is a time to take a break from all this spiritual stuff."

It's pretty amazing, isn't it, that the times when we need to press into those things that bring us to God we retreat from because we feel too weak, too empty, to inept? It's the first and easiest thing to do. Much harder is to press through the desert to get to the spring.

Toward the end of the week I began reflecting on this seeming emptiness, and I began seeing it as an opportunity to draw more into God rather than retreat since He was apparently just not 'showing up.' Adversely, it was probably me who wasn't showing up. One of our bishops not too long ago used the phrase 'pressing into our humanity', and I think this was one of those times for me. To me it meant that I bring this sense of humanity...this spiritual ache...this seeming emptiness...to God. Instead of retreating from all the things I would normally do as part of a 'devoted' life I might have instead pressed into the deeper disciplines of the spiritual life in order to lean more into God, facing the present feelings of emptiness and inadequacy.

Pursue, not retreat. Greater intensity, not throwing in the towel. These are the next roads to take when I face this kind of dryness.

Falling Prices Rising Faith

2008-10-08T16:52:00.002-07:00

"As long as the empire can keep the pretense alive that things are alright, there will be no real grieving and no serious criticism."

Now is a unique time in the country and in the world. The economic crisis is shattering what the first world holds so dear: security. Who knows how far it will go, but what it does is take away, or at least calls into question, the foundation we hold so dear.

As believers in Christ this can be a shaky time, but more than that hopefully a pruning time. This is a time to evaluate where our allegiances and hopes lie. In the economy of Wall Street or the economy of God? In protecting our first world abundance or identifying with the majority of the world who lives off of the price of a few lattes a week? Times of suffering are always a test for the church. And this time of economic suffering is a particular test for the church because Christians have bought into this system of economic security as much as the rest of the world. We have exchanged God for money, and it's gotten to the point where the lines have become so blurred we justify our own idolatry.

However, now is the time for Christ followers once again to be shaped, filled, and sent out. When the world crumbles, the church ought to be the one to stand firm. We are the ones who have the chance to build upon the rock...Christ...and not crumble even when it looks like everything else is. This is a time for the followers of Christ to be a voice of hope. This is a time for the followers of Christ to be a voice of critique. "Even though you may want to worry, have peace." "This is a chance for us all to discover life outside of abundant and rampant materialism." This is a time to be prophetic and priestly.

Let CNBC and the rest do the finger pointing at one another. Let us be the ones who point in a different direction...not to the falling markets, but to the risen King. Of all times we can identify as we lose jobs, 401k's, and the like along with the rest of Americans and perhaps the world. But it is in this time when the world systems falter that we proclaim the God who hears the cries of those in distress. May this be an opportunity for our voices to rise, and for us to identify with those who live daily with the economic uncertainty we now face.

We're Missing an Opportunity

2008-08-31T18:55:00.003-07:00

For a church that very much looks like the rest of the world in many areas I would like to bring up a subject few of us want to address. It's not homosexuality or abortion. It's not anything many of us get fired up about. But it is revolutionary. If we followed this subjects implications to their end it could mean the transformation of the world. It would lead to the transformation of hearts. It would cause great controversy within the church. It could only be attained by sacrificing yourself and living in great faith. What I'm talking about is peace.

If there's anything that I think can set the church (Christ followers) apart from everything else in our age it is the ongoing pursuit and lifestyle of peace. We face 'wars and rumors of wars' almost everyday. Afghanistan. Iraq. Russia. Iran. Cities plagued with murders. Abusers. Death penalties. Guantanamo Bay. It's on foreign soil and it's at home. Violence reigns. Vengeance is deemed our right and our justification.

But where is the church? Where are the followers of the Prince of Peace? Are we too lining up to support vengeance? Do we participate in the violence of the world? Where is the prophetic voice of the church that decries injustice and the killing of innocents? Have we become so utilitarian to sacrifice the lives of many innocent people for the greater good...or at least what we think is the greater good?

In such a time of violence and warfare there is no greater thing the church can do than live out its call to peace. Instead of churches rallying toward war they ought to be rallying to prayer...prayer for peace. We need to be instruments of that peace to our families, neighbors, and to the larger global community. I feel this is one of the greatest opportunities for the church in our age. People long for peace. They want to know how to live for it. They want to know how to forgive. They want to overcome hate. We are in a time when we, as the church, have an incredible opportunity to show people the gospel of Peace.

God only knows what the future may hold. There's no reason to get scared about what tomorrow may bring, but there is certainly reason to be vigilant and to allow the gospel to speak to our current age. The subject of peace is something the church has to bring to the table. It is one of Jesus' central messages. It ought to become ours as well.

Dear Forwarder (of Political E-mails)

2008-08-07T11:00:00.002-07:00

The following is something I've composed as a response to those great politically forwarded e-mails I receive...

Dear Forwarder -

It is election season, and for perhaps this reason I’ve been getting a number of e-mails concerning politics, political candidates, current presidents, etc. I am writing this because I feel the need to respond in a blanket way to the political e-mails I’ve been receiving. This e-mail, because it will be sent as a response to any forwards I receive, etc, is not personal whatsoever. It is instead an attempt to explain my position and wariness of such e-mails, as well as (a small) part of my view of politics. It is also my hope that people will look beyond politics to the greater Kingdom of God, which is not of this world, and thus not of a political party either.

First, while I do not vote, I certainly encourage you to vote your conscience. Why don’t I vote? These may be over generalizations, but here are a few reasons (and again, these are just personal convictions).

1. I find it hard to vote for a party that largely supports the killing of infants or a party that supports big business and globalization that leads to world poverty and consumerism. How can you rate one worse by killing by starvation/slave labor or with a surgery? In regard to this concern I feel it more helpful to work for and articulate issues and causes rather than parties. It’s doesn’t work to encapsulate my worldview in that of a political party – democrat or republican.

2. I wrestle with voting for someone who has the ability to lead to war, which to me means unnecessary death to innocent people, as well as our enemies which Jesus commands us to love and pray for (Matt. 5:44).

Second, much of what I receive I find (after research) to be very uninformed, a half-truth, or taken completely out of context to make a point…not to mention an attack on someone’s character or the deification of another. Such is the trouble of media…they can make someone to say what they have not said. I find it to be more mis-informative than helpful, and I hope that those who forward things that have been forwarded to them do the research themselves. Just because you are a Republican or a Democrat doesn’t mean you have to forward everything positive of your party or negative of the other. The more important thing is to work to forward truth and good information as much as possible.

Lastly, I feel as if what people send me I am to agree with. It’s as if saying, “Here’s something…like it!” There is no commentary on it, rather than a few words affirming it. There is no struggle with its meaning or implication and no dialogue with the content or the people it’s forwarded to. Therefore I feel I have to swallow it like a jagged little pill, whether I like it or not.

All that being said, this is my response to ANYONE, friend, stranger, or congregant, that forwards me things of political nature. I do not mind receiving them, as long as you know where I’m coming from and are willing to dialogue, disagree, and love me in spite of the disagreement. Please know I am more concerned about the bigger agenda of the Kingdom of God than that of politics, and there is a great deal of difference and methodology between the two. Politics will never save us. Jesus has.

With that, thank you for reading and feel free to forward me what you want inasmuch as you understand where I’m coming from. Please feel free to dialogue with me on the above.

Peace,

Josh

Barth on Living a Contradictory Life

2008-08-01T10:03:00.002-07:00

"He who knows the world to be bounded by a truth that contradicts it;

he who knows himself to be bounded by a will that contradicts him;

he who, knowing too well that he must be satisfied to live with this contradiction and not

attempt to escape from it, finds it hard to kick against the pricks;

he who finally makes open confession of the contradiction

and determines to base his life upon it;

He it is that believes."

God and His Kingdom are our great contradictions. No wonder so many times we feel not at home as we reside in this world. No wonder the call to live out the Christian life seems so difficult and monumental. It is because God and his Kingdom stand in such stark contrast to how we think and operate. In living a contradictory life in comparison to this world and our surrounding cultures is where we have the opportunity to find freedom. However, at least for me personally, I get very weary at times trying to live this way. It is much easier to live on the earthly plane than to live as called to a higher one.

Can we be satisfied with contradiction? Can we be satisfied and actually find rest in God...the one who contradicts our ways of thinking, behaving, and interacting...who contradicts our understanding, our systems, and our solutions? The one who guides us in the way of peace instead of war, love instead of hate, simplicity instead of abundance, quietness instead of flattery? It's amazing how much we find meaning in the first of those comparisons, and such discomfort in the latter. However, it is exactly in those ways that are so contrary to our 'programming' that we find life and begin to understand God.

Part of me...the good part...certainly wants to base my life living out the contradictions of the Kingdom. But frankly, I'm scared. It takes more than what I've got to offer. The cost is most likely greater than I imagine. I hope I am able to find peace and rest in living out the contradictions of the Kingdom...I hope I'll be strengthened by it. Like Paul says, "Pressed down but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, etc."

Here's to living out the contradictions...

Implications of Heavenly Citizenry

2008-07-23T07:25:00.004-07:00

"The Christian is a citizen of the kingdom of God and cannot be one of this world."

E. Morris Sider

I think of this in relation to the suburban phenomenon and how we very much attach ourselves to our suburban citizenry, it rights, and its expectations. If we are to be citizens of heaven and outsiders on the earth, then what does that mean in regards to how we live, especially in regard to the overwhelming suburban lifestyle which tends to describe our priorities and even our desires.

It challenges those things that we hold on to. We find our suburban citizenry through the attaining of possessions, a sense of autonomy and individualism, and a sense of (over)abundance. While some of these things are good, they are good within limits. We all need possessions of some sort to survive. All of us have a God-ordained sense of individualism in how He created us...with a certain personality, set of gifts, etc. Abundance is a blessing from God (but overindulgance is not)

What is interesting is that I find a pull in myself. Which ethic will shape me? Will it be the ethic of the Kingdom of which I am a citizen, or will I succomb to my felt needs pressed upon me through advertising and an expected standard of living in which my peers feel entitled to. How do I apply my citizenry to the Kingdom of God in such a way that lives true to that citizenry here on the earth?

Perhaps one such guide is to ask ourselves what we vest ourselves in...what we consider worth-while. What is it in your life that you give worth to? What do you worth-ship (worship)? Those things we give worth to are those things that guide our lives and help shape where we spend our time, energy, and money. It shapes how we see and understand ourselves. If we're not more shaped by our heavenly citizenship then the default is that we're citizens of earth...of our human needs over our spiritual ones...of the temporal things over the eternal ones.

What is always confounding is that we think the abundance of life comes from indulging in the stuff of the here and now. I know mentally those of us who follow Christ wouldn't want that to be true, but I think it is by and large...because of how we apply our faith and how we live in the world around us. We don't seem like aliens. Isn't that what Scripture calls us to be, aliens here on earth (that's not rhetorical...it's a real question!). So instead of learning how I'm to live in a socially acceptable way the greater calling is how I'm to live as an alien here.

What might that look like?

I Miss Stuff When I'm Efficient

2008-07-11T04:07:00.002-07:00

Currently reading Al Hsu's book, The Suburban Christian. Ran across a great thought that really challenged my life. He was talking about efficiency being something of a modern day invention. I'm all about being efficient...multi-tasking and the like. However, I'm not sure it's always a healthy thing to do, or even something positive to strive for, because in the striving for efficiency you miss out.

When you think about being efficient, you think about what has to be done. It's not only the thought process of thinking how one thing has to be done, but then how the next thing must be completed after that. It's a cycle. So you accomplish one task only to lead you to another, and another, and so on. What this instills is a rat in the wheel type mentality...that we're all running to accomplish the next thing.

I don't know how many times I see this in relationships and conversations. In our culture ending a conversation is a weird experience. I see and experience this especially on Sundays in our church setting. It's like you bounce around like a ping pong ball talking to a whole lot of different people without really talking to them. And then somehow, the conversation just ends and you get interrupted or move onto the next person. The thought, or expectation rather, is to talk to as many people as you can. You feel obligated to do so, and you feel like you've failed if you missed some folks.

If we look to the example of Jesus, we see someone who was very efficient, but very present at the same time. Jesus was intentional in his conversations with people, but he never seemed to be in a hurry. What I believe we miss when we move on from one thing to the next or let our schedule determine our lives is the opportunity for spontaneous relationships, interaction, and conversation. In Muslim culture, you may have an appointment with someone, but then a friend comes over and the appointment is missed completely. However, for them, the most honorable thing to do is not keep the appointment, but to be with the friend.

All of our lives are busy, but I do believe there is an opportunity for us to enjoy life even in the midst of busyness. I think part of it is being able to live in each moment with joy, seeing and enjoying where God is revealing Himself to us. So sit a little longer before moving on. Don't rush to the next conversation. Slow down a bit today. Experience life in a more inefficient way and see what happens.

Giving Jesus or Demanding Morals

2008-06-23T20:46:00.003-07:00

I was struck by something coming out of my pastor's message last weekend and some reading that I'm currently doing. I was struck by the fact that Christians have the reputation of requiring someone to be morally in agreement before they can come to Jesus.

It's more than a reputation, really. It's a pretty accurate description. One of the factors that leads to this is our uncomfortable nature with messy spirituality. Take for example a good friend of mine I baptized not too long ago. I've known him for many years, however (like many followers of Christ) he didn't have a crisis point of faith. For him it was a journey of Christ revealing Himself. It wasn't neat and clean and well defined, but it was genuine and sincere.

We have to have defined lines. You must believe this, this, and this in order to be accepted. Before introducing people to Jesus we introduce people to our sense of morality, or what we think it should be. The thing is, we're called to first introduce them to Jesus...to the love of God and the acceptance of sinners through the sacrifice of Christ...to the freedom from sin and bondage that Jesus brings to us. But instead, we offer them bondage to our senses of morality before introducing them to Christ.

