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Thursday, April 9, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
My Gospel is NOT a Compromise
There is an interesting conversation emerging in the evangelical world today. The church world wide, but especially in America is going through a massive re-think about what they believe and how they talk about it.
Here is just one of a myriad of examples: http://www.charismamag.com/life/culture/22494-how-the-new-christian-left-is-twisting-the-gospel
First, before I give my thoughts, I want to define terms:
Evangelical - anything that is broadly accepted as right or correct in the MAINSTREAM of the Christian world.
Tolerance - Putting up with another person's view without regard for that person's potential negative impact in the world.
Love - Acting in the best interest of those around me WITHOUT regard for what I get in return.
Affirm - Valuing another person without a necessity to agree with their point of view.
Now that we have this all in place, I want to give a perspective of why I tend to lean into this new conversation with great hope and anticipation for the future on the church.
In short, the church of my parents' generation majored on being "right." And it didn't work.
So, for all those who are beating the truth drum only, I have good news for you. Jesus is truth. He is right. BUT if you don't do what He actually said for you to do the way He said to do it, you are going to lose the voice to teach those things all together.
I read an article years ago by Tony Campolo called Where are all the Liberal Scholars? His simple point was that the church needs the liberal voice. Because without it, we stop thinking. So whomever the Evangelical movement says is okay to listen to, we just buy what they are selling. Whether they buy it or not, whether they are correct or not, whether they align with the agenda of Jesus or not is of absolutely no consequence.
The call of this article was not to agree with the voice of the "liberal" but to value the perspective in conversation so that it helps us with our own doctrinal stands.
The "Theology Police" of the internet have shifted and bifurcated this idea. They want finished truth, resolved journeys and clean understandings of God. The problem is that life doesn't work that way. And the Bible is not written that way. The Bible is written with the goal of tension, not resolution. This is fundamental to the people who wrote the Bible.
This is not a post about the nature of the Scripture. It is a post about how we are avoiding or engaging the present conversation surrounding how to put our God on display to the world. But it does make a few connections to understand that if we look at the Bible as a document that has every point resolved and all truth neatly packaged, we would then try to teach it that way.
But what if God left holes? What if in those holes we are supposed to jump in and see how far down it goes and where else it leads and how that changes how we say what we say?
For the record, God did leave holes. Read Jonah as one of a billion examples. It ends with him on a hill mad at God, and the people of Nineveh repenting. Does Jonah get things together? Do the people of Nineveh fall back? Does God put Jonah in his place? What happens? We don't know. It is unresolved. Just like life. And just like life and the Bible, our theology is not resolved either. And therefore our determination of Christian practice cannot be resolved either - not entirely.
Think of it this way, what part of God do you have TOTALLY figured out? If you answer anything other than "none" I will pray for your pride. We will all admit on the surface that there is more of God to learn concerning every aspect of His character. The problem is that we teach and talk to others as if we have it all figured out. This closed off, dogmatic approach to our discussions about God is not just a "Christian" problem. It is a humility problem.
Maybe we should heed the words of the book we espouse, not just defend our position on it.
1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts, set apart Christ as holy, always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you, YET DO IT WITH GENTLENESS AND RESPECT."
It doesn't say don't have an opinion. And for the record, that is not what the so called "liberal Christian" movement is saying either. you can have an opinion, but share it with gentleness and respect. This would honor Jesus' greatest commandments.
Another passage:
Micah 6:6-8 says,
"With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Here is just one of a myriad of examples: http://www.charismamag.com/life/culture/22494-how-the-new-christian-left-is-twisting-the-gospel
First, before I give my thoughts, I want to define terms:
Evangelical - anything that is broadly accepted as right or correct in the MAINSTREAM of the Christian world.
Tolerance - Putting up with another person's view without regard for that person's potential negative impact in the world.
Love - Acting in the best interest of those around me WITHOUT regard for what I get in return.
Affirm - Valuing another person without a necessity to agree with their point of view.
Now that we have this all in place, I want to give a perspective of why I tend to lean into this new conversation with great hope and anticipation for the future on the church.
In short, the church of my parents' generation majored on being "right." And it didn't work.
So, for all those who are beating the truth drum only, I have good news for you. Jesus is truth. He is right. BUT if you don't do what He actually said for you to do the way He said to do it, you are going to lose the voice to teach those things all together.
I read an article years ago by Tony Campolo called Where are all the Liberal Scholars? His simple point was that the church needs the liberal voice. Because without it, we stop thinking. So whomever the Evangelical movement says is okay to listen to, we just buy what they are selling. Whether they buy it or not, whether they are correct or not, whether they align with the agenda of Jesus or not is of absolutely no consequence.
The call of this article was not to agree with the voice of the "liberal" but to value the perspective in conversation so that it helps us with our own doctrinal stands.
The "Theology Police" of the internet have shifted and bifurcated this idea. They want finished truth, resolved journeys and clean understandings of God. The problem is that life doesn't work that way. And the Bible is not written that way. The Bible is written with the goal of tension, not resolution. This is fundamental to the people who wrote the Bible.
This is not a post about the nature of the Scripture. It is a post about how we are avoiding or engaging the present conversation surrounding how to put our God on display to the world. But it does make a few connections to understand that if we look at the Bible as a document that has every point resolved and all truth neatly packaged, we would then try to teach it that way.
But what if God left holes? What if in those holes we are supposed to jump in and see how far down it goes and where else it leads and how that changes how we say what we say?
For the record, God did leave holes. Read Jonah as one of a billion examples. It ends with him on a hill mad at God, and the people of Nineveh repenting. Does Jonah get things together? Do the people of Nineveh fall back? Does God put Jonah in his place? What happens? We don't know. It is unresolved. Just like life. And just like life and the Bible, our theology is not resolved either. And therefore our determination of Christian practice cannot be resolved either - not entirely.
Think of it this way, what part of God do you have TOTALLY figured out? If you answer anything other than "none" I will pray for your pride. We will all admit on the surface that there is more of God to learn concerning every aspect of His character. The problem is that we teach and talk to others as if we have it all figured out. This closed off, dogmatic approach to our discussions about God is not just a "Christian" problem. It is a humility problem.
Maybe we should heed the words of the book we espouse, not just defend our position on it.
1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts, set apart Christ as holy, always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you, YET DO IT WITH GENTLENESS AND RESPECT."
It doesn't say don't have an opinion. And for the record, that is not what the so called "liberal Christian" movement is saying either. you can have an opinion, but share it with gentleness and respect. This would honor Jesus' greatest commandments.
Another passage:
Micah 6:6-8 says,
"With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
The question here is, "How can I worship God?"
And God says, "Here is how... Act Justly (mishpat - for you word study people), love mercy, and walk humbly with God."
To walk humbly with God means that you present yourself in a posture that says you don't have it all figured out. You have an opinion, but humility says it could be the wrong one.
At the core of this whole larger conversation is a central question about how Jesus would handle the contemporary cultural issues that we are facing. And that truly is the question for the ages.
Here is what I know. The only people that Jesus ever gets mad at are religious people who believe they have it all figured out. People who marginalize other opinions and bypass actually caring about the people that God deeply cares about in the name of truth.
I think that this conversation that is going on in the church is not the "liberal left" of Christianity distorting the Gospel and trying to get us to compromise. I think it is about people who have made it a life pursuit to live out faith in the world through a community called the church. And the church gets in the way of its own success in the name of being right. And so these revolutionaries are forcing the issue of how the church should actually act - not just believe - so that we can actually see God put on display correctly before we worry about being right.
In other words, being Godly is far more important than being right. And being Godly demands that we give other opinions a voice in the conversation. After all, God listens to you, maybe you should try it as well with others. It does not mean that we tolerate the opinion. It does mean that we affirm the person. And that, at its core is an act of love.
I think that the church in America needs to wake up and realize that we are having a one sided conversation on truth and no one is listening. That doesn't make the truth we espouse wrong. It means we need to measure our approach. Or we will lose our voice altogether.
The Gospel of Jesus is the amazing news that the God and creator of the universe took on a fleshly form because He is determined to set you free from the struggle trying to bring peace into your life on your own. This Good News exists because that God is in your corner. He is pulling for your success. He is for you. And He will do whatever it takes to show you how much He loves you. And that is true for the person with an opinion different than yours as well.
Maybe the call to make disciples isn't so much about getting people to believe like I do. Maybe it is more about putting the God of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on display in the world and watching how people respond.
That Gospel is not a compromise. It is an ongoing conversation. It is fluid and mysterious. But it is not a compromise. It is an invitation to freedom and wholeness. It is a message that forces me to value the people I am talking with, not just the topic I am talking about. It is a message that demands that I wrestle with culture and context to always make sure that I am representing this Gospel well, not just being right.
It is a Gospel that values people the same way that our God does. This Gospel is not a compromise. It is an invitation to a better story. Call me liberal if you need to. But this is the Gospel of the Bible. And I will be part of it.
I think that this conversation that is going on in the church is not the "liberal left" of Christianity distorting the Gospel and trying to get us to compromise. I think it is about people who have made it a life pursuit to live out faith in the world through a community called the church. And the church gets in the way of its own success in the name of being right. And so these revolutionaries are forcing the issue of how the church should actually act - not just believe - so that we can actually see God put on display correctly before we worry about being right.
In other words, being Godly is far more important than being right. And being Godly demands that we give other opinions a voice in the conversation. After all, God listens to you, maybe you should try it as well with others. It does not mean that we tolerate the opinion. It does mean that we affirm the person. And that, at its core is an act of love.
I think that the church in America needs to wake up and realize that we are having a one sided conversation on truth and no one is listening. That doesn't make the truth we espouse wrong. It means we need to measure our approach. Or we will lose our voice altogether.
The Gospel of Jesus is the amazing news that the God and creator of the universe took on a fleshly form because He is determined to set you free from the struggle trying to bring peace into your life on your own. This Good News exists because that God is in your corner. He is pulling for your success. He is for you. And He will do whatever it takes to show you how much He loves you. And that is true for the person with an opinion different than yours as well.
Maybe the call to make disciples isn't so much about getting people to believe like I do. Maybe it is more about putting the God of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on display in the world and watching how people respond.
That Gospel is not a compromise. It is an ongoing conversation. It is fluid and mysterious. But it is not a compromise. It is an invitation to freedom and wholeness. It is a message that forces me to value the people I am talking with, not just the topic I am talking about. It is a message that demands that I wrestle with culture and context to always make sure that I am representing this Gospel well, not just being right.
It is a Gospel that values people the same way that our God does. This Gospel is not a compromise. It is an invitation to a better story. Call me liberal if you need to. But this is the Gospel of the Bible. And I will be part of it.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
What the year of the diet is teaching me.
So, here is a funny little series of events...
When our church moved into our building, I was so excited about having a space to function in 24/7. It is beautiful and fits our needs very well.
And it was a management train wreck!
Whole new worlds of decisions, needs, and things that were supposed to work that didn't emerged and we were left to deal with functioning in a space that was less than we had expected. 6 months of this proved to be a lot of stress all at once.
Add to that the reality of dynamic organizational and staffing issues that mounted as the staff team also felt the stress and pressure of new horizons, and what you get is a big fat ball of "hot mess."
And speaking of fat, what I got was 30 pounds added to my waistline. I am a stress eater. And apparently, I am pretty good at it.
Our culture doesn't have a great space to talk about over eating. Mainly, I think, because we don't see it so much as a problem. It is more like a bad decision. But for me, what I have figured out to this point is that my condition on the outside corresponds to my condition on the inside. And I am afraid that I was able to let my internal self suffer because I didn't mask it with alcohol or drugs. I masked it with a socially acceptable medium.
But it was still avoidance. And it was still detrimental.
So, as we came into the new year, I officially dubbed 2015 the "year of the diet." In the past, when I would lose weight or get back into shape, it was a very private thing for me. Because I am not so much interested in the scale and what it says, I am interested in dealing with the thing below the thing that would allow me to put so much unhealthy food in my body to begin with. So, the journey of losing weight is not so much about the weight, but about the journey to something deeper.
4 years ago, I lost a lot of weight. It was interesting to observe the responses of people. For the most part, there were people who wanted to know what I was doing and how it was working and how I felt. That is all fine. But there was this contingent of people who wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing that they felt was wrong and how evil it was and one person even said that I should stand up in front of the church and tell everyone not to do what I did.
Seriously...
The journey was never about the weight anyway. It was about the thing that would drive me to over eat in the first place. So, while I don't care what people think about how much I weigh, I wish that people would keep quiet about it.
So this time around I am on a similar journey. An introspective look at what drives my eating. But I am taking a different approach. Since I am trying to get to the thing that drives it all, I suppose the better conversation would be about that. And I have gone public with it. In fact the year of the diet is "Facebook official." And I knew what would happen as soon as I said it. And it did. But I want to make sure to stay on task as I focus inward, not outward.
Some of the funny things that people have said to me so far...
"You're not fat." I never said that. I said that my eating was out of control.
"Don't diet!! Small healthy changes for a lifetime of health." Uh, not even the issue I am dealing with.
For the most part people have been supportive and encouraging. But I don't blame people for missing the mark even in their encouragement. I have still kept the real reason to myself. So, people are working off of what they know.
In an attempt to get the real story on the table, and continue to ramp up my own accountability, I want to share what I am learning as I go through this journey.
1. Our culture is obsessed with food and health. And these problems are systemic, not rudimentary. Our culture's conversation about food would be like trying to shoot a cannon at a castle in order to get it to collapse. But we aren't shooting at the foundation, we are shooting at balloons that are floating up from the watch tower.
2. Some food issues are a real addiction. And especially in the church world, we will listen to a preacher who is completely strung out on food tell us how evil it is to be a drug addict and say nothing.
3. Fitness is not the answer to health. It helps in the process and we should be active. But the same brokenness that drives us to eat can drive us to workout and while it looks healthier, it isn't.
4. The scale doesn't matter. And my clothes and how they fit don't matter either. What matter is an inner state of being that flows out into my worldview and how I treat others.
5. There is a direct connection to our diet (what we eat) and our spiritual well being. Maybe we should take a much harder look at that.
6. Sleep is a gift that gives health. If you want to be healthy - proper rest is key.
7. This is not a journey to a specific destination. So when people ask me how I am doing on the year of the diet, I don't know exactly how to answer that. I have not quit and my soul is healthier than ever.
So, nothing earth shattering, but it does change my perspective a bit on the future of this endeavor. I don't know what it looks like to not connect stress and eating. But unfortunately, what I have to also admit is that I don't know how to connect stress and prayer, stress and meditation, stress and turning to the Lord.
So maybe the biggest lesson that I am learning is that I need God more than ever. And I am still learning how to trust Him. And maybe that is the key that unlocks rest and health and Shalom...
To be continued.
When our church moved into our building, I was so excited about having a space to function in 24/7. It is beautiful and fits our needs very well.
And it was a management train wreck!
Whole new worlds of decisions, needs, and things that were supposed to work that didn't emerged and we were left to deal with functioning in a space that was less than we had expected. 6 months of this proved to be a lot of stress all at once.
Add to that the reality of dynamic organizational and staffing issues that mounted as the staff team also felt the stress and pressure of new horizons, and what you get is a big fat ball of "hot mess."
And speaking of fat, what I got was 30 pounds added to my waistline. I am a stress eater. And apparently, I am pretty good at it.
Our culture doesn't have a great space to talk about over eating. Mainly, I think, because we don't see it so much as a problem. It is more like a bad decision. But for me, what I have figured out to this point is that my condition on the outside corresponds to my condition on the inside. And I am afraid that I was able to let my internal self suffer because I didn't mask it with alcohol or drugs. I masked it with a socially acceptable medium.
But it was still avoidance. And it was still detrimental.
So, as we came into the new year, I officially dubbed 2015 the "year of the diet." In the past, when I would lose weight or get back into shape, it was a very private thing for me. Because I am not so much interested in the scale and what it says, I am interested in dealing with the thing below the thing that would allow me to put so much unhealthy food in my body to begin with. So, the journey of losing weight is not so much about the weight, but about the journey to something deeper.
4 years ago, I lost a lot of weight. It was interesting to observe the responses of people. For the most part, there were people who wanted to know what I was doing and how it was working and how I felt. That is all fine. But there was this contingent of people who wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing that they felt was wrong and how evil it was and one person even said that I should stand up in front of the church and tell everyone not to do what I did.
Seriously...
The journey was never about the weight anyway. It was about the thing that would drive me to over eat in the first place. So, while I don't care what people think about how much I weigh, I wish that people would keep quiet about it.
So this time around I am on a similar journey. An introspective look at what drives my eating. But I am taking a different approach. Since I am trying to get to the thing that drives it all, I suppose the better conversation would be about that. And I have gone public with it. In fact the year of the diet is "Facebook official." And I knew what would happen as soon as I said it. And it did. But I want to make sure to stay on task as I focus inward, not outward.
Some of the funny things that people have said to me so far...
"You're not fat." I never said that. I said that my eating was out of control.
"Don't diet!! Small healthy changes for a lifetime of health." Uh, not even the issue I am dealing with.
For the most part people have been supportive and encouraging. But I don't blame people for missing the mark even in their encouragement. I have still kept the real reason to myself. So, people are working off of what they know.
In an attempt to get the real story on the table, and continue to ramp up my own accountability, I want to share what I am learning as I go through this journey.
1. Our culture is obsessed with food and health. And these problems are systemic, not rudimentary. Our culture's conversation about food would be like trying to shoot a cannon at a castle in order to get it to collapse. But we aren't shooting at the foundation, we are shooting at balloons that are floating up from the watch tower.
2. Some food issues are a real addiction. And especially in the church world, we will listen to a preacher who is completely strung out on food tell us how evil it is to be a drug addict and say nothing.
3. Fitness is not the answer to health. It helps in the process and we should be active. But the same brokenness that drives us to eat can drive us to workout and while it looks healthier, it isn't.
4. The scale doesn't matter. And my clothes and how they fit don't matter either. What matter is an inner state of being that flows out into my worldview and how I treat others.
5. There is a direct connection to our diet (what we eat) and our spiritual well being. Maybe we should take a much harder look at that.
6. Sleep is a gift that gives health. If you want to be healthy - proper rest is key.
7. This is not a journey to a specific destination. So when people ask me how I am doing on the year of the diet, I don't know exactly how to answer that. I have not quit and my soul is healthier than ever.
So, nothing earth shattering, but it does change my perspective a bit on the future of this endeavor. I don't know what it looks like to not connect stress and eating. But unfortunately, what I have to also admit is that I don't know how to connect stress and prayer, stress and meditation, stress and turning to the Lord.
So maybe the biggest lesson that I am learning is that I need God more than ever. And I am still learning how to trust Him. And maybe that is the key that unlocks rest and health and Shalom...
To be continued.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Lessons from tragedy...
This last week, I did the unthinkable. I helped some of my dear friends lay one of their own children to rest. Even now, 10 days after the tragic car accident I find my self teared up over the reality of what the last week and a half has exposed about life and its frailty.
I wasn't ready to say goodbye.
I still am not ready.
And yet, here I sit having to let go at some level of a relationship that was severed too soon.
My dear friends are great people. They love the Lord. They have 11 children - 7 biological and 4 adopted. And they have chosen through adoption to love kids from tough places. And love they did. And tough it was... and is.
A quick aside... for many who have not been a part of the adoption world, we see those who adopt as heroes. They "swoop" in and rescue this orphan and give them a place to be loved and accepted. It's a fairytale really.
For those of us who have walked the road of adoption ourselves or with others, we know that often, the "one we rescued" doesn't see it that way. The whole experience is one more reason to be afraid - very afraid. And when all a person knows is fear, the ability to connect, to love, to hope is all but taken away. Trying to be a part of a family unit that is trying to love you is near impossible when all one knows is fear.
Perhaps while part of the world sees adoptive parents as heroes, those of us on the inside of this world who see the pain of loving someone so much that does not know how to love you back would not describe them as heroes so much as frontline soldiers who are willing to do battle for the hearts of those who have no one else to fight for them. This is eerily similar to the heart of Jesus - to love those who do not know how to love you back.
