A Kingdom Seeking Saint

My Blog Has Moved

2007-10-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Click on the title for the link to my new blog or paste this link (http://kingdomseeking.wordpress.com) into your web browser.

- Rex

Liberty or Tyranny?

2007-10-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

If I was to declare that God is more than one, it would be obvious to all Christians how false such a belief is and thus would be rejected. However, if I took a more subtle approach, say, by appealing to your emotional senses, such a fear and happiness, that peace and happiness is found in financial security, I then could lure some Christians into the practice of making money their god (even if they would not acknowledge this in such language).

For sometime a similar phenomenon has been occurring with the use of the term “freedom.” A recent article “Has The Jihadist Movement Temporarily Peaked?” (Outreach to Muslims 12, July/Aug/Sept 2007) suggests that the difference between liberty and tyranny rests within the powers of people, nations, and political structures – in this case, between the West and the Middle East. The article discusses the responsibilities of national leaders in regards to Muslim relations and then states, “Our well-being is wrapped up in the success of their efforts” (p. 6). I contend that this is but one of many examples taking place in our culture that subtly denies part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We would be deeply troubled by any Christian who dared to suggest that our faith allows for two Lords, two salvations, two hopes, etc… But when it comes to “freedom” we have become quite comfortable in declaring the existence of two or more freedoms.

Jesus himself declared the very nature of the good news of God’s kingdom. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus described his mission saying:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4.18-19, TNIV)

The very core of the Christian faith believes that all people have become slaves to the evil and sin of a fallen world (tyranny) and are redeemed only by God’s offering of his Son, Jesus on a cross (liberty). The scriptures only know of one freedom which originates from God and has already been made a reality only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Without Jesus we will always be slaves to tyranny. In Jesus we have true liberty. Let’s never forget that the difference between liberty and tyranny is not dependent on the things of this world but instead is holistically dependent upon God who sets us free into a new world that can never be penetrated by tyrannical forces.

When All is Gone!

2007-09-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

What if one day we lost everything? What if life as we know was one day taken from us, leaving us to continue on with the painful memory of loss and the confusion of trying to make sense in a strange new set of circumstances? On another blog (click on the title for the link), Donna poses a similar question. The following was my comment and I though I would post this on my blog too.

The death of a son was enough to tear down the foundation of my faith. After the death of my son, the only thing I was sure of was that there had to be a God or else this life was nothing but a cruel joke that made even less sense then a life originating from God yet contains immense human suffering.

At the moment of realizing you are not sure about anything in terms of religious faith, it becomes quite a lonely world. You may still "go to church" but you have no adequate words to express the present crisis of faith.

For me, eventually I began to read scripture again. I read it with an open mind but also with a mind-set that was not sure if I would find what I was looking for. I didn't but I also did. I didn't find just another manual with a set of instructions on how to adhere to another religion nor did I find the answer to why human suffering exists. What I found was a witness to life and hope. I understood at that moment why these pages of scripture were described as Divine Revelation. I understood why those who read these scriptures before have passed them down. For in them I not only found my own story setting and conflict, I also found the climax and resolution -- the promise that a crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ is the reality of hope -- a hope that says the present suffering is not the end of the story. This was truly a liberating moment and still is.

God or Other?

2007-09-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

God or the Other… To most of us, that seems like a simple choice. We choose God. Do we really? I know we like to think we choose God but then there are so many ways in which that choice can be construed. God or riches, God or fame, God or career, even God or family… The list goes on and on. What would our choice be? We want to choose God but the alternative can be so enticing that we can become lulled into believing it is the better choice.

I am reminded of a story in the Gospel of Luke about a “rich man” who met Jesus one day. The man appears to be very religious, as religious as anyone of us. But Jesus found one facet of his life that was keeping him from truly choosing God – his wealth. When Jesus confronted the man, Luke tells us, “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy” (Luke 18.23, TNIV). The story never actually tells us that this man failed to choose God. Instead, it only implies the failure to make the correct choice. What Luke emphasizes is the sadness. That is the part of the other never advertised.

Today I came across a story about a man named Jack Whittaker who won a $315 million dollar lottery several years back (Shaya Tayee Mohajer, “Is Powerball Win a Nightmare or Fantasy?,” Associated Press, 2007). Today, according to the article, Mr. Whittaker claims sadness. He says that becoming rich has left him without any friends, became a source of trouble that has left his family and marriage in disarray and for all the money he has, he is not able to buy a cure to his daughter’s cancer. In the end, Mr. Whittaker is quoted saying “I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery… I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people.”

I don’t know what Mr. Whittaker religious convictions are. I do know that for most of us, we have and will continue to face the choice of God or Other. There may be a lot of things about the other choices that appear attractive but in the end, there is sadness when that choice becomes a choice against God.

The Best Life Now... For Who?

2007-09-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Click the title of this post to be redirect to the blog of Jordan McCall for which I am making this post. Jordan, a young wife and mother of two, is battling cancer. As she battles cancer, she also sits in a Sunday-School class studying the book “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen. She sits and listens to Christians speaking about how God wants them to have a “blessed life” (materially abundant life without struggle) while she prays that God will just heal her body and allow her to see her children grow up.

I must admit that I have not read the above mentioned book. I have read enough reputable reviews to know I don’t want to waste my time or money on the book. I am not sure how Churches and Christians can read their Bibles and yet believe and promote a “health and wealth” gospel. I never believed such a gospel before the death of my son. After the death of Kenny, the health and wealth theology became outright insulting. What is more troubling is the fact that contemporary trends in Christian rarely encourage and foster an environment for open grief and lament before God (try finding a song of lament in any church hymnal).

In the collection of Psalms, we read, “I cry aloud to the Lord, I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble” (Ps 143.1-2, TNIV). This is just one of many laments found in the Psalms and throughout scripture. If we are going to be a Christian community shaped by the words of scripture, then we must recognize the place of lament in our communal life. Just as we express our praises throughout worship, people who suffer must be allowed to express their faith – a faith of pain and lament – to God as well. Then we become a community for both the happy and sad, the blessed and afflicted.

Towards a Working Purpose for the Church

2007-07-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

When we consider the entire story of scripture, we realize that God’s redemptive plan is already complete in one sense but not yet fully realized. This is the paradox within Christian eschatology. The final or last events of history, the goal of God’s redemption, have already been established. Yet these events are still to come – future to present history. The church, the community of redeemed people, is called to live the reality of this history while also living in anticipation of this history. I can think of no better passage that describes this reality than two passages of scripture from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

To save space, I will not quote these passages but you can read them for yourselves. Here I will just provide a brief synopsis. In Colossians 1.15-23, we learn that the fullness of God dwells within Jesus Christ who is the first born from the dead. We, who were once alienated by sin, have been reconciled by God through Christ and are now called to stand firm within this new reality called the gospel. In Colossians 2.9-15, the new reality is described in terms of Jesus Christ head over every power and authority of which he has triumphed over them through the cross. We, who once belonged to the old and dead reality because of our sin, became a part of this new reality in Christ through our baptism by being raised into Christ.

It is important in these two passages to keep in mind that Paul is speaking about the Church. In my past I have read these passages with myself in mind. While these passages certainly are true for me as well as every other individual Christian, the passage is talking about the reality for the church as a whole – every Christian throughout history. Coming to this conclusion has helped me reflect more clearly (and even rethink) what it means to be church – what the purpose of existence is for the church. Out of this I have developed my own working definition for the purpose of the church:

The church is the future community existing in the present world as the representation of God’s finished work of redemption.

If I am correct or at least on to a correct ecclesiology, which I believe I am, then it makes all the more sense why the writers of the New Testament put so much energy into their writings regarding the moral/ethical conduct of Christians, the way Christians relate to one another and the outside world, and how the church serves as a living testimony to the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Given this purpose for the church (the future community existing in the present world as the representation of God’s finished work of redemption) and given the reality that the New Testament is comprised of occasional writings which help us understand “how” to be church in our own cultural contexts but do not always specifically address every issue we face, I wonder how this purpose should shape us as a church in our own cultural context. First, we must ask what exactly it means to represent God’s redemption. What does that look like? Secondly, with a few generalizations, how do people who are generally affluent and educated (compared to the entire world) and who live in a free-democratic society express this redemption? Thirdly, what did it mean for other periods of Christianity who lived this purpose out to be moral and ethical and what does that imply for us? Fourth, how do we express our fellowship with one another in our culture (i.e. church buildings, house churches, other…)? And lastly, how should this purpose inform the preaching and teaching of the church for both the Christian and the non-Christian seeker?

I do not have all the answers to the list of five questions that I proposed in the last paragraph. I have some ideas and thoughts but am also still working those out (I suppose I always will be to some extent). However, I am convinced that it is these questions that the church as a whole will need to wrestle with, answer, and live out if we wish to be and have hopes at being salt and light in the emerging world that is really already upon us. What are your thoughts?

About Annie

2007-07-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight I met Annie. I was driving in Ithaca and there at the intersection was a young woman holding up a sign that read “out of work and hungry, please help.” This woman, or should I say girl, was young and looked less like she was homeless (I hate that – do the homeless actually have a look) and more like someone who had ran away from home. So I pulled my car into the nearest parking lot and walked over to talk to this woman.

Her name is Annie and she is from Wisconsin. She came out to Ithaca to stay with a friend but the friend is poor as well and had two children to worry about feeding. So there was Annie asking for help.

We struck up a conversation that was mostly about her circumstances. What struck me was her humble demeanor flavored with gratitude. I only had five dollars on me and I offered it to her.

She asked me if that was all I had and I said “yes!”

She said “what I mean is… you only have a five dollar bill and not any singles… because I don’t want to take your last bit of money.”

I replied “this is all I have on me but you are not going to take my last dollar by taking this."

Now I normally make it a rule to refrain from giving out cash for the obvious reasons. However Annie did not have that Crack or Meth addiction look to her. She just looked like someone who ran into some hard times, maybe made some bad choices.

As we continued our conversation, I told her that I was a minister and gave her my card. I said that we might be able to help her in some more substantial ways, as several of our members work in the social-work field. I then told her that I did not believe God created any of us to live in need to the point that we are left to worry about how we are going to eat.

Annie responded “I believe in Jesus but I also believe that sometimes we make mistakes that we have to live with.”

I am not sure what those mistakes were for Annie and I did not feel it was my right to ask either. However I did respond.

“Annie, I believe in Jesus too" I said. "And I believe Jesus came to show us grace and mercy rather than to make us suffer the consequences of our past mistakes. If I had to suffer the consequences of my past mistakes, I would not be standing here talking to you right now.”

At this point I stopped as I could see her bottom lip start to quiver. I am not sure how Annie arrived at the point of life she is in now but I am quite sure she longs for something better.

When I meet the Annie’s of this world, I am always frustrated because I feel so helpless. I hear echoes of Jesus telling his disciples before the crowd of five thousand “You give them something to eat.” So I try and do what I can. Maybe that is enough. Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and turned them into enough food to feed the entire crowd. I guess I just need to trust God to turn that five dollar bill into enough doe to help Annie stay off the street corners of Ithaca.

Church and the Next Generation

2007-06-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

At the Christian Chronicle website there is an article titled “Are We Loosing Our Young People.” Here are some quick thoughts I have:

The problem is not in how many young people we retain or how evangelistic we are (or are not). The problem is a paradigm shift in the way the upcoming generation thinks. For most Churches of Christ, church is a 3rd person entity that is done from a building with a chapel that imposes a complete set of rules on how we worship, fellowship, and minister: We must all sit in pews, we must have worship leaders who always do so from the stage and they must be male, We must follow the scripted worship order planned by someone else, fellowship is a Sunday School class or a bridal shower at the building, ministry is a VBS at the building or a clothing drive at the building, etc... Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this model, it has a number of limitations in allowing a new generation to express their worship and faith in God in the 1st person which is what being church is about. In the worst forms, there are some who believe this model of being church (3rd person) is biblical and therefore unchangeable.

We must come to grips with the reality that for the upcoming generation, church will not be a 3rd person entity done from a building. Church will be a 1st person reality and acted out in ways that will not fit into our mold. Worship, fellowship, and ministry may be practiced out in a house church, by a small group at a coffee shop who will never see the inside of a church building, in a city park among the company of the publics most disenfranchised, and many other forms that is even difficult for my mind to fathom. The upcoming generation will care little about what gender does what when worshiping. They will care little about whether their singing is with or without instruments (if they meet in a coffee shop, they may not even sing but instead encourage each other just through the communal reading of scripture). From my viewpoint, these shifts have nothing to do with being or not being scriptural. I realize that for some, there are biblical issues at stake. Regardless, unless we can learn to start allowing expressions of being church that are beyond our traditional box called a building we will only continue to experience the frustrations already being felt.

A Wonderful Day

2007-06-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. Monday is technically an “off” day but I do wind up engaging in some ministry tasks usually. Yesterday was no different.

Monday seemed routine until around two O’ clock in the afternoon. I went to visit one of our members at the community center where she works. She is working through a couple of issues and so I thought I would stop by for a chat. It was a wonderful conversation and very encouraging for me as well. While there, she had a phone call to take. During her phone call I wound up talking to another lady who volunteers at the community center. This lady told me about growing up in a violent New York City neighborhood where negativity is a normal everyday experience. We wound up talking about God’s grace that helps us all overcome the challenges of a fallen world.

From there I stopped by my favorite coffee shop, Gimme! Coffee, on Cayuga St. The girl serving me coffee asked me what type of work I do. This gave me the opportunity to give her my business card and tell her about my mission and ministry with the Ithaca Church of Christ. She has a friend who just received her M.Div and now serves with a Lutheran Church in Albany. I invited this girl to visit us sometime. I don’t know where she is at in life but it is always nice to have conversations with people in the community where God becomes part of the subject.

Later in the evening I attended the Evangelist / Elders meeting. Our meeting began with prayer and ended with prayer. It is so nice to have elders who actually believe that God is acting through his Spirit as we pray. The meeting was very encouraging also as we talked about our developing mission. It is nice to have elders that are concerned enough about Kingdom business that they are trying to force themselves to think outside the box.

After this I came home and took the dog for a walk. While on my walk I met Rob. Rob is a homeless man who travels around camping out at different music festivals. After talking about the upcoming Grass Roots Music Festival in Ithaca, we started talking about life. Rob asked me if there was something good that he could do for me. Dumbfounded, I just said “pray for me.” Then I told him I was an Evangelist and said I would pray for him as well. Rob told me that he tries to do at least one good deed to everyone he meets. He said that the world would be a much better place if everyone tried to do at least one good deed to everyone they meet during the day. I think he is right.

Well, I proceeded home and on the way I saw a woman that plays on my softball team. We talked for a bit. She used to come to the Ithaca CoC. I am not sure why she stopped coming but it is nice to build connections again.

At last I came home and there was my beautiful wife and daughter. My daughter keeps me laughing and my wife keeps me on right paths, always encouraging me in so many ways.

This is a wonderful day for me. First, my day was wonderful because it was spent with people in the community. Though office work is a necessary evil, mission and ministry is about going where the Lord goes and the Lord always went to people. Secondly, my elders are encouraging to me. They make me want to even work harder and remind me once again of how glad I am that God brought my family and I to Ithaca. Last but certainly not least, I can and do come home to my family. As much as I love church ministry and mission work, I could go on without being a paid evangelist. But my family… I need them and love them. God has been and continues to be good to me.

A CashCall of Injustice

2007-06-13T18:20:00.001-07:00

I was sent to this website by CashCall loans by another blog (www.kendallball.com) where this loan company CashCall charges 99.25% interest (that is right, 99.25%) for a $2,000.00 dollar loan to people who cannot secure loans elsewhere. This, and businesses like them, are an injustice who most likely seek to take advantage of the poor. We should do whatever we possibly can to expose such injustice and that is what I want to do.

If They Only Knew...

2007-06-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

The city of Ithaca is a very politically charged town and I am so accustomed to hearing people discuss political issues that I rarely even think about it. Political discussions are just a part of the every day background noise.

However the other day something did catch my attention. Two people were discussing their frustrations with the nations participating in the G8 Summit. One of the people commented on what it would be like to actually be a part of a nation that actually cares about people rather than preservation of political power. I could not help think to myself, "If they only knew that there is a kingdom (though not a physical nation) that actually is concerned about the well-being of all people rather than protecting its power base." Of course I was thinking about the Kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed was breaking into this world, the same Kingdom (reign) of God which Jesus demonstrated in his very own life and called his followers to do so after him.

If people only knew that there is a kingdom that is more concerned with justice and compassion for all, based upon self-sacrificing service rather than self-centered preservation of power. Then again, I must admit that many people do not know of such a kingdom because too many Christians (and their church congregations) have failed to proclaim this kingdom and demonstrate in their very own lives. Instead of proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God, too many of us have been more focused on proclaiming and protecting what makes our local Christian communities different from another Christian community. On the other side, too many Christians and their local churches have been focused on reducing the nature of God's kingdom to the politically correct cultural expectations of a fallen world. And other Christians have simply placed other loyalties (often politically related) above the Kingdom of God and their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. Is it any wonder why so many people see Christians as simply part of the world's problems?

I believe God created this world and created life in this world to be lived in an equitable and just manner. Unfortunately, the selfish actions of humanity (sin) have destroyed such a life. But God in his grace is trying to redeem us (save us) from this pitiful mess we have made for ourselves. God therefore revealed himself to us in his Son, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus demonstrated to us how God intended for humanity to live and did this consistently throughout his life. Of course the powers that be felt threatened and so they killed Jesus. But this was all part of a plan of God, who raised Jesus from death so that the world would know that life beyond the powers of evil and death could be lived. God made Jesus both Lord and Savior, not so we could just get a "ticket to heaven" but so that we would surrender our selfish ways (baptism) to God's way and find real life where selfish pride and living is relented in exchange for service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Jesus is our model, thus our Lord. The resurrected Jesus is our promise of this new life, thus our Savior. God gives us his Holy Spirit as a promise of this new "eternal" life which frees us to live a life of service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others without fear. Therefore we can proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom of God in our living.

If they only knew that there is a kingdom (though not a physical nation) that actually is concerned about the well-being of all people rather than protecting its power base!

2007-05-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

Cindy Sheenan, the mother who became a war critic and crusader for peace after her son Casey died in the Iraq war, had this to say as part of her reason for no longer fighting for peace.

"Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."

While there are certainly exceptions (and I have met people who would not fall into the accusation of Mrs. Sheenan, there seems to be a lot of truth to this statement. Regardless of your beliefs about the war in Iraq (and I do have mine), she tells the truth about a nation fattened by its own excess, power, and greed.

Rochester College Sermon Seminar and Friendship

2007-05-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am attending the Rochester College Sermon Seminar this week in Rochester Hills, MI (suburb of Detroit). The seminar theme is on the Gospel of John. So far I have heard some wonderful presentations. However, last night I heard an excellent presentation by Dr. Gail O'Day who is Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs and A.H. Shatford Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Candler Seminary, Emory University.

At the beginning of her lecture she said that she was going to show how the idea of "friendship" is a motiff threaded throughout the Gospel of John. I will admitt that at first I was skeptical, believing she would really need to do some stretching to acheive this goal. But as I listened, she not only acheived her goal while remaining responsible with the use of scripture in John but it had a powerful impact on how I think of Christian discipleship.

She began by showing how throughout Greek Philosophy there was an understanding that true friendship was demonstrated not by grabbing a bite to eat with other friends but instead by being willing to lay one's life down for another friend in times of crisis. Jesus acknowledges this prevailing philosophy of friendship in John 15.13 saying "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (TNIV). The difference between Jesus and the others is that Jesus not only "talked" about true friendship but also "did" true friendship (recall that in John 10, Jesus insists that no person takes his life from him but rather Jesus lays his own life down). This is the good news: Jesus is our true friend because he is the one who lays his life down for us.

But here is the icing on the cake when it comes to discipleship. If we look at the immediate context of John 15.13 we see that in v. 12 Jesus says "My commandment is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (TNIV). Then, as mentioned earlier in this post, Jesus described what true friendship is -- the laying down of one's life for another. Immediately following John 15.13 Jesus says in v. 14 "You are my friends if you do what I command" (TNIV).

Jesus is calling us to follow his example and become true friends to the world we minister too and serve among. Such friendship is characterized by love. Not the often cheap definition of love that is so often portrayed in the vocabulary of contemporary culture but instead, a love demonstrated by the willingness to lay our life down for someone else. Is that not a challenge to the conventional ways of how we often think of being a disciple of Jesus ought to be?

Graduated

2007-05-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official. On Saturday, May 5, 2007 I received my Master of Divinity degree from Harding University Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR) in Memphis, TN.

For those of you who know anything about the Master of Divinity degree... The eternal program is no longer eternal. However, I did take classes in all fields of theology, Bible, missions, and ministry. I guess that makes me a "jack of all trades, master of none." At least that is how I feel.

All kidding aside, I am glad that it is over and done with. Yet, I would do it all over again if I could go back in time. As I was finishing undergraduate school, I was dead set on attending Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology (ACUGST). I also briefly looked into Fuller Seminary and Cincinnati Bible Seminary. But only seriously pursued ACUGST and HUGSR.

For reasons I won't go into now (nothing bad), I wound up choosing HUGSR. I have no regrets about this choice. HUGSR is a whole different atmosphere than Harding University in Searcy, AR even though they are both under the same leadership. As they say at HUGSR, there is a mighty big river between Memphis and Searcy. AT HUGSR I was challenged to grow in my faith both spiritually and theologically, I was challenged academically while always being encouraged to think for myself, and always reminded that true Christian faith is exhibited in the humble service to God and others.

I am sure that the above description could be said about any of the seminaries I looked into. But there is one other reason I am greatful to HUGSR. Three weeks before begining graduate studies, my son, Kenny, passed away. A year later my younger brother also passed away. By this time, I was emotionally and spiritually shattered. While I never intellectually stopped believeing in God, I think I was on the brink of emotionally and spiritually loosing my faith. There are too many events that took place at HUGSR through which God worked through to rebuild my faith, but I will forever me greatful to one of the yearly themes "Spiritual Transformation." Through several speakers and chapel devotionals (which I attended regularly)based upon that theme coupled with what I was learning in classes, I began to see how God was working for his redemptive purposes even in a world where so much suffering and pain exists. The end result was that I learned to trust in God once again even though I did not have all of the answers to every real life question (and still don't).

Thank you HUGSR. Thank you to all of my professors, the staff, and my fellow students, who all made my experience over the last four years an unforgettable time that shattered all previous expectations.

Living in the World of Scripture

2007-03-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Mike Cope had this to say in his blog (www.preachermike.com):

"Here’s perhaps the biggest change in my understanding of preaching through the years. I used to think that I was supposed to make scripture relevant. It’s an old book speaking to a modern world. Now, however, I see that this is too low a view of scripture and too high a view of our “modern” world. Now I see my job as inviting people to enter into the world of scripture — a world that is hauntingly familiar and yet mysteriously dissimilar. The key is imagination. I think I’m to help people (including, of course, myself) imagine what a truly human life might look like in light of Easter. What might a gospeled life look like? I used to flatten scripture, I think. It became a sermon source of rules and regs. It was full of insightful points waiting to be made. Now as I get to live inside the story world of the Bible, I realize even more why one could say that the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. I cannot agree enough. I too want to live the life imagined in the world of scripture – the life which Jesus perfectly demonstrated. I want to help others learn how to live this life as well."

But living this life and calling others to do the same is hard. Sometimes it seems almost impossible. I would say it was impossible but I know that Jesus lived this life in the flesh showing the world that it was possible.

The more I learn about this world imagined in scripture, the more I learn about the life which my Lord, Jesus the Messiah lived, the more difficulty I find being comfortable in this world. This must be why the apostle Peter encouraged the Christians of Asia Minor to live out their lives as “foreigners” (1 Pet 1.17).

But the biggest struggle I have is the regret. The more I come to know the life of Jesus and this life called for in the scriptures, the more I realize how counter-culture my living and preaching must become. Sometimes I almost wish I did not know what I do now know (the regret) because then the path of discipleship would be so much easier.

And there it is... The truth comes out. I want salvation, I want hope, I want the comfort of knowing that God’s Spirit dwells within me, and I want it all without the radical cost of discipleship. I want all the perks of being a Christian without the struggle of true discipleship.

“Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’” (Mark 8.34, TNIV).

Reflections on Matthew 1

2007-03-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

As I read the beginning of Matthew’s gospel account in chapter 1, I encounter the genealogy of Jesus. This genealogical record of Jesus reads fairly easy with quick repetition until I come across v. 16. Here lies a problem: Jesus is not the offspring of Joseph. This person named Jesus of Nazareth, whom we confess as God’s anointed (Messiah/Christ), appears to be one born from an illegitimate relationship.

Without a doubt this was a scandal for the headlines and seems to be the reason why Matthew begins to explain Mary’s conception of Jesus in vv. 18-25. In these particular verses, we learn that Joseph regarded Mary as an adulterous woman until the angel of the Lord explains to Joseph that Mary has conceived a child from the Holy Spirit. If Joseph originally regarded Mary as unfaithful, I can only wonder what the town folk must have thought. I can only imagine the accusations that could come forth from the court of public opinion.

Also in vv. 18-25 Matthew tells us two important facts about Jesus. First, he is to be called Jesus because he will save people from their sins. Second, Jesus is also Immanuel which means ‘God with us.’ It seems that Matthew wants us to know that our fundamental problem as people is sin. But as bad as that news is, the even greater news (the gospel) is that God has made his presence among this world in Jesus to save us from our sins.

Back to the scandal that surrounds this story. I ask myself why God would choose such a scandalous way at making his presence among this world. But then as I come to grips with the reality of my sin and the realization that God is seeking to redeem me from my sin through the presence of Jesus, I begin to understand why. My whole life, your whole life, and every one else’s whole life is one big scandalous realm of sin. He came to save those whose life is filled with the scandal of sin, so why not make his presence among us through a scandalous event. But what a wonderful God we have who loves us enough to make his presence among us, even at the risk of shame and scandal, in order to save us from our sins.

Isaiah 11:1-9 - The Branch of Hope

2007-03-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

The following is a sermon I preached on 3.11.07 at the Ithaca Church of Christ. I have made a few modifications for a print format:

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I’ve been preaching a series of sermons called the story we live in. The story is about God who redeems. That statement (the story is about God who redeems) is a pretty big statement. First, the statement makes a claim on the existence of God. Secondly, the statement claims that God cares enough about humanity to help humanity. Well, it should make such a claim because the claim is true. God created us and even after our decent into the pit of sin and evil, he is still reaching out to save humanity from its fall. So it’s true, God cares enough about humanity to redeem humanity.
There’s a problem however. Many people who believe in God feel as though God is both cold and disinterested, caring nothing about humanity. Or they feel that God is just unable to do anything to help humanity. After loosing a son, my wife and I went through periods where we shared both feelings. Such feelings are not the product of irreverence. These feelings come from the real experiences of pain in this world. There is real pain and suffering in this world because it’s a place of injustice. There are too many things happening in this world that are not right. Isaiah prophesied at a time when Israel had experienced the injustice of this world. It is the late part of the 8th century and Israel has been led into captivity by the Assyrians. The prophet Isaiah describes the state of Israel in 1.7 saying, “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.” (All scripture quotations from Today’s New International Version)
Do we understand what is going on here? For centuries Israel has rested on the promise of blessing that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And now it appears that this promise has been forgotten.
The year was 1944 as Elie Wiesal recalls. No one in his Jewish community feared the Germans because the Allies were making great advances into Europe. In fact, they believed it would only be a matter of days before the Russians forced the war front to their community in Transylvania. In his book Night, he describes the day the fascist soldiers placed all of the Jews into the ghettos, robbed them of their belongings, and took from them every political right they had. But the Jewish community kept telling each other that everything would be all right. Then the orders came that all the Jews must vacate the ghettos and board a train bound for a work camp. Nevertheless, they kept telling each other that everything would be all right. They were loaded into cattle cars while being savagely beat with batons but held out faith that everything would be all right. The train took them to a place they never heard of, called Auschwitz. Elie Wiesal describes that night, as he writes:

An SS came toward us wielding a club. He commanded: “Men to the left! Women to the right!” Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother. …And I walked on with my father, with the men. I didn’t know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and [my sister] Tzipora forever.

They kept telling themselves that everything was going to be all right. But it wasn’t all right. As smoke rose from the furnace chimneys and the smell of burning flesh filled the air, something was awfully wrong.
The horrors of what happened in the Holocaust remind us that something is very wrong. Whether it’s the evil of humanity that can murder roughly sixteen million people in one decade or it’s a tsunami or hurricane that devastates a community and wrecks havoc on the poorest and most vulnerable people of society, we know that our world is a place where suffering is real and justice seems more like a dream than reality.
Isaiah understood this world. And amidst injustice, Isaiah was called to speak truth to the suffering hearts of Israel. He began in 11.1 proclaiming, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” These words of Isaiah used became common prophetic terminology to refocus Israel back to the promises of God to raise a king from the line David who would bring about the blessing that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaiah goes on to describe this Branch beginning in v. 2:

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The Branch for which Isaiah speaks about is one who understands. He is one who delights in the ways of God and not the ways of the evil that consumes this world. Instead of evaluating people based upon their wealth, power, and stature, He will view the world through the eyes of God whose image people have been made in. Politicians, talk show hosts, news anchors, and all sorts of other people use language and propaganda to characterize people into various stereotypes, but the Branch will not evaluate people based on what their words. That is why he will come with righteousness to restore justice to this life of ours.
What Isaiah is trying to get Israel and all others who have experienced the injustice of this world to do, is to look beyond the present suffering. Isaiah wants Israel to look beyond their present captivity. He wants to remind them of the promises God made in the past. Upon these promises, he reminds them that God will be faithful. Because God will be faithful, Israel can not only look to the past promises but can also look to the future with a realized hope.
And there is hope. But it’s not just hope for Israel. It’s hope for the entire world – all those who have experienced the hand of suffering and injustice. Again the proclamation of Isaiah in v. 4 is, “…with righteous he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”
It’s not just hope for Israel, its hope for the needy – the poor of the earth. But Isaiah is not just speaking of the physically poor, though the physically poor are certainly included here. Isaiah is speaking about those who are poor in life. That is, those who have been short-changed through suffering and injustice to the way of life that God created them to live.
Though we are only looking at one small passage in Isaiah, this prophet will go on to flesh out the glorious hope the world is longing for. But here in this passage, Isaiah uses some of the most vivid imagery to paint a picture of how this hope is imagined. Isaiah announces in v. 6:

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox. Infants will play near the hole of the cobra; young children will put their hands into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

This is what life will be like when the Branch comes with righteousness and restores justice to the life that God gave breath too.
It seems almost too hard to imagine. Wolves and lambs, leopards and goats, bears and cattle, children and vipers, all together and neither injury nor death will result. It seems almost too hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where people will kill each other and neglect each other, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where people who think like Adolph Hitler, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where Tsunami’s destroy homes and lives and all the while the money that is sent from around the world is selfishly swept up by the local hands of power, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where a hurricane can produce nearly a million refugees and yet people from other cities are more worried about their own self rather than receiving the refugee as a fellow human being, it is hard to imagine. It must have been hard for Israel to imagine as well. But as hard as it was, Israel looked beyond the present. Instead they looked into the past promises and acts of God, which gave them the confidence to hold out hope for the day when the Branch would restore justice.
The four Gospel’s of the New Testament were written to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophesies regarding the person from the line of David who would bring about this new dawn of hope. Jesus of Nazareth is the Branch which Isaiah speaks about. When Jesus began his ministry, he declared the appearance of God’s kingdom. He was declaring that the rule of God was being restored to this world, that righteousness and justice would once again be a reality. Of course, this message threatened the principalities and powers of this dark world as it always has and always will. So the powers that be killed Jesus and buried him. But God raised Jesus up and declared victory over evil, over every power of this world, and even over the last enemy – death. Jesus promises a return where the in breaking rule of God that began with his birth will be made complete. And so we live amidst two worlds colliding: The old world which is dying and the new in breaking world of God’s kingdom rule which is and is to come. It’s the light pouring into darkness. Right now we see glimpses of this light as it shines through and overtakes the darkness. But when Jesus comes again and finishes this restoration project, all of the darkness will be driven out never to be seen of or heard of again. So we cry out Maranatha – Come, Lord!
This is the story we live in. It’s a story about God who is saving a suffering world. One day the old world of suffering and injustice will no longer be. Now God is offering us an invitation to join the in breaking world where his kingdom is the rule. It’s the world where Jesus is King and Lord of all. No more principalities and powers of darkness. No more unrighteousness and injustice. It’s a life lived with the reality of the future breaking into the present. It’s a life that calls us to be about the kingdom business of Jesus by sharing in the work of restoring righteousness and justice to this world. It’s a life lived in the pursuit of righteousness and justice. The only question that remains is whether we will embrace God’s story and be part of the future among the present.

Thoughts About the "Identity Crisis" Among Churches of Christ

2007-02-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Christian Chronicle, a news journal associated with the Churches of Christ, has recently published a series of quotes from ministers within the Churches of Christ addressing the question of whether or not there is an identity crisis within the fellowship (click on the title for the link access to the full article). I am not interested in discussing right now whether or not there is an identity crisis. What does bother me is some of the comments made by certain individuals. One such quote come from Phil Sanders, Preacher for the Concord Road Church of Christ in Brentwood, TN. Here is his response in full:

Phil Sanders, minister, Concord Road church in Brentwood, Tenn.: I believe some Christians and some churches know who they are and others don’t. You can’t expect the nearly 13,000 congregations among us to be carbon copies of each other any more than the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3 were alike. Some were strong in faith, weak in numbers. Some were strong in heritage and without heart. Some were prominent in their society and lukewarm. Some have open doors and some have closed.

Many churches know the Book and stand for what we have historically held, while others are trying to turn the church of Christ into a bad substitute for a denomination. These mindsets are polarizing, and in many communities fellowship has ceased among brethren. Those who believe we must not become denominational will not join hands with those who feel we must progress beyond the Scriptures. In not a few communities the impasse seems inescapable.

I believe one of the greatest needs in the church today is for members to know what it means to be a New Testament Christian, saved by grace through faith and fully committed to the cause and teaching of Christ. Some have taken up padded crosses, convenient Christianity, and a synthetic faith. They don’t know what they believe or why.

I would like to point out one part of Brother Sanders comment. He says, “Many churches know the Book [Bible] and stand for what we have historically held, while others are trying to turn the church of Christ into a bad substitute for a denomination.” His comments assume that those of us that fall into the “others” category, like me, are leaving the pursuit of New Testament Christianity. That is hardly the case, it is just that some of us, like me again, believe that some of the conclusions about the Bible and Christianity reached by those among the Churches of Christ of the previous generation were incorrect.

Those conclusions were reached by honest Christians seeking to pursue Christianity with great integrity. Nevertheless, I believe some of their conclusions were based on a problematic hermeneutic and some faulty assumptions in regards to the intended function of scripture.

But please, if you disagree with me, don’t just label me as if I am just trying to pervert Christianity. Far from it, in my own weakness and limited understanding, I am trying to help the universal church and Churches of Christ be what it should be: The Body of Christ living out her life just as her head, Jesus of Nazareth, lived out his life.

How Could This Ever Be...

2007-02-17T17:12:00.000-08:00

Vincenzo Ricardo was found dead today from natural causes in his home. Unforunately, Mr. Ricardo died a year ago and his remains were found mummified in front of the television.

I am not sure how something this tragic happens but it never should have been. We were created to be in community. Unfortunately, our own predicament of sin has destroyed the communal nature of our creation. Nevertheless, God is redeeming us back into a communal relationship with him and each other. Tragically, there are still people who must suffer alone.

I don’t want to leave this world alone. I am reminded of the line from Elvis Presley’s song Where No One Stands Alone, “…But I don’t know a thing in this whole wide world that’s worse than being alone…”

May we always be people who are drawn into community, learn to live as community, and welcome others – even the stranger – to the community.

Same Blog, New Title, New Link

2007-02-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

I have changed the title of my blog to "A Kingdom Seeking Saint" and the new sight is located at...

www.kingdomseekingsaint.blogspot.com

Next Phase Please

2006-12-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

There are no more exams, no more finals, no more late nights and early mornings... at least not for my Master of Divinity degree. Yesterday I took my last exam and earlier in the week I submitted my last paper (and as fate would have it, the last paper turned out to be the hardest). Except for one practicum left, I have completed all of the work for my degree and am well on the way to receiving that diploma this coming May. Hallelujah!

Now we must quickly pack our house (we’ve already started though) and move to Ithaca, New York where I will serve as the Preaching Minister for the Ithaca Church of Christ. We move out on Wednesday and are very excited. This will be a new and exciting phase.

Jesus Is Good for Business

2006-11-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

So last year Wal-Mart avoided the term “Merry Christmas” out of a fear that this term with a somewhat Christian meaning (even though this term has been highly commercialized) would offend certain customers and ultimately cost the gigantic superstore chain a few dollars in retail sales. But that apparently backfired as opting to be politically correct by only using the generic holiday greeting “Happy Holiday’s” offended the majority base of Wal-Mart shoppers. So, Wal-Mart has opted to revive the term “Merry Christmas” this year.

I for one am so glad that Wal-Mart is willing to use a term that references Jesus Christ because it is good for business. If Jesus is bad for business then this retail giant can opt out of making any possible references to Jesus Christ, but because Jesus appears to be good for business then it is ok to use terminology that refers to Jesus.

Thanks Wal-Mart! I am sure that Jesus is just rejoicing knowing that references to his name is good for business and I am sure that he equally glad to know that your only concern in reviving his name at your business is your concern for your own interest.

“Happy Holidays / Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays / Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays / Merry Christmas,” etc… I am more appalled and offended that you are willing to reference to Jesus Christ because it is better for your business. But what does it matter? I do not need your store approval, any cultural permission, or any governmental freedom to grant me the freedom to speak the name of Jesus Christ.

I proclaim the name of Jesus Christ because he is the One who has come, was crucified unto death, buried, raised as the first born from the dead, and is coming again. Thus I have all the approval, permission, and freedom I need to proclaim the One who came and lived among us as the truth, showing us the way to live, and revealing to us the source of life.

And this is why Christmas is merry.

A Righteous Love

2006-10-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

In the most radical, counter-culture ethic ever proclaimed – “The Sermon on the Mount” found in the Gospel of Matthew (ch. 5-7) – Jesus taught the world how to be righteous in our love.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matt. 5.43-44, TNIV)

Most of us believe such a moral demand to be a nice sentiment. But most of us have also believed at one time or another that loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors is unrealistic in the real world, especially when we realize that it is impossible to love and pray for such people when we wish ill on them (and perhaps even actively try to gain revenge).
In fact, just imagine praying for someone who has done harm to you or seeking what is best for someone who despises you. Sounds completely absurd! Imagine feeling compassion and remorse for someone who has just murdered part of your family. This sounds too ridiculous to be true in our world… except it is true.

Rather than dwell on the victims — though this is a close-knit community, where few are strangers — Amish residents spoke of their concern for Roberts' family; their sorrow that a man could become so unhinged, so alienated from the Lord.

"I wish someone could have helped him out, poor soul. It's
obvious that something was troubling him," said Steve, a 54-year-old carpenter who, like many here, would not give his full name. Of the tragedy, he would say only that it was "uncalled for," and unexpected.
An Amish woman who gave her name as Irene also expressed compassion for the gunman. "I am very thankful," she said, "that I was raised to believe you don't fight back. You should forgive.” (This story appeared in the L.A. Times, click on my link to see the full story)

I think we all can learn a lot from the way this Amish community is responding to such a horrible tragedy and the way they are tangibly loving their enemy and praying for their persecutor. The ethic of Jesus is not a goal to lofty for the real world, it is just a matter whether we want to continue living out this fallen real world or live in the real world that the grace of God will allow us to become. May we all learn to live out this righteous love in our own lives!

Chicago Cubs Manager Dusty Baker Fired

2006-10-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today, after another LOOSING season, my baseball team - the Chicago Cubs - fired their manager Dusty Baker. This a day after the team President, Andy MacPhail resigned. However, Jim Hendry, their General remains. Why? Why fire a half-way decent manager when the problem was not his but rather a GM who insisted the team rely on two injury prone pitchers, failed to make a substantial offer for then Astros slugger Calos Beltran because of salary constraint but then dumped Sammy Sosa for nothing (in case you didn't realize, if the Cubs were going to dump Sosa for nothing then they could have done that before Beltran signed with the Mets and had a potential chance at signing a big bat), and goes out an signs an average outfielder by the name of Jacque Jones (and call's it a major deal).

It is true that no one could foresee some of the injuries to some of the other players but that is irrelevant because the Cubs were loosers last year two. The Cubs do not need another manager who will be fired in four years, they need upper management (begining with the GM) who will committ to fielding a team that will win the World Series.

Fielding a team that makes the playoff is not good enough. Cubs fans want a team that will win it all. Anything less is unacceptable. Spend the money that we all know the team has and Win!

Ithaca Church of Christ

2006-09-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today my search for a place in ministry came to an end. I was offered the Preaching/Evangelist ministry position with the Ithaca Church of Christ in Ithaca, New York. My wife and I feel like we are a really good fit with this congregation and apparently that feeling is mutual. We look forward to what God is going to accomplisht through us and this church as we seek to proclaim Jesus Christ to the community of Ithaca, NY. We plan to move in late December. Please click on the link to see the church website and learn more about Ithaca, New York. To God be the glory!

Because Jesus is Lord

2006-08-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about Gregory A. Boyd? He serves as an evangelist and preacher with the Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. The Woodland Hills Church is a non-denominational church that apparently is very evangelical in its beliefs and practices and has become somewhat of a “Mega-Church.”

Believing that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not aligned with American politics or the nationalism so prevalent in this country (of which traditional evangelicalism traditionally stands for), Mr. Boyd preached about this. Daring to speak the truth at the risk of knowing he would upset some of the members in this church, Boyd counted the cost and continued to speak the truth. The result: according to Boyd, about 1,000 members of this 5,000 member church decided to leave. However, this also opened the door to this church reaching out and ministering to many more of the poor in the community.

Whether you agree or disagree with Boyd, he deserves respect because he knows who is Lord (Jesus the Messiah) and who is not the Lord (congregation members, money from tithing, popularity and likeability, American politics, American evangelicals, etc… to name a few). If you want to read the full article then click on the title of my blog to hit the link.

Off To Fort Scott, Kansas

2006-08-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well, my family and I are headed to Fort Scott, Kansas this weekend to see if God is calling us to ministry in this town with the 15th and Crawford Church of Christ. We are excited about the trip and look forward to being in Kansas. We have never been to Kansas before but we have been to Missouri and this town is only about ten miles across the Missouri/Kansas state line.

Later in August, we will travel to Union Town, Pennsylvania to consider a ministry opportunity with the Union Town Church of Christ. And then on Labor Day weekend we will be up in beautiful Vermont to be with the Montpelier Church of Christ. So we are excited about the future, we just wish we knew where the near future is taking us but God is with us so we do not fear.

Still Alive / In a phase of discerning

2006-06-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

Yes I am still alive. My family and I have been busy little traveling bunnies over the last month. We have been to the west coast and the east coast looking at ministry opportunities but for reasons not entirely known to me, those opportunities have been closed. Nevertheless, I will trust that God is providentially at work in our lives, as he has always been in the past. We also went home to the southern part of the Lake Michigan area (did I mention we were traveling bunnies?) to see family and most especially Laura’s father who is recovering from prostate removal surgery which caused some serious complications but he is better now and is recovering well. He, Jim Martin, is still not out of the woods in terms of cancer and may need to undergo chemo therapy, so please pray for him.

Any ways, Laura and I are trying to discern the future path God has for us. We know God has called us to serve him and for me to proclaim his Son Jesus as the Messiah. All I want to do is help other people find hope in Jesus and learn to live the life he is calling them too, while leading others around me to be effective witnesses and servants of the Risen One. Yet I am not sure where, so I continue to be discerning. While we continue to discern, we are asking ourselves if God is calling us to ministry through church planting or through an existing congregation. But I believe all discernment should be done in Christian community – and you all, the readers of this blog, are part of my Christian community, so what do you think?

In the meantime, if you know of a congregation looking for a minister, one where I would fit in well, then please let me know. Please keep us in your prayers.

Pat Robertson's Plane Crashes

2006-06-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

A plane belonging to the fundamentalist Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson crashed near Long Island, NY. Both Pilots perished as a result of the crash and several other people were injured. Pat Robertson was not aboard the flight. Click on the link in the title for an online news article with more details.

However, now that this terrible tragedy has occurred we all are left to wonder how Pat Robertson will interpret this terrible occurrence. Will he see this tragedy as a sign of God’s divine punishment, as he does with many other tragedies that either occur or are predicted by him? Or will he finally learn that human suffering and human tragedy are not necessarily the wrath of God being outpoured? Even more, will Pat Robertson finally learn that God has not given humans the ability to interpret and declare the reasons for human tragedy and innocent suffering?

Trusting in Divine Mystery

2006-05-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Over the last two weeks I have been slowly reading through a book titled Stumbling Toward Faith: My Longing to Heal from the Evil that God Allowed by Renée Altson. The book is her story of being abandoned by her mother, growing up in a home where her father sexually abused her while reciting scripture to her, and being made out to be an outcast by the church.

Neither of my parents abandoned me, I never was sexually abused (or abused in any form), and I never was treated as a social outcast by a church. Therefore, I come to this book as one who can only learn through the eyes of the author what it is like to be victimized to such an extent that your innocence is completely robbed and your trust in everything, including God, is shattered.

On the other hand, I read the book as one who has suffered the loss of a child and as one who has preached the funeral of his younger brother who left behind a wife and two children. So in one sense, I unfortunately understand what it is like to believe in God but have everything you believe about God brought into question by shattering and painful experience of death. Here is a lengthy section from this book that details her struggle with the church:

“i have always posed a lot of questions that made a lot of people in the church uncomfortable. to many of those people my questions were insignificant, and their responses were hastily muttered under their breath. i don’t think they ever even really thought about anything i said. they didn’t want to confront their own questions, their own doubts, and they labeled by dangerous. i was considered a troublemake.

this made it difficult to ever be taken seriously. i was silenced before i ever found the courage to speak. i was told half-truths before the questions ever left my lips.

slowly i began to their problem wasn’t with me or with my questions as much as it was with the inevitable (but never verbalized) ‘i don’t know.’

it was imperative that they ‘know’ – even if it meant age-old platitudes grown hollow and insignificant through years of recitation…

i heard a lot of the same things:

‘god always provides.’

‘god will not give you anything you can’t handle.’

‘god will make a way for escape.’

these pat answers were thrown back at me as weapons, as ways to silence my questions. but while these kinds of statements were usually sucked right from the pages of scripture, and therefore bore some element of truth, they became meaningless to me with their overuse…

…they were easy explanations, cut-and-pasted christian phrases guaranteed to stifle honest exploration into pain and turn god into a magic 8 ball with answers that fit any situation.

the truth in them was stripped out; the whole story in them was eliminated: god doesn’t always provide when we think he should, and sometimes, his provision looks nothing like what we expect it to. god may not give more than we can handle, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t hurt under the weight of what he has already given us…

in my journey toward god, one of the greatest things i have learned is that there is much i do not know…

if there’s anything i’ve learned about not knowing, it’s that it reveals the depth of my trust. can i trust a god who will not explain himself? can i trust a god who leaves me not knowing his purpose, his will? can i trust something beyond the pat answers, the snatched promises, the ways we quiet ourselves when the questioning grows too strong?

can i trust a god who lets me live with an ‘i don’t know’ and expects that it is enough?”

I understand completely how the author feels. My wife and I had some of the same “pat answers” thrown back at us in response to the new faith questions we had. Those pat answers never answered anything. They cannot! God is too big for such naïve, simplistic concepts.

I wish I knew why certain children live while others die? I wish I knew why certain children remain innocent while other children have their innocence stolen before they even know what the term “innocence” actually means. I wish I knew…

But I don’t know. All I am left knowing is that God has come into this world proclaiming his reign through Jesus Christ in death and resurrection as a promise that suffering and pain will not have the final word in life. So I am comforted, even though God remains in many ways a Divine Mystery.

The question ever before me is whether I can trust in God who in many ways remains a Divine Mystery?

Dare We Live "The Sermon on the Mount"

2006-05-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have just left the Sermon Seminar at Rochester College in Rochester Hills, MI. The seminar topic was “Dare We Live in the World Imagined in the Sermon on the Mount.” Without a doubt, the seminar was both encouraging and challenging.

As Christians, here are some of the questions we have been challenged to ask:

Can we be a people who embrace the impoverished and destitute rather than the wealthy and powerful?

Can we be a people who live by grace, compassion, and righteousness rather than a triumphalistic, self-perpetuated glory?

Can we be a people who seek peaceful solutions to justice rather than the violent ways of our world?

Can we be a people so transformed by prayer that we truly become salt and light rather than just another common ordinary people among the world?

Can we be a people so transformed by prayer that we can freely confess our own wrong-doings, seek forgiveness in God, and then demonstrate that same loving forgiveness to the world – even our enemies of this world?

Can we seek the kingdom of God with such vigor that nothing of this world will come between our desire live out our calling?

Can we become so full of faith that the worries of this world depart from us, knowing that our Father in heaven has, is, and will continue to provide for our every need?

Can we learn to walk the narrow road, knowing that the narrow road will incur persecution but that God will give us our reward for faithfulness?

Can we truly learn to be the radical disciple that Jesus calls us to be, who abandoned the many dying kingdoms of this age and embraces the inbreaking Kingdom of God of the New Age?

So how about it? In a world where might is right, where wealth, power, and prestige are valued as essential to living and survival, where roughly 95% of the world exists in slavery for the service of the other 5%... Can we as Christians embrace a kingdom that is inaugurated by its leader hanging on a cross? Can we follow our Lord in such a path, embracing the cross in anticipation of God victory which has been promised in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

Kai Leigh Harriot's Grace

2006-04-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Did you miss the story about Kai Leigh Harriot? If so, then let me tell you.

When Kai Leigh Harriot was three years old, she was the victim of gun violence. As a result, the gunshot shattered her spinal cord before ripping through her chest. The gunshot left Kai paralyzed from the middle of the chest down.

Now five years old, Kai sits in a wheelchair that will be with her for the remainder of her life. She will never experience many of life’s little joys that so many of us take for granted on a daily basis.

Earlier this month she sat in the courtroom and faced the man who fired the gunshot into her little body. With profuse tears choking up her voice, she acknowledged that what the gunman did to her was wrong but then she said “But I still forgive him.”

Kai Leigh Harriot teaches us so much. She could have chosen to hate this man and curse him for this act of injustice he has afflicted her with but instead she chose to forgive this man. What a wonderful expression of grace!

If this little five year old child can have it in her heart to forgive someone for committing an egregious act of evil, why do so many of us struggle to forgive others who do wrong towards us?

Frustrated but Encouraged

2006-04-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely busy as the school semester winds down. Between staying at home and being a Father to my daughter, attempting 9 semester hours, trying to locate a full-time ministry opportunity (this is my last semester in Memphis), and trying to remain involved ministry wise in the lives of some other people, I am frustrated but Encouraged.

Ever since becoming a Christian I have always wanted to help others come to know God. I know that even the best ministry context has its problems as well, but I am so tired of fighting ridiculous barriers that keep people from being open to God’s calling.

Why do Christians judge other people through human eyes? Why do Christians judge people by their skin color? By the way they dress? By their outward appearance? Why have Christians not learned to view people through the image they were created in? Through the baptism they could receive if they hear the gospel and see that very gospel lived out in the church’s life?

Why do we insist on having an unwritten dress code for church that tells the majority of our culture “Clean up and dress up if you wish to come hear!”

Why do we live in a culture celebrates exciting experiences with shouts of joy and cheers but insist that such emotions are improper in worship.

When people are grieving, why do we deny them the place in worship and fellowship to truly lament and question God, telling them “It will be alright! Just remember ‘In all things God works for the good of those who love him…” when we don’t even know what suffering they are going through – AND WE HAVEN’T EVEN TAKEN THE TIME TO ASK THEM.

Why do we profess every Sunday faith in a person whose life was shaped by servitude, humility, and obedience, and yet we struggle so to even scratch the surface of those attributes at times?

Why is church more about us and getting our preferences met first? AND THEN if those on the outside can fit into our mold, then they can enter and learn about Jesus.

Why are we more concerned with keeping our local church in good standing with a brotherhood church then worrying about whether Jesus is actually trying to change us so that we could effectively minister incarnationally to a postmodern, unchurch world?

Why are we so critical of postmodernism, resisting it at all cost when we have swallowed – hook, line, and sinker – modernism? Could it not be that while both isms contain elements contrary to the gospel, that God still could work WITHIN a postmodern world just as he did in a modern world?

These are just a few of my frustrations when it comes to church. However I am encouraged because God has worked through all the other imperfect moments of history in the church, so I know that he can work through our imperfect attempts at being a Jesus community…
…just as he can even work through someone like you and I!

Following Jesus in a Violent World

2006-02-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Muslim violent protest in reactions to the cartoons of Mohammad is wrong. No matter how offended the Muslim world is by the cartoons of Mohammad, it does not justify violent protest. However, it seems now that some Christians have felt justified in returning such violence by engaging in violent protests themselves. This is wrong too.

Christian violence should be of a special concern for Christians when we consider the fact that our Lord and Savior was treated unjustly, resulting in his persecution and eventual crucifixion. Jesus could have, as the song we sometimes sing, called ten-thousand angels - but he didn't. His disciple, Peter, tried using violence to defend him and he told Peter to put away the sword unless he wanted to die by the sword. Consequently, the earliest Christians, victims of severe persecution as well, refused to resort to violence as a means of defending themselves from injustice. This was in part because of their understanding of the Kingdom they now belonged too but this was also but this was also because they knew God had already given them victory over their oppressors and would bring about this victory upon the return of Jesus Christ to this earth.

Unfortunately today many Christians believe violence is a needed and justified solution to the evil acts of others. Where did we ever develop this idea from? Certainly not the life of Jesus we have modeled for us in scripture. When we use violence against our enemies, it makes us no better than our enemies. It surely does not demonstrate for our enemies and the rest of the world the new "kingdom" way of living to which God has called us to in Jesus Christ.

As a child my mother always told me “two wrongs never make a right.” There is a lot of wisdom in this little proverb. Violence is wrong. Violence is wrong whether it is the Muslim community reacting in protest to a perceived wrong done to them and violence is wrong when it is the Christian community reacting in protest to a perceived wrong done to them as well.

God our Father, your Son was a peaceful and loving servant who went to the cross so that we might live in victory as he does. Father, you raised him from death showing the world your victory over sin and death. Now you have called us to follow your Son Jesus, carrying our own crosses, becoming servants in this world, trusting in you as our victor and our source of life. You have sent you Spirit to empower us to live such a life. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we may walk by the power of your Spirit and express in our lives the very fruit of your Spirit. Amen!

Why I Am Pursuaded Towards Practicing Non-Violent Justice, Rev. & Expd.

2006-02-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is not a fully detailed argument for what is commonly referred to as pacifism. There is a lot more that could be said in defense of the Christian pacifistic position. I would like to qualify the term “Pacifism” and suggest that from a Christian view point I would like to understand this term as a non-violent but active approach to practicing justice in the world. This qualification is due to the fact that I do believe Christians should be actively practicing social justice among the world, but only in a non-violent manner. For an accessible but more detailed case, here is my suggestion: Lee C. Camp, "Mere Discipleship: Radical Discipleship in a Rebellious World" (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003).
At one time I was an advocate of the “just war” position. I am still proud of those who serve in the military because they are convicted it is morally correct as well as they believe it is their calling, and so they serve as though they were serving God. So please do not misunderstand my present conviction to be understood as though I disrespect those who serve in the military, especially those who have given their life while serving in the armed forces.
Nevertheless, over the years since I became a Christian, I have begun to question the ethical appropriateness of engaging in warfare in order to bring about justice among the world. I now am pretty convinced that engaging in warfare is unethical from a Christian viewpoint. Therefore I am now advocating as the acceptable moral/ethic Christian position the pursuit of non-violence in the quest for justice in this world. I will confess however, there are a lot of questions when it comes to the various hypothetical situations which I simply do not have all the answers too. This is the same for me when it comes to my theodicy (a Christian explanation for the problem of evil and innocent suffering). There are plenty of hypothetical situations of suffering (which are actually real for some people) to which I have no answer for. But not having an answer to every possible situation should not keep anyone from defending and living out what is believed to be the correct teaching, the biblical-ethical teaching.
Why have I changed? Primarily, I have changed due to my understanding of hermeneutics. In short, my hermeneutic, by which I determine how to conduct my life as a Christian, is based on how Jesus lived — whom I call Lord and follow after. This is contra to the hermeneutic which I was taught as a child growing up in church, which simply sought a proof text (i.e. cut and paste) from the Bible either by command, example, or inference in order to justify or condemn a particular position and/or practice. My hermeneutic led me to view the Bible as a window (if you will) to the life of Jesus. I am trying to model my life after Jesus and in scripture I see other communities of people trying to follow after Jesus as well, some better than others. As I read the teachings passed on to these communities in response to their own circumstances, these letters become a guiding point for me. However the scriptures are not the pattern I am seeking to follow, they are the window through which I see the pattern – Jesus that is – I am trying to follow. The New Testament scriptures present a window of insight into how other Christian communities incorporated the teachings and life of Jesus into their own life. Because scripture, as God’s written word, belongs to a specific historical context, it calls for all contemporary readers to ask the question of how we take instruction given to an ancient faith community and apply that instruction to our own unique circumstances. However, the intent is not for us to make the written instruction our pattern but rather is to point us to Jesus who is our one true pattern for living a true life.
So with this hermeneutical shift, this is what I noticed. Rather than defending himself, Jesus endured the evil of humanity and trusted in his Father to vindicate him. Such endurance led Jesus to the cross but the cross was followed by a resurrection. Even though the cross was certainly part of God’s plan of salvation for humanity, it was also a result of Jesus’ refusal to give way to the political and religious positions of his day while at the same time refusing to engage with tactics of warfare in the proclamation of the kingdom of God. So Jesus was active in bringing about social justices, as seen in his public ministry which proclaimed and embodied the kingdom of God. However, while proclaiming this new kingdom (which was a threat to the existing political and religious powers) and living the kingdom values out, Jesus simultaneously resisted the political and religious powers in a non-violent manner.
Jesus called people to follow him, carrying a cross as well (Mk. 8.34). The promise of the Son of Man (i.e. Jesus) returning in glory was the promise of victory for those who followed him as well. Thus the earliest Christians were also called to endure the evil of humanity rather than defend themselves and then “in faith” trust God to vindicate them (Rev. 13:7-10 and 14:9-12; passages that usually goes unnoticed when discussing topics like this). This practice of Christians enduring the evil of humanity rather than rising in defense of themselves and others continued until the fourth century. They chose to be martyrs rather than to use the sword on their own behalf and thus trusted in God to vindicate them. This was the practice of the Christian church up and until the Roman emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity. Further, to rise up in support of the worldly, political kingdoms seemed to be considered offering worship to someone other than God.
If non-violent resistance was the practice of Jesus and his earliest followers, why should it be any different now? Why should it be different now when Christians are still people who belong to the kingdom of God and thus should embrace the values of the kingdom, which was demonstrated by Jesus? Can we who are Christians in the twenty-first century not also trust in God to vindicate us? Especially since we are promised that the kingdom of God, which we belong too, is victorious and that all worldly kingdoms have been, are, and will be destroyed.
Such non-violent resistance does not mean that Christians should be passive when it comes to social-justice. Christians should work to help those who are oppressed, whether such oppression is found in the form of tyranny or poverty or some other form. What can be done? First, Christians should be in constant prayer for those who are oppressed (and prayer is something rarely considered as a “powerful” response to injustice – which betrays our faith in prayer). Second, Christians can live out their baptism (see Romans 6) and realize they have already been baptized into death and therefore have been raised into life with Jesus. This means Christians are free to live and minister to the oppressed without fear of social reprimand, political persecution, or worse, even death. I realize that in the United States of America, it seems unlikely that Christians will ever face political imprisonment or execution for ministering and seriously taking a non-violent stand against social injustice. But I believe Christian who do minister in an incarnational manner among the oppressed will face social persecution from their peers, because such a lifestyle will become a stunning rebuke to the way thing exist in society – even in the United States of America. I know this because one of my most beloved undergraduate teacher has been told at times throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s that he was unwelcome in a Christian house of worship because of his outspoken and living stance against the racial segregation and oppression of African Americans. Third, Christian must be the alternative to an oppressive society. Where worldly political – nation – states, among other empires, are concerned with self-preservation, Christians know the Kingdom of God is the only ever lasting Kingdom. The kingdom is a reality where life is experienced the way God created life to be lived. The kingdom of God is perfectly embodied in the life of Jesus Christ. Christians, who belong to the alternative community called church, are called to embody this kingdom life (literally the reign of God) as well, offering the world an alternative way to the temporary kingdoms where the Kingdom Way is demonstrated, experienced, and embodied to its fullest.

Mandisa'a Grace

2006-02-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

I am not a fan of the popular television show American Idol, and have only seen a couple of the episodes. However, fan or not, you would need to be a complete hermit to not know what American Idol is.

One of the facts about the show is the candid, some would say mean-spirited, remarks and criticism hurled upon the contestants by Simon. One particular victim of Simon’s sense of humor and personality was a contestant named Mandisa. The remarks were directed at her physical size, as she is a larger woman. Naturally these remarks were very hurtful to Mandisa and she admitted that she was brought to tears by the comments of Simon.

The natural response to an attack and insult on our personhood is to put up our defense by going on the offense and lashing out our pain and anger on the Simon’s of this world. I know this is what I naturally want to do when someone does something that angers me or hurts my feelings. I must get even! Get revenge! No, not just get even and get revenge but hurt them worse than they hurt me. That will teach them a lesson… “They messed with the wrong person this time” is what I think.

But Mandisa showed the world what it means to have experienced grace and what it means to extend that same grace. Instead of unleashing a verbal assault, or worse, on Simon she said something to the effect of…

“I’ve forgiven you. You don’t need someone to apologize to offer them forgiveness. If Jesus Christ could die for my sins then I can extend that same grace to you.”

Simon responded by admitting that he was humbled. And we have learned a lesson that vengeance, hatred, defensiveness, etc… does not make right of the wrongs done to us in life. Grace, the extension of the same grace God has shown us in Jesus Christ, rights the wrongs of this world. And I am sure that Mandisa, out of her willingness to forgive and unconditionally extend grace to Simon, is at peace for doing so.

True Freedom vs. the Idolatrous Illusion

2006-02-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

In his 2006 State of the Union address to Congress and the Citizens of the United States, President Bush made this the following statements with regards to the U.S. military involvement among the rest of the world:

“The only way to protect our people, the only way to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by our leadership -- so the United States of America will continue to lead.”

He goes on to say, “There is no peace in retreat. And there is no honor in retreat.”

And finally our President speaks of our country by saying:

“…We must never give in to the belief that America is in decline, or that our culture is doomed to unravel. The American people know better than that. We have proven the pessimists wrong before -- and we will do it again.”

I find these comments strangely interesting, considering that our President is a confessed Christian along with many of us who also live in the U.S.

I thought as Christians we believe that Jesus is our only security and peace. In fact I thought as Christians we believe Jesus showed true honor and peace by retreat and refusing to fight when the Roman soldiers came to arrest him and execute him. I thought as Christians we believe that every nation is in decline, even our own, and that the only everlasting nation/kingdom is the Kingdom of God.

I guess not every Christian believes that.

This post is not about whether the use and support of warfare and military power by a Christians is ever justified. This post is about the idolatry many Christians who live in the U.S. have bought into. Is our security and peace dependent on a government and its military force?

The Apostle Paul believed that Jesus had died and arose from death and therefore death had no more mastery over Jesus. Furthermore, Paul believed death had no more mastery over any Christian because Christians too had died with Jesus and therefore have also been raised into the resurrected life of Jesus (Romans 6.8-10). The death and resurrection of Jesus changed the reality of the world. Through Jesus death was conquered and therefore brought about the ultimate peace to those who believe in Jesus.

Because Paul believed in Jesus, Paul also believed death held no mastery over him (or any other Christian). This is why Paul can say in his letter to the Philippian church, a letter he wrote in prison:

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1.20-21, TNIV)

Paul knew he was facing a date with the executioner for being a Christian. However, the possibility of martyrdom did not scare Paul, it did not threaten his sense of security and peace because Paul knew that dying in this world simply meant gaining the reward of eternal life with Jesus Christ. Now that is true freedom!

Jesus Christ is the only true freedom and it is only in Jesus that a person can obtain true freedom. It is an idolatrous illusion to be a Christian and yet buy into the notion that our freedom, our hope, our security, and our peace is dependent on our government or any other nation/state.

I am sure that our President means well but he is wrong, dead wrong. And so are the Christians who believe that our freedom is dependent on any person or people besides Jesus Christ. When we Christians finally realize that we have been set free in Christ, we then, like Paul, can be free to live each and every day in complete surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and stop worrying whether some other nation, people group, etc… is going to persecute us. We can do this just like Paul did along with the rest of the Christians in the first three centuries and just like many other Christians today who live a “free” life under a tyrannical regime.

2006-01-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

If you periodically view this blog, I apologize for the long absense without any post. I hope to be posting soon again but right now I am super busy finishing graduate school work and at the same time I am immersed in a ministry job search. If you know of a good ministry job opening, let me know. Thanks and God bless you all!

In Prayer I Trust God Once Again

2005-11-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

You have heard all those clichés before… You know, how God hears our prayers and answers them… how “all things work for good for those who love the Lord…” and so on. I used to believe them without giving them any more thought than just to quote those spiffy little sayings when ever they suited my purposes and helped me towards my own favor. But that changed…

There are certain points in life where those statements seem pretty absurd, not because they are untrue but because at certain moments of life, those unpleasant moments of deep suffering, and those sayings – as biblical as they are – seem very untrue.

Whether it is the death of someone deeply loved, a divorce, a serious illness, or a deeply imbedded emotional wound that makes you wish life would just end, whatever the case may be it seems hard to believe that God hears and answers prayer and is doing so in order that your life will turn out for the good. In my case, it seemed pretty hard to trust in God after having spent nine months praying for my unborn son only to watch him die three days after his birth.

Following my own experience of suffering was a period of 1-1½ years where I could no longer trust God, even though I had nowhere else to turn but to God. Yet I could not pray. What would I pray about? It seemed that God did not near my prayers for my son. And if he heard my prayers then he must not have answered those prayers. And if he answered those prayers (which led to my son’s death), then what good was prayer anyways if it brought me this much pain.

Do you understand the dilemma? Almost three years later I heard a person speaking on the subject of spiritual transformation. This person himself had suffered the death of a wife and a son during his lifetime. During the question and answer session, I asked him how we learn to pray again. His answer was Romans 8.26-27…

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (TNIV)

Scripture reminds us that God is working for us through the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us in prayer. Therefore God knows what we need even if we do not know how to ask for it.

This was a turning point. Because I came to realize that I needed to trust that God had only my good in mind, even if I was unable to see how God was working for my good in the temporal moment. This is why Paul continued in his letter to the Romans saying…

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8.28, TNIV).

At that moment I learned that if I was ever to recover from the horror of loosing my son, I would need to trust in God even when I could not see or understand why. This is faith and it is truly a liberating moment of joy with God.

Eventually I began praying again. My prayer started out something like this: “Father God, I need you in my life but I do not know what to say or ask you for. I don’t know what to even pray for. However, I know that by your Spirit you are listening and that you know what my life needs so in your grace and mercy will answer my prayer? I trust you in your Son, Jesus. Amen!

I do not have all the answers to why bad things happen. I do not fully understand how God is involved in our life. This I do know… The Father sent his Son, Jesus into this world to redeem us through the cross and resurrection and has left us with the indwelling Holy Spirit as a promise of our eternal life until the Son comes again. Because I believe this, I must believe God is always working for my good – even when I am unable to see that work in the temporal moment. And so in prayer I trust God once again.

When God Sends Them Our Way

2005-10-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

While attending seminary on a full-time basis, I also serve as a part-time associate minister in a small congregation which is an overwhelmingly congregation of elderly people. This church is your typical traditional Church of Christ. There is no big exciting ministries taking place and certainly there is no dazzling youth ministry going on (we don’t have any teenagers in attendance).

Well three weeks ago two teenage boys, one of whom lives two blocks from the church building, decided to walk over to our building and visit us for worship. Because I was leading songs that morning, I was not able to speak with them until after services were over. After talking with them, I honestly thought that they would never show up again. But wouldn’t you know it, this past Sunday morning they both showed up again for Sunday School, worship (the beginning of our Gospel Meeting), and then stayed for the potluck afterwards..

I and another associate minister who attends seminary with me were able to spend the class time with them, getting to know these boys a little better. They wanted to study the Bible. Now let me tell you, everything you have heard about a postmodern world view was true with them (as far as I could tell). When asked what they thought about God… they replied that he is like a superhero in the sky.

Now since I happen to be very interested in the subject of Christian ministry in a postmodern setting, I was not intimidated one bit by the fact that their world view and understanding of life carries a complete different set of assumptions then I was raised with. Of course, I realize that postmoderns learn much easier through experience than rational thought (which is neither good nor bad).

So I thought that it would be very nice to have a dynamic youth group (community) to which I could invite these two teenager into and let them see the transforming power of God at work among a community of “God-people, so that they could eventually see that all of this “Bible / Church” stuff has some merit to it – hoping that this would lead them to an embracing of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But I don’t have this. All that I had was a library, the other associate minister, some Bibles, and some knowledge (feeble knowledge) to offer them. We started with Genesis and I tried to help them see the point of the creation narrative and why it meant something to the Israelites coming out of Egyptian captivity. And this rational discourse was intended to teach them that God created them to be his special people as well.

So I did not have the “ideal” environment for spiritual transformation among a couple of teenage postmodern minds. God still sent them our way and placed them before me so that they could begin to here and see the good news of God. No, I did not have the picture perfect situation to work with but I have learned something again. Discovering God is not dependent on whether I can engineer the perfect environment for spiritual transformation. Yes, if I had my choice it would be a different environment. But I did not have that luxury. Still, God sent them our way. I then can only do two things: 1) Plant the seed of Jesus Christ, and 2) trust God to water and increase that planted seed. I am still grateful for the opportunity to spend at least one morning with these two boys showing them where true life is found.

Who is God sending your way?

William Bennett and Others who don't Get it

2005-09-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Recently on his radio talk show, William Bennett made this comment in a discussion about the crime rate:

"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down."

Because he called the idea of aborting every black baby “morally reprehensible,” he does not understand why his statement is still offensive to some people.

He does not get it!

Mr. Bennett, what you have done is singled out one particular race and essentially said that this race is solely responsible for crime, or at least the majority of crime, in our country. Further more, you seem to have forgotten the many African American citizens of this country who are not involved in criminal activity but rather are morally good standing people who contribute a worth of value to the betterment of community, both on the local and national level.

As we all know, crime seems to breed where poverty exists. And ANYONE who has ever spent time with any person, regardless of race, who lives in poverty, knows that some of the circumstances which contribute to their lifestyle of poverty were never in their control. Circumstances like where the community they were born into, the family they were born into (healthy vs. dysfunctional), the educational opportunities that were available to them (and anyone who is connected to the Memphis City Schools know that not every educational system is equally as good as another), and might we say that because racism is still a factor in the United States that being born a different race than white into a different environment than middle to upper class is a factor as well.

So Mr. Bennett, and to all the others who share your ridiculous opinion. Listen up: I spent two years, which is not much, working in a jail ministry. Most of the prisoners I spoke with were in jail for some reason that was related to drug addictions. Now I certainly believe that each one of those prisoners had committed a certain act(s) that justified their presence in the county jail. But how interesting it is to know how quickly society responds, and how much money the tax payers will pay in support of, when these adult men and women commit an illegal act and one that infringes on the rights of other. But where was society when these adult prisoners were children having no choice but to grow up in environments where abuse, neglect, negative influences (often drugs and alcohol), etc… were a normal way of life for them, teaching them such dysfunctional lifestyles?

So, if you want to curb the crime rate… Try investing yourself in the life of the children who are forced to grow up in these environments.

People often ask my wife why she continues to teach in an inner city school. She does so because she knows that often, though not always the case, she is possibly the one positive role model who will have an opportunity for influence on these children. She does so because she knows as a Christian, that God has blessed her so that she can bless the least of these.

Grieving with the Suffering

2005-09-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in to pick up some family portrait pictures. The sales person was showing me the pictures we had made to make sure I thought they turned out fine (they did). She noticed in the picture that we had one child (our 8-month old daughter). But for some reason she asked me if that was the only child we had. Well it isn't and even though there is no easy way to tell someone that you have a son who died, I am not about to pretend that I don't have another child when I am asked about it. So I responded to her and simply said, "We have a son also." I did not really want to elaborate too much but she went on to ask how old he is. Well there is no way to answer that one without simply telling the truth. So I told her that our Son passed away when he was three days old.

As you can imagine, she was taken back a bit and you could tell she really did not know how to respond. BUT she responded any ways. She said, "I am sorry! Three days old? He mines well have not even been born."

Now I was taken back. My son, better off not even being born? NO WAY! I told her that I was glad to have the three days with Kenny that we did have and that I would never wish them away.

Thankfully, it has been over three years now since my wife and I lost our son Kenny. Because I am able to handle hearing the ridiculous comments, which I am sure are made with the intension of being comforting rather than malicious.

But this illustrates a point that I cannot emphasize enough. Our world is full of people who experience forms of suffering that go beyond another person's ability to imagine such pain. It does not necessarily need to be the death of a child. Suffering can exist in the form of divorce, death of any close friend or relative (especially spouses, children, and parents & siblings), being the victim of a violent crime and abuse, depression and other emotional disorders, being stricken with a horrible illness or injury, etc...

When we witness others suffering, we are often left without knowing what to say or what to do. That's OK! I have lost a father, a son, and now a younger brother. I still do not know what to say to people who have experienced the death of someone they love. When my son died, many people would say the famous nine words "I am sorry, I don't know what to say." That is enough, by being there and saying those nine words said more than they could ever say with any other words. Furthermore, being there and only being able to say those nine words does not do any more harm.

What those who are beginning to suffer do not need to hear, is little statements like the one mentioned at the beginning of this post that are intended to comfort but really pour salt on an open wound. What sufferers need - and Christians and Churches take notice of this - is people who will be there for them, allow the sufferer to grieve in their own way (so long as it is not harmful to them or someone else), allow the sufferer to grieve openly when they want to, someone who will do the mundane things that they cannot think about at the moment, and someone who will just listen to them. If you will listen then eventually God will provide you with something to say or do that is helpful and if you listen and do not judge or criticize your suffering friend, then they will give you the opportunity to help them.

One of the greatest gifts my friends at the Wednesday Night Bible Study house group ever gave me, was a place where my wife and I could grieve freely without judgment and a place where there was friends who would just sit back and listen.

I Struggle (Pt. 2)

2005-09-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight, just after my church’s Wednesday Evening Bible Study dismissed, a man entered are building. He had a fairly neat appearance but still somewhat disheveled, enough that I figured he was seeking some sort of benevolence help. My congregation is located along one of the busier streets in Memphis in a lower economic section of the city. I introduced myself and asked his name (I always try to speak to people like they are important and are a friend), and he said his name was Richard (if that was the truth). He said that his family was stuck in Jackson, MS and he needed enough gas to get him to Jackson and back (which is a three hour round trip). The church agreed that I would take the church credit card to the gas station and fill this man’s gas tank up for him.

While getting the credit card from the church office along with my friend, colleague, and mission partner, there was a commotion taking place. It turned out that this man, who called himself Richard, had stolen a purse from my friend’s wife in front of her children. Nobody was physically harmed, the man got away, and my friend’s wife was able to recover her purse and all of her belongings.

After the police came and finished filling out their investigative report, my family gathered with my friend’s family and another family and I led a prayer thanking God that there was no physical harm done to anyone, as such a scenario could have turned out much worse. We also prayed for Richard that he would be released from what ever evil presence captivated him so much that he was willing to commit a crime and endanger the lives of others for his own sake.

Sounds good, huh? But I was really dishonest. We are taught to pray for our enemies, to love our enemies, etc… That is what I wanted to do but in all honesty, when I was praying, I was hoping that Richard would be caught and would receive the full weight of the law. I was really wishing that I could have caught him so that I might be able to give him a little “old-school” justice. I was… You get the point!

And now as I have had some time to reflect, I wonder. I wonder why I did not see this coming. After all, he was a stranger. But I have been taught to welcome the stranger (i.e. Matt. 25.31-46). Well maybe I should not have been so trusting of this man. But I try not to judge people based on the present status but rather based on what they could be in Christ (i.e. 2 Cor. 5.16 – heck, that’s even part of my ministry philosophy). And while I struggle, I must not forget the very important thing – my actions, good or bad, affect more people than just myself.

So why am I ranting about this. Well, at my church I just finished preaching a series of sermons on how we should treat the poor, weak, disconnected, and needy individuals in our society, trying to encourage greater faith in ministering to those people who sometimes scare us middle-class white folks. The problem is that most of these people in our neighborhood also have personal demons and addictions that make them a possible danger to be around.

So I continue to struggle. I struggle to treat these people with grace, dignity, love, and genuine compassion despite what ever reasons I suspect may have played a role in forming their present lifestyle. I struggle because the life of Jesus tells me and calls me to welcome these people without reservation, but my experience (especially when it’s your friend’s wife who is the victim) tells me to be cautious and never trust.

And so I continue to struggle…

Katrina: Playing the blam game

2005-09-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

I originally posted this breif thought as a response to another blog, see http://www.kendallball.net/archives/20050909/pointing-fingers/ I do not know what it is like to loose everything in a natural disaster, be displaced without a home, be separated from loved ones, and even be facing the reality that some of my loved ones have perished as a result of this tragedy… but I do know what it is like to suffer tragedy. I have buried a son and a younger brother within the last three years. At both furnerals, I heard people who wanted to speculate on the resonsibility for such tragedy (in my case the discussion was either God, incompetent Doctors, and people). I wish they all would SHUT UP! They are not helpful in the least way possible and they do not help me one bit in the process of living life “one step at a time” after such a tragedy.
My point: would those, from the right and left, who just want to speculate on whose to blame just keep your thoughts to your self because you are not helping anyone who is suffering. What has happened cannot be undone, and no matter how much blame can be placed upon one person or group, it will not change the past events one bit—nor will it help the survivors of Katrina go one living in the furture. After the rebuilding of their lives has become more of a tangible reality, then there will be an opportunity to discuss what went wrong and what needs to be improved for the future.

God, We Lament

2005-08-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

Only a day since Hurricane Katrina has passed, we are now beginning to see the horrible destruction, the enormous loss of life, and the vast amount of suffering that many people will endure and be haunted by for a long, long time.

Most of us do not even know what it is like to endure a hurricane and the terrific damage such a disaster brings. But some of us, perhaps even most of us, know and understand what it is like to suffer, to be hurt in not only a physical manner but also emotionally and spiritually. There are no words to say that bring comfort to the loss of life, to the destruction brought upon all of the survivors, and to the many that have been left virtually homeless.

What we can do is voice our complaint to God just as Israel did. We can pour out our Lament to the God who has brought redemption in the past in hope and anticipation that he will once again bring redemption. Psalm 60 was a communal lament of Israel that not only chronicled their distress amidst the suffering but also the anticipation of hope. Israel’s enemy was the surrounding nations; our enemy is the death and destruction brought by the hurricane. So let us lament:

“You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us; you have been angry – now restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. God has spoken from his sanctuary; “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.” Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.”
– Psalm 60, TNIV

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

If you would like to read a good post about Hurricane Katrina, I found this post by Larry James to be worth the read and thought. See: http://www.larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com

I Struggle

2005-08-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

I live in Memphis which has the highest percentage of poor people among the major urban dwellings of the United States. The neighborhood in which I live is not the worst in poverty but it certainly is not rich. You might describe it as a low, working-class economy. As a result it is not surprising to see occasionally people that society describes as a "transient-homeless-begging-bum." But I take serious (or at least try to) the second greatest command to love my neighbor as myself and I realize that even the beggars of the street are my neighbor.

So early this morning I went and filled my vehicle up with Gasoline and while I was at the gas station, I noticed this man who was walking up to everybody but seemed to be walking away from the people as fast as he approached them. I called out to the man and told him that he looked like he needed help or something, and then asked if I could help him. He said that his car was out of Gas and needed to get to Marion, AR (which is a suburb of Memphis across the river). I quickly thought “here we go again.” I wanted to know first whether he really was the driver of the car and asked for his name first and then if he would show me his driver’s license (not that I was not willing to help, but I also don’t like the idea of someone thinking that they can lie and try to con me in order to get money). His name was Carl! He then responded to me saying, that he was not looking for cash rather just asked if I could pay for $15 dollars of gas on my bank card (which I was using to pay for my own gas). I told him that I would, but that he had to pull his car up to the pump and let me pump the gas for him and so I did.

I think he legitimately needed help with some gas money, but I am not sure. Maybe he was just another “transient-homeless-begging-bum” that had a car and was using it to take advantage of someone else’s generosity. I don’t know but I know that often Jesus had people who came to him just for what he could do for them, not caring one bit about Jesus and occasionally I imagine they took advantage of Jesus’ generosity too. So since I take seriously (or again, at least try too) the call to follow Jesus and live my life like he lived his, I feel a burden to help such people when they ask.

I struggle however, in knowing how to help such people. There is not a week that goes by in which I do not meet someone in the store parking lot of gas station parking lot who needs a little help. It is almost like I have a neon light flashing above my head saying “ask me for help.” Many of these people really only want cash to fuel an unhealthy lifestyle (I refuse to give cash to anyone), but some of them will simply let me by them a sandwich (those kind you find in the gas-station coolers) and a soda-pop or cup of coffee. But I still struggle, because my wife and I live on a small budget since I am a full-time graduate student and we also have a daughter to take care of. Our money also needs to be used to pay bill, buy groceries, etc… So I struggle and the struggle continues on.

What bothers me is the fact that Carl had spoken to many other people and was simply turned away, without any of those people even taking the time to find out what sort of help he needed and whether or not they could help him. Why does that bother me so much? Because I live in Memphis, the city also dubbed as the “Belt Buckle of the Bible Belt.” I take it that this means many Memphians consider themselves to be Christian. I presume that I was not the only confessing Christian that Carl spoke to and that bothers me. It bothers me that many Confessing Christians teach say “don’t drink, don’t swear, don’t…” while at the same time they ignore their neighbor(s) need. It bothers me also, because there are plenty of times that I still ignore my neighbor(s) need, foolishly telling myself that I am to busy, that someone else will help them, that the individual is just looking for “drug money,” etc…

I wish Christians, I included, would stop thinking of the people less fortunate than us who approach us on the street as nothing more than a “transient-homeless-begging-bum.” We need to remind ourselves that God created them too and he still loves them too – as much as he loves us.

But I still struggle. So I invite you to post comments on how we as Christians can help those we meet on a daily basis with their needs. I invite you to post on how we can encourage each other to not become hard-hearted by the many people who will try to take advantage of our willingness to love our neighbor as our self.

I am Christian

2005-08-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

I don’t want to be associated with the political left in the United States of America because it seems hell-bent on driving God from our culture, because it trivializes the value and rights of one human life for the rights of others producing thousands of aborted lives – not just life, but children – every year, because it wants to push the boundaries of morality so that every personal lust and indulgence is tolerated, and if that is not enough reason, take notice of the Hollywood ideology.

Most of the people who run in my circle agree with me that the left side is wrong. Yet it seems that at least some who associate in the same circle with me are able to see the error of the left but unable to recognize the error of the political right.

I don’t want to be associated with the political right in the United States of America because it seems hell-bent on viewing war and military violence as an acceptable solution to international trouble in any and all situations (while it is debatable whether Christians should be pacifistic, just-war means that violent military engagements should only be the last course), because it calls a preemptive military strike “justice” but seems less concerned about non-violent means to justice and talks little about bringing justice among the third world environments, because it selectively champions a capitalistic philosophy that allows the rich to get richer while the majority of the world suffers in utter poverty, because it blatantly blurs the distinction between Patriotic Americanism and Christianity so that one supposedly cannot be a Christian unless they champion the cause of traditional Americanism (“God bless America?” How about “God bless the World!”), because it believes in a very ethnocentric fashion that a democratic government is the only right form of government and the only government in which human freedom can endure (Jesus was always free and yet never lived in a country where a Jew had complete freedom), and if that is not enough reason, listen to the ideology of Pat Robertson and the other fundamentalist (need I say more).

So what am I to do? Here is a “novel” idea, I will be completely other and simply try to be a Christian. I will be a Christian theologically, morally, ethically, and politically, nothing more and nothing less – and I will not be silent in my faith.

Now I know that defining exactly what being a Christian means is highly debated. But maybe I can start by just trying to live my life here on earth like Jesus lived his life here on earth. No easy task! But I must try!

So I ask is it possible to hate and oppose all forms of godlessness, immorality, the unethical treatment of unborn children, violence (both foreign and abroad), materialism, the poverty and suffering of others – while loving and championing peace over violence, the value of all human life (born and unborn, racial and ethnic), the equality of all people, a moral and ethical valued society, the need for continued justice among the poverty and suffering societies, racial and ethnic, and the acknowledgment of one God who not only has created all living organisms but is also the only hope for a world where evil and suffering lurk in every corner?

Jesus did and now calls me too as well, so that is why I simple want to be Christian!

A High but Humble View of Baptism, Part 2

2005-08-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

The Humble View
- - - -
In my last post I argued for a “high” view of water baptism (immersion) that essentially understands and practices baptism as a necessary process in receiving God’s free gift of salvation in Christ. For some who agree with me, there is a tendency to make baptism the platform for which a rendered judgment of “not-saved” and “not part of Christ’s church” is made upon all others who confess Christ but disagree with and/or do not practice my view of baptism. This means that in order to be a Christian, an individual must not only trust God and obey him to the best of their understanding but also must possess correct knowledge (epistemic certainty) concerning the doctrine of baptism Therefore I want to say a word about what I like to call a “humble” view of baptism.

Am I correct in my understanding of baptism? I think so! In fact, I not only think so but I also think that my understanding is based upon a sound, well reasoned, and coherent interpretation of scripture. If I am right, where does that leave those with a different theological understanding and practice? Are they still Christians or are they still facing God’s wrathful judgment?

I italicized the word “interpretation” in the above paragraph for a reason and that is because I must recognize that no matter how correct I believe I am it is still an interpretation of scripture. Since it is an interpretation, one among many others, I must be humble and admit that I still could be wrong. That’s right, I am a fallible thinker and I just might be wrong. What if I am wrong? I asked this question to a professor of mine one time and he replied that if I am wrong, then there will be more people in heaven with us (those of us who understand and practice baptism with correct knowledge). But wait a minute, if I am wrong and being a Christian requires correct knowledge about baptism, then I am the one who is lost because I am the one with incorrect knowledge.

But I am rejecting such a “modern” notion. Making correct knowledge of baptism the standard, means that I must place an awful amount of faith in my human ability to reason (do we need reminding that our human mind is prone to error?). Furthermore, that makes salvation more dependent upon the ability of the human mind than on God, who can save people who seek his grace despite their particular misunderstandings and ignorance. And I, for one, am one of those people full of much ignorance and many misunderstandings.

Perhaps this is why Luke was able to identify the people in Acts 19 who had not been baptized with the baptism in the name of Jesus (and therefore had not received the Holy Spirit) still as “disciples” and as “believers” (Luke’s code word for “Christian”). This is because they were still seeking God and submissive to the will of God inasmuch as they understood.

Does God command baptism? Absolutely, and it is never an option. But is God bound by his word in such a way that he can never change in light of historical developments that have become so engrained in the thinking of contemporary people? When people seek to please God through a practice and believe that their practice is correct even though it actually is wrong, can God still be accepting in spite of unknown error? To answer negatively not only binds God but it seems to make God a legalist. In the Old Testament, sinners we to seek forgiveness through the priest but Jesus broke that law and forgave a man so that everyone else would know that God has the right to forgive whomever he wants whenever he wants (Mark 2.1-12). It seems that we should be careful not to be deciding for God who exactly God can save and cannot save.

So getting back to the beginning, I believe God is active in transforming those who submit to him in baptism from a dead life to a living life in Christ. That I believe is a high view of baptism that takes seriously the practice as an important step in the path to eternal communion with God. Because that is what I believe scripture teaches, that is what I must practice and teach others to practice – the “high” view of baptism. But because I could be wrong, I want to practice the “humble” view of baptism, and not be judging other Christians who differ but instead embracing them as brother and sister in Christ and allow God to judge them. Besides, God will do a better job of judging than I could ever begin to do. Furthermore, it is hard enough for me to live out my own baptism on a daily basis without worrying about judging others.

A High but Humble View of Baptism, Part 1

2005-08-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

The High View
- - - - Is it possible to believe that when scripture says water baptism (immersion) is “for the forgiveness of sins” and to “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.38) that it actually means just that? I think so! That is why the Apostle Paul taught in Romans 6.3-7 that Christians are those who have been…

...baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death… [and] therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaved to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (TNIV)

It seems like Paul was pretty explicit concerning baptism. Wow! Once a person believes that Jesus is the Christ, they must then follow Jesus to death and loose their life (to use the idea of Mark 8.34-35) so that God can raise them into the resurrected Jesus. Yes! And it is God who does the work, just as it was God who did the work (the causal agent) in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What is the human role? SUBMISSION to God’s will, submission to God being allowed to baptize the subject into Jesus Christ. That’s right, from God’s point of view we do not baptize rather we are the ones baptized. God is the active agent and we are the passive agents. And in baptism, God is actually, not symbolically, transforming the sinner from a fallen life controlled by sin to a new eternal life marked by the Holy Spirit and experienced now in part but will be experienced in whole when Christ Jesus returns to claim his church. Thus baptism is eschatological.

The strongest objection to the above is that this is a work oriented or human achieved salvation that denies the grace of God experienced only by faith. However, I see baptism as a gift of God’s grace. That is, God actually has given the sinner a road to life in Christ – but instead of the sinner traveling that road on their own, they must allow God to transport them. Therefore baptism is not only a gift of grace from God, but it also is an act of faith on the part of the sinner – so much so that we, who still live in a mortal body, will never know the outcome of our baptism fully until Christ returns and we experience eternal life in the full aspect. Only in the resurrection of Christ do we see the future, our future in Christ. But to presently live that future in Christ is to live by faith. Baptism only becomes a work of salvation when one thinks that salvation is deserved because we have been baptized or when we divorce the practice from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God is calling on all who confess Jesus as the Christ, the crucified and resurrected Lord and Savior, to come and die in baptism and allow God to raise them up into an eternal life in Christ Jesus!

Holiness and Ministry

2005-08-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

This was originally posted on another blog in response to a blog entry (see: www.griffithfamilymission.com).

If finding ourselves as Christians among those who are considered to be dysfunctional, poor, sinful, needy, etc..., means that we are defiling ourselves and not being holy, and then Jesus defiled himself and was not holy. However, I doubt that many Christians want to entertain such a thought. So then do we need to agree with other 'Christians' on matters of doctrine in order to serve in the name of Jesus Christ with them? If Jesus was willing to call twelve men to work alongside of him (and these twelve men hardly shared the same kingdom values of Jesus at that time), and then tell his disciples to back off the person(s) not belonging to Jesus' group who was driving out demons in the name of Jesus (Mk. 9.38-39), then we surely have it back words when we chastise or refuse to serve alongside of other imperfect people who serve in the name of Jesus.

Where does that leave holiness? When we refuse to minister to someone because of their beliefs, lifestyle, ethnic and racial background, economic position, etc..., and yet this is who Jesus ministered too and he was considered holy – I think any refusal to minister to such people speaks volumes about our holiness, our lack of!

The Common Eucharist

2005-08-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, for which we Christians remember and celebrate in the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper, Communion), is the good news (also called “Gospel”) for all people. The good news is that in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the kingdom of God has already come but it is not yet fully realized and will only be fully realized when Jesus returns placing all of the powers of the world under his feet. This is eschatology and thus in the Eucharist, we remember and celebrate an eschatological event. We remember and celebrate the Eucharist as it is in heaven and how it will be when the kingdom of God, for which we already belong too, is fully realized.

If the death, burial, and resurrection, was a non-discriminating event that sought to remove all worldly distinctions that exist between people (Rom. 1:16), then the moral/ethic of the Eucharist must also be non-discriminating as well (1 Cor. 11:26). Therefore as Christians celebrate the Eucharist the worldly distinctions such as rich and poor, educated and non-educated, male and female, racial and ethnic, American and non-American, etc… should cease! The moral/ethic of the Eucharist is not limited to only that moment when we “eat of the bread and drink of the cup” rather it goes with us as we share this common-communion throughout our daily lives.

There is a church which practices such a Eucharistic communion. We read about it in Acts 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and miraculous signs done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day the continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their home and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (TNIV)

Is it any wonder why a church like this was such an incredible witness and missional group of people for the crucified but resurrected Jesus Christ?

A Glimpse of What Could Be

2005-05-27T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I spent the first part of this week in the greater Detroit, Michigan area attending a sermon seminar. The seminar was very informing, as it focused on the Gospel of Mark and included presentations from both Academic Theologians and located Preaching ministers. Those attending the seminar came from three different countries, thirty-two different states (United States), and twelve different denominational fellowships.
All right! This only sounds interesting to you if you serve in some capacity of Christian ministry or pursue theological studies, and that is probably so. But the cool thing was the fact of the seminar not just being three days of learning but an event that was bathed in worship and fellowship.
We began with worship (prayer, singing songs or praise and faith, and hearing the Word of God be read and proclaimed), continued in worship, and ended in worship. Think about this, Christians (people who confessionally commit and submit their life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the World) from twelve denominational fellowships (who are supposed to be divided and distinct from each other) coming together, all having in common one confessional commitment, to worship God and fellowship IN UNITY – as One people brought together by the power of the Holy Spirit. The testimony of God’s living and redeeming presence was powerfully witnessed by all who were there.
As great as this show of unity was, it still is but a dream because it occurred at a seminar and seems to have been left in the seminar. We all must return to our church congregations where Christians still operate divided from other Christians, divided over denominational fellowship loyalties rather than united in the shared confessional commitment and submission to Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior.
For now I experienced a glimpse of what could be. It was beautiful, moving, and encouraging. Maybe one day this unity will break the boundaries of the seminar walls and flow into the various Christian churches. Perhaps then our testimony to the crucified and risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will be heard by all in our world as truth.
“…I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
— The words of Jesus, John17:20-21, TNIV

Amazing Love

2004-09-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

In one sense I do not think I will ever grasp the depth of God’s love for us but a little over two years ago I gained a glimpse into the depth of this love. My son Kenny was just two days old and was at home for his first day. Not long after arriving at home the son whom I held, loved, and cared for so much in the last two days quit breathing. I performed CPR while crying out to God and begging him not to let my son die. In short I did everything within my human ability to save my son from death. Forty-five minutes later in a trauma center my son was officially pronounced dead. For the next thirty minutes I held my son’s body wishing somehow I could change the events of the last two hours. My promise as a father was to care for and protect my son and when he needed me most, as his life was passing out of his body, I was unable to do anything to help him and yet I was willing to do anything that was possible to save him from death.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son..." (The apostle John, John 3:16)

Here is the amazing thing: I, like all parents who love their children, would do anything for my child and yet when he needed me most I was powerless to help him. But God, who was is a Father to his Son Jesus, was more than powerful enough to save his Son from death and when his Son needed him the most God withheld his power and did nothing to save his Son from death. Why? Because he loves us!

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (The apostle Paul to the Church of Ephesus, Ephesians 3:17-19)

I guess the only question that remains is how will we respond to it?