This speaks heavily to our understanding of the Spirit's work of sanctification. We feel the need to pigeonhole someone into a certain moral standard in our own time frame. Get saved, then get clean. Oh...I love this one...it's a slogan I saw on a church sign: "Catch em', Clean em', Clone em'. Nice and neat process, huh (by the way, I DISDAIN church slogans and cliches...they're utterly unhelpful).

But this is not the way it works. Does it work for you that way? I have another friend who is a recovering addict. They also deal with a number of other issues. I've told them time after time - just allow God to work on one thing at a time. He'll work with you and deliver you from these addictions. And God has. But it's not been neat and clean and timely. It's been a long process and it's been a difficult one. But God is doing it.

I say all that to say this: Share Jesus and demonstrate the moral you want others to live. Don't even speak it. Let your good works shine before men so THEN they may see and glorify our Father in heaven.

Clean Conscience

2008-06-20T07:45:00.002-07:00

The following is a quote from Brother Lawrence from the book, The Practice of the Presence of God. What is helpful in what he writes is how he moves on from his failure, and how he acknowledges the Lord in all things that go well.

I believe the former - moving on from failure - is a major challenge of the Christian disciple of Jesus. We have issues forgiving ourselves for the small and big failures of our lives. Granted, our sin has consequences we have to live with, and sometimes they have a big impact on our relationships with others. However, I think one of the biggest challenges followers of Jesus face is how to deal with the things few people (if any) know about. How do we handle our failure? How do we accept the grace of God and move on?

The following excerpt from his book I find very helpful (and it's a good little read if you've never heard of it nor read it yet).

When he (Brother Lawrence) had finished, he examined how he had discharged

his duty; if he found well, he returned thanks to God;

if otherwise, he asked pardon, and, without being discouraged, He set

his mind right again, and continued his exercise of the Presence of God

as if he had never deviated from it.

What the Prophets Have to Say Today

2008-06-19T04:06:00.008-07:00

I have been thinking for some time that a good reading of the prophets of the Old Testament would prove fruitful and very relevant to the current situation in our western culture. I have finally gotten around to begin reading them, and I have started with Jeremiah. It is truly amazing how the predicament of Judah is not so far off from what we struggle with here in western culture...perhaps even more broadly as these are issues of sinful nature and the human race.

Take for example this passage from Jeremiah 8:

"I have listened attentively,

but they do not say what is right.

No one repents of his wickedness,

saying, 'What have I done?'

Each pursues his own course

like a horse charging into battle." verse 6

One of the greatest comforts here is the ear of the Lord. God is listening to his people...He is listening for his people, but they are not saying what is right.

Disturbing, and very telling of our culture today (especially church culture), is the lack of repentance because of the lack of reflection. In this short verse we see something very telling about Judah, and it speaks prophetically to us today as well. We charge ahead without thinking of the ways of the Lord. We don't reflect on how we live our lives to see if it aligns with how God calls us to live. We don't ask ourselves, "what have I done?", because we deem ourselves innocent.

This innocence comes from a lack of holiness in the people of God. We no longer 'measure' (and I use that term in a very non-legalistic way) our standard of living to how Scripture instructs us to live, but rather we first measure our standard against classes and against our culture. What I mean is this: we don't think we're as bad as the next guy. So we measure how 'good' or 'godly' we are against those around us who are godless. We're all godless at heart. We can't understand holiness comparing ourselves to others. We can only understand holiness as we understand the Scriptures and as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling with the Sciptures, not in comparison with others.

So today let us ask, "Lord, what have I done?" As the opening line to this verse states, God is attentively listening for us to pray this kind of prayer.

Changing Self

2008-06-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Back to the posts on change...

So there's unnecessary change...beneficial change...and now changing oneself. I'm not talking of reinventing yourself. It's not making a new you. This is the change I think few of us are comfortable with. It's the change that comes from examining yourself...from allowing others to examine you...from allowing God to examine you. It's the type of change that results from David's prayer in Psalm 139 that says, "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any wicked way within me and lead me in the way everlasting."

I've often wondered if I'm not just completely ignorant of my own faults. Do I treat people the way I should? Do I come off as good of a listener as I hope/think I am? I don't know really, but I want to (now if you're reading this and you know me and the answer is negative...be gentle!).

Change is certainly necessary in the process of our sanctification...our becoming more like Jesus. But this is change that is difficult and sometimes undesirable. It's sacrificial. Costly. Sometimes humiliating and humbling. But this is change that needs to be pursued in the way David did in his prayer above.

Jesus would have a much more honest representation if His followers were willing to make changes resulting from praying this prayer. It's a hard prayer for me to pray, but I know it's necessary (for myself and all of us) if we are to call ourselves followers of Christ.

8 Years and Counting

2008-06-04T18:55:00.005-07:00

Today I celebrate my 8th anniversary, however I celebrate it alone! Doesn't that suck! Ruby is in Tuscon, Arizona for work this week, leaving me solo for our 8th anniversary. She left yesterday, and after dropping her off at the airport I proceeded to take my kids to my dad's place so they could spend two days there. The idea for me was to have time to get some work done around the house and then to be able to go into the office today...both those plans succeeded...however...I was alone.

Being alone is a funny thing. When you're a father of three and a pastor, time alone is a treasured thing...but when you really have time alone it feels like there's something missing. I sat in my empty house last night with no kids in their beds and no wife by my side. It's a weird feeling. As much as I crave time alone I feel uncomfortable when it comes like it did yesterday. I like the alone time better when I'm downstairs in my office and I hear the kids running around upstairs...screaming, yelling, and having a good time. There's life in the house. When it's just me it feels too empty.

All that to say: I love my family. I value their presence in my life. They literally bring life to my life. Even though family relationships are challenging at times, they are my family...they are the ones I intimately share life with. They bring a whole new meaning to life when we're together. So I'm grateful for what/who I've got.

I guess I have to update my profile now too...I'm married 8 years now instead of 7, and instead of a year shy of 30 I turn 30 next week! Now I can be an official pastor :-)

CNN and How Faith Should Be

2008-06-01T11:46:00.004-07:00

Before church this morning I do what I do most days...turn on the news and see what's going on in the world. This morning's top headlines were speaking to the termination of membership between Barak Obama and his now former congregation of Trinity. When asked if he would be looking for another church Obama responded with something along the lines of wanting to be in a church where he could "sit and meditate and be part of the congregation" rather than being a political part of the church (If you know me, you know I am really bad with direct quotes, so you're getting a framework here).

In response to Obama's desire to sit and just be for awhile, the CNN commentator said, "Now that's the way things should be." That is a direct quote. That's the way things should be, huh? So instead of sticking your neck out do be involved and risk all for the Kingdom, we just sit around, meditate, and get fed? This is the impression of the faith I'm getting from this commentator who may not have thought much about what he was saying. However, this is very truth telling.

It's getting at the problem of Christianity in our country being a spectator sport, for lack of a better term. The perception people have of the Christian faith is us going into a building, sitting, listening, learning, and leaving. But this is not the essence of the Christian faith, at least not to me. What's sad is this is the impression people have. They don't have the one of works, service, sacrifice, long suffering, etc. It's a come and go faith to them...come on Sunday, and then go.

A few posts ago I described what I saw as the negative tendencies of this generation in regards to the Christian faith. Well, here's a positive one: they're done with this spectator religion. The young Christians of today want to make a difference. If their faith doesn't demand something of them they're disappointed and can sense it's not the real thing. The Christian faith necessitates cost, and this generation is willing to pay it. While there is still nominalism, I believe there is a great dedication to living like Jesus and dedicating oneself to the cause(s) of Christ...to the poor, the environment, injustices such as torture/economic sanctions/world debt/starvation/AIDS/etc. These are the things that are motivating my generation. They are the things that are motivating me.

So to the CNN commentator...that's not the way things should be. The person being an active representation of Christ to their community...that's the way things should be.

Fluidity of Faith

2008-05-30T07:46:00.003-07:00

I was thinking a bit about my comments yesterday regarding the segregated nature of our faith, where God is not central to everything in our lives. There's a belief in God, but not a participation with God that is natural. This is in part because of our sinful nature, but perhaps it's also because we've historically defined or thought about faith in terms of what we do instead of who we are.

Who we are as people is made up of a number of different things...personality, gifts, etc. These things follow us around. There is no putting your personality off at one place and then taking it up at another. While we supress our gifts at times, they are still a part of who we are. This ought to be the goal of our faith in Jesus. No matter where we are at time or place we are present with Jesus, and He with us.

So instead of describing our faith by Bible reading, prayer, or other activities, maybe it's more helpful to use descriptives: faithful, holy, just, peace-loving...go down the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 or the descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13. If we truly love Jesus, these are helpful descriptives as to what that would look like...what Christ-followers should look like. So you can tell them by who they are. The characteristics are fluid...they become part of every aspect of our lives. These characteristics cannot be done apart from Christ. Naturally we pull away from such characteristics, but being one with Christ brings us back to these things again and again.

So when we talk about how we're defining our faith it should be more about how God is shaping us and working through us. So in response to the question: What does a Christian do? it should be more than go to church, read the Bible, pray. My answer would be more along the lines of..."I allow myself to be shaped by Jesus. I realize I'm not a perfect individual...sometimes I'm not even good...but I know that Jesus wants me to be like Him, and I'm open to letting Him do that. In fact, it's something I seek out."

- Tendencies of this Generation's Faith

2008-05-29T17:07:00.004-07:00

Todd Hiestand had a post on 7 Big Questions that were asked to major leaders in the Christian community. He wondered if some of us ordinary folks who blog would tackle these as well...getting some responses from folks not in the spotlight. Since I fit the "not in the spotlight" qualification, I figured I'd give two of the questions a shot.

1. What is a negative tendency of this generation as it relates to the faith?
Simply: the church has become irrelevant to the ins and outs of their lives.

What I mean is this...God is an addition to what's already going on...school, families, dating, career, etc. God is not the center of it. God has moved to the periphery, and while they seek for God through the above things, God is not central to these things. Character is shaped by the crowd...worth is shaped by companionship...and lack of worth is based on the same.

I don't think it's that they don't want God, but they don't know how to go about the pursuit. They don't know what's entailed or expected. They see Christianity as do's and don'ts instead of being...a being where one is present with God in all things, at all times, and in all places. So there really shouldn't be the separation of God here, work/relationships/school/etc. there, but that's the separation that we tend to see as we grow up (as I am a part of this generation...however an older part). When we see that sitting through an hour in church doesn't solve the problems, and no one tells us how Jesus matches up with the complexities of life, then I believe this group ends up right where it is...confused and bewildered.

One of the responses to this is simply through relationships. This generation, if they've been in church at all, was probably raised up on programming...school/tv/home/church...everything was a program. The thing about programs is that they're segmented and uncohesive. Programs don't translate well into all areas of life, because life is just not that structured.

A return to relationships and community is a must. Faith cannot be a Sunday gathering, it must be lived out and exemplified by the parents and the larger faith community every day. Being able to do life with others is where discipleship happens, and it's where Jesus meets us. Faith has been isolated into a neat box and that paradigm of thought is being done away with, especially in my generation. Jesus needs to have something to say to the totality of our lives...and He does. Our generation needs folks who will help us hear what Jesus is saying...and that comes from the one-on-one friendships we have that guide and shape us.

Change for the Better

2008-05-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here's an opposite perspective from my last post on change where change was all around us but not always necessary. Some background first...my wife is in social work, and she has been almost all of our married lives. There is certainly part of our culture or the broader human race where what has happened in the previous generation repeats itself time and time again. You see this in cycles of abuse or with addictions. You see this in marriages with roles or even with faithfulness. Cycles tend to repeat themselves.

But here is the great thing with the gospel...these cycles can be changed. This type of change I would suggest is beneficial and necessary. This is the type of change that churches should be working for. Let me rest on that thought for a minute...churches...agents of change to toxic generational cycles...

Have you ever been on a vacation or to some exotic place and tried to describe the pictures to someone else who hasn't been there? It's a difficult situation. The awe and enjoyment you had when you went is somehow hard to transfer to the person you're describing it to. But what if you had the funds to actually take them there...to show them in person the things you've experienced? It would then be something you shared...a common experience...the conversations would go on forever as you would recount the time you had.

It's one thing to say someone ought to change...to describe to them how they ought to do it, why they need to do it, why they will benefit, etc. It is entirely another to live with them through their current experience and bring the light of Christ to where they are. As followers of Jesus, we can bring the reality of hope into hopelessness, not flaunting it as something they don't have but demonstrating it in such a way they understand it is something within reach, no matter how desperate the situation.

But just as generational cycles repeat themselves over and over, this type of change (although good) does not happen quickly...it may not even happen at all. The cost of showing Jesus in this way is high. It's not programmatic. It's messy. Recently I've been privileged to see God work in the lives a few individuals in very dramatic ways...this was after a year or two of being with them and working through very hard things...but the reward was beautiful...life they never knew was possible, or at least they couldn't see it from where they were standing.

All that to say there is change that is good and for the better...change that is salvific and life transforming.

Political Change

2008-05-28T06:59:00.003-07:00

One of the ironic things that happens when election time comes around is the promise each candidate has for change. I don't care if you support Obama, Clinton, or McCain...each one has their own promise of how things will change if they are elected and put in office. Their promises of change seem like a breath of fresh air, but really it happens every time you have an election. The previous president, senator, or commissioner has made mistakes or not followed through in some way, and the opponent wants to play off of such things.

It's really no surprise everyone promises change, because change is inherent to the sense of fallen-ness we experience as human beings. We move from one unfulfilled promise to another, hoping the next will provide the fulfillment we're looking for. Until we center these initiatives around Christ and the Kingdom we will always fall short. Even when we do this we don't always find the answers we're looking for because the Kingdom has not come in its fullest realization of the Second Coming of Christ.

Take churches for example. There is no one church that meets the needs of all people. Churches emphasize one program to the neglect of another. Every time you choose one thing to work on you automatically choose something you're not going to work on. We're working for the Kingdom, and as the Kingdom has come in Christ, there is a sense to where it is still coming. As the Kingdom comes changes occur, or they ought to. So change is inherent to our society and our world as we await the coming of Christ.

There is certainly a sense where one person can change things...or perhaps better stated would be a catalyst for change...take Martin Luther King Jr. for example. But behind any change or movement is a community that participates in the changing of things. This ought to be the church. While we have leaders in the church, we need the community of believers to work for the Kingdom and enact change. I think one of Obama's slogans is "Change we can believe in." For the Christian, it ought to be change I can be involved in. The fulfillment we want as a result of change can only come from working for the Kingdom of God. Even as we work, however, we will always groan inwardly for the realization of that Kingdom.

Change

2008-05-26T19:12:00.003-07:00

You ever heard the saying, "the only thing that is certain in life is change"? For one reason or another I've been thinking about change lately. Change can come on a lot of different levels...we can change cars, houses, professions, ideals, preferences, favorite TV shows, etc. There's not anything that's safe from the subject of change. My question is, why? Why do we feel the need to change so much, so often, and sometimes so dramatically?

Here's another cliche saying: "The grass is always greener on the other side." This is part of the change pandemic, at least for me. Simply, it's dissatisfaction. I think something is better than what I have now. Think of it on a material level...or for me, as it comes to the ol' homestead. There's a million and one things I could do to my house, maybe only one that needs to be done. But I want to do them because I think the latter will be more enjoyable than what I have now. Do I need the latter...probably not. However, the prospect of the newer seems much more appealing than what I already have.

Boredom. So if it's old it's not exciting anymore? What makes it unexciting anyway? Is it because the norm or the old is truly unexciting or is it because I've lost the initiative to enjoy its simplicity...it's comfort...it's beauty? Take this in the context of marriage (and here I am truly satisfied!!!!)...when does it become unexciting...why does new or different seem better? Is it because the routine has lost beauty? Sometimes we exchange the adrenaline rush of new for the faithfulness of the old. Let's get beyond marriage and just broaden this once more to include everything of change (you make up your mind to whatever that may be for you in your context).

All I'm saying is that change is all around. While some is unavoidable...change sometimes comes without your choice...many times change comes at your bid...it's your decision. One of the ways to live more simply in a fast paced society is to choose to change less. The changes we don't need to make...the ones that aren't pressing or necessary which are left the same can give us a greater sense of contentment, rest, and peace.

Because It Happened...

2008-03-23T17:58:00.004-07:00

I am reading N.T. Wright's new book, Surprised by Hope, and ran across a great passage...

"Who, after all, was it who didn't want the dead to be raised? Not simply the intellectually timid or the rationalists. It was, and is, those in power, the social and intellectual tyrants and bullies; the Caesars who would be threatened by a Lord of the world who had defeated the tyrant's last weapon, death itself...
Hope is what you get when you suddenly realize that a different worldview is possible, a worldview in which the rich, the powerful, and the unscrupulous do not after all have the last word. The same worldview shift that is demanded by the resurrection of Jesus is the shift that will enable us to transform the world. (pg. 75)
A few thoughts...
We have those who don't want to believe in anything OR we have those who don't want us to believe in anything. The first group have a problem with the absurdity perhaps, but nonetheless are unwilling to make the step of faith. In some cases we have much in common as we get our eyes focused too much on the earthly things around us...those systems and evils that make us wonder what exactly there is to hope for in the first place. We become cynics instead of hopeful people, joining in the bitter language of our world instead of offering words of life.
Then you have those who don't want us to believe in anything...the resurrected Christ...because this is a direct threat to the powerful systems of the world. The thing about power is that the powerless don't see the opportunity to overcome the powerful to transform the world into something better...something Jesus calls the Kingdom of Heaven.
I think back to the disciples and their sense of failure, betrayal, and abandonment. Their apparent Savior does nothing to overcome Rome and the powers that be. The powers have won. Within three days (and some occurrences thereafter) their world was transformed so deeply and so powerfully that they took head on the powers of the Jewish authorities and Rome...the very ones who put their Savior to death. Something happened...resurrection happened. Jesus lives happened. And because Jesus lives the Kingdom begins.
As Wright says, one of the greatest things that can be held over our heads in attempt to change our world are those who are in power over us. This is not to say we become violent radicals, rather radical proclaimers of a new heavens and a new earth...of the Jesus way here and now...of the Kingdom of God coming and advancing on this earth in the present time. We become bold because the powers have lost their power. While it may look as if they continually win...and they continually try and crush what the Kingdom of God is all about...through the resurrection we know we can go forth boldly living for God's Kingdom knowing that no opposition will stand forever, for Jesus has overcome them all.
I must admit, I feel overcome more times than an overcomer. I think that the way things are is always the way things will be. I wonder how grand of an effect my small life can make on such a great world with systems that are embedded which destroy the value of human life and worth. In reality, I view what can be done on my own...in my own strength...with my own influence. All those things are very pithy. However, when I begin to see this now through the lens of the resurrection, something changes...or at least something should change in my heart. When I see the powers in such a ruling way I'm allowing them the Lordship that Christ deserves, in my life and in the lives of those around me.
Truly this Easter I have been challenged anew to understand and live the resurrection differently. Everything changes because Christ is alive. It gives us not only hope, but the boldness to pray for the Kingdom to come and the power to be an ambassador of that Kingdom.
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!
Amen

At Arms Length

2008-03-19T11:41:00.001-07:00

Each Easter we make it a point on Maundy Thursday to take communion as a congregation (this is of course done frequently, but made a special point of during Holy Week). As I was thinking about the communion teaching for tomorrow night's service I realized something: many of us live as if the first covenant was still in place. Let me explain.

Hebrews 9:9 says, "This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper." This took me back to the early story in Genesis of Cain and Abel and the issue of the acceptance of the sacrifice. Most know the story that Abel's was offered and was acceptable while Cain's was not. The issue I believe had to do with the heart of obedience, not the sacrifice.

It takes me as well to the story of Saul's premature sacrifices in 1 Samuel 15. Samuel responds to the sacrifices of Saul by saying: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?"

And herein lies our challenge as Hebrews presents it later in 9:13: "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean."

Outwardly clean.

Inwardly impure.

Appearance is a funny thing in our culture, as is belief. You can appear a certain way and be completely opposite. You can say you believe a certain way and live completely opposite. Much of the 'sacrifices' we make are only good enough to make us seem outwardly clean while inwardly we remain unaffected and even worse off then before...thinking somehow those external sacrifices have done something to cleanse the internal domination of sin. We exchange sacrifice for obedience just as Saul or Cain.

Thus we live under the first covenant...at arms lenght...remaining satisfied to do the right things externally while inwardly living unsubmitted to the Lordship of Christ which brings us freedom and deliverance from sin.

As I approach the Eucharist table tomorrow night I want to do so in a way that takes in anew and again the cleansing of Christ of my sins. I also want to renew in my faith and walk with Christ the victory of sin Christ brings me.

"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"

Hebrews 9:14

Are You Spent?

2008-03-06T08:45:00.003-08:00

I'm coming off a long hiatus here, but I finally feel I've got something to share, however brief it may be.

As a child I really feel I was sheltered, or maybe just unaware, of the problems people were facing. Now at almost 30 years old I'm faced with them everyday. I'm faced with my own issues, and I'm made very aware of the falleness of the world around me as I take phone calls and listen to people and where they're at. I could say that 'it's ministry', but I think I'd rather say 'it's everywhere.' You can't escape the fallen nature of the world...the hurts, the evils, all of it. But there's got to be a better way, doesn't there?

Enter a brief hymn of Paul in the beginning of 2 Corinthians that brought much encouragement to me this morning. Here it is:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion
and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can
comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from the
God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through
Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and
salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient
endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because
we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Ever realize how life seems to have those two poles: suffering and comfort? The tension of joy and sorrow? The tension where everything is held together and everything is falling apart? The beauty of Paul's words is that we are held together in Christ...pulled toward suffering and despair by the events of everyday life, but yet pulled toward hope by the salvation of Jesus Christ.

So many times I just want to give in. It's so easy to give in and just go down the spiral of suffering into disillusionment and despair. However, in my experience thus far, God is here to strengthen us and give us hope in what seems like hopeless situations. This is the promise of God in this present life, is it not? That somehow though we'll have trouble in this world we've overcome it through Christ. It has not overcome us.

A Long Absence

2008-02-20T10:39:00.002-08:00

The last time I wrote anything was right after Christmas. To be honest, the reason I haven't written anything else is because I didn't feel I had much more to say at the time...and I'm not sure if I even do now.

Blogs are a funny thing. They put out there thoughts or ideas, but sometimes...many times...they don't deal with heart issues. Over the past several months (since the last post) I've actually chosen a different form of writing, one that's much more personal and helpful to my spiritual growth. I've been fairly diligent at keeping a journal over these months, and it's amazing how it's helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus. With each entry I have a chance to reflect in a deeper and more personal level on the ongoings of my own life which I really don't want to share with everyone. Writing it out also helps me reflect in new ways. It's been a discipline that's been incredibly helpful.

So I don't really have much to say. I belong to a great community of bloggers in the DailyScribe (if they haven't kicked me off yet!) and there are some others that check in every once and awhile. Nothing's wrong here, just different for me personally, hence the absence of any entries. I'll be back...when I have something worthwhile to say...maybe next month, next week, or maybe even tomorrow.

Peace...

What is Present Day Discipleship?

2007-12-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

The task of the church and all believers is to make disciples...in other words we are to make people look more like Jesus. The typical approach is information assimilation. If you give the people enough information from the pulpit and teach them enough through whatever type of education, then that will make disciples.

I'm challenged with this task because I'm not sure teaching does it. Discipleship deals heavily with transformation. It deals with the "new creation" of the person where the "old has gone and the new has come." This transformation doesn't always come about by information but rather by submission, and submission is not something you can teach as it is something you can model. It also takes willingness on the part of the person to submit to Christ. How then does the church model submission?

One of the ways I see this could happen is through what the church itself vests its time and resources in. The way to get your people to look more like Christ is to have the activities and ministries of the church look more like Christ. I suppose one challenge is not to have a ministry to help others learn to be like Jesus but rather to create a ministry where the ministry itself mimics Christ. The trap we fall into is creating a wheel where we become mice perpetually chasing the information to make us better disciples. After an undergrad and a graduate degree I still don't feel like I know enough. I've talked to others further down the line and more educated and they feel the same. While I don't want to underplay education or information as forms of discipleship I believe our task in making disciples is more than to just educate. Whatever we do should lead to and provide challenges and opportunities for transformation.

Another point to be made is that information can many times be taught one way and caught another, or vice versa. So we can talk ourselves till we're blue in the face about doctrine and such...and we may never come to agreement on everything. However, can we really disagree on loving people more? Can we disagree on giving our money and resources to those in need? Can we disagree that the elderly who are lonely need a friend or just someone to talk to, much like the orphan? Can we disagree that we've all got sin issues that Christ needs to deliver and set us free from? I'm not sure those are disagreeable points.

So then discipleship in the church could/should be the church itself being about the things it wants its people to be about. It's not only about equipping the saints, but it's about being an example for them giving them the opportunity and guidance toward greater submission to the lordship of Christ.

Who is the Modern Day Prophet?

2007-12-19T18:27:00.001-08:00

I had a fascinating conversation with my pastor the other day, and he posed a challenging question. He asked, "who is the modern day prophet?"

Let's first clarify what he meant and what we're looking for here. We're not looking for the date of the apocalypse. We're not looking for the moment when Jesus will break through the sky. My understanding of the prophetic voice is not so much one who foretells the future but more as one who interprets the current situation (of the church). The Old Testament prophets would operate in this way, confronting the injustices of the people of Israel and calling them back to the way of the Lord. In present day this person would see the injustices of the church and call us back to faithfulness to our God.

So who is this person...is there even one...or does there need to be? The initial question rose out of a conversation dealing with how to awake the church from her slumber and becoming so akin to the cultural norms that there is no longer distinction nor a desire to be a people called apart (a holy nation...a people declaring the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light). This has been a conversation I've had with many different people over the past years. A similar response we've all come to is persecution...that persecution would be what wakes the church out of such a slumber.

I'm not sure. I almost think if we all tended to live a little more prophetically that in and of itself would invite persecution. This is a very broad read, but I think it's a just one. The times of persecution in the prophets and the New Testament were brought about by one of two things: idolatry or boldness. The Old Testament prophets were concerned with the idolatry of Israel...going after other gods, forming alliances with other nations, etc. This literally destroyed them as a nation and sent them into exile...indefinitely. The book of Acts reads like a similar prophetic book, although the suffering and persecution endured by God's people was for a completely different reason: because they were bold in their proclamation.

Boldness or idolatry.

So who is the modern day prophet? Who is calling us away from idolatry and to bold living? Is there anyone? Or perhaps is it a lot of people we don't really hear much about? In some ways I suppose that we are all called to live prophetically. Living boldly I believe is living prophetically. It's calling us to a higher Kingdom with a greater faith in the power of Christ and the Spirit no matter what the cost.

Ah yes...the cost...

Critical or Constructive?

2007-12-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

What I'm convicted of is that we need a constructive ethic within the body of Christ. What I've read, seen, and heard are very assumptive criticisms of the state of the church. I'm fearful of this type of criticism, because in some cases it is broad generalizations of classes, sizes, or styles of churches. I must admit that it's easy to jump aboard the wagon of criticism and calling everything into question. I did. I became very unsatisfied. I questioned why I was doing this all in the first place if the church was such a big failure.