This hard road is a road that I have watched my dear friends walk for the last few years of their lives. And love they did!! And tough it was... and is!! They have continued to walk this road with grace and love and dignity. I think (just to myself) that they have had to wonder if it was all worth it sometimes. In those moments of desperation. But they have chosen to love. Chosen to love. Chosen.
Please be clear on this. Love is not a feeling that we fall into out of. Love is a choice. And they have chosen. And I am honored to know my dear friends as people of principle who do the right thing because it is right, not because it is easy.
I have often spoken of my dear friends to others. I talk about their resolve, their fortitude. I have spoken to others about their ability to be resilient and their unwavering hope that God redeems every heartache - everyone.
And then, Saturday.
I have the greatest job in the world. Not that any other honest jobs are bad per se. But to have the amazing and sacred privilege to sit with people in moments of desperation. To sit in this tension of wanting to be with them for any other reason other than this, and yet honored to be called to walk through whatever mess a person or family is in. What a gift!
While that is true, I have to tell you that I was not ready for this moment. I have now been in ministry full or part time for 23 years. I have a bachelors and a masters and part of a doctorate in christian ministries. I have done funerals. I have counseled crisis.
This one was different.
This one was closer to home. This was my dear friends. And for the love of God they have had enough. In my opinion, of all the people who need to catch a break, my dear friends are those people.
And then my dear friends asked if I would bring the message at the funeral. On one hand, I was so honored. And yet I found myself realizing that I could barely hold it together emotionally in their living room (and in my own). How in the world am I going to be able to get through a funeral service? But I would do anything for my dear friends. Even weep in public. And weep I did... and still do.
I have 4 kids. Each one of my children were connected to this event. And each one of my children had their own emotional experience. All 4 of my amazing children wrestled with this event in different ways. And I think I see in them some points to ponder as I process my own questions.
My 18 year old daughter came to me the day after everything happened and wept and wept over the news that my dear friends' daughter who was 13 had gone home to be with the Lord. She said to me, "I don't know why I am so shook up about this whole thing. But I can't stop crying."
Romans 12 has a great verse in it. While Paul is talking about how we are supposed to treat one another, he says that God's people rejoice with those who rejoice. And we mourn with those who mourn.
Lesson 1 about tragedy... God's people mourn. And we should never mourn alone. And so we are drawn to one another in times like these. This is how people who love Jesus act. We weep for the hurt of others.
My 6'4", 16 year old son came up to me after the funeral service and I could tell he was "on the verge" of something. So I asked him how he was doing and he broke into tears. After a minute to compose himself, he said, "This just doesn't seem very fair."
Yeah, I had said that already in my own processing of the event.
So, I put my arm around him and simply said, "It's not fair. And God isn't fair. But He is good."
Lesson 2 about tragedy... To expect life to turn out "fair" (by which we mean people should get what they deserve) would only leave tragedy as tragic. God's love takes even the most broken parts of this world (and death is a very broken part of this world) and redeems those pieces for His glory.
An illustration I have used before: The rules of every great story are that at some point in the story everything has to fall apart. If that does not happen, the story is actually quite boring. The movie Gladiator needs Russell Crowe to lose everything and go from being a general to a slave. The movie The Patriot needs Mel Gibson to lose his children so that his cause to fight is just.
Any movie that has no tragedy is boring and uninteresting. We won't go see it.
Now at the other end of the spectrum are some of the plays that Shakespeare used to write. They were called tragedy. At the end of the play, everything falls apart and THE END. I submit Romeo and Juliet. This is terrible.
Whether or not our tragedies of life - and we all have them - are part of a great story or they are used to just make our lives a great tragedy is largely dependent on how we see where the tragedy lands on the timeline of the story God is telling with our lives and whether or not we believe He can redeem it in some way.
I have another son. He is 13. The same age as young girl who passed away. They were friends. They went to school together. They went to youth group together. His first words to me after finding out about the accident were - she and I were just beginning to be close friends. He took it pretty hard.
My amazing 13 year old son is an internal processor. And he feels things very deeply without the words to express it all sometimes. He, of all my kids, has had the most tear filled moments. He also went to the burial service with us.
On the way home, I asked him what he was thinking and/or feeling. He said that he didn't know exactly what he was thinking or feeling but that it was all mixed up and so he didn't say anything.
Lesson 3 about tragedy... When you don't know what to say, just be quiet.
Here is the thing about tragedy - it sucks. And we all want to hurt to go away for ourselves and for those who are a direct part of the tragedy itself. And so, we say things to try to help. Phrases that we believe will make things better. It doesn't help. And it doesn't make anything better to say things when you don't know what to say or how to say it.
In moments of tragedy, silence is golden and presence is powerful. In other words, show up and shut up.
I have a 9 year old daughter as well. She has been out of the loop a bit in all of this, even though she is good friends with some of the children of my dear friends. As I was talking with her about all this, she simply said - (the daughter of my dear friends) is with Jesus in heaven now.
And "from the mouth of babes" comes maybe the most profound part of all this.
Lesson 4 about tragedy... God takes the darkest moments of our lives and ultimately gives them purpose and meaning if we will choose to trust in Him.
And there is that word again - choose.
Maybe the biggest lesson I am learning is that today, I have a choice to see the world, my convictions, and events around me through whatever lens I want. And whatever lens I choose, I am heavily influenced by that decision.
Maybe that is a lesson that my dear friends have been teaching me all along. And maybe I could learn from them, not just in tragedy but in day to day life that whatever I choose, I choose to see God as a God who loves and redeems and make beauty from ashes. And that if that is true, then in order to have beauty we are going to have to have a few ashes first. And that is okay.
I love you, my dear friends. You are not alone.
I wasn't ready to say goodbye.
I still am not ready.
And yet, here I sit having to let go at some level of a relationship that was severed too soon.
My dear friends are great people. They love the Lord. They have 11 children - 7 biological and 4 adopted. And they have chosen through adoption to love kids from tough places. And love they did. And tough it was... and is.
A quick aside... for many who have not been a part of the adoption world, we see those who adopt as heroes. They "swoop" in and rescue this orphan and give them a place to be loved and accepted. It's a fairytale really.
For those of us who have walked the road of adoption ourselves or with others, we know that often, the "one we rescued" doesn't see it that way. The whole experience is one more reason to be afraid - very afraid. And when all a person knows is fear, the ability to connect, to love, to hope is all but taken away. Trying to be a part of a family unit that is trying to love you is near impossible when all one knows is fear.
Perhaps while part of the world sees adoptive parents as heroes, those of us on the inside of this world who see the pain of loving someone so much that does not know how to love you back would not describe them as heroes so much as frontline soldiers who are willing to do battle for the hearts of those who have no one else to fight for them. This is eerily similar to the heart of Jesus - to love those who do not know how to love you back.
This hard road is a road that I have watched my dear friends walk for the last few years of their lives. And love they did!! And tough it was... and is!! They have continued to walk this road with grace and love and dignity. I think (just to myself) that they have had to wonder if it was all worth it sometimes. In those moments of desperation. But they have chosen to love. Chosen to love. Chosen.
Please be clear on this. Love is not a feeling that we fall into out of. Love is a choice. And they have chosen. And I am honored to know my dear friends as people of principle who do the right thing because it is right, not because it is easy.
I have often spoken of my dear friends to others. I talk about their resolve, their fortitude. I have spoken to others about their ability to be resilient and their unwavering hope that God redeems every heartache - everyone.
And then, Saturday.
I have the greatest job in the world. Not that any other honest jobs are bad per se. But to have the amazing and sacred privilege to sit with people in moments of desperation. To sit in this tension of wanting to be with them for any other reason other than this, and yet honored to be called to walk through whatever mess a person or family is in. What a gift!
While that is true, I have to tell you that I was not ready for this moment. I have now been in ministry full or part time for 23 years. I have a bachelors and a masters and part of a doctorate in christian ministries. I have done funerals. I have counseled crisis.
This one was different.
This one was closer to home. This was my dear friends. And for the love of God they have had enough. In my opinion, of all the people who need to catch a break, my dear friends are those people.
And then my dear friends asked if I would bring the message at the funeral. On one hand, I was so honored. And yet I found myself realizing that I could barely hold it together emotionally in their living room (and in my own). How in the world am I going to be able to get through a funeral service? But I would do anything for my dear friends. Even weep in public. And weep I did... and still do.
I have 4 kids. Each one of my children were connected to this event. And each one of my children had their own emotional experience. All 4 of my amazing children wrestled with this event in different ways. And I think I see in them some points to ponder as I process my own questions.
My 18 year old daughter came to me the day after everything happened and wept and wept over the news that my dear friends' daughter who was 13 had gone home to be with the Lord. She said to me, "I don't know why I am so shook up about this whole thing. But I can't stop crying."
Romans 12 has a great verse in it. While Paul is talking about how we are supposed to treat one another, he says that God's people rejoice with those who rejoice. And we mourn with those who mourn.
Lesson 1 about tragedy... God's people mourn. And we should never mourn alone. And so we are drawn to one another in times like these. This is how people who love Jesus act. We weep for the hurt of others.
My 6'4", 16 year old son came up to me after the funeral service and I could tell he was "on the verge" of something. So I asked him how he was doing and he broke into tears. After a minute to compose himself, he said, "This just doesn't seem very fair."
Yeah, I had said that already in my own processing of the event.
So, I put my arm around him and simply said, "It's not fair. And God isn't fair. But He is good."
Lesson 2 about tragedy... To expect life to turn out "fair" (by which we mean people should get what they deserve) would only leave tragedy as tragic. God's love takes even the most broken parts of this world (and death is a very broken part of this world) and redeems those pieces for His glory.
An illustration I have used before: The rules of every great story are that at some point in the story everything has to fall apart. If that does not happen, the story is actually quite boring. The movie Gladiator needs Russell Crowe to lose everything and go from being a general to a slave. The movie The Patriot needs Mel Gibson to lose his children so that his cause to fight is just.
Any movie that has no tragedy is boring and uninteresting. We won't go see it.
Now at the other end of the spectrum are some of the plays that Shakespeare used to write. They were called tragedy. At the end of the play, everything falls apart and THE END. I submit Romeo and Juliet. This is terrible.
Whether or not our tragedies of life - and we all have them - are part of a great story or they are used to just make our lives a great tragedy is largely dependent on how we see where the tragedy lands on the timeline of the story God is telling with our lives and whether or not we believe He can redeem it in some way.
I have another son. He is 13. The same age as young girl who passed away. They were friends. They went to school together. They went to youth group together. His first words to me after finding out about the accident were - she and I were just beginning to be close friends. He took it pretty hard.
My amazing 13 year old son is an internal processor. And he feels things very deeply without the words to express it all sometimes. He, of all my kids, has had the most tear filled moments. He also went to the burial service with us.
On the way home, I asked him what he was thinking and/or feeling. He said that he didn't know exactly what he was thinking or feeling but that it was all mixed up and so he didn't say anything.
Lesson 3 about tragedy... When you don't know what to say, just be quiet.
Here is the thing about tragedy - it sucks. And we all want to hurt to go away for ourselves and for those who are a direct part of the tragedy itself. And so, we say things to try to help. Phrases that we believe will make things better. It doesn't help. And it doesn't make anything better to say things when you don't know what to say or how to say it.
In moments of tragedy, silence is golden and presence is powerful. In other words, show up and shut up.
I have a 9 year old daughter as well. She has been out of the loop a bit in all of this, even though she is good friends with some of the children of my dear friends. As I was talking with her about all this, she simply said - (the daughter of my dear friends) is with Jesus in heaven now.
And "from the mouth of babes" comes maybe the most profound part of all this.
Lesson 4 about tragedy... God takes the darkest moments of our lives and ultimately gives them purpose and meaning if we will choose to trust in Him.
And there is that word again - choose.
Maybe the biggest lesson I am learning is that today, I have a choice to see the world, my convictions, and events around me through whatever lens I want. And whatever lens I choose, I am heavily influenced by that decision.
Maybe that is a lesson that my dear friends have been teaching me all along. And maybe I could learn from them, not just in tragedy but in day to day life that whatever I choose, I choose to see God as a God who loves and redeems and make beauty from ashes. And that if that is true, then in order to have beauty we are going to have to have a few ashes first. And that is okay.
I love you, my dear friends. You are not alone.
Monday, December 15, 2014
On Display...
I have talked about these verses before... but I want to add a layer.
Exodus 19:5-6 (NIV)
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
This is one of the amazing promises that God gave to Israel. And we are offered this same promise.
1 Peter 2:5,9 (NIV)
You also, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light.
We are a Kingdom of Priests
That is who we are. There is nothing new here yet. This is long time church doctrine rooted in good biblical exegesis. The next step is where things get fun for me.
What the heck does that mean? What do we do? And again, I have talked about this before but quick review...
Priests serve 4 basic functions:
1. They become the physical representation of their god - They put their god on display
2. They are the mediator that is the voice box of their god to the people - They speak the words of their god to the people
3. They intercede on the people's behalf to their god - They tell the god what the people need
4. They properly distribute their god's resources to meet needs - they make a statement about the power of their god by caring for those less fortunate
I want to ask one simple question with this post that is pretty important to wrestle with.
How do I put my God on display to the world?
At one level, the answer is simple: obey. And that is true, but there may be a few more layers to unfold before we get down to the nitty-gritty of living as a priest of our God.
What does obedience look like? Simple answer - do what God says. Follow the rules. Okay that sounds fairly straight forward. But there seems to be a million more questions that need to be asked before I can just obey.
When I was a kid, the idea of simple obedience didn't work. It had to be connected to something deeper. My parents hoped that when I got older, maturity would bring a trust that would allow me to just do what I was supposed to without the questions, and without the "trial and error."
It didn't.
In fact, at one level, getting older made it worse. I had more and more questions about what obedience actually is and why these rules and who does He think He is and on and on.
Some thoughts: first, obedience isn't about control. He isn't trying to make us obey for obedience's sake. God's rules are about revealing His nature. We don't steal because God is generous. We don't murder because God is life. We take care of the alien, the orphan and the widow because God is compassionate. We don't commit adultery because God is love. Each of God's "laws" are a revelation of His amazing character.
Second, consistent within these laws, is the truth that we will each fulfill these commandments in slightly different ways. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is a command of God and obviously has direct implications on my time, my energy, and my self control. But what it specifically looks like is as unique as I am. And that may be the bigger point (more on that in a bit).
Some will love their neighbor by being kind. Some will love their neighbor by taking them a meal, or mowing the lawn, or building a solid friendship. All of these things would be considered "loving" but not all of them will be done by everybody. Loving my neighbor for some would include helping on a home improvement project. I can promise you that I would not be loving to my neighbor if I got involved in that. But to sit down have a meaningful conversation with them about tough issues - this would be me acting in a very loving way.
And God smiles when I act in ways that are consistent with 2 things: His "rules, laws, and commands" that reveal His character. And, my created design that is unique and important but displays a piece of God in the situation that only I can bring.
And BOTH of these truths needs to be in line for us to truly understand what it means to put our God on display. We reveal the nature and the character of God as we obey His commands consistent with who we are. This is at the core of us possessing the image of God.
The "Imago Dei" doctrine says that God put a little piece of Himself in you. What is that piece?
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27
Is this just a broad overarching thing like, we have a soul and we walk on 2 legs? Or is there something deeper, more mysterious, and more profound? If God is consistent with with all the rest of the text, I choose deeper and more profound.
What does it mean to bare the Imago Dei?
Simply this: God has put an amazing piece of Himself in you. Not all of Himself, but a piece. And that piece is important - it is God Himself revealing to the world who He is through you. But in order to truly experience all of God's nature, we need others who are also given this little piece of God's nature. And together we round one another out and give a broader picture of our God than we ever thought possible.
So maybe the notion that I need to just obey is incomplete. Obedience is God's love language, no doubt. But maybe a better way to understand following God is that I obey His commands in a way that is consistent with the design God gave me within the context of a community that calls out and celebrates the design God puts in people and His work around us.
Does your church do that?
Exodus 19:5-6 (NIV)
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
This is one of the amazing promises that God gave to Israel. And we are offered this same promise.
1 Peter 2:5,9 (NIV)
You also, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light.
We are a Kingdom of Priests
That is who we are. There is nothing new here yet. This is long time church doctrine rooted in good biblical exegesis. The next step is where things get fun for me.
What the heck does that mean? What do we do? And again, I have talked about this before but quick review...
Priests serve 4 basic functions:
1. They become the physical representation of their god - They put their god on display
2. They are the mediator that is the voice box of their god to the people - They speak the words of their god to the people
3. They intercede on the people's behalf to their god - They tell the god what the people need
4. They properly distribute their god's resources to meet needs - they make a statement about the power of their god by caring for those less fortunate
I want to ask one simple question with this post that is pretty important to wrestle with.
How do I put my God on display to the world?
At one level, the answer is simple: obey. And that is true, but there may be a few more layers to unfold before we get down to the nitty-gritty of living as a priest of our God.
What does obedience look like? Simple answer - do what God says. Follow the rules. Okay that sounds fairly straight forward. But there seems to be a million more questions that need to be asked before I can just obey.
When I was a kid, the idea of simple obedience didn't work. It had to be connected to something deeper. My parents hoped that when I got older, maturity would bring a trust that would allow me to just do what I was supposed to without the questions, and without the "trial and error."
It didn't.
In fact, at one level, getting older made it worse. I had more and more questions about what obedience actually is and why these rules and who does He think He is and on and on.
Some thoughts: first, obedience isn't about control. He isn't trying to make us obey for obedience's sake. God's rules are about revealing His nature. We don't steal because God is generous. We don't murder because God is life. We take care of the alien, the orphan and the widow because God is compassionate. We don't commit adultery because God is love. Each of God's "laws" are a revelation of His amazing character.
Second, consistent within these laws, is the truth that we will each fulfill these commandments in slightly different ways. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is a command of God and obviously has direct implications on my time, my energy, and my self control. But what it specifically looks like is as unique as I am. And that may be the bigger point (more on that in a bit).
Some will love their neighbor by being kind. Some will love their neighbor by taking them a meal, or mowing the lawn, or building a solid friendship. All of these things would be considered "loving" but not all of them will be done by everybody. Loving my neighbor for some would include helping on a home improvement project. I can promise you that I would not be loving to my neighbor if I got involved in that. But to sit down have a meaningful conversation with them about tough issues - this would be me acting in a very loving way.
And God smiles when I act in ways that are consistent with 2 things: His "rules, laws, and commands" that reveal His character. And, my created design that is unique and important but displays a piece of God in the situation that only I can bring.
And BOTH of these truths needs to be in line for us to truly understand what it means to put our God on display. We reveal the nature and the character of God as we obey His commands consistent with who we are. This is at the core of us possessing the image of God.
The "Imago Dei" doctrine says that God put a little piece of Himself in you. What is that piece?
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27
Is this just a broad overarching thing like, we have a soul and we walk on 2 legs? Or is there something deeper, more mysterious, and more profound? If God is consistent with with all the rest of the text, I choose deeper and more profound.
What does it mean to bare the Imago Dei?
Simply this: God has put an amazing piece of Himself in you. Not all of Himself, but a piece. And that piece is important - it is God Himself revealing to the world who He is through you. But in order to truly experience all of God's nature, we need others who are also given this little piece of God's nature. And together we round one another out and give a broader picture of our God than we ever thought possible.
So maybe the notion that I need to just obey is incomplete. Obedience is God's love language, no doubt. But maybe a better way to understand following God is that I obey His commands in a way that is consistent with the design God gave me within the context of a community that calls out and celebrates the design God puts in people and His work around us.
Does your church do that?
Saturday, November 1, 2014
A Key to Unlock Jesus...
http://ourrabbijesus.com/2014/10/31/jesus-the-metaphorical-theologian-ken-bailey/
This is worth reading. ANY serious bible scholar MUST understand Jesus in His historical context before EVER making ANY interpretive assumptions.
This is worth reading. ANY serious bible scholar MUST understand Jesus in His historical context before EVER making ANY interpretive assumptions.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
A Lesson I am Learning...
I don't always have much that is profound to write. I am just pondering or still considering the issues faced in the last post. So, it is always a challenge to come up with something that I at least believe is worth giving up the 15 minutes you will sacrifice to read this. Today is one of those days. I don't have anything of particular significance to write about. And in the spirit of nothing to say, I thought I would just write down a few words about where God has me in my own growth and how I am seeing it play out.
So here is the question I am wrestling with… How does God change us?
Set the theological constructs aside for a minute and consider the question. God and I have amazing conversations. And by amazing conversations, I mean that I talk a lot and He listens. And He reassures me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And He reminds me that I am in His grip. And He gently whispers to me that I am never out of the reach of His mighty arm.
And then, I still act insecure and fearful. I act as if I am alone and betrayed. I act as though I had never acknowledged God's promises as true to begin with.
Then I come to another amazing conversation. And He reassures me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And He reminds me that I am in His grip… And so on… And His loving kindness always trumps the conversation.
And then a good friend shared something with me one day… How does God change me? His loving kindness.
And I wept.
For all my foolishness and fear, God's invitation is to love what He put in me as much as He does. And God simply and continually reaffirms the goodness and potential of what He knit into my soul in my mother's womb.
And this powerful truth changes me somehow. I can rest in what God has made me rather than seeing it as a curse or a problem.
But it raises another question… How am I doing at reflecting that loving kindness to others? And here, it gets real sticky, real quick.
Like many people, I struggle to "listen to others without agenda." What I mean is, too often I find myself already giving a person direction on how to "fix" their problem before I have even truly heard what the real problem is.
My same friend said it this way - When you listen to truly understand someone, you make money. When you talk, you spend it. That is a bit of a dagger in my heart considering what I do for a living - I teach, I talk, I direct, I lead.
But I want to listen more. I want to fight to truly understand those around me better. And as with my conversations with God, the more I practice this idea, something changes in me.
So here is my tactic… maybe you can try it on and see how it goes. No promise from me about the outcome. I am still on this journey as well. When someone talks to me, all I do is fight for clarity. No agenda, no leading, no "fixing", no help - just listening to understand. Fighting for clarity.
This isn't some parroting back exercise either. It is not counseling nor is it a "technique to get people to move." It is simply trying to act like God acts in my amazing conversations with Him. Listen a lot. Work to truly understand. And invite people to consider the truth of who they are from God's vantage point.
What I am beginning to uncover - this is like nuclear power in my life, and the lives of those I care enough about to truly fight to understand. The power is not in my ideas, or fixes, or "help." But the power lies in truly feeling "heard" and understood by another human being. And it ties into something deeper in a person than I have ever experienced. This eternal piece of us that longs to be unleashed and set free. And it unlocks and transforms places in our lives where we would have otherwise felt stuck.
And again, God reaffirms to me that I cannot separate loving Him and loving people.
Try it on and let me know what happens. No fixing, no counseling, just listening for understanding.
So here is the question I am wrestling with… How does God change us?
Set the theological constructs aside for a minute and consider the question. God and I have amazing conversations. And by amazing conversations, I mean that I talk a lot and He listens. And He reassures me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And He reminds me that I am in His grip. And He gently whispers to me that I am never out of the reach of His mighty arm.
And then, I still act insecure and fearful. I act as if I am alone and betrayed. I act as though I had never acknowledged God's promises as true to begin with.
Then I come to another amazing conversation. And He reassures me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And He reminds me that I am in His grip… And so on… And His loving kindness always trumps the conversation.
And then a good friend shared something with me one day… How does God change me? His loving kindness.
And I wept.
For all my foolishness and fear, God's invitation is to love what He put in me as much as He does. And God simply and continually reaffirms the goodness and potential of what He knit into my soul in my mother's womb.
And this powerful truth changes me somehow. I can rest in what God has made me rather than seeing it as a curse or a problem.
But it raises another question… How am I doing at reflecting that loving kindness to others? And here, it gets real sticky, real quick.
Like many people, I struggle to "listen to others without agenda." What I mean is, too often I find myself already giving a person direction on how to "fix" their problem before I have even truly heard what the real problem is.
My same friend said it this way - When you listen to truly understand someone, you make money. When you talk, you spend it. That is a bit of a dagger in my heart considering what I do for a living - I teach, I talk, I direct, I lead.
But I want to listen more. I want to fight to truly understand those around me better. And as with my conversations with God, the more I practice this idea, something changes in me.
So here is my tactic… maybe you can try it on and see how it goes. No promise from me about the outcome. I am still on this journey as well. When someone talks to me, all I do is fight for clarity. No agenda, no leading, no "fixing", no help - just listening to understand. Fighting for clarity.
This isn't some parroting back exercise either. It is not counseling nor is it a "technique to get people to move." It is simply trying to act like God acts in my amazing conversations with Him. Listen a lot. Work to truly understand. And invite people to consider the truth of who they are from God's vantage point.
What I am beginning to uncover - this is like nuclear power in my life, and the lives of those I care enough about to truly fight to understand. The power is not in my ideas, or fixes, or "help." But the power lies in truly feeling "heard" and understood by another human being. And it ties into something deeper in a person than I have ever experienced. This eternal piece of us that longs to be unleashed and set free. And it unlocks and transforms places in our lives where we would have otherwise felt stuck.
And again, God reaffirms to me that I cannot separate loving Him and loving people.
Try it on and let me know what happens. No fixing, no counseling, just listening for understanding.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Being Jesus to Christians...
I know I will take some flack for this one… it is okay. I choose grace.
Recently, Mark Driscoll made a video for HIS church family (not everyone in the world, even though we all seem to want to see it). In it, he talked about some of the things going on with Mars Hill in "this season of the church."
My summation: along the way, he has made some enemies because of how he has conducted himself in banter on all kinds of topics from women's rolls to doctrine to contemporary issues to the treatment of some of his staff.
Let me state for the record - I think he was wrong for HOW he did what he did.
Many of those who are God followers have responded with "an eye for an eye". He deserves to be treated the same way he treated others. The "punishment must fit the crime." Tit for tat. However you want to put it, many who would say that they are motivated, awakened, and changed by the love of Jesus have responded in kind in trying to make sure that he understands the depth of the hurt and damage that he has caused.
The concern I have - the reason we get so upset at him for the abrupt words and positions that he has used over the years is that we believe that in Christ, no one should be treated that way - no one. Jesus says - even an enemy.
Now to the point - He is repenting, and trying to fix it. And the truth is, that takes a lot of character. No matter what any of us might think about him as a person, I admire that he has really exposed his mistake and been vulnerable about the whole issue.
So, I have a few thoughts I would like to share that I hope would help all of us who are in the Christian community with the chance to process this series of events with other believers.
1. If you have been personally wounded and/or offended by Mark, I am sorry. I don't pretend to know what all has gone on in really any of the conversations and issues that have happened.
That being said, I am absolutely confident that airing dirty laundry on a social media is not in line with any form of how Jesus said that we who say we follow Him are to deal with conflict.
2. Whether or not we believe that ANY Christian leader should be in a leadership position, it is the Lord who sets up kings and tears down kingdoms. I would submit David's conversation with Abishai concerning the chance to kill Saul in his sleep, "Who am I to touch the Lord's anointed?"
The fact is whether or not any of us thinks someone should be in a position of influence is of absolutely no consequence. God gave that person their position of influence whether I think it is a good idea or not. And my ability to come to terms with that says more about me and my relationship to God than it does about any leader. This is His world and He can take care of it in His way and His time. My job is to trust His story and be faithful in my own life.
Our task is to pray for those who are in that position because it is in all our best interest if they do well, not if they "pay for their mistakes."
3. When we beat someone up for confessing sin, we keep them from wanting to confess again. The church is a place of healing and redemption, not a place of making someone pay.
And for many of you who are barking the loudest, you work in churches or are a part of church families where broken people (including you) come to church every week. If the response of anger and venom and vindication that is being portrayed becomes known to your people, it will not only shape their ability to respect christian leaders, but it will also keep them quiet about their own sin, even if it is not connected to the issue that is out front.
4. "It is mine to avenge, I will repay says the Lord." Do you believe that?
I want to say again, I do not agree in any way with what Driscoll said in many places and how he said it was abrasive and terse to put it kindly. However, being Jesus in those circumstances has to mean that I do not hold the anger and pain of those things against him.
"For though he was reviled against, He reviled not." This is Jesus, and it should be you.
I am excited to see a Christian leader with the guts to at least admit that he has dirty laundry and that he is at least trying to clean it up. When was the last time we saw that happen? And if we don't lovingly forgive and show the grace we have been given, then we will keep that from happening in more christian leaders down the road.
And as a pastor, I know that I am not perfect, and that I need permission to be able to confess and repent without the fear of being ridiculed and demeaned. No one should ever agree with me sinning, but my hope is that we can begin to love and forgive enough that other leaders feel like they can get their junk on the table as well.
If you want to see Jesus do something amazing in the U.S., I think it begins from this posture.
Our response really isn't even about Mark Driscoll or any other single christian leader. It is about creating an environment where sinners get forgiven and people are set free. It is about all of us - especially you.
Recently, Mark Driscoll made a video for HIS church family (not everyone in the world, even though we all seem to want to see it). In it, he talked about some of the things going on with Mars Hill in "this season of the church."
My summation: along the way, he has made some enemies because of how he has conducted himself in banter on all kinds of topics from women's rolls to doctrine to contemporary issues to the treatment of some of his staff.
Let me state for the record - I think he was wrong for HOW he did what he did.
Many of those who are God followers have responded with "an eye for an eye". He deserves to be treated the same way he treated others. The "punishment must fit the crime." Tit for tat. However you want to put it, many who would say that they are motivated, awakened, and changed by the love of Jesus have responded in kind in trying to make sure that he understands the depth of the hurt and damage that he has caused.
The concern I have - the reason we get so upset at him for the abrupt words and positions that he has used over the years is that we believe that in Christ, no one should be treated that way - no one. Jesus says - even an enemy.
Now to the point - He is repenting, and trying to fix it. And the truth is, that takes a lot of character. No matter what any of us might think about him as a person, I admire that he has really exposed his mistake and been vulnerable about the whole issue.
So, I have a few thoughts I would like to share that I hope would help all of us who are in the Christian community with the chance to process this series of events with other believers.
1. If you have been personally wounded and/or offended by Mark, I am sorry. I don't pretend to know what all has gone on in really any of the conversations and issues that have happened.
That being said, I am absolutely confident that airing dirty laundry on a social media is not in line with any form of how Jesus said that we who say we follow Him are to deal with conflict.
2. Whether or not we believe that ANY Christian leader should be in a leadership position, it is the Lord who sets up kings and tears down kingdoms. I would submit David's conversation with Abishai concerning the chance to kill Saul in his sleep, "Who am I to touch the Lord's anointed?"
The fact is whether or not any of us thinks someone should be in a position of influence is of absolutely no consequence. God gave that person their position of influence whether I think it is a good idea or not. And my ability to come to terms with that says more about me and my relationship to God than it does about any leader. This is His world and He can take care of it in His way and His time. My job is to trust His story and be faithful in my own life.
Our task is to pray for those who are in that position because it is in all our best interest if they do well, not if they "pay for their mistakes."
3. When we beat someone up for confessing sin, we keep them from wanting to confess again. The church is a place of healing and redemption, not a place of making someone pay.
And for many of you who are barking the loudest, you work in churches or are a part of church families where broken people (including you) come to church every week. If the response of anger and venom and vindication that is being portrayed becomes known to your people, it will not only shape their ability to respect christian leaders, but it will also keep them quiet about their own sin, even if it is not connected to the issue that is out front.
4. "It is mine to avenge, I will repay says the Lord." Do you believe that?
I want to say again, I do not agree in any way with what Driscoll said in many places and how he said it was abrasive and terse to put it kindly. However, being Jesus in those circumstances has to mean that I do not hold the anger and pain of those things against him.
"For though he was reviled against, He reviled not." This is Jesus, and it should be you.
I am excited to see a Christian leader with the guts to at least admit that he has dirty laundry and that he is at least trying to clean it up. When was the last time we saw that happen? And if we don't lovingly forgive and show the grace we have been given, then we will keep that from happening in more christian leaders down the road.
And as a pastor, I know that I am not perfect, and that I need permission to be able to confess and repent without the fear of being ridiculed and demeaned. No one should ever agree with me sinning, but my hope is that we can begin to love and forgive enough that other leaders feel like they can get their junk on the table as well.
If you want to see Jesus do something amazing in the U.S., I think it begins from this posture.
Our response really isn't even about Mark Driscoll or any other single christian leader. It is about creating an environment where sinners get forgiven and people are set free. It is about all of us - especially you.
Monday, May 5, 2014
A question about influence, and holiness, and dreams, and other stuff
Genesis 12:1-3
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Call of Abram
12 Now the Lord said[a] to Abram, “Go from your country[b] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
2 Samuel 7:8-10
English Standard Version (ESV)
8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince[a] over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more.And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
1 Kings 1:46-48
English Standard Version (ESV)
46 Solomon sits on the royal throne. 47 Moreover, the king's servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted someone[a] to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’”
1 Chronicles 17:7-9
English Standard Version (ESV)
7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly,
So, I just got back from the Exponential Conference in Orlando, Florida. For those that have not heard about this conference, it is the largest church planting conference in the world. I got the amazing privilege of speaking there at a couple of break out sessions.
The line up of main stage speakers was amazing. They were challenging and inspirational. They were moving and convicting. And they weren't any better than the break outs that I attended. Which leads me to a question…
What determines influence? Why does one guy get to speak on the main stage and another guy who is equally a moving and inspirational speaker gets to speak to 15 people in a portable that is 90 degrees and terribly uncomfortable?
This really isn't about an ax to grind for me. I am curious what determines influence? Is this simply a sovereign choice of God? or is there something on my part connected to this idea? Is personal holiness connected to this?
I really don't know… I would love your input.
So, I just got back from the Exponential Conference in Orlando, Florida. For those that have not heard about this conference, it is the largest church planting conference in the world. I got the amazing privilege of speaking there at a couple of break out sessions.
The line up of main stage speakers was amazing. They were challenging and inspirational. They were moving and convicting. And they weren't any better than the break outs that I attended. Which leads me to a question…
What determines influence? Why does one guy get to speak on the main stage and another guy who is equally a moving and inspirational speaker gets to speak to 15 people in a portable that is 90 degrees and terribly uncomfortable?
This really isn't about an ax to grind for me. I am curious what determines influence? Is this simply a sovereign choice of God? or is there something on my part connected to this idea? Is personal holiness connected to this?
I really don't know… I would love your input.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
It's funny… Not really...
The opening line of my last post read something like this…
"So I will be straight… this post is going to be a soap box. And quite frankly, if you disagree, keep it to yourself."
Actually it didn't read something like that, this is a copy and paste quote from my last blog post. And I said that because I wanted to further my case on my impetuous for the blog post from the beginning. I knew people couldn't keep their opinions to themselves. And they didn't. And they won't on this one either. Because they can't. And because they believe that if I or everyone else just saw things from their perspective, it would all be fixed. Not only is that terribly naive and foolish, but it is a complete disregard for the complexity of the human condition. There is no one size fits all solution for humanity. Unless we want to get as broad as we all must just love Jesus. I agree with that. But it seems that the application of that is as vast and nuanced as people themselves.
So, I want to rebut a few of the statements that have been made along the way in hopes of refining what I am saying to make sure that I am saying it correctly.
But before that, 2 side notes:
First, Thanks for reading all this. As an external processor, a blog is a great outlet to process where I am coming from for myself. Hopefully, it can be a blessing to others as well. And may this conversation be inspirational for us all!
Second, one comment about the Noah movie, then back to the real issue. One point that is being harped on over and over is the "rock monsters." We would read in the Bible that they are the Nephilim. First, for anyone to say that they couldn't be rock creatures gives you more insight than anyone else in history. Quite frankly, no one knows what the Nephilim were. Now, we have some speculations. And there are some educated guesses. But no one knows what they were for sure… NO ONE! Aronofsky (who has a Jewish background) does in fact have some grounds to consider here. There is much written in the Midrash about the Nephilim. And part of that conversation is about rock monsters. So please be careful. Before you start slinging mud out of your own ignorance make sure that you have done the right research. You do not have to agree with him, but trying to turn unstable ground into solid places to take a stand is not good and only serves to make one look foolish and irrelevant.
There is much more I would like to say about this… translucent bodies for Adam and Eve, etc. But we will save that conversation for that cup of coffee I offered in my last post. No one has taken me up on that yet, by the way. But they sure have taken the opportunity to write about how they think I am wrong.
Back to my point:
There have been 3 main arguments put up as reasons why what I am saying is inadequate or wrong or however you want to put it. There are obviously subsets of these 3 but it falls into one of 3 areas that I want to address here.
1. It seems like you are just compromising your doctrine.
I see where you are coming from with this one. It could feel that way. But I have some thoughts on this that might change your mind.
First, not every biblical disagreement is a doctrinal one. For example, the rock monsters. This is not a doctrinal disagreement, nor does it affect any of our orthodoxy or orthopraxy at any level. It is one idea that is as equally valid as any other idea about the Nephilim. And you will probably want to fight me on that, but be careful the ground on which you stand. Make sure it is as solid as you might think. Just because someone that you trusted as a good Bible scholar said something about them one time doesn't make it so. And while their opinion matters in the conversation, it is no more valid than any other opinion.
Second, I am not leading us down a primrose path to apathy. In fact, I am asking for the exact opposite. I want all of us to be passionate about what Jesus was passionate about. He was not passionate about proving people wrong. Oh, He did that from time to time, but read His message. What He was passionate about was liberation for the oppressed. He was passionate about loving God with EVERYTHING in a person. He was passionate about meeting brokenness on its own terms and inviting it to wholeness. He was passionate about generosity, forgiveness, and grace.
He was NOT passionate about making sure that His opinion was heard or even understood. "He who has ears let him hear."
2. We HAVE to stand up for what is right, and you are saying we can't.
I do not see this one at all. But let's look at it for a moment.
Never, EVER, did I say, "do not have an opinion." Never, EVER, did I say, "Do not express your opinion." I would say at this point that those values (the ability and need to express your opinion) are American, not necessarily biblical, but as long as we live in a country that gives us the freedom to express our opinion, we can and should do so.
HOWEVER, you do not have the right to fight like the devil for the things of God. You are a God follower first, and a citizen second - period. And my point is to simply consider the fruit of your delivery method. you can post big sweeping statements on Facebook all day long and only serve to make people more angry and more alienated.
-OR-
You can sit down with someone that you care about deeply and visit with them over a cup of coffee. Believe me I have done enough of both in my life to know that caring enough about someone to invest my time in the relationship has produced some amazing fruit. In their lives and in my own. I am a richer, fuller, more well rounded person because of the investment of time. It heals my soul at the same time that they can hear my point.
And for those of you who happen to agree with me… you do not have the right to spout off either. You cannot throw this down and say SEE... WHAT HE SAID!!! We must all do our best to walk as Jesus walked. And at the risk of turning this into a Bible lesson - Halach is the Hebrew word for walk. It also means obey, do, act.
Don't let anyone ever allow the excuse of "I am not Jesus so I don't have to be nice" demean the reputation of your God.
3. We can only know God through the Word and so any time someone uses the Word in a way that I don't agree with, I HAVE to say something.
Let me be blunt… this is simply not true. And it will take only a few paragraphs to prove it.
Now, before I get going, I am not saying that you can know God completely outside of Scripture either. So don't do there. But to say that the Holy Spirit only works in and through us within the context of the Word is narrow and inadequate at every level.
The truth is, it is a mixture of the Word of God and our experiences that give us our understanding of who God is.
Back to the Noah movie…
One of the major critiques of the movie by Christians has been that it portrays God as mean and vengeful. And that God is loving and compassionate. Okay, I agree, but let's think for a minute. Where in the world would people get the notion that God is vengeful and mean?
Have you heard yourself lately? It is a contradiction at every level to say God is loving and full of grace and then talk about how God is going to bring down our country if we don't stop going down this moral path to destruction. To talk about how God is going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if He doesn't do something soon in the U.S.????
I am not saying you are wrong, but hear what you are saying from the other side for a minute. You create a schism in people's minds that is irreparable. It is another example where Christians talk about one thing but show another. Or at a minimum we talk out of both sides of our mouths.
And to take it a step further… Have you ever had the world come crashing down around you? Be honest, and tell me your first thought wasn't that God was upset at you because you had done something or somethings wrong. Tell me you didn't think it was your fault - that God was somehow upset at you.
We have felt that way too. So rather than trying to belittle the movie, why not go out and find people who are in that desperate place (I promise they are not hard to find) and give them the hope that while there are stories that look that way in the Bible that there is a deeper story being told through those circumstances - a truer true that says that even the darkest parts of our lives have purpose and they are redeemed because God is good, not because the situation was good, but God is good and His mercies are new every morning.
But that isn't how we westerners do it. We don't want to have to get into real relationships. We just want to have the irrefutable truth and spout it from afar. We are much more concerned with being right than we are with being Godly.
And this brings us full circle… The right thing, done the wrong way, becomes the wrong thing.
Still waiting for that cup of coffee...
"So I will be straight… this post is going to be a soap box. And quite frankly, if you disagree, keep it to yourself."
Actually it didn't read something like that, this is a copy and paste quote from my last blog post. And I said that because I wanted to further my case on my impetuous for the blog post from the beginning. I knew people couldn't keep their opinions to themselves. And they didn't. And they won't on this one either. Because they can't. And because they believe that if I or everyone else just saw things from their perspective, it would all be fixed. Not only is that terribly naive and foolish, but it is a complete disregard for the complexity of the human condition. There is no one size fits all solution for humanity. Unless we want to get as broad as we all must just love Jesus. I agree with that. But it seems that the application of that is as vast and nuanced as people themselves.
So, I want to rebut a few of the statements that have been made along the way in hopes of refining what I am saying to make sure that I am saying it correctly.
But before that, 2 side notes:
First, Thanks for reading all this. As an external processor, a blog is a great outlet to process where I am coming from for myself. Hopefully, it can be a blessing to others as well. And may this conversation be inspirational for us all!
Second, one comment about the Noah movie, then back to the real issue. One point that is being harped on over and over is the "rock monsters." We would read in the Bible that they are the Nephilim. First, for anyone to say that they couldn't be rock creatures gives you more insight than anyone else in history. Quite frankly, no one knows what the Nephilim were. Now, we have some speculations. And there are some educated guesses. But no one knows what they were for sure… NO ONE! Aronofsky (who has a Jewish background) does in fact have some grounds to consider here. There is much written in the Midrash about the Nephilim. And part of that conversation is about rock monsters. So please be careful. Before you start slinging mud out of your own ignorance make sure that you have done the right research. You do not have to agree with him, but trying to turn unstable ground into solid places to take a stand is not good and only serves to make one look foolish and irrelevant.
There is much more I would like to say about this… translucent bodies for Adam and Eve, etc. But we will save that conversation for that cup of coffee I offered in my last post. No one has taken me up on that yet, by the way. But they sure have taken the opportunity to write about how they think I am wrong.
Back to my point:
There have been 3 main arguments put up as reasons why what I am saying is inadequate or wrong or however you want to put it. There are obviously subsets of these 3 but it falls into one of 3 areas that I want to address here.
1. It seems like you are just compromising your doctrine.
I see where you are coming from with this one. It could feel that way. But I have some thoughts on this that might change your mind.
First, not every biblical disagreement is a doctrinal one. For example, the rock monsters. This is not a doctrinal disagreement, nor does it affect any of our orthodoxy or orthopraxy at any level. It is one idea that is as equally valid as any other idea about the Nephilim. And you will probably want to fight me on that, but be careful the ground on which you stand. Make sure it is as solid as you might think. Just because someone that you trusted as a good Bible scholar said something about them one time doesn't make it so. And while their opinion matters in the conversation, it is no more valid than any other opinion.
Second, I am not leading us down a primrose path to apathy. In fact, I am asking for the exact opposite. I want all of us to be passionate about what Jesus was passionate about. He was not passionate about proving people wrong. Oh, He did that from time to time, but read His message. What He was passionate about was liberation for the oppressed. He was passionate about loving God with EVERYTHING in a person. He was passionate about meeting brokenness on its own terms and inviting it to wholeness. He was passionate about generosity, forgiveness, and grace.
He was NOT passionate about making sure that His opinion was heard or even understood. "He who has ears let him hear."
2. We HAVE to stand up for what is right, and you are saying we can't.
I do not see this one at all. But let's look at it for a moment.
Never, EVER, did I say, "do not have an opinion." Never, EVER, did I say, "Do not express your opinion." I would say at this point that those values (the ability and need to express your opinion) are American, not necessarily biblical, but as long as we live in a country that gives us the freedom to express our opinion, we can and should do so.
HOWEVER, you do not have the right to fight like the devil for the things of God. You are a God follower first, and a citizen second - period. And my point is to simply consider the fruit of your delivery method. you can post big sweeping statements on Facebook all day long and only serve to make people more angry and more alienated.
-OR-
You can sit down with someone that you care about deeply and visit with them over a cup of coffee. Believe me I have done enough of both in my life to know that caring enough about someone to invest my time in the relationship has produced some amazing fruit. In their lives and in my own. I am a richer, fuller, more well rounded person because of the investment of time. It heals my soul at the same time that they can hear my point.
And for those of you who happen to agree with me… you do not have the right to spout off either. You cannot throw this down and say SEE... WHAT HE SAID!!! We must all do our best to walk as Jesus walked. And at the risk of turning this into a Bible lesson - Halach is the Hebrew word for walk. It also means obey, do, act.
Don't let anyone ever allow the excuse of "I am not Jesus so I don't have to be nice" demean the reputation of your God.
3. We can only know God through the Word and so any time someone uses the Word in a way that I don't agree with, I HAVE to say something.
Let me be blunt… this is simply not true. And it will take only a few paragraphs to prove it.
Now, before I get going, I am not saying that you can know God completely outside of Scripture either. So don't do there. But to say that the Holy Spirit only works in and through us within the context of the Word is narrow and inadequate at every level.
The truth is, it is a mixture of the Word of God and our experiences that give us our understanding of who God is.
Back to the Noah movie…
One of the major critiques of the movie by Christians has been that it portrays God as mean and vengeful. And that God is loving and compassionate. Okay, I agree, but let's think for a minute. Where in the world would people get the notion that God is vengeful and mean?
Have you heard yourself lately? It is a contradiction at every level to say God is loving and full of grace and then talk about how God is going to bring down our country if we don't stop going down this moral path to destruction. To talk about how God is going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if He doesn't do something soon in the U.S.????
I am not saying you are wrong, but hear what you are saying from the other side for a minute. You create a schism in people's minds that is irreparable. It is another example where Christians talk about one thing but show another. Or at a minimum we talk out of both sides of our mouths.
And to take it a step further… Have you ever had the world come crashing down around you? Be honest, and tell me your first thought wasn't that God was upset at you because you had done something or somethings wrong. Tell me you didn't think it was your fault - that God was somehow upset at you.
We have felt that way too. So rather than trying to belittle the movie, why not go out and find people who are in that desperate place (I promise they are not hard to find) and give them the hope that while there are stories that look that way in the Bible that there is a deeper story being told through those circumstances - a truer true that says that even the darkest parts of our lives have purpose and they are redeemed because God is good, not because the situation was good, but God is good and His mercies are new every morning.
But that isn't how we westerners do it. We don't want to have to get into real relationships. We just want to have the irrefutable truth and spout it from afar. We are much more concerned with being right than we are with being Godly.
And this brings us full circle… The right thing, done the wrong way, becomes the wrong thing.
Still waiting for that cup of coffee...
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
As a Christian, I want to say that Christians are difficult if not impossible to please.
So I will be straight… this post is going to be a soap box. And quite frankly, if you disagree, keep it to yourself.
And I want to be clear about the audience for this post. It is for anyone who would call yourself a follower of Jesus.
As we have seen in the past few months, the Bible seems to have taken center stage in our culture. The mini-series followed up by the movie Son of God and now we have the movie Noah that is in theaters.
And why not? There are some amazing stories in the Scripture. Whether you believe in God and the inspiration of the Scriptures or not, there are some amazing stories of hope in hopelessness and redemption and freedom for the oppressed. Why wouldn't Hollywood want to tell these stories? They are truly amazing!
And one would think that while this new interest in the Bible is taking root, that Christians would take the amazing opportunity to invite people into real relationships where they can discuss the implications of these stories with others in a GENUINE, RELATIONAL, COMPASSIONATE, UNDERSTANDING environment.
I find that works much better than just simply putting someone on blast over Facebook and validating my opinion because I copied and pasted a blog post that someone else wrote.
Some simple questions, then I will move on…
1. When was the last time any movie said - Exactly like the event happened?
2. When was the last time you got upset because Chariots of Fire didn't get the exact details of the events correct? Or Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Or the Passion of the Christ? Or Alive? Or ANY OTHER MOVIE EVER SAID TO BE BASED ON A TRUE STORY?
3. When was the last time Christians agreed on anything?
And that last question is really to my point. The truth is, if they had made the movies verbatim to the story (which would have been a terribly boring way to make a movie) Christians would have picked it apart a thousand ways. We always do.
Which leads me to an aside. I am so tired of Christians talking about how the world is always out to get them. If I was with people who are as grumpy and disagreeable as Church goers, I would want them gone too. But that is another post.
How about this: what if we took the chance that has been given to us and rather than nit pick, we started entering into real conversations with others about what it means to believe this stuff and not just try to make sure everyone knows that I disagree with what happened.
Your disagreement never saved anyone. Jesus' love does. So maybe the better thing to put on display is the love of Christ, not everything that you agree or disagree with. How do we lovingly invite people into a real conversation about what the Bible says and how we can line up with God's agenda to bring heaven crashing into earth. I am not saying that this is easy, but no one seems to be having this conversation at all.
And that is the bigger issue isn't it? As a Christian, you are not doing the world or your God any favors by making sure that world knows everything you are against. Maybe the better conversation is about focusing on what you are for. And what it means to love God with all your heart and soul and strength. And maybe the better action isn't to pick everything apart because you think it should have been done differently.
There are a whole segment of passionate, Jesus loving people who don't even believe that Noah actually happened but that it was a story told to make a bigger point about God and His agenda for the world. But guess what, if you choose to just blast everything you disagree with, you will never be able to hear that maybe they aren't as "dumb" and closed minded as you might think. And that perhaps the closed minded one doesn't stare back at you in the street, but in the mirror.
Whole new worlds of God's grace and depth of Scripture open up to us when we care enough to listen and attend to issues with grace and not disagreement.
And a Christian had to say it. Because if a non-believer said it, you would just dismiss it as their foolish heart being darkened.
So, for the record: The Noah movie does in fact take some liberties that are not written in the story. And yes, that is an interesting point to ponder. And I would love to have that conversation over a cup of coffee. But don't condemn anyone over a Facebook post or a blog post because it didn't play out the way you would have done it.
Praise God that the conversation is happening.
And before you dismiss my post as one that is "doing the very thing that I am spouting against," I know exactly what I am doing. How does it make you feel? Do you want to talk gently and gracefully with me? Or do you want to fight?
Consider how we can spur one another on towards love and good deeds." - Hebrews 10:25
Does your disagreeable post spur anyone on to love and good deeds? Or did you just widen the chasm between the amazing love of Jesus and a world that desperately needs to know that love?
The right thing done the wrong way becomes the wrong thing.
And I want to be clear about the audience for this post. It is for anyone who would call yourself a follower of Jesus.
As we have seen in the past few months, the Bible seems to have taken center stage in our culture. The mini-series followed up by the movie Son of God and now we have the movie Noah that is in theaters.
And why not? There are some amazing stories in the Scripture. Whether you believe in God and the inspiration of the Scriptures or not, there are some amazing stories of hope in hopelessness and redemption and freedom for the oppressed. Why wouldn't Hollywood want to tell these stories? They are truly amazing!
And one would think that while this new interest in the Bible is taking root, that Christians would take the amazing opportunity to invite people into real relationships where they can discuss the implications of these stories with others in a GENUINE, RELATIONAL, COMPASSIONATE, UNDERSTANDING environment.
I find that works much better than just simply putting someone on blast over Facebook and validating my opinion because I copied and pasted a blog post that someone else wrote.
Some simple questions, then I will move on…
1. When was the last time any movie said - Exactly like the event happened?
2. When was the last time you got upset because Chariots of Fire didn't get the exact details of the events correct? Or Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Or the Passion of the Christ? Or Alive? Or ANY OTHER MOVIE EVER SAID TO BE BASED ON A TRUE STORY?
3. When was the last time Christians agreed on anything?
And that last question is really to my point. The truth is, if they had made the movies verbatim to the story (which would have been a terribly boring way to make a movie) Christians would have picked it apart a thousand ways. We always do.
Which leads me to an aside. I am so tired of Christians talking about how the world is always out to get them. If I was with people who are as grumpy and disagreeable as Church goers, I would want them gone too. But that is another post.
How about this: what if we took the chance that has been given to us and rather than nit pick, we started entering into real conversations with others about what it means to believe this stuff and not just try to make sure everyone knows that I disagree with what happened.
Your disagreement never saved anyone. Jesus' love does. So maybe the better thing to put on display is the love of Christ, not everything that you agree or disagree with. How do we lovingly invite people into a real conversation about what the Bible says and how we can line up with God's agenda to bring heaven crashing into earth. I am not saying that this is easy, but no one seems to be having this conversation at all.
And that is the bigger issue isn't it? As a Christian, you are not doing the world or your God any favors by making sure that world knows everything you are against. Maybe the better conversation is about focusing on what you are for. And what it means to love God with all your heart and soul and strength. And maybe the better action isn't to pick everything apart because you think it should have been done differently.
There are a whole segment of passionate, Jesus loving people who don't even believe that Noah actually happened but that it was a story told to make a bigger point about God and His agenda for the world. But guess what, if you choose to just blast everything you disagree with, you will never be able to hear that maybe they aren't as "dumb" and closed minded as you might think. And that perhaps the closed minded one doesn't stare back at you in the street, but in the mirror.
Whole new worlds of God's grace and depth of Scripture open up to us when we care enough to listen and attend to issues with grace and not disagreement.
And a Christian had to say it. Because if a non-believer said it, you would just dismiss it as their foolish heart being darkened.
So, for the record: The Noah movie does in fact take some liberties that are not written in the story. And yes, that is an interesting point to ponder. And I would love to have that conversation over a cup of coffee. But don't condemn anyone over a Facebook post or a blog post because it didn't play out the way you would have done it.
Praise God that the conversation is happening.
And before you dismiss my post as one that is "doing the very thing that I am spouting against," I know exactly what I am doing. How does it make you feel? Do you want to talk gently and gracefully with me? Or do you want to fight?
Consider how we can spur one another on towards love and good deeds." - Hebrews 10:25
Does your disagreeable post spur anyone on to love and good deeds? Or did you just widen the chasm between the amazing love of Jesus and a world that desperately needs to know that love?
The right thing done the wrong way becomes the wrong thing.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Go make disciples!… Why?
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This is one of the most famous passages in the Bible. And at its core is a clear mandate of action for us as believers. But I have some questions to throw at it and see if there isn't something that can help us actually pull it off…
I have read 100's of books on discipleship. I have used and written curriculum on discipleship. I have discipled people and been discipled. And I have a thought long and hard about what this discipleship thing is all about.
Here is my observation: the vast majority of disciple making books, curriculum, and conversations revolve around a couple of ideas. First, the biblical case for discipleship. Which I am going to be so bold as to say - that to me is sad! Really, we have to build a case to convince people that discipleship is the lifestyle that Jesus asked us to walk out?
Sorry for the bold statements here, but it is pretty simple. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in Him [Jesus] must live as Jesus did." (NIV)
Did Jesus make disciples? Then we must also make disciples! No excuses. No rationale. Do what Jesus did.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This is one of the most famous passages in the Bible. And at its core is a clear mandate of action for us as believers. But I have some questions to throw at it and see if there isn't something that can help us actually pull it off…
I have read 100's of books on discipleship. I have used and written curriculum on discipleship. I have discipled people and been discipled. And I have a thought long and hard about what this discipleship thing is all about.
Here is my observation: the vast majority of disciple making books, curriculum, and conversations revolve around a couple of ideas. First, the biblical case for discipleship. Which I am going to be so bold as to say - that to me is sad! Really, we have to build a case to convince people that discipleship is the lifestyle that Jesus asked us to walk out?
Sorry for the bold statements here, but it is pretty simple. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in Him [Jesus] must live as Jesus did." (NIV)
Did Jesus make disciples? Then we must also make disciples! No excuses. No rationale. Do what Jesus did.
Jeremiah 6:16
New International Version (NIV)
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.'
And isn't that the bigger issue? Jesus says make disciples, Jesus lived making disciples, so make disciples!
The second idea is about the "how" of discipleship. Here is the lesson plan for discipleship. Here is the structure for discipleship. Here is the organizational management system for discipleship. And this is a major step in the right direction.
As I travel around and speak to churches, I find that this is an idea that scratches an itch that many pastors and church leaders have: "How do I pull this off?"
And it is a good line of thinking. There is now even a strong movement towards discipleship through community. Which is the only way that real discipleship can happen. And this conversation is very valuable!
But I wonder if it is missing a key component that I don't see a lot of conversation about at all.
Why are we making disciples at all?
I think that for years I made disciples so that they would "stay a Christian." Essentially, I would get them to say "Yes!" to Jesus (Gospel of Salvation)More on that here And then hopefully I could "disciple" them so that they were willing to hang in there till the end of things so that they could get to heaven. Cause we all know the alternative isn't pretty.
Jesus' Gospel was an invitation to the Kingdom of God. It is as if He was saying to all of us, "There is a place of healing and joy and freedom. And I am dying to let you be a part of it. Come join Me. Life is good and full and meaningful here."
Jesus' Gospel was the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Now, think Jewish for just a minute… from an Eastern perspective, kingdoms don't take up territory. They aren't spacial in nature. The only boundary for a kingdom is that it is where a King is reigning. So, if Jesus is reigning in your heart, then He is King and you are in the Kingdom of God - wherever you might be.
You, then, are an ambassador for your King. Your sacred job is to invite people to be a part of the Kingdom of your King. But this is NOT about getting people to say yes to Jesus, only. this is about getting each person you meet to LIVE IN THE KINGDOM. This is not the same thing as getting them to say yes to Jesus. Not even close!
Our sacred responsibility and privilege is to bring The Kingdom of God crashing into earth. this is what Jesus did. And this is what Jesus taught. We have 38 recorded parables of Jesus. 21 of them say directly, "The Kingdom of God is like…" or "The Kingdom of Heaven is like…" (these are the same statements. Matthew is the only one who uses Heaven in the phrase and that is because of his agenda.).
So, if the Kingdom of God is like a generous landowner, then so should we be! Is that how people would describe you? Not the church you attend - YOU! The Kingdom of God is like a Mustard seed that becomes a big tree and gives shade to the birds. Do people who are not "saved" receive blessing because you are in their lives? Not the church you attend - YOU!
Discipleship is not about organizational development. It is all about me bringing heaven crashing into earth. And in the process, I tell a redemptive story of how my God feels about the world and people and social causes and the "less than" in my community and the marginalized people around the world. Not the church I attend - ME!
It bothers me that we have these conversations going on around the Christian world about whether a church should be a "social justice" church or a "discipleship" church. How did those things ever get separated? Engaging in social justice issues should deepen our walk with Jesus and invite others to join us. And Discipleship should always lead us to action in our community in a way that makes a profound difference in every aspect of people's lives, not just salvation.
I think one of the best evidences that a church is doing a good job of discipling is that we have people in our congregation that are actively pursuing social causes in the name of Christ - with the sole intent of bringing the Kingdom of God crashing in to that situation.
I do believe that it is sin for God's people to idly sit by and watch others suffer.
We have to do what Jesus did. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, restore the oppressed, set the captives free. this isn't just a Jesus job. This is a Jesus follower job. And that is why we disciple. To empower and equip those around us to effectively engage the darkness and kick at the darkness with absolute resolve until it bleeds daylight.
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