otium sanctum

New Blog Coming...

2009-08-22T20:02:00.004-04:00

UPDATE: You can get a sneek preview of the site and enjoy a new music video by David Gray. Go to weak on sanctification.

Coming soon! Blogging will resume at a new site that will be announced in September.

The title of the new blog will be "Weak on Sanctification." I hope you will read and comment on the various posts as we carry on our discussion of life, love, and salvation.

See you in September!

Chaplain Mike

SUMMER HIATUS

2009-06-05T22:30:00.008-04:00

Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun,
Vincent Van Gogh—November, 1889

I will be taking a hiatus from blogging and spending lots of time on the internet this summer. I need to give attention to other aspects of life. You know, marriage, family, neighbors, church, baseball. Some real flesh and blood concerns.

This might be a good practice for some of you as well.

For your edification, I urge you to read Michael Spencer's straightforward and wise cautionary post about the temptations of technology, HERE.

All things in moderation. As for me, I am pursuing other matters this summer. See you in the fall.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES REGIONAL NEWS

2009-05-29T21:46:00.007-04:00

ROAD TO OMAHA UPDATE.
Two good friends from Franklin High School are competing in the NCAA College Baseball tournament, and had their first games today.

Bart Carter, of the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers, celebrated with his teammates as they beat second-seeded Missouri with a convincing 11-5 win today. WKU scored 6 runs in the first inning and never looked back. They will play either #8 Mississippi or Monmonth on Saturday evening at 6:00pm.

Jeff Mercer and the Wright State University Raiders traveled to Fort Worth, Texas to play the host TCU Horned Frogs. They didn't fare so well, losing 6-3. That drops WSU into the losers bracket, and they will play Texas A&M at 3pm on Saturday.

EVERYONE MUST ACCOMMODATE

2009-05-26T21:21:00.009-04:00

Excellent post by Karl Giberson at Science & Sacred, the blog of BioLogos, called "God and Matter." He answers U of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne's contention that combining faith in God with scientific understanding results in a "hilarious goldmine of accommodationism."

Giberson makes the point that we ALL must make accommodations as we try to understand life and the universe.

But what about the accommodationism of materialists? How do they reconcile their materialism with the rationality of the world? It seems to me reality has to be grounded in one of two deeply mysterious foundations: God or matter. Each has its own set of questions. Theists wonder about the nature of God's existence, the problem of evil, how and why God acts in the world and why God has chosen to remain hidden from us. These are difficult questions and certainly must trouble thoughtful believers. But don't materialists have another set of mysteries? Don't they have to wonder about the nature of physical existence? Why is there something rather than nothing? Why are the laws of nature so rational? Why is our species so religious? Is the world just a big pointless accident?

Don't let the materialistic worldview back you into a corner and make you think theists are the only ones who must face troublesome intellectual problems. "Material alone plus time plus chance" has plenty of its own. In my view, even more troublesome.

A GREAT WEEK FOR OUR FRIENDS

2009-05-25T20:47:00.010-04:00

It was quite a week for the Mercer family—no, not ours but those with whom we have become extended family—dear friends of ours here in our community of Franklin, Indiana.

On Thursday, May 21, the first annual Small Victories Charity Golf Tournament was held in memory of Daniel Mercer, on what would have been his 21st birthday. Daniel died three years ago on Memorial Day, after a long, courageous battle with brain cancer. His life, death, and the subsequent charitable works that have been done in his honor have been an inspiration to all of us here in Franklin. His parents, Jeff and Pam, hosted a wonderful event that raised thousands of dollars for at-risk youth here in central Indiana. Thanks to all who participated and helped in so many ways!

To read Daniel's full story, go to the Small Victories website and order a copy of the book that details his remarkable, if all too brief, life.

Then, over the weekend their oldest son, Jeff Mercer and his baseball team from Wright State University battled to win the Horizon League Conference tournament and earned a berth in the field of 64 on the Road to Omaha for the NCAA Division I baseball championship.

And this just a week after Jeff had been named the Horizon League Player of the Year!

In the opening round of the tourney, WSU will travel to Fort Worth, Texas to face the top-seeded TCU Horned Frogs on Friday, May 29 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time. Go Raiders!

We thank God for such a blessed, exciting, and happy week for our friends!