After distilling these thoughts over several months I've learned a constructive ethic of critique. I've allowed criticisms of the church to challenge me, but I'm not going to throw out the church as I know it. It's not because I'm solidified in the way the church has to be, but I think there are so many good churches out there doing great things that nobody ever hears about on a broader scale.

Take, for instance, a conversation I had a few weeks ago in a car ride on the way to a prison visit. My fellow passenger was telling me how his church opens its doors before services on Sundays to feed the homeless of the city. He shared that it gets messy sometimes because some of the homeless wander into the sanctuary and sleep (they don't kick them out, by the way). They also partner with other city churches to house the homeless over the coldest months of the year. I've never heard of this and I wouldn't have without this car ride.

My concern is that in as much as we critique the church of what it could be we also go about telling stories of what it is. I love the church. I don't love the building, but I love the body of believers that makes it up. I realize what we do within the building is a very small part of what the church is, but it is a good part. There are always things that we can work on, but I know many pastors in many churches who labor over that time on a Sunday morning when they instruct the body in the Scriptures. I marvel at the presence of God as believers come together and worship. These are good things. They are only exclusive in as much as we allow them to be. They can take place anytime throughout any day at any given place. This is the mission of the church to do just that. To proclaim through word, deed, and character the message of the life of Christ.

A Constructive Outlook

2007-12-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

One of the things I've noticed in reading over the past few months is how people have been critiquing the church. In this move from wherever we were to a more missional emphasis we're reading things through a different lens...and this is good. When it becomes a challenge is when we see the old model of what many would call the 'institutional' church in a state of such disarray that we feel there is little to no worth in it.

When I was a kid I was a part of a larger church. It was very traditional in many ways. A group of friends and I really wanted to do some new things within the church. We wanted to transform the church into something that we thought it could be. What we didn't do was appreciate what was there. We were critical of what wasn't there and what wasn't being done. I see this in some of the current missional conversation.

For example, Michael Frost wrote a great book entitled Exiles. I was trackin' until the last few chapters where he went on a little soapbox on the current state of music within the church. I felt that instead of bringing a better construction of what could be there was criticism of what was.

As we look at our current church situation it is important to be constructive toward the current institutional church (the type that meets in buildings that use pastors, etc :-). It's great how the missional conversation is going, but as one who serves a local congregation I'm needing some breathing room in how I think through all this. At first I just wanted to quit. I thought what we're doing was so against what the missional church is supposed to do...but it wasn't. I was just thinking that everything had to go in order for us to become this missional people. But I've learned to be challenged by the call to mission without giving up everything. In contrast to McClaren's new book I'm not so much into everything must change...perhaps things must shift...perhaps Some Things must change...but I'm not sure everything has to. To think that way insinuates there's nothing worthwhile in the local congregations we have now. As a part of an amazing community of faith I would have to argue otherwise.

Overwhelmed by Mission?

2007-12-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

I'm continuing to process this missional thing and I'm becoming aware that one feels overwhelmed as we look at the broad nature of need around us. The overwhelmed feeling happens when we begin to see Jesus in the people around us. Before we were able to live within our world of busyness and nicely heated homes, but as we realize the mission of Jesus our eyes...spiritual and physical...are opened to the great needs around us.

And then you read authors on the missional movement. You become aware of environmental devastation that you didn't know about. You learn of economic injustices. You skin crawls as you learn more of the persecution that goes on around the world. And here you are, stuck in the place where you're at with a book in your hand left wondering, "What difference can I really make?"

I've felt that many times over the last several months. The fact is that it's not only about making a difference, but it's about becoming more like Christ. To become more like Christ requires both loving God and others. It's about growing closer to the heart of God and demonstrating that heart to other people. If we focus on the monstrosity of the issues around us we will be easily overwhelmed. I don't think that's the point. So what is the point? Committing our lives to a transforming relationship with Christ that changes us and our world.

It started with me in a very small way. I love clothes. I had a lot of them. I got rid of over half of them. I learned to live with less and now hold the conviction not to buy unless I'm in definite need of them. It wasn't me first saying "I think it would be a great thing to give some things away." It began with conviction. I loved the stuff. I had more than what was necessary. I wanted to learn to live with less. This has impacted how I spend money and my overall outlook on stuff. God changed this part of my outlook on life. This benefits others. It benefits those things I don't buy that support slave labor. It supports those we can give more to because we spend less. But these things are byproducts, not the initial change. The initial change comes with the heart.

I don't share this to boast or brag...but hopefully to give hope! What I described to you was very small, but it's very significant. I can't change the world, but I can allow God to change me. In that process something happens. Others benefit. The Kingdom coming in my heart and life benefit others...and it should. Don't get overwhelmed by the enormity of the global atrocities, but allow yourself to be transformed by God and see that transformation through the lens of global benefit.

Perhaps some year for you it may be taking a family vacation to Africa. There you may work with AIDS prevention. You may be a minority. You may learn what it feels like to be an outcast. You may see what it is like to travel hours for water. You may feel blessed to love the outcasts there. You may be blessed to be changed by their humanity (I'm describing a dream I have personally of going there...hopefully soon). It could be simply viewing life differently...that you're here to bless and serve others instead of yourself. That doesn't even take a cross-continental trip!

You may love stuff less. You may love others more. You may be changed. This I think is the heart of the missional message of Jesus. God in flesh walked among others and showed them a new way...one that doesn't vest itself in the things of this world but in beautiful humanity...the apex of his creation. He came to love and serve all...no longer are there slave or free, male or female, etc...he came to love us all.

What's a Definition of Missional?

2007-12-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

"Exactly what would a "missional" church do that a "non-missional" church wouldn't do?"

This question was left as a comment on my previous entry about "Being Missional for the Wrong Motive." I'm going to attempt to answer this...and maybe only in part. But let's give it a shot.

First, let's look at what the church has been great about doing over the last twenty years or so. By and large there has been a big push toward cultural relevancy...or making the gospel applicable to those of our surrounding culture. This has come through how we preach (or how we don't preach). We've become sensitive to the seekers and have really rearranged our churches (for better or worse) around the visiting seeker. This was a profound move for a church that by and large had an 'in the world but avoid the world' mentality before that. So we were able to span the gap between the church and the world by making ourselves a little less threatening to the outsider.

One of the things this produced was the megachurch who marketed themselves toward a certain demographic. Then you had the smaller churches that would try to follow their seeker driven models. Houses of worship became more appealing to attend. It wasn't all about the Sunday best suit and tie anymore so much as it was coming together to seek God...or perhaps seek after God. What I'd like to focus on here is the houses of worship and the ministries they produced during this time, because I believe that has a great deal to do with the distinction between missional or not missional.

In order to reach those outside the church became focused on events as a main mechanism for reaching people. It would look to hold events to draw seekers into the church in order to make a connection. This was fantastic at the time because it was bringing people into the church who might have not come before. So churches would hold community festivals, motorcycle Sundays, etc. Point being, the base of all the ministries of the church was still the church. The mentality was still to get the people to come. The old Field of Dreams motto was almost the one of the church..."If we build it...if we have this or that...then they will come.

Therein lies the distinction, at least for me. The 'missional movement' is looking to move the church beyond itself. Let me put it this way:

Less Missionally Focused Church - Picture it as a grocery store.
Missionally Focused Church - Picture it as the distribution center for a food bank.

It may be a poor analogy, but I think it works. The former is founded on people coming to it. The goal of the grocery store is to bring people to it to buy its products. The mission of the distribution center is to be a supplier of the food to other food banks that will feed the people. Both provide food, but they are vastly different in mission. One expects people to come, the other acts as one who goes out and provides. One is a single entity, one works in partnership with others (Please don't carry this too far...I know the grocery store has to have partners to get it's food...that's not my point :-) . In other words the missionally focused church positions itself in such a way where it (church building, facilities, in house ministries) are only a PORTION of the total ministry of the church. This type of church will continually look to reorient itself to be a part of the local community in ways that serve the poor, needy, outcast...or basically just serve their neighbor.

The main issue with the non-missional (and I don't really like slapping that label on anyone) church is that they view their house of worship and their ministries as the place where people need to come to find God. If they want to do something with the community, they reinvent the wheel, put their churches name on it, and then go about doing it themselves without building a partnership with someone who is already doing the same thing in the local community...but they just aren't 'Christian.' The missional church would/should look to join up with anyone out there that's doing what that particular church feels called to, even if they are not people of faith. That is NOT compromising. Rather, that is building relationships and partnerships and supporting the calling both of you feel. In that partnership there is immense opportunity for the Spirit's work and for us to give witness through our conversation and work flavored with the salt and light of the gospel.

I hope, at least in part, this gives some insight into what I see as the difference between the two. This post has gone on long enough, so let's just put it out there and get some feedback before we move on. I have some other thoughts we'll save perhaps for next time.

I'm also shooting Todd Hiestand an e-mail to see if he would comment on the question we're trying to address. He's a local pastor in Philly with a good pulse about such things. Check him out at http://www.toddhiestand.com/. I'm not sure when and if he'll post on it, but check it out either way. It's a great blog.

Missional for the Wrong Motive

2007-12-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

So what happens if we're missional for the wrong motives?

I'm reading an excellent book by Michael Frost and he gives some great insight into such a question. He writes in Exiles pg 206 (on my reading list on Shelfari :-)...

"It seems that the very nature of mass movements has changed. Whereas people once acted because they believed strongly in a cause and were prepared to invest their time, energy, and money in a collective of like-minded people, now they are more inclined to protest or donate money in short bursts to express how they 'feel' about a particular situation. Protest marches and donations to aid organizations are now forms of self-expression, ways of conveying our feelings about a particular issue.By saying this, I am not dismissing the genuineness of those feelings...what I am saying is that people seem to need a valve for regular, brief responses to global issues, rather than being motivated to join long-term movements for change."

If we're missional for the wrong motives we'll fade out. Our commitments will be shorter. We will have less vested in the relationships. If we are doing it out of proper motives there will be times, perhaps frequently, where there is a great wrestling in our hearts with sticking it out. The issues we ought to be dealing with should be difficult, and they should demand something that will cost us. In truth, we should not be able to achieve a commitment to mission on our own.

This is where Jesus' words in John speak so loudly to me...I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remain in me and I in Him he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. Apart from Him I can do nothing. I again come back to the challenge of the Spirit working within our mission. Galatians 6 says something to the effect don't give up...for if you persevere you will reap a harvest in the proper time. Perseverance. Long-suffering. Depending on what version of the Bible you read...these are words that describe one of the fruits of the Spirit.

When one commits to the coming of the Kingdom of God they are not committing to a popular movement among Christian or cultural circles. They are committing themselves to Jesus and the agenda that Jesus was all about. It's an agenda that has spanned time. It is not short term, but it is life-long. As we seek to be missional we can't have the idea that we're going to go in and help someone less fortunate. It's not only about going in, helping someone, and leaving. It's not only about sending money for relief, aid, or benevolence. It's about YOU changing as you do these things and build relationships with those you are serving.

That's why this has to be a move of the Spirit of God within the believer attempting to be missional. This is not a part of our natural inclination. It's not a part of our culture. It goes against the grain of every selfish bone in our body. It is easy to give aid or serve someone without actually changing as a result. So we give a little of our excess money to a good cause without actually changing our spending habits. We continue to gorge ourselves with food after serving at the shelter. Something happens as we consider the needs of those we serve: solidarity.

THAT is what happens as we do this missional thing. We allow God to work in us and on us in how we live and how we act. We become new creations that are more beautiful because they are changing as the Spirit uses what we see and experience to mold our hearts of clay.

I am convinced you cannot become missional either as a church or as an individual follower of Jesus if you are not willing to have the Spirit do something transforming and changing in your own life (for me, it's a little thing called continual sanctification). It's not only bringing Jesus to people, but it's me becoming more like Jesus. And once again, this comes through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life...and as much as we do to serve others in our lives, we must do the same to nurture the work of the Spirit in our hearts.

Beware of the Bandwagon pt. 2

2007-12-05T05:58:00.000-08:00

In reading a comment left from yesterday's post I had some further thoughts regarding jumping on the current trends of ministry. Missional ministry presses a heavy emphasis on what we do to live out our faith and to literally bring about the Kingdom of God...or at least aspects...here on earth. These are outward actions that impact lifestyle decisions and should have a big element in service to others. What I haven't read in my readings exploring missional ministry is how the spiritual disciplines, prayer, or the empowering of the Holy Spirit work into such a movement (if anyone has suggestions on such reading, I would appreciate them). There is a lot of emphasis on being like Jesus, but we must also be filled by the Spirit of Christ. The majority of people today would want to be like Jesus because Jesus was a good man. He had good morals. He treated people right. Who wouldn't want to be like Him?

The tension lies with me in the emphasis on doing faith (missional) above the issue of the Spirit's empowerment. I'm not saying missional leaders don't believe this, but it is not a large part of the conversation. What I am saying is that as we serve, we do it with the strength that God provides (as Peter says). In fact, I think the book(s) of Peter would have great things to say to us regarding our current topic. One of my favorite verses from 1 Peter is says something to the effect (sorry...don't have a Bible in front of me) "He who speaks should do so as if he is speaking the very words of God, let him who serves do so with the strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."

Missional actions ought to come from the conviction of the Spirit through the power of the Spirit. If you haven't noticed yet, social consciousness is becoming a thing of popularity. Sitcoms regularly feature "green" ideas (I love 30 Rock). Celebrities are featuring atrocities such as Darfur and Africa (who can get past Brad and Angelina?). And those things are great for what they are. They are raising awareness. But what happens if we do it just because everyone else is doing it? If we do it simply as actions of service the question arises, "What are we serving them for?" The coming of the Kingdom of God is about the poor, the orphan, and the widow...but it's about the Kingdom of God...the Savior...entering into the hearts of the poor, the orphan, and the widow. It's not only crossing social barriers and addressing social problems but it's bringing eternal life (in there here and now as well as eternity) and salvation (mental, physical, spiritual, emotional...through Christ) into those places as well.

I admit I don't know much. Even with an MDIV I don't consider myself a great theologian. So what I'm about to say may be way off...so grant me some grace here. This is where I think we must be aware of the works of our faith eclipsing the filling of our hearts with the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit that brings to life the acts of service to our fellow man (or woman). People may not come into a saving relationship with Jesus because of our actions, but it ought to be the intent to show them Christ in such a way that draws them to such a loving Savior. No, I'm not saying people are projects. The thought of that sickens me. What I am saying is that the followers of Christ must serve everyone without bias to show them the deep love and care of the Savior of the world.

Our missional actions must originate with a conviction of the Spirit and be empowered with the Spirit of Christ.

Beware of the Bandwagon

2007-12-04T06:36:00.000-08:00

We're aware of the dredded bandwagon when it comes to sports, but how often are we aware of it when it comes to movements of the Spirit. Throughout my brief lifetime of 29 years there have been some very generous moves of the Spirit in my own life and the church at large: the 'Seeker Sensative' movement that made us aware that there are actually people outside the church we need to reach...the Vineyard movement that brought into the church a new experience of worship...reaching way back there was the Pentecostal movement that brought an emphasis of the experience of the Spirit moving in the church...and currently there is the missional movement that is bringing a great awareness of God's concern for justice, orphans, widows, and the church being the hands and feet of Jesus.

I've gotten swept up in the missional movement over the past several years. It's amazing to read what's out there in books and magazines and see how much of it deals with the mission of the church and great concern with the poor. It is calling the church back to its work as the church.

What is interesting with each new move of the Spirit is that the past moves of the Spirit are less emphasized or forgotten about in favor of the new move. Does the new move invalidate the old or is the Spirit just trying to continue to move the church along? In the effort to follow the Spirit into the new places of ministry and paradigm changes we would do well to remember where we've been. Israel recounted time after time their history. The church today would be wise to do the same. While not longing for the days of old we should be learning from them. Our past should shape our present as we strive to be the faithful bride of Christ.

I was challenged last night in my own life in a conversation with a Christian brother. There has been an enormous move on my behalf and of our church to become missional. However for me the missional nature of things has eclipsed some of the past moves of the Spirit...especially the part of me that takes root in the Pentecostal tradition. I journaled this morning something to the effect that the danger of becoming too missional is that we become works oriented and lack the need and desperation of the Spirit (that brings salvation). The other end is that if we focus on the Spirit to do the work we tend to get lazy and say it's all up to God.

So in the end what I feel I'm called to is this: Live missionally. Live for the Kingdom of God. Base my decisions not on cultural standards but on Kingdom standards. Love the outcasts and orient my life to serve them. AND. Pray. Pray for the outpouring of the Spirit that has been experienced in times past through great revivals. Fast. Seek God. Don't let up on the pursuit of Almighty God to put the power and drawing of the Spirit of Christ behind the acts of service.

If living missionally and a deep dependance on the Spirit are not in consistent tension there is a danger of floating toward either legalistic unempowered service or simple laziness.

I know this may sound harsh, but this is something that I'm trying to flesh out myself. It's a tension I find myself in.

I Took a Break

2007-11-29T19:41:00.001-08:00

Today, during one of my busiest weeks in a long time, I took the day off. I felt the load of everything that needed to be done on my shoulders. I felt the weight of not having seen my family much at all this week. I missed my kids. I missed my wife. I needed to reconnect...and I did.

Taking a Sabbath is perhaps one of the most challenging things to do because you feel like things won't get done if you're absent...and truthfully...they might not. But will they ever? I don't think so, especially in ministry. Taking a Sabbath for me is not only a break but it is more an act of faith. I feel as though it's telling/showing God that I trust all this stuff to Him. It's breaking the rhythm of the ongoing pressure of the workdays and ministry to step back and just rest and enjoy the simple pleasures God has given you in life.

Today I enjoyed a few hours with my daughter. We pretty much just goofed around. She danced with her oversized Elmo stuffed animal and I did my best to appear as though I had some sort of rhythm (which I have none of). I rolled around on the floor cooing with my 10 month old. I watched a little of the Packers/Cowboys game with my oldest son and then we spent time doing the dishes together for my wife...yea...he really wanted to help!!! It was a great day and I didn't feel guilty at all for taking it.

I think that's one of the things that has tripped me up in the past. I was so focused on preformance I felt that if I wasn't seen at the office or appear like I put in my time (even though that ranges from 40-50+ hours/week anyway) it was the whole guilt thing. I think...I hope anyway...that I've gotten past that to realize life is much more than about ministry or work, but it's also about resting in the goodness of what God has given...and for me, that's my family.

It's important to break the rhythm of continual workaholism which is rampant in our culture. I've seen and heard a lot about it in ministry, but I'm not sure it's that healthy. My sanity...my health...and the health of my relationship in marriage and with my kids is too important to me. It's something I think overall we need to protect and nurture more carefully.

Why things aren't the same

2007-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Two days ago I experienced Thanksgiving that I thought would be reminiscent of my childhood. For the first time in many years I would be with my dad, sister, grandparents, and great-aunt. It isn't everybody that would've been at a family holiday growing up, but it was the closest thing in years...but it wasn't quite as I remember it in childhood.

What I found is that things have changed...not because of anyone in particular...but because life itself has changed. I now have 3 kids which don't allow for hours and hours of card playing and competition (we were a bunch of card gaming junkies!). Much of the time was spent in some conversation, but mostly interacting with my kids.

The next day was spent at my mom's. After having 'Thanksgiving breakfast' (and it was good) we spent most of the rest of the day...playing with the kids. What made my memories growing up so special was that the older adults spent time with me. It seems weird to me now that we don't spend as much time (as adults) just playing games with each other...but I realized how much fun it was...for everyone...to just hang out with the little ones.

With the stages of life changing my expectations must adjust as well. It just seems strange that my grandfather (now 86) can't shoot baskets anymore like when I was a kid (and he was in his 60's). Childhood does something mysterious in all of us. For those who have grown past it childhood points to a time gone past. For those experiencing it they are pushed by culture to move by it. I believe it is a high calling to help our kids enjoy being kids. It reminds us of how simple life CAN be...and perhaps should be. Far too often we make it complex, and let's face it, we know how to sap the fun out of everything by taking it too serious. But not kids. They remind us of the innocense of life.

The next time you're with your kids...or someone else's...don't get frustrated for how un-adult they are. Rejoice in how un-adult they make you feel. Children breed hope for the future and rekindle the simple joy of life.

For these things I give thanks...

2007-11-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

...for children who demonstrate childlike enjoyment of little things
...for a wife who is unconditional in her love and unwaivering in her support
...for a community of faith that does their best to live like Jesus
...for a modest home filled with memories of my family
...for parents who did their best to raise me in following Jesus
...for health and the ability to enjoy small things...walks...laughter...and the taste of good
food
...for provision of those things we need, and the priviledge to live without excess
...for friends in the journey of faith who struggle with me in the unknown of it all
...for joy
...for healing
...for change of heart and character and a God whose changes with gentleness and
compassion...thank you that your kindness leads to repentance
...for the opportunity to love and serve others and to learn from their life circumstance
...for Father
...for Son
...for Holy Spirit

To anyone reading, have a blessed day of Thanksgiving. I join you in thanking the Maker of it all!

Writings on a Mantle

2007-11-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

His deeds are his monument

His life our inspiration

I read these words on a mantle with the portrait of Milton Hershey hanging above. It was in the context of the Greater Hershey Prayer Breakfast. I was there leading worship and one of my singers drew my attention to it after our time of congregational singing was over. To me they can be readily and more powerfully applied to the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

I Need You

2007-11-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

I need your help to stay the course. When one is confronted with the issues I've seen just over the last week...of poverty and incarcerations...your view of life changes. As you continue to think about the larger world and the overwhelming need you begin to think differently about your life. But...

Have you ever been on a missions trip? Ever went to a different country and been impacted by what you've seen? When you come home, something stirs in you for a bit...but then where does it go? The people you share it with don't quite understand it, although they enjoy hearing how God's worked in your life...but they don't identify. Getting the picture...?

To live more justly, then, requires more than you. In a way it requires a community. It takes people challenging you...spurring you on...identifying with you. I think one of the biggest cripplers out there to changing living habits in the areas of justice is the lack of identification and conversation: we're islands somewhat. What I need are people who I can share similar experiences, convictions, longings with. The synergy created there drives me to keep on.

I'm grateful for a few folks to do that with...although I don't see them often enough. They are relatives and fellow pastors and friends. The point is this journey gets bewildering at times, and it's necessary for us to have folks to live and think justly with.

Feeding the Hungry

2007-11-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

Over the past two weeks our church has been collecting food for a sister church of ours in the Brethren in Christ church, Harrisburg BIC. They are located downtown and have a food pantry servicing the impoverished in downtown Harrisburg. Normally we have a food collection Sunday the first Sunday of the month. However, the last time our folks were down there they were having to turn people away because of the lack of food, so one of our folks felt the need to do something more and to make the need well known.

Today we took three carloads full of food over to their food pantry. The response from our folks was amazing. I had the privilege of stocking the empty shelves at the food pantry. At one point I was almost in tears. I was thinking about how I have a great dinner each night (my wife's a GREAT cook!!!). My kids (at least two) have all the diapers they need. We have the ability to brush our teeth every night. I'm looking at these shelves realizing 40 families depend on help from this pantry.

Oftentimes those of us who aren't in those situations of need feel guilty for where we are. Let me encourage you, the guilt is not necessary. It's self imposed. Don't feel bad about what you have. However, you must realize that what you have is not all yours. You have the ability to give not only out of your abundance but you have the privilege of giving in sacrifice. So you give up a Starbucks coffee a week (or perhaps a day) to provide some food...or something to that effect.

The temptation for us in affluent suburbia is to give without it making us think and change our own lifestyle. Because someone lives in poverty changes how I live. It changes my attitude. It changes how I spend my money. It changes how I look at my house (not having to keep up with the Jones' so much). Giving is one thing, but allowing the giving to change you is another...and I think this is what must happen in each of us as we think we're 'helping' others.

We may never meet the people we help. They may never meet us. But the action of giving should somehow change both the one who gives and the one who receives.

Christendom Falling: A Call to Serve

2007-11-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Last post explored the history (in a very brief and broad way) of the rise of Christendom. Now I would like to move on to what I think this may mean and where opportunity may arise for followers of Jesus.

Because Christendom allowed us to freely operate followers of Jesus over time became more and more socially acceptable. What happened in the early centuries of the church where Jesus' followers were subversive, underground, and radical slowly became more and more acceptable. This has a direct impact on how our faith is lived out in our present day situation.

Perhaps the greatest challenge is that of power. With the rise of Christendom and its influences the otherwise socially powerless church all of the sudden had the backing and power of the state. We currently live in a situation where we experience religious freedom (of which I'm grateful). However, the growing church (in the early centuries and currently in the persecuted church) did not...and does not have that power. What we've lost in our acquiring of power and continual search for 'religious rights' here in America is the church's call to serve.

This is mainly what Jesus is calling us to in the gospels, is it not? We are called to serve others. We're not called to either wield nor seek power, but to become 'powerless' in order to serve our fellow man. It it through this service that we demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Power fails to bring people to a true knowledge of the gospel because it is not offered, it seems forced. However, when you see the opportunity and call to serve other people those you serve are left speechless because of your good works (off-quoting Peter here).

If we see this time as a time when churches are losing their power (political, social, etc) then instead of grumbling to get it back we should be challenged to see it as a great opportunity to become the last...to serve.

A Look at Christendom

2007-10-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

Many of us see the term Christendom and wonder what on earth it is, so let me give you a brief definition, some history, and begin a series of posts on how an understanding of it impacts the current state of the church and how we understand our faith.

A definition: "Christendom" is the name given to the religious culture that dominated Western society since the fourth century (from Michael Frost's book, Exiles)." Now, let me add a little bit to that. A way to understand Christendom is to understand Christianity as a state religion. Often many people see the United States as this way, but it goes back long before our country was even a thought.

When Jesus died there was a period of a few hundred years where there was great persecution of the early church. People were crucified, tortured, and killed for their faith. Christianity, in short, was not an acceptable religion by the larger culture's standards. It was subversive, revolutionary, and controversial. People died for their belief in Jesus Christ.

About 400 A.D. Constantine came to the throne of the Roman empire. I'm not a history buff, so I'm not sure of all the reasoning, but in short he made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. What used to be subversive, illegal, and revolutionary was now socially acceptable (expected) and the norm of the state. It became the state religion. Interestingly enough prior to Christianity being a state religion there was no participation of Christians in the military, but with the 'legalization' of Christianity the military was now full of Christians. Things changed drastically for the Christian faith.

That paradigm of Christendom where Christianity was a state religion has carried us up until recent history. Current writers such as Michael Frost and Gregory Boyd critique the current American situation and call it a post-Christian culture, and I would tend to agree. The age where the church was the central social gathering place and where the church was all seen to vote one way, etc...those days are gone, and I think it's for the better. What Christendom has done is make us socially acceptable. There is little to no need to be radical and subversive in a culture that accepts your religion as the religion. Where we are at now is a place where Christianity, by and large, is no longer the acceptable religious norm of our country.

The Christian faith was never supposed to be or intended to be taken over by any nationality. If you remember the words of Paul he said there was no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female...but all are one in Christ Jesus. If you look at the history of the Old Testament you see that Israel was condemned by Jesus for their nationalistic attitude as if they were a nation blessed above all others. They were blessed in order to be a light to the nations...set apart...not exclusive. This is what happens in state endorsed religion...it becomes exclusive.

Our current state of affairs, I believe likes us to that of the writings of the prophets and the early church when they were no longer socially acceptable but lived in exile (Walter Bruegammen and Michael Frost are great reads for this belief). It is a privilege to live in exile. Living in exile is nomadic in a sense. You don't conform to the culture that surrounds you but you live in distinct and Jesus like ways to demonstrate another Kingdom...that of the Kingdom of God.

This is our current situation. There is no need to wish for the days of old when everyone loved the Christian faith because I'm not sure it was the greatest representation of the subversive and radical ministry of Jesus we're called to follow. We're in a new situation where we're no longer the acceptable norm of religion, and that is good. It calls us to live the life Jesus commanded us to live in new and invigorating ways.

We'll continue to look at the affect of Christendom in the next few posts.

A Poem

2007-10-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

What is, therefore, the task of the preacher (or the church) today?
Shall I answer: "Faith, hope, and love"?
That sounds beautiful.
But I would say - Courage.
No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth.
Our task today is recklessness.
For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature,
we lack holy rage.
The recklessness that comes from the knowledge of God and humanity.
The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets...
and when the lie rages across the face of the earth -
a holy anger about things that are wrong in the world.
To rage against the ravaging of God's earth,
and the destruction of God's world.
To Rage when little children must die of hunger,
when the tables of the rich are sagging with food.
To rage at the senseless killing of so many,
and against the madness of militaries.
To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction - Peace.
To rage against complacency.
To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change
human history until it conforms with the norms of the Kingdom of God.
And remember the signs of the Christian church have always been -
the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish...
but never the chameleon.

Danish pastor Kaj Munk

There is much of me that echoes with this. There is a lot of frustration as I deal with myself personally in ways I have become more like this kingdom and bought into our affluent culture's terms of success and how things ought to be. Bigger is not always better. Wealth is not always positive. More doesn't make things easier. The list could go on.

I am continually challenged to live the way Jesus did in opposition to the culture of his day. He upset the paradigms of social construction and called the outcasts to himself while rejecting the religious and pious. I continually struggle with my own sense of how to live and how the people of the church must live. Jesus showed us a better way. It was a way that was completely against our own sensibilities, but it was a way that drew the outsider. He did not cast stones at what was wrong with the world, but chose to demonstrate to the world and those in it a way that was different than that kingdom...the way of the Kingdom.

I would suggest we call into question...pray about...seek Scripture's guidance...on each way we've chameleoned to our culture. So how do you think about money? The environment? How you spend your time? What about relationships? Your job? Media? Etc? Instead of thoughtlessly absorbing these things I think Jesus gives us some direction of how to be life giving in a way that doesn't cast stones at those who are absorbed in the culture, but in a way that shows them a different path...the one less traveled.

In closing I must admit this journey is not even close to easy. In some ways I'm scared. What exactly will have to change in me, my life, how I think, and how I do things? In what ways do I have to give up control in order to live a life of faith? There is a radical nature to all of this and it's not very palatable. However, I believe as it's embraced the life of God enters into us restoring us in such a way that our holiness (being set apart) is a light to all.

Wasn't that the hope for Israel and the church anyway?

God's Not So Scary

2007-10-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

There's a little story in the book of Matthew where a few disciples have a chance to be with God the Father and Jesus the Son at the same time. They're standing on a mountain when this happens and the commentary reads like this:

"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high
mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the
sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them
Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus...While Peter was still speaking a bright cloud
enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him
I am well pleased. Listen to him! When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to
the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. 'Get up', he said. 'Do not be
afraid.' When they got up they saw no one except Jesus." Matthew 17:1-8

The reaction of the disciples to the voice and presence of God is reminiscent of the reaction of the Israelites in the Old Testament when they encountered the awesome presence of God. When I think back to God's revelation of Himself in the Old Testament it seems scary. There is an awesomeness to it. There is a sense of otherness. In God's effort to communicate with humanity he kind of freaks them out. I would suggest this doesn't have so much to do with God being frightening in the sense where the God of the Old Testament is the big finger in the sky pointing at us when we do wrong. Instead I would suggest God is desiring to reveal himself to us, but that revelation is too awesome for us to bear. The glory of God (which literally fills all the earth) is revealed at different times and places in scripture and people can't handle it. In God's attempt to be with Israel there is still a separation.

Enter Jesus.

The disciples standing on the mountaintop are freaked out. They fall to the ground...faces hitting the dirt...and then Jesus approaches them and tells them not to be afraid. Jesus is the divine connection with humanity that makes connection with God the Father possible and perhaps we could say more comfortable. When Jesus is saying 'When you see me, you see the Father' he's telling us that the God who reveals himself is such awesome ways has become one of us...to empathize with us...to learn and live our lives and what they're like. Jesus still possesses the awesome qualities of God, but he is a living, breathing person who translates that awesome character in a way we can understand and relate to. Jesus doesn't replace the awesome nature of the Father, but the Father sends Jesus to us as a further effort to be personable with humanity and to restore the intimacy lost at the Fall.

An off the cuff thought, but what does that say for the oft quoted verse on salvation that Jesus gives when He says 'no one can come to the Father but by me.' Could this be as much a reference to God the Father's continuing revelation of Himself? You can't know the true nature of the Father unless you first know me...because Jesus is God revealing His nature, character, heart, etc in a way we can understand and relate to.

One Village Coffee

2007-10-16T08:10:00.001-07:00

Friends -If you didn't know, my sister and brother in law have ventured out into the business world to produce coffee, but not just any coffee, coffee with a mission. They forwarded me this link from Relevant magazine's blog and you should check it out. They are great people with a heart for people and the Kingdom. They're doing Kingdom work in a radically different way. Check out Relevant's blog here or visit their site at www.onevillagecoffee.com

Peace

Saturation Readings

2007-10-13T03:01:00.000-07:00

"They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." - John 17: 16

There is a thought of hope as I read this short statement of Jesus in light of what is to come in the way of the cross. He describes the disciples as not of the world, yet in a little while they will disperse in fear of the world...Peter will deny relationship with Jesus three times and the other disciples will scatter. So even though Jesus says this in His prayer the stark reality is they have some fear of the world around them...they're still attached.

This gives me hope, however, because this is what Jesus is seeing in them. They may desert in a few days, but he sees beyond their actions into their hearts and how they will be forever changed by the resurrection and giving of the Holy Spirit. At some point these 12 (11) guys will be about proclaiming a message of a greater Kingdom. So Jesus sees past the immediate actions of betrayal to the fear of this world to something deeper and something greater.

The second thought in these few words of Jesus is that being not of the world is identifying deeply with Christ. It does not dismiss the importance of being in the world, but it emphasizes it. Creator God makes Himself known through Jesus the Son...a living, breathing, visible, able to touch and hear person. God made himself man in a way so he could communicate his character, holiness, and nature to us. So there is a great emphasis on the importance of being in this world while yet being about something far beyond this world as we know it.

Jesus is praying for deep work in his disciples' hearts that will move them from the fear of the dispersion of the cross and hiding in the upper room to the boldness of the Spirit given to them in the beginnings of Acts. There is a movement and greater understanding among the disciples as Jesus reveals himself in the resurrection and gives His Spirit their call to live out the world of the Kingdom of God in this world of fallen humanity. It is a call to hope that we too can somehow, amidst our attachments and fears if we live something other than those around us, that we too can live in this world yet not be so attached here.

Check this out...

2007-10-13T02:19:00.000-07:00

A prof of mine from Biblical seminary has a blog with some great thoughts. Check this one out on The Mission of God. Here's a brief exerpt:

Here’s my 3 core statements that describe our part of the mission:
a. to glorify God and enjoy him forever in the kingdom of heaven, first here on earth
and then fully in heaven.
b. to extend the kingdom boundaries (a la Ezekiel 47) in order to participate in the
healing of the nations through reconciling, binding up, loosing, feeding, clothing, and
preaching the new good news.
c. to live righteously in exile (Jeremiah 29) for the benefit of all peoples (for their
peace and comfort) and as lights shining on a hill giving glory to God (Matthew 5:14)

GodSoaked World

2007-10-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Are you ever really satisfied with your faith? Is it ever enough or are you left wanting for more? I'm not satisfied, and yes...I'm left wanting for more. Every bit God reveals of himself leaves me in want for more. I don't want to stay where I am. The pieces of revelation I'm graced with are not enough. I want more of God.

Many of us feel inadequate in our faith in Jesus and we're left to saying "I should really pray more" or "I should really read the Bible" or whatever...and those are good things. But the fact of the matter is that God is constantly around us, ready to be observed in every great and every small thing. Laughter is a grace of God and exemplifies His presence. Love is the same. The relationship you have with your husband or wife is a blessing of God and on it his Presence rests. People possess divine attributes. Nature in all its beauty cries out the glory of God. The fact is that God is rarely if ever absent, but we are the ones who are so.

So raise your awareness of the presence of God. Let your thirst grow. As you experience and witness the greatness of Him let it cause you to look for more. Wherever you are reading this right now...look around...where's God? How do you see Him, hear Him, and witness Him? As the psalmist says, "Where can I flee from your presence?"

A Prayer

2007-10-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

God Answers Prayer -
Not always as we want Him to...

I asked for knowledge
-power to control things;
I was granted understanding
- to learn to love persons.
I asked for strength to be a great man;
I was made weak to become a better man.
I asked for wealth to make friends;
I became poor, to keep friends.
I asked for all things to enjoy life;
I was granted all life, to enjoy things.
I cried for pity; I was offered sympathy.
I craved for healing of my own disorders;
I received insight into another's suffering.
I prayed to God for safety
-to tread the trodden path;
I was granted danger
-to lose track and find the Way.
I got nothing that I prayed for;
I am among all men, richly blessed.

Author Unknown

Justice in the Burbs pt.2

2007-10-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

I've just finished Wil and Lisa Sampson's book, Justice in the Burbs. The final pages brought tears to my eyes as I realize the challenge before me as a husband, father, pastor, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Issues of justice abound all around us. I wonder if sometimes we don't address them because of their overwhelming nature. I think that's the part that brings me to tears. This life entails suffering. The work of our lives for the Kingdom will not alleviate the suffering factor. It may bring healing in some cases, but just as in the cases of those in Hebrews 11 it seems as though we work for a place that will not exist this side of eternity. However, that doesn't mean we don't seek it, live for it, and work for it with everything we have.

I'm making lifestyle choices. I want to live differently because I want to live justly. To live like Christ challenges the fabric of my being which is so ingrained with our present day situation of 'stuff' and personal securities. Think about it, how many relationships don't we have because they'll cost too much or because they're too inconvenient? Have to protect ourselves, right? How much of our personal resources are tied up because we're too far in debt to give anything away to those in need? Living justly requires a shift in thinking. I've begun and I hope you will too. From what I've experienced, living without is much more life-giving than living in so much excess. Blessings on a journey I hope you will take.

Faith Without Rights

2007-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-22T17:59:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-17T04:05:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-09-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-10T18:31:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-10T03:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

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!

Holiness at the Job

2007-08-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

I was reading Luke today, and I came across John the Baptist's message. After he delivers a message of the Kingdom the exchange with the crowd goes something like this:

"What should we do then? the crowd asked.
John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and
anyone who has food should do the same."
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. "Teacher" they asked, "what should we do?"
Don't collect any more than you are required to" he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your
pay."

With each person that asks the question, "What should we do?" John answers back with something that has to do with the faults of their practice. The rich want to acquire more. Those with food are ignorant of those without. Soldiers extorted money because of poor pay. There are ethical implications of how we live our life based on the message of the gospel.

Two thoughts. First, what is your occupation, and what is said of the people in your occupation? In what ways can you counteract this to be faithful to the message of the Kingdom. For example (sorry car dealers), but a used car salesman is thought of to be slick and dishonest. How would they work differently based upon Kingdom ethics and the character of God, which we are to all reflect.

Second thought...what are the ways you need to be more Kingdom of God oriented in your vocation? Where are the areas you've bought into the system of how your company does things that is anti-character of God? How do you treat employees? How are people paid? How are profits made (at the expense of others)? How do you get ahead? How do you keep bosses thinking you're productive? Etc...

I'm thinking about this in my own vocation? What is the great accusation against pastors? And then second, in what ways do I have to change in my work to better reflect the character of God? Yes, pastors have to do this too!

Holiness, pt. 1

2007-08-29T13:19:00.001-07:00

I'm not talking about piety. I'm not talking about works in a way that leads us to be justified before God either...although working is a part. What I'm talking about is holiness as a reflection of who God is.

I'm currently reading Called to Be Holy by John Oswalt. It's for our denominations credentialing process, but I'm finding it very helpful. Not quite through, but what struck me as I was reading so far was how our call to be holy is not necessarily a sense of being set apart. This is what I had interpreted to be before. We are God's and therefore we are set apart. However, it has to do with much more than just a state of being set apart. It has to do with how our character reflects that of God.

Leviticus 19 is an entire chapter devoted to holiness and what it means. You know what some of the things that describe holiness are? What do you think...prayer? Meditation? Reading the Torah (still being written at that time)? No. It's honor your parents. It's not taking advantage of people. It's giving your workers the wages they are due. It has to do with character.

So when God initiates the effort to bring himself to us...to bring us salvation...it is more than just salvation as we think. He wants us to represent. He wants us to reflect His character and the things He's about. We change. We become more like Him. That's why it's so important to me as I read the pages of Scripture to look for the character of God. What's He like? That question then defines my pursuits of what I need to be like. God must work through me...refine me...to be more like him.

Take a read of Leviticus 19 and think of how you think of holiness. It'll challenge your character.

A Prayer

2007-08-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

"God of justice, God of mercy, bless all those who are surprised with pain this day from suffering caused by their own weakness or that of others. Let what we suffer teach us to be merciful; let our sins teach us to forgive. This we ask through the intercession of Jesus. Amen.

Baptisms...

2007-08-27T05:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was fantastic at New Hope as we were able to baptize 8 individuals. There was one of those baptized who gave a remarkable testimony. It was one of those time/days/services where you just sensed the presence of God in everything.

On a comical note, our dear pastor missed the last step in the baptistry and took a little tumble into the water. I've threatened to put it on YouTube, although it's not there yet!!!

Today the entire family is recovering from the flu we got mid-day yesterday...the reason why I'm a little inactive at writing right now.

Lightening, Thunder, and War

2007-08-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

I was putting my youngest son, Christian, to bed tonight in the midst of a major thunderstorm. I'm talking about the type of thunderstorm where the lightning strikes and mili-seconds later there a a crash that shakes the house. I was sitting there trying to comfort him and put him to bed, and I got to thinking about those in war torn countries.

For me the explosion sounds around me were just from lightening and thunder, but there are many places throughout the world where the sound of explosions are a daily and sometimes even more frequent occurance as a result of war and sectarian violence. People live in fear for their lives, not knowing if the next explosion might be a little closer to home. Much like the inability to control where lightening crashes, they have no ability to control the chaotic state of affairs around them.

There is no resolve here, just in a very small sense a small insight into the fear so many in our world live in. I cannot imagine living in such a war torn state, but yet many of our brothers and sisters live it daily.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."
Jesus in the gospel of Matthew

Justice in the Burbs

2007-08-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

"In most human languages the New Testament word dikaios is always translated 'justice,' but in English, translators often choose to translate dikaios as the word 'righteousness.'"

Problem? Perhaps. When we read the word righteousness in the Bible we immediately think of something that has to do with us...some sort of spiritual state or worth that comes from what we do. A good word to sum it up is perhaps the word piety. However, when you think of the word justice, you think of something entirely different. You think of justice having to do with others. It's a mother being able to have enough food for a newborn child. It's people having homes rather than living in the streets. It doesn't only have to do with people getting what they deserve from the justice system (although that is a part), but it is basic human rights being met. It is us being unsatisfied with the lack of people being human, being treated as human, and being able to live as God created them to live as a human being.

As you read the Bible and see the word "righteousness" I encourage you to look at how it infers justice. Listen to the following excerpt from The Justice Creed:
...God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice...
...And God's kingdom belongs to those willing to be persecuted for the sake of justice...
...The justice God desires, which he taught, must surpass that of the hypocrites...
...We believe the Holy Spirit is here now, convicting the world of sin and injustice...
- From Brian Mclaren
Justice in the Burbs p. 30

Our Newest Addition

2007-08-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Little Jacob has joined our family!!! Never would have I imagined us with four kids, but we have em'! Well, I have to be honest, he's not completely ours. He's our nephew. Ruby's sister just moved next door (which Rube's totally stoked about). We're taking care of Jacob while she works, so we have him 40 or so hours a week. I love the little guy! He has a great personality and eats a ton. He's a year and a half old, so that gives us a 4, 2, 1.5, and .5 year old kids running around the house. The first day was today and it went well. It puts a totally new definition to teamwork in marriage. I'm proud of Rube. She did excellent today with all the kids by herself and we did well working together tonight. Just thought I'd bring you everyone up to speed!!!

Airplane Conversations, pt 4

2007-08-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

So at what point should I have beat my newfound friend over the head with the Bible telling her that she has to make a decision for Jesus right then, or else?...

I was very comfortable not doing so. My views on evangelism are changing a bit. The good ol' traditional evangelical evangelism would have been confronting her with her future and the possibility of our plane going down. Where would she be going? Heaven? Hell?

I see it differently. I didn't share before, but Ruby and I had changed seating assignments right before entering the plane. We got placed beside Caroline. My view on the whole thing, and what makes it much MORE comfortable for me to begin a coversation in the first place is the chance that I may have an opportunity to be someone in Caroline's journey. I may not force her to ask the question outright by my asking the 'saved' question, but I think what I did is far more significant. It's a conversation that enlightened her to the fact that all Christians weren't biggots or regimented in their beliefs. I know the conversation I had impacted me as it made me to think more deeply about my faith, and I believe it made her do the same.

I think often we (Christians) try to play God. We save the person. It's what we say that makes or breaks whether a person accepts Christ into their lives. Did we use the right language? Did we phrase the question the right way? How many of you have ever heard someone say, "Wow, after he asked me the question that way...that's what convinced me?" Who made us God? If we are so fortunate, God gives us the ability (like with Caroline) to speak into the lives of people and help them in their journey, but at no time are we the ones that save. That's God's job.

So for all you who are PETRIFIED of talking to people about Jesus...don't be. Don't think of it in terms of decision, think of it in terms of journey. For a moment in time you are able to share the relevency of Christ to the person. From that point on, it's the Spirit's job. Feel relieved? I know I do. Some may think I don't care about the eternity of the person by not posing the salvation question. I beg to differ. It's precisely because I do care about the eternity of a person that I do not feel forced to do so. I would much rather present the beauty of Jesus and the relevency He gives for this life rather than begin an uncomfortable conversation trying to convince someone of something they're not convinced they need. If they're not ready they get defensive and it turns into a debate.

People aren't projects...they're creation...God's creation. Treat them as such. Don't treat them as someone to win, but treat them as someone God loves. Show them God's love. Show them you care about their viewpoint, even if you don't agree. Jesus becomes much more convincing when He's represented in a way that isn't damning...when he's represented in a way that just wants to enter a plane, sit next to someone, and have a conversation about life.

Airplane Conversations, pt 3

2007-08-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Caroline had an interesting view of Jesus as well. He was a good man with an houra around him, but was there a necessity for Him to be God? Couldn't he just have been influential then? I shared with her why I believed there was a necessity for Him to be God, from a very redemptive standpoint. She then shared her belief there was no hell...therefore no need for redemption. She shared the Mormons believed hell was just living eternally in the absence of God. I couldn't agree more.

In the here and now, in this world, we live in a great tension. This place is run by Satan (as many New Testament writers and Jesus himself describes) yet there are so many elements of God's hand all around us. Some describe this place as hell, others as a fallen heaven. Both are correct. It is hell in that it is the absence of the full presence of God. It is a fallen version of heaven because heaven will be a redemption of earth...a new heavens and a new earth. So currently we have previews, although very limited, of both.

What Caroline describes as an eternity absent from the presence of God is for me the definition of hell. Hell is the result of the rejection of Jesus and His mission and its consequence is living in the absence of the presence of God. Where there is no presence of God there is hell. I'm not sure if we (or I for that matter) understand the significance of God's presence here and now. It is what is sustaining things and holding everything together (I don't have my Bible on me, otherwise I would reference that one :-). Without the presence of God, this place would be mass chaos.

We live in a time where miraculously there are glimpses of God everywhere. Why? In order to redeem. God is present here and now in order to redeem. When final redemption takes place we will live in the presence of God forever. Redemption will be final. The place described as hell will be void of God's presence and redeeming work, for redemption will be done. All that to say I believe the easiest definition of hell is what my seat-mate said: living in the absence of the presence of God.

Airplane Conversations, pt 2

2007-08-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

One of the main reasons Caroline was so disgusted by religion in general was because of the use of power, force, and violence in the name of religion. I agree with her. Who can get away from the Crusades, the murdering and deception of Native Americans, the African Slave Trade? You can't. Even the current conflict in Iraq has religious undertones on both sides with the religious right sanctifying this as a holy war, hunting down the terrorists until we kill them all (kind of sounds like the mantra of the Taliban and Muslim fighters too, doesn't it...the only difference is we think ours is the RIGHT side).

Therein lies my conflict, and increasingly so as I continue reading Greg Boyd's book, The Myth of a Christian Nation. Both sides in the current conflict claim their own sense of righteousness, but I don't believe either side is correct. Neither have to do with the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is NOT, let me repeat, NOT perpetuated by violence and the use of force (I'm very much identifying myself with my Anabaptist roots here). It is to be perpetuated by SERVICE and LOVE. Any other way of thinking you're spreading the Kingdom of God is contrary to the example of Jesus.

I resonate with Caroline at the disgusting use of force and violence throughout Christian history, even into the present. What would happen if we as the church would be leaders by example, serving and loving those opposed to us: the pro-choicers, the gay rights leaders, or anyone else who holds a less than conservative political view? In my opinion I don't think viloent opposition works. I don't think slander works. I think Jesus works. I think love works. I think treating people as though they were made by God, just like us...I think that works.

But we want results, and results most of the time come from forcing an opinion or way of thinking or way of doing things upon others. We live in that type of imperialistic culture, and it's not only our government...it's the corporations, and it's even the church. Believe now or go to hell! Kind of sounds like the cry of the Crusaders who gave their opponent a moment to choose God or else they would be killed.

See, Jesus, in every sense of the way we understand victory these days...he lost. He was killed. His followers were on the run. But it was through death and sacrifice people witnessed love. There is a story of the Black Plague where it was the Christians who went back into evacuated villages to care for those with the plague. They all died, but they died with those in need. In part, how did the Roman empire fall? A fire caused by Nero was blamed on the Christians. The Christians were therefore persecuted to great lengths...too much so. Nero's persecution of the Christians was what led to his downfall, because it was so extreme. Kind of poetic though, isn't it? The Pharisees wanted the fall of the Roman empire, and it came at the hands of Christians dying.

All this to say I believe the way we 'win the world', or perhaps in better terms...the way the Kingdom comes...is not by us forcing ourselves on others, but by us loving and serving (and sometimes dying) for them. It's subversive. It's Christlike.

Airplane Conversations, pt 1

2007-08-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Fascinating, absolutely fascinating conversation with a lady on our plane ride from Atlanta to San Diego. My attention was caught when I saw her reading a copy of the Dead Sea Scrolls...not the whole thing, but a rather thick informational piece that you would pick up from a museum or something. Out of curiosity I asked her what she was reading and why. I was suprised at her answer. She was reading just for history's sake, to learn about the Scrolls as she has been to Israel a few times. She was planning on going to see the display of the Scrolls which is now in her hometown of San Diego. This woman worked in Foreign Service and with the US government, sitting with top senators such as John McCain. We had a fascinating discussion about God and politics. Funny enough I'm sitting there reading Gregory Boyd's book, The Myth of a Christian Nation: Why the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church. She herself was raised a Mormon but was adamate about her newfound freedom away from religion. So here begins a series of posts regarding our conversation.

From the beginning she was very upfront that the freedom came from not being a part of a judgmental, constricted religion. Being raised Mormon she was very exposed to the rigidness of what much of religion is. Of course she found freedom in it. I actually find freedom in it as well, but in the context of being a part of the Christian faith without buying into, and being vocal and active against, any sort of religion that dictates peoples lives. A word on this...

My faith guides every part of my life, but it is God who guides me. He does it out of love, and many times He lets me fall on my face to expose the destructive nature of the way I'm choosing to go. He doesn't domineer me, but He loves me through (after all, it's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance). Reading Boyd has helped greatly in this insight of religions (including our own) that attempt to exert power over others. Perhaps because of lack of faith in the guidance of God and the conviction and guidance of the Spirit we who are a part of religion feel it's necessary to shape people into our mold. They must look and act like us. They must believe the same doctrine. Religion then becomes about conformity and less about service.

I realize some may then say there is a slippery slope you go down if you don't have the mold to live by. Perhaps. But are we taking too much responsibility trying to shape people into it rather than teaching them how to be shaped by God's Spirit? I think we place so much emphasis on our exertion of what we think is right that we don't allow people the freedom to explore faith the way the disciples did...over a period of years walking with God in the flesh.

So as I sit there listening to Caroline I'm thinking, "We're not really that far apart." Both of us see the constriction religion places upon its followers. As I shared with her, I've found freedom in following the Jesus of the gospels, who was very anti-establishment and very organic in loving people. If we did more of the loving and left the timing and formation up more up to the work of the Holy Spirit I believe there would be fresh hope for our faith and a newfound appreciation of the teachings of Jesus.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!!!

2007-08-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

This is our oldest, Conner. He turns 4 today, Tuesday, August 7th. He's one of the sweetest kids I've ever met, and while I'm a little biased it's the truth. He's our big man around the house, always looking out for his little sister and brother. This little guy can pitch a 26 mph fastball right into the catchers mit (it's been clocked already!) and has a swing that will someday hopefully rival Barry Bonds. I love my kids. each one has a special place in my heart...Conner because he was our first but also because of who he is. Love ya buggie!

Finishing the Trifecta!

2007-08-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's done. My first official 'sermon series' of my ministry career (notice the sarcasm)! All in all, it went very well. God was good, and He taught me a good bit. I think about the call of ministry and I see how HUGE it is. I have the responsibility of teaching 300+ people the words of God. How I interpret things is what they'll hear. It's an amazing responsibility, but it's so exciting. I'm part of an incredible church that is eager to get to work. To help teach them and mobilize them is a great privilege. Not too much to say, just that I'm glad for the opportunity, for the call, for the faithfulness of God, and for an amazing faith community to be a part of. Love ya New Hope!

Bearers of the Message

2007-08-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

"Bearers - not exclusive beneficiaries. There lay the constant temptation. Again and again it had to be said that election is for responsibility, not for privilege." L. Newbigin

I don't want to get off on the track of election and predestination, but rather responsibility. A guy said to me on Sunday after service something to the effect "I leave feeling bad (not his exact words)"...but then he corrected himself and he said "maybe not bad, responsible." I believe that's the bottom line for us as followers of Jesus: responsibility.

The gospel has been narrowly defined through a salvation that addresses on eternity, but not the present. As I grew up I understood salvation to mean heaven and hell, but as I go on reading the Bible and reading what fellow contemporaries are saying I believe salvation is much more than escapism, but it's new responsibility. It's a responsibility for us to be a part of the Kingdom here and now. It involves bearing God's image to those who have not seen it or believed it yet. There's a great responsibility.

Responsibility is different from beneficiary, which I believe is largely where the emphasis has been placed. Beneficiary looks at what is in it for me. It looks at how it effects me. In a way it's selfish, because it is so self-focused. Responsibility automatically implies action. I must do something now that I have experienced salvation. I must share this redemption with others and I must be a part of God's redeeming plan for the world that was initiated upon the fall, has gone on till present day, and will consummate when Jesus returns again.

Responsibility implies action. Salvation implies action. Jesus exemplifies action.

Therein lies my continued burden for the church - to be a people of action. To build bridges into our communities and to bear the light and life of Christ. It's bigger than going to church, it's about joining in the mission of Jesus. It is this mission I believe people want to be a part of. The mission of the redemption and reconciliation of all things. The more and more the church becomes about this the more I believe people will want to be a part of the church.

Thoughts?

Inch by Inch...

2007-07-31T05:52:00.001-07:00

My mom used to tell me, "Inch by inch, life is a cinch, yard by yard it's very hard." The funny things moms say...

I'm a big picture guy. I see the whole of things and I'm not very good with details. This makes it difficult for me at times because the big picture seems, well, big. In fact, the big picture seems too big. We'll be talking this week about some of the challenges to following what God wants you to do. For me, this is the biggest one of all...the big picture.

The big picture is overwhelming. You see hurt and pain all around you. You see it in your home, your family, your church, your community, on the tele, in your state, in your country, in the world...just to name a few places. Even if I'm willing to serve God, how on earth am I supposed to meet the monstrosity of need that's out there?

Our church staff is holding conversations with our congregation about where they see areas of need in our community. The intriguing thing is how each of the needs fit into some categories...but the overall need is still immense. So how do you do it? How does God do it? This is a little bit of what I feel I'm learning as I see how much the world around me needs reconciled to Christ.

It's done in small ways, by perhaps a lot of people. It's in taking small bites out of a big pie until the pie is eventually gone...not saying we will ever meet all the areas of need around us, but there is much we can do. I'm looking at the big picture and then asking, 'what is it that I can do today?' For example, one of the areas of concern from our Vision nights is helping out single moms. Big picture...overwhelming. But an opportunity may be presenting itself to my wife and I to help out one single mom who's going through a divorce. We're not solving the whole problem, but we're helping one.

So inch by inch it's a cinch...well, maybe it's just more manageable. What about this idea...what about if instead of looking to just a few people to do a majority of the Kingdom work we look to a whole bunch of people to do a little? What do you think would be more effective? I'm grateful that's the direction our church is moving. There's an old saying that says 'We're better together', and I believe there's a lot of truth to it.

What are the one or two things that are small and right before you? What small ways can you make a large impact in someones life as you show on a very real level the love of Christ?

Celebrate Recovery

2007-07-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

Imagine sitting in a small circle confessing the sins of the previous week to a bunch of people you don't know. These aren't just small things either, but these are major issues that you deal with. These are things most people don't know about and if they did they may not talk to you again, or they may not treat you the same anymore. I experienced this a few nights ago at a Celebrate Recovery service.

Celebrate Recovery is a ministry New Hope is looking at getting involved with. It looks to help those struggling with anything from alchohol addictions to sex addictions to self esteem issues. It's a safe place where people come very aware of where they are in life and very honest about their struggles.

The thing that's interesting to me is that this is the mentality Christians in general should hold. If we follow Jesus we first ought to be very aware of our sin and areas of imperfection (Psalm 51...check it out). However this is not even remotely the case nor is it a recognized reality in the church. We're all afraid of people knowing our junk. When I spoke to the gentleman afterward about why they find this type of meeting so helpful it was for this very reason: there was no facade. Facade didn't work there. In fact, I don't believe there's freedom in facade.

Celebrate Recovery comes to grips with the pain. It names it. It's amazing what kind of freedom comes from naming your oppressor. I've known girls who've been abused and raped and their oppressor hangs it over their heads making them afraid. They are fearful to name who wronged them. However, in the cases where the girls muster the courage to do so a weight is lifted. It doesn't solve everything, but it brings the darkness to light and healing can begin.

So I am challenged by this idea of being honest about who we are. What you realize in these meetings is that the people involved don't care what you think about them. They've been to the bottom and realize their need for others and their inability to beat their area(s) of darkness on their own. I wonder how many of us are at the bottom and are afraid to admit it.

A great passage from James 5. It reads, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

Be Careful What You Wish For

2007-07-25T04:21:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder why people stay where they're at? Why is it their life seems to stay the same and why is there very little interest in going beyond what they consider the status quo? I believe I'm getting a glimpse into why as I see what the cost is going to be for me personally to follow God in the way I feel called to and to be a part of a church that is interested and feels called to go beyond the status quo.

First some reasons why people stay the same. Frankly, because it's easier. It's predictable. You know what your routine is and you have something you're comfortable with. By and large you know what's coming, even though there will be small interruptions along the way. In addition, it doesn't take another part of you. Once you've achieved something you've already paid the price for it, but to continue to move forward would continue to cost you...you.

To go beyond is to want more. It is to follow God on a journey of deepening faith because you don't know where it will lead or what part of you it will take next. You aren't sure how you'll be reshaped, but you know you'll have to be in order for it to happen. I'm reminded of the language of Paul in Galatians 2 when he talks about being crucified with Christ. We no longer live, but Christ lives in us. We've been crucified with Him and now we live in this body by faith in the Son of God...who loves us and who likewise has given Himself for us. As we move beyond where we currently are and as we experience the pain of growth and of deepening faith we identify with Christ who underwent the same experience. I'm not sure I've thought of it until now, but as we move beyond the status quo into a foggier journey of deepening faith we somehow identify with Christ.

So is the journey easy, absolutely not. Is it even necessary...I don't believe so. We can follow Jesus with very little cost. But if we want to be a part of the mission of Jesus, to go beyond belief in him to participating in the Kingdom, it is then we identify with a crucified Christ and face the fact this is going to be a hard road, however profitable and worthwhile.

Be careful what you wish for.

Fear and Trembling

2007-07-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

"Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." - a prayer of the early church in Acts 4

I preach today. Every time I do this I'm intimidated by the task but yet comforted in the calling and power of God. My heart each time I am enabled to speak God's word is to move our church in such a direction that witnesses and participates in the signs and wonders of Christ. That's my heart for the Church. I want us to wear the healing message of the gospel with confidence in the God who loves us and gave himself for us. I want us to be impacted by its message, and even more so I pray the impact would lead to us impacting others.

I've been convicted recently to move my faith from belief to praxis. Some may say I practice it weekly just out of what my job entails. Sort of. There's a great part of me that longs to see the gospel play out beyond the Church context. I'm hungry to be a part of that. I'm not sure if I've been in a place where I've seen the signs and wonders. I want more. I want to see God working more. I want to be more deeply involved in it.

Telegraphs and Typewriters, pt 1

2007-07-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

I've been put onto a book that is nearly 40 years old but which has incredible application and challenge for today, especially (thus far) in the context of faith and the church: It is Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a Subversive Activity. In it they are addressing the need for the educational process to change in the late 60's and early 70's because of the increased amount of change happening all around them, especially in regard to technology. There were a few things said in the first chapter, Crap Detecting, I thought to be profound reminders for the Church and especially those who have roles in leading the church.
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"Irrevocable commitment to any religion is not only intellectual suicide; it is positive unfaith because it closes the mind to any new vision of the world...

Defining a fanatic - "...a fanatic is someone who redoubles his efforts when he has forgotten his aim. In this case, even if the aim has not been forgotten, it is simply irrelevant. But the effort has been redoubled anyway."
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The first quote I take obvious issue with at face value as I believe faith not to be intellectual suicide, but intellectual engagement. Where I agree with the authors though is the close mindedness of most church going people to question and explore the faith they've been brought up with. I believe one of the greatest challenges of the Christian faith is to those who've been indoctrinated with it from their youth critically thinking about how they interpreted what they were taught and what sort of Christian worldview was shaped as a result. My challenge is faith must be owned by the person. You see this as college age students go through crisis of faith that leaves them with a personalized and thought out version of what they grew up with. Even when that crisis happens, however, we must never think we've gotten a handle on faith or on how church ought to be done. The false presupposition we can know all of God is deadly, for God is very much mystery, and while we are uncomfortable with mystery I believe faith in Jesus must live out in a certain fog of mystery and be comfortable in the tension of it.

Now to the second point. The Church has become fanatical to a point. I believe this because I see the same methods being used as those used 10, 20, and even 30 years ago. But we preach to a different culture. We relate to a different culture. However, the way we relate to the culture in terms of bringing Jesus to bear on it seems to differ little. Change is one of the most difficult things for the church to do. We vest ourselves into learning the latest methodologies only to find they are outdated. I would argue that we've become fanatics in the ways described above in two ways: first, we've continued with forgetting our aim. Programs can be a temptation toward forgetting why you're doing what you're doing. They provide a false sense of security. I do believe they are necessary, but I also believe in analyzing their effectiveness. Second, our methods have become irrelevant but we're redoubling our efforts at them anyway. So we see things not working (we know the program is now outdated), but instead of asking the 'why' question seeking to find out why they aren't working we ask the 'how' question to discover how we can tweak things to make them work again. It's always easier to do this than do any sort of overhaul.

Life in general presents continuous opportunities for change and growth. Faith does much of the same things. I believe if we look at the gospels Jesus is one to bring about dramatic change to the fanatics of his time, namely the Pharisees. Their methods weren't working. Indoctrination into the way they defined faith was done exclusively, not inclusively. Jesus blows the doors wide open and invites all who are intrigued by this new way of life. They didn't fit the mold, because what the mold looked like and did was changing.

I believe I, and any follower of Christ, is continually called to rethink and reapply Jesus to their culture. I'm not saying the truths of our faith change as much as the communications of that truth must change for the furthering of the Kingdom. I also don't want to condemn the church, but to provoke its thought. It's God's chosen vessel for the message, so I love it, but I love it in such a way I want to see it thrive.

Getting Out

2007-07-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

I had a unique opportunity yesterday to go with my wife, Ruby, and visit a local city youth day camp. I entered the place a little nervous and feeling out of place, but I left with the realization that I had made a connection with the kids.

I'm wondering if most of the inner city youth aren't a bit misrepresented and misunderstood. As Ruby and I drove away I couldn't help but feel what these kids needed was someone to believe in them...someone to sow into their lives...someone to treat them like real people with a purpose and sense of worth. I wanted to be a part of this...I wanted to be a part of making this happen for them.

I'm that type of person. I see a need and I automatically want to try and meet it, even though it isn't all the time possible. Even if I did try I would burn myself out trying to meet all the needs I see. The frequent question I keep asking myself is "what area am I supposed to focus on? Where does God want me to focus my energies in the hurt of the world?" I don't know yet.

I really feel I must be involved in the larger society beyond the church - seeing the needs present there and meeting them with the practicality and hope of the gospel. I feel I need to do this beyond the pastoral role, although this involvement nonetheless impacts that role. I've got a burden to reach people and to be a part of reconciling people to God, but how that plays out yet I'm not sure.

The following verses from Paul encapsulate my heart for myself and the followers of Jesus (the Church) as a whole:

"And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."

Consecration

2007-07-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

"There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory." Exodus 29:42-43

There are two things happening when consecration occurs. First, there is the consecration of the people by God and second, there is a consecration and committment of the people to God. The first has been done and continues to be done by God's own initiative. He does it when he calls Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeas. He's calling and setting apart a people for Himself. He continues to do this throughout the history of Israel and infinitely does this in the Church through Jesus God's Son. As is the character of God, what He established continues. The consecration of a people, His people, that began from the calling of one man continues to the followers of Jesus today...to those who are a part of the Church (the people, not the institution).

The consecration of the people, however, is not as definite. When it comes to the followers of Christ a choice is given to either prepare yourself for the Lord or not prepare yourself. This process of preparation in the Old Testament (and the passage above) took 7 days. It was not flippant but very detailed. Much preparation was made to follow the guidelines set by YHWH. I realize times have changed with the coming of Jesus. With every walk along the history of the Church (Old and New Testaments) I would argue that God makes Himself more accessible - culminating in Christ and in the Spirit being given to the church. However (and I'm speaking personally here) I've been convicted preparation for our weekly gatherings with God has been minimal.

We still hold, in a sense, weekly gatherings around the temple, only now all believers have access to the Holy of Holies. This was previously given to just one man, the High Priest. Now because of Jesus our High Priest we have the ability to enter in to such a sacred space daily as individuals and corporately as the Church. The gatherings of our faith communities are nothing less than entering into the holiest place. This leads me to believe as a church preparations must be made before dawning the doors of our churches. For leadership (myself included) there must be an awesome reverence for such a thing and preparations for us must be very intentional. I must admit, with three kids my Sunday routine would be to get up, showered, dressed, and off to the church...no 'consecrated' time of prayer except a few minutes beforehand. I always felt as if something was missing. It was. It was devoted time preparing for and encounter with the glory of God.

That's what it's about...glory. It's God being revealed in us, around us, and through us.

It's not a simple task. It's not insignificant. It's God. It's us. It's a collision of God's faithful promise and act of his consecrating a people and our act of devotion that bring about God's glory.

God's act...our devotion...His Glory revealed. Amen