A Christian Apologizes to Atheists

2009-05-24T14:23:00.005-04:00

Rev. William Cwirla is a Lutheran pastor who is known for his direct teaching and defense of the truth. He and Craig Donofrio host a podcast called "The God-Whisperers" that is worth your time. Cwirla's blog is always good reading as well.

Today, I read a post there that I admire greatly and commend to you. It's called "Apologies to the Atheists." Christians who tend toward culture warrior-ism ought to meditate on it deeply. Cwirla makes the point that getting angry in response to the rants of today's popular atheists only proves...

Our view of God is too small.
We've forgotten that our anger does not accomplish God's righteous purposes (James 1.20).
We've forgotten Jesus' call to love our enemies.

As Cwirla says,

...I don't know why the atheists are so angry. Perhaps they have good reason to be. I know that Christians aren't always noted for their manners, much less their Jesus-like compassion for those with whom they disagree, myself included. Maybe the angry atheists are just getting back at the playground bullies. Fair enough.
Ghandi once remarked, "I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ." We can't expect the other guy to put down his sword while we are swinging ours. That's true for many situations. Don't expect someone who believes in nothing to put down his sword. We're called to go first. We claim to follow the One who said, "Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, bless those who hate you, pray for your persecutors."

UPDATE: What is the Gospel?

2009-05-20T22:47:00.005-04:00

NOTE: This is an update to a previous post, which you can read HERE:

What is the Gospel? In my last post on this subject, I gave a common list of points that people often use in sharing Jesus with others. On his Jesus Creed blog, Scot McKnight suggests the following as a better, fuller account of the Biblical Good News that we are called to proclaim:

God loves you and everyone else and has a plan for us: the kingdom community.
But you and everyone else have a sin problem that separates you and everyone else from God, from yourselves, from one another, and from the good world God made for you.
The good news is that Jesus lived for you, died for you, was raised for you, and sent the Spirit for you - so you all can live as the beloved community.
If you enter into Jesus' story, by repentance and faith, you can be reconnected to God, to yourself, to others, and to this world.
Those who are reconnected like this will live now as God's community and will find themselves eternally in union with God and communion with others.

See the differences? What do you think?

BECOMING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, part 3

2009-05-20T21:03:00.022-04:00

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5.21 (NRSV)

Jan Lembrecht's Sacra Pagina commentary on 2 Corinthians sets the immediate context for 5.21 as 2 Cor 5.11-21, which begins with the word "Therefore..." and announces a conclusion in Paul's argument.

In this verse Paul returns to his self-defense and plea. No longer the future common destination of all Christians, but the actual situation—his strained relations with the Corinthians—will be treated.

"Self-defense and plea."
Lembrecht's observations answer a major weakness in N.T. Wright's interpretation of 2 Cor 5.21. Wright correctly identifies the primary theme of this portion of the letter as a defense and theological explanation of Paul's apostleship. What he does not emphasize is the APPEAL that Paul is making to the Corinthians on the basis of this defense. Wright therefore interprets 2 Cor 5.21 as a further element in Paul's description of his own apostolic ministry, when in fact it is more likely linked to the challenge he is delivering to the wayward church.

"We and you"
One way to grasp the flow of this passage is to note the interplay between "we" ("us"), and "you," and broader terms such as "the world" or "all" in the passage.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, WE try to persuade others; but WE ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that WE are also well known to YOUR consciences. WE are not commending ourselves to YOU again, but giving YOU an opportunity to boast about US, so that YOU may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if WE are beside ourselves, it is for God; if WE are in OUR right mind, it is for YOU.

For the love of Christ urges US on, because WE are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. ¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵
16From now on, therefore, WE regard no one from a human point of view; even though WE once knew Christ from a human point of view, WE know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled US to himself through Christ, and has given US the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to US.
So WE are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through US; WE entreat YOU on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him WE might become the righteousness of God.

¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹

Viewed like this, we can see that Paul's statements break down into three types:

Words about the apostles and their ministry
Words about what God has done for the world
Words about, and directed personally to, the Corinthians

In particular, the words in the first and final paragraphs are personal words about and to the Corinthian situation—they form PAUL'S APPEAL TO THE CHURCH. Note how the "you" texts are found only in these paragraphs.

That means that the final "we" in this passage (in 5.21) is different than all the other "we's" that come earlier. In every other instance, the "we" refers to the apostles and their ministry. But the final "we" grows out of Paul's personal appeal to the church and links them together. If the verse is a creedal statement or line from a hymn that Paul is quoting, as I believe it is, then this solidifies the idea that he is not narrowly referring to the apostles here, but to all Christians.

2Cor 5.21 functions as the REASON for Paul's appeal in v. 20—"We entreat you on behalf of Christ—be reconciled to God."

Next time, we'll sum up...

BECOMING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, part 2

2009-05-17T12:14:00.015-04:00

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5.21 (NRSV)

In his commentary on 2 Corinthians, Ralph Martin notes that, "the thought of Christians 'becoming the righteousness of God in him [Christ]' is not paralleled elsewhere in Paul." This and other observations lead him to conclude that Paul has included traditional materials about God's reconciliation into 1Cor 5.18-21.

Verse 21, in particular, may be a creedal statement or hymn fragment, which likely reflects Isaiah 53.10-11, about the Suffering Servant who would be made a sin offering, the Righteous One who would make many righteous by bearing their iniquities.

Further, he observes that the emphasis of 5.21 is not on the justification language, but rather on the simple idea of substitution and exchange. (Martin does say, however, that other aspects of the passage, which may indicate Paul's own hand interpreting and applying the traditional materials, cast a light on v. 21 that mirrors Paul's usage elsewhere.)

Yet another aspect of this passage is the way Paul uses evangelistic language to deal with a pastoral situation in a church. "The call [be reconciled to God] is issued with the Corinthian congregation and its pastoral problems in view, and should primarily be interpreted in that context." Paul uses language normally directed to call people to saving faith in Christ and applies it to believers, to impress upon them the ongoing implications of living as reconciled people in right relationship with God.

So, what we have in 2 Corinthians 5.21 is...

A creedal statement about Christ's substitutionary sacrifice that brings us righteousness,
In a context about being reconciled to God,
Which is addressed to a church, not those who need to come to initial faith in Christ.

More to come...

Comments always welcome!

Becoming the Righteousness of God

2009-05-16T23:04:00.014-04:00

Crucifixion
Giotto di Bondone, 1304-1306

I have been reading N.T. Wright’s new book, Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision. It is a well-written defense of certain aspects of the so-called “new perspective” on Paul, which has caused a great deal of controversy, especially among those who hold traditional (“old perspective”) Reformed and Lutheran views of justification by faith. More on that debate another time.

For this post, I want to focus on a verse that has become central to the controversy—2 Corinthians 5.21. This has always been a favorite verse of mine. I have considered it to be one of those great summary texts, which express the Gospel message in a nutshell.

Here it is in the NRSV translation:

For our sake he (God) made him (Christ) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The immediate context for this verse is the section that runs from verses 18-21. This passage has as its focus the ministry of Paul as a “minister of reconciliation,” and here is how he develops that focus:

God reconciled the apostles to himself through Christ.
God then gave them the ministry of reconciliation.
Their message is that God reconciled the world to himself through Christ, that he did not count their trespasses against them, and that the apostles are the authorized proclaimers of this message.
Therefore, the apostles are God’s ambassadors and God is making his appeal through them.
And so, Paul appeals to them to be reconciled to God for Christ’s sake.

I think it best to interpret 2 Cor 5.21 as the CONCLUSION to this emphasis on Paul's ministry. It states the Gospel truth the apostles proclaim that leads to reconciliation with God.

2 Cor 5.21 is an expansion of what Paul introduced in v.19—that God reconciled the world to himself and did not count their trespasses against them. Some commentators think Paul may be quoting a creedal statement of the church that sums up what Christ has done for us. If so, this solidifies the interpretation that Paul's purpose here is to state the apostolic message in concise form.

The traditional interpretation of 2 Cor 5.21 is represented by this quote from Phil Johnson in his blog post, “The Great Exchange”:

Here is the apostle Paul's most succinct statement about the meaning of the cross. This could be the shortest, simplest verse among many in the Pauline epistles that make the meaning of justification inescapable: "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

That text is all about the atoning work of Christ. Its meaning can be summed up in a single principle: substitution. It describes an exchange that took place through the atonement that Christ offered—our sin for Christ's righteousness. He took the place of sinners so that they might stand in His place as a perfectly righteous man.

Notice the graphic language: He was made sin (that's the very epitome of all that is despicable and odious), so that we might be made righteousness (that's everything that is good and pure and acceptable in God's estimation). This was the exchange: our sin for His righteousness. Our sin charged to His account; His righteousness credited to our account....

Now, N.T. Wright takes a radically different approach in interpreting this text. Trying to remain faithful to the context, which focuses on Paul as a minister of reconciliation and an ambassador for Christ, he takes the phrase, “that we might become the righteousness of God,” as synonymous with these other vocational descriptions. So, it turns out something like this: “God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be made a sin-offering for us, so that we (the apostles) might become (representatives of) the covenant faithfulness (i.e. righteousness) of God.”

I understand Wright's concern to respect the context, but I don’t think his is the best reading of 5.21 in relation to its context. I believe it makes more sense to see it as a summary statement of the message that the apostles bring as God’s ambassadors. This interpretation fits the context just as well. Wright's view seems forced.

Even though I don't accept that position, nevertheless, on other grounds this verse does present problems for the traditional view. Most notably, what are we to make of the verb, “become” in the second half of the "great exchange" described here. What does it mean that, “in him we...BECOME the righteousness of God”?

The Lutheran and Reformed understanding, based on the economic concept of imputation, is that our sin is placed on Christ’s account and counted against him, and in exchange his righteousness (the merit earned by his sinless life) is reckoned to our account. This "double imputation" leads to a change in the believer's status. We are declared righteous; our legal position before God the Judge is changed from that of "sinner" to that of “righteous.” Imputation does not describe an actual change within us, but a change in our legal standing before the Divine Court. Justification is a forensic matter. We are acquitted of any charges of law-breaking, and furthermore, God declares us perfectly righteous.

This traditional Protestant view has been defended against other interpretations of justification, such as that of Roman Catholicism, which holds that justification consists of a real, interior change in a person—imparted righteousness or infused grace—rather than an external legal transaction.

It is at this point that 2 Corinthians 5.21 causes Protestants problems. Listen again to the text:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If Paul wanted to describe justification as a declaration of righteousness based upon imputation, would he have said, “that in him we might become the righteousness of God”? Wouldn’t it make more sense to say something like, “that in him we might be declared righteous by God,” or “that in him we might receive righteousness (i.e. a righteous status) from God”?

What does it mean to “BECOME the righteousness of God”?

Please share your thoughts and the insights you have gained from your own study as I work through this text in the days ahead and try to grasp Paul's meaning.

DEFINING SPIRITUAL MATURITY

2009-05-14T21:34:00.004-04:00

Green Ears of Wheat
Van Gogh, 1888

Some of you may have heard about the latest poll from The Barna Group on spirituality, which produced this headline, "Many Churchgoers and Faith Leaders Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity." Here is the introductory paragraph to their findings:

America may possess the world’s largest infrastructure for nurturing human spirituality, complete with hundreds of thousands of houses of worship, thousands of parachurch organizations and schools, and seemingly unlimited products, resources and experts.

Yet, a new study from the Barna Group identifies an underlying reason why there is little progress in helping people develop spiritually: many churchgoers and clergy struggle to articulate a basic understanding of spiritual maturity. People aspire to be spiritually mature, but they do not know what it means. Pastors want to guide others on the path to spiritual wholeness, but they are often not clearly defining the goals or the outcomes of that process.

They found "five challenges" with regard to the subject of spiritual maturity:

Most Christians equate spiritual maturity with following the rules.
Most churchgoers are not clear what their church expects in terms of spiritual maturity.
Most Christians offer one-dimensional views of personal spiritual maturity.
Most pastors struggle with feeling the relevance as well as articulating a specific set of objectives for spirituality, often favoring activities over attitudes.
Pastors are surprisingly vague about the biblical references they use to chart spiritual maturity for people.

The director of the research project pointed out the implications of their findings:

America has a spiritual depth problem partly because the faith community does not have a robust definition of its spiritual goals. The study shows the need for new types of spiritual metrics. One new metric might be a renewed effort on the part of leaders to articulate the outcomes of spiritual growth. Another might be the relational engagement and accountability that people maintain. Of course, spirituality is neither a science nor a business, so there is a natural resistance to ascribing scientific or operational standards to what most people believe is an organic process. Yet, the process of spiritual growth is neither simplistic nor without guidelines, so hard work and solid thinking in this arena is needed.

What are we to make of these findings?

Art Show Enjoyment

2009-05-14T20:12:00.003-04:00

My son in college took a Painting I class this semester, and had a few paintings displayed at the Franklin College Art Show tonight. This picture above was done as a group project by all the students in that introductory class. Very impressive!

What is the GOSPEL?

2009-05-14T18:00:00.006-04:00

To many people, this is the Gospel message that we should share with others:

God created you to live in relationship with him.
However, you have a sin problem that has separated you from God.
Jesus died to save you from your sins.
If you put your trust in him, he will forgive your sins, you will become God's child, and you will go to heaven when you die.

Is there anything wrong with this "Gospel"?

I'd love to hear what you think.

WHY I AM NOT A CULTURE WARRIOR...

2009-05-12T20:23:00.013-04:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again: When it comes to the culture wars, I am a conscientious objector.

Since the 1970's evangelicalism in America has taken to getting involved in public cultural activism and the political sphere with unprecedented vigor. Evangelicals have followed the voices of religious leaders like Francis Schaeffer, Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy, and James Dobson to raise their voices in the public debate about such issues as abortion, the erosion of personal morality especially as portrayed in the entertainment media, and the gay rights movement. In the process, evangelical Christianity became so connected to the conservative wing of the Republican party that at times the two seemed indistinguishable. This involvement had its high water mark in the presidency of George W. Bush and the Republican domination of Congress.

As a result of this evangelical embrace of a culture war approach to their mission in the world, churches, pastors, and individual Christians have been swept up into having to choose sides on many complex issues and to adopt a "Christ against culture" mentality. This has coincided with the development of an entire Christian subculture, which in my view has isolated believers from their neighbors and genuine redemptive interaction with the world.

Thus, evangelicals find themselves in the equivalent of spiritual trench warfare. We are dug in to our positions, separated from our "enemies," seeing things only from one perspective, and having no real contact with those on the other side except to bombard them relentlessly. Doesn't sound like a Great Commission lifestyle to me!

As Michael Spencer observes on his Internet Monk blog:

Every day I listen to and read Christians whose consideration of other persons is on the basis of politics and cultural conflict. Not the Gospel. Their anger and frustration dominates, not the Gospel.

Frankly, I don't want any part of that approach. And so I've decided to conscientiously object to that path of life and "ministry."

Here are some of the reasons I've gone AWOL...

(1) The culture war approach assumes the position that America is somehow different than other nations in our manifest destiny, a "Christian" land that must be "saved" and "brought back" to its Christian "roots."

In the minds of those who assume this, there is an idea of some kind of vague Eden that once existed in our nation when people all went to church, lived moral lives, and the government supported the teachings of Christ. 'Twas never so.

(2) The culture war approach holds that the media is the arena in which we should fight our battles, that it accurately represents the reality of the situation on the ground, and that therefore we must make our voice be heard through the media in order to win peoples' hearts and minds.

The simple fact is that most people listen to broadcasts that confirm their beliefs, not challenge them. You won't find the conservatives lining up to see the latest Michael Moore or Bill Maher film. Nor will you pass many liberals listening to Rush in their cars or catch them watching Fox News at night. Culture warriors generally preach to the choir.

But that's not the only problem. By moving to a media-driven strategy, Christians have become conditioned to seek the spectacular and forsake the down-to-earth path our Savior teaches us to take--the small, seemingly insignificant, seed-planting approaches of loving our neighbors in the context of real daily life. That is the mystery of how the Kingdom comes and how the world is changed.

(3) The culture war approach relies on political machinery as a primary weapon to restore righteousness to the land.

This means we have allowed the world to choose the arena, the weapons, the rules, the referees, and the definitions of what it means to "win" or "lose" in the conflict. In addition, it makes Christians vulnerable to the temptations of power, which are among the least understood among us.

(4) The culture war approach teaches us to fear, dislike, oppose, and look down on our neighbors rather than lay down our lives for them in sacrificial love.

It pits us "against" them, when the Incarnation teaches us to be "with" them.

(5) The culture war approach leads to Christians unwisely choosing our battles and showing a misleading face to the world.

Must a person have "correct" political or cultural opinions before he can come to faith in Christ? The simple Good News of Jesus and his gracious salvation can become so mixed with righteous "positions" that the Gospel itself gets distorted.

IMHO, the culture war approach has a lot more in common with the way the Pharisees lived out the religious life and ministry than it does with our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles.

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

2009-05-08T17:55:00.012-04:00

A few random thoughts that have been rolling around in my mind lately...

When it comes to the culture war, I am a conscientious objector.

I believe in sound doctrine; I believe even more in proper emphasis.

Being with sinners is infinitely more important than being against them.

If you want to have a healthy Christian mind, you should stop listening to talk radio and all the screamers out there—conservative and liberal alike.

"Relevance" is a sham. Why don't churches try to be "relevant" to the poor and needy, those who live in inner city neighborhoods, the elderly, the mentally ill, the disabled, street people, and others on the fringes of society?

Liturgical worship is not a style preference, and free church evangelicals who think it is betray that they don't understand worship.

Few things hinder the growth of true holiness more than a strong emphasis on holiness.

Few things portray the contrast between small town community and suburban isolation more than the front porch and the backyard deck.

One of the most neglected facts of life is found in James 1:20—"the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." I don't think I have ever encountered a situation that has been made better in any way by anger.

The older I get, the more I see that most situations could be improved simply by me shutting up and listening better.

"God, I love baseball." (Roy Hobbs in The Natural)

What I like about belonging to the Lutheran tradition = (1) An unceasing emphasis on the grace of God in Jesus Christ, (2) Liturgical worship, (3) Theology that is pastoral in emphasis rather than doctrinaire.

Bob Dylan's last few albums reveal that he has taken the role of a wise old bluesman, speaking our pain, lust, and disillusionment with a growl and a wry smile.

The most important things rarely scream at us, and often go unnoticed because we pay so much more attention to the less important things.

ROOKIE UPDATE...

2009-05-07T20:19:00.003-04:00

Austin pops out to end the inning...

Hey, at least he ran it out!

Red Sox (the good guys) 15, White Sox 6.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: BioLogos

2009-04-30T21:53:00.007-04:00

I am not an expert in any of the sciences, but I have been interested in the culture war that has been a staple of American society between Biblical Christianity and evolution. I was schooled to be a young-earth creationist, intellectually breastfed on books like The Genesis Flood. I never thought too deeply about the issues, and mostly stayed away from the fray when I was a pastor. It was only when I began studying Genesis seriously that my views began to emerge.

This is not the normal path that those who come to question creationism take. The stereotypical student who comes to reject the fundamentalist view becomes a questioner through considering scientific evidence. However, my doubts were born from studying Scripture! Genesis is so much richer and deeper than the bare literalist explanation. The creation narratives also fit within a larger work, the Torah, an interpretive context that most fundamentalists fail to consider adequately.

Now, esteemed scientist and believer Francis Collins has established a foundation with an excellent website that attempts to provide an alternative to the culture war approach of both atheistic and Christian fundamentalists. It's called BioLogos, and here is its mission...

The BioLogos Foundation promotes the search for truth in both the natural and spiritual realms, and seeks to harmonize these different perspectives.

It is a well-designed and well-written site that seeks to answer many of the questions that arise when one tries to take both the Bible and science seriously.

You can also check out the blog that complements the site at Science and the Sacred.

Highly recommended, even if you don't agree. BioLogos is a fine example of thoughtful, careful, and irenic scholarship.

WHY LITURGY?

2009-04-28T22:11:00.005-04:00

Good post by Lutheran Rev. William Cwirla on The Top Ten Reasons We Use the Liturgy. Here's the list. Check out his blog for details.

It shows our historic roots.
It serves as a distinguishing mark.
It is both Theocentric and Christocentric.
It teaches.
It is transcultural.
It is repetitive in a good way.
It is corporate.
It rescues us from the tyranny of the “here and now.”
It is external and objective.
It is the Word of God.

I find the last point one of his most interesting. Critics of liturgical worship often claim that their churches are more "Biblical". However, they fail to realize several obvious facts:

The Bible itself is filled with liturgical materials, in both OT and NT. This shows that God's people have always worshiped in a liturgical fashion.

The Bible portrays God's people worshiping through liturgy. A simple example may be found in Acts 2.42: "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Note especially that they used "the prayers"—that is, the set liturgical prayers that they had learned in synagogue and temple worship. I find it interesting that this liturgical text describes the practice of the Spirit-filled church soon after Pentecost. Those who critique liturgical worship because they say it does not allow for the freedom of the Spirit have a problem here.

The liturgy is filled with Scripture. More Scripture is read, prayed, sung, and referenced in one liturgical service than in an entire season of services in most free worship congregations. As Cwirla notes, the liturgy IS the Word of God spoken for and by God's people, not simply a "service" in which the Word is included.

A Rookie to Watch...

2009-04-25T21:18:00.010-04:00

If you would like to follow Austin's season, you can check out his baseball page at:

http://austinrookieleague2009.shutterfly.com.

RED SOX NATION...

2009-04-24T22:59:00.005-04:00

Our grandson Austin starts his Little League career tomorrow. He is playing on the Rookie League Red Sox.

Of course, this makes grandma especially happy, since she grew up in New England, rooted for those great Red Sox teams of the 60's and 70's, and joined with Red Sox nation in celebrating their World Series victories in 2004 and 2007.

To get ready for a season of following our local rookie Red Sox, tonight we watched the ESPN Classic broadcast of game six of the 1975 World Series between the Red Sox and the Reds, one of the greatest baseball games ever played. Carlton Fisk delivered the decisive blow in the bottom of the 12th, using every ounce of body english he had to keep the ball fair as it hit the foul pole above the Wall at Fenway.

Go, Red Sox!

EVANGELICALISM'S PROSPERITY GOSPEL PROBLEM

2009-04-18T23:55:00.004-04:00

Well, well, it's Easter season. God's people are rejoicing in the risen Savior, meditating on the awesome mystery of his finished work that conquered sin, death, and hell, and provided his followers with a glimpse of the new heavens and new earth in his own risen state.

Jesus' resurrection and subsequent appearances restored and reassured his disciples in their faith, challenged and corrected their inadequate conceptions of who he is and what he came to do, thrilled their hearts and initiated a process of awakening and renewal that climaxed when Jesus ascended into heaven and then poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, empowering the newly born church to boldly proclaim the Good News of Christ the Messiah, Savior of the world.

This is what Easter is about, right?

It's about Jesus, raised from the dead. It's about...

"the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord..."
Romans 1.1-4

Of all the events in Scripture that are about Jesus, and not about me, the Easter story of Christ's resurrection and appearances has to be at the top of the list. The entire focus is on Jesus.

But wait. A new book has unlocked the secrets of the resurrection accounts! PATH OF MIRACLES: The Seven Life-Changing Principles that Lead to Purpose and Fulfillment, by Samuel Rodriguez, tells readers that the real significance of the resurrection lies in seven principles that show us how to unlock the power within us so that we might achieve a happy, successful life. Read for yourself...

Prepare yourself; your life is about to change.

You are about to discover the way to a life full of accomplishment, achievement, and attainment, of realization, reward, and prosperity. Of healthy and happy relationships, and lasting love. Of satisfying work and success on the job. Of building wealth and financial freedom.

Right now.

This book will show you how. I will be your guide.

...God has a marathon of miracles waiting for you to enjoy right now, in this lifetime, and the seven simple principles in this book will show you how to unlock the power within you, and secure those treasures, right here, right now.

...The seven principles in this book activate heaven so we can live heaven right here. We can experience heaven here on Earth.

This is such transparently awful theology, such impossibly bad exegesis and use of Scripture, such an indefensibly cruel collection of undeliverable promises to the hungry and hurting among us that one might be tempted just to laugh it off as the pitiful sideshow of some insignificant snake-oil salesman.

However, the book's author is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), America's largest Hispanic Christian organization, and was identified by the Wall Street Journal as one of four Latino leaders who are most influential in our nation's politics. The organization recently entered into a strategic partnership with Liberty University. The book's forward was written by respected evangelical leader, Jim Wallis. A blurb on the back flap was written by the chairman of the Board of Trustees for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a leading evangelical institution.

Evangelicalism has a "prosperity Gospel" problem. When an evangelical author who heads an evangelical organization, who is praised by leading evangelicals, writes a book that promotes said "Gospel" with such flagrant disregard for the Bible and such in-your-face enthusiasm, can there be any meaning left to the word "evangelical"?

Most certainly NOT recommended for your Easter season reading.

Reflections from the Bible Belt

2009-04-18T19:49:00.007-04:00

While volunteering at my son's public high school for a band competition today, I noticed various motivational signs and banners posted around the building.

CHARACTER:
It's who you are when no one's looking.

CHARACTER:
Each person must live his life as a model for others

There were signs for "respect," "honor," "knowledge" (you'd expect that one), "responsibility," "leadership," and other moral virtues and practices. Near the main lobby, a prominent display case held pictures of those who had won the "Set a Good Example" award. This award, sponsored by a local family in memory of their son, honors young people who show exemplary character, leadership, and who serve as role models for their fellow students.

I know many of the teachers, coaches and administrators in the school, and it is clear that these signs and honors are not just for decoration. The qualities represented are actively promoted and urged upon students and the entire school community.

Of course, I am thrilled to have had my children attend a public school that seeks to foster moral character as well as academic and extra-curricular achievement. And this is not surprising to us. We live in a small Midwestern town that is filled with churches and conservative folks, surrounded by an entire region of such communities. A "Bible-belt," you might say.

Which got me thinking. If you mixed in a few "Jesus" words and a couple of hymns or praise songs, what I've seen at our son's public high school would represent something not dissimilar to many churches I've experienced around here. You have a community of caring people, an emphasis on learning, discipline, moral education, all served up via a full program of activities for having fun, building community, and encouraging growth.

What does that sound like to you?

My question is, "How should Christ-followers think about this situation?"

Does it show that the Christian message has infiltrated local culture to such an extent that our secular institutions reflect the light of the Gospel, at least in moral terms?

Or does it show that churches (at least in "Bible-belt" regions) have become mirrors of American conservative culture, serving as little more than reflections of the God and country, family values, law and order, bourgeois middle class ethos? Have many congregations become "Christian activity centers" that primarily serve to promote morality and the "righteous" status quo?

Perhaps it is some of both? What is positive about this state of affairs, and what may be negative, even harmful to the growth of genuinely Biblical Christianity?

Furthermore, when Christ and culture seem to complement rather than radically oppose one another in a given setting, in what ways is the church called to be counter-cultural, and in what ways may it cooperate with the institutions in that community to fulfill the Missio Dei?

Who comes to church?

2009-04-16T11:58:00.003-04:00

Will Willimon reminds us that there is only one group of people that attends church services. You can read his observations HERE.

The five minutes that made me a Dave Matthews fan...

2009-04-15T23:51:00.001-04:00

MAYBE THE BEST BLOG ARTICLE EVER...

2009-04-07T23:10:00.007-04:00

The Gospel is for Christians.

Unfortunately, many Christians don't believe this and don't hear it often enough. For example, listen to the testimony of noted evangelical author Jerry Bridges...

My story is not unusual. Evangelicals commonly think today that the gospel is only for unbelievers. Once we're inside the kingdom's door, we need the gospel only in order to share it with those who are still outside. Now, as believers, we need to hear the message of discipleship. We need to learn how to live the Christian life and be challenged to go do it. That's what I believed and practiced in my life and ministry for some time. It is what most Christians seem to believe.
As I see it, the Christian community is largely a performance-based culture today. And the more deeply committed we are to following Jesus, the more deeply ingrained the performance mindset is. We think we earn God's blessing or forfeit it by how well we live the Christian life.

Today, I read what is perhaps the best and most important expression of the Gospel for Christians that I have seen in the blogosphere. You can find it HERE, at Michael Spencer's Internet Monk blog.

PLEASE READ iMONK'S POST!

Read it again.
Meditate on it.
Pray about it.
Discuss it with your friends and family and fellow church members.
Ask your pastor to read it.
Link to it on your blog.
Print it out and pass it around.
Carry a copy in your Bible

We must restore the Gospel message to the church. We must banish the performance-based culture. We must declare war on the moralistic therapeutic deism that is taking over the mindset of American evangelicals and their congregations.

May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6.14)

What Passes for the Gospel Nowadays...

2009-04-07T21:52:00.010-04:00

It's Holy Week, and the local churches are advertising their special services and inviting the community to attend. Today, I received an offer in the mail to visit a new nondenominational church in town ("A free gift for first time guests!). The postcard they sent was slick and attractive, if a bit impersonal. However, what truly saddened me was its message.

Here is the "Good News" they're preaching this Easter...

FIND THE POWER TO RISE AGAIN AT CHRIST'S CHURCH

Jesus didn't let a nearly two-ton stone keep him down; that Resurrection Sunday he moved the stone and rose from the grave. Are you carrying a weight that feels like two tons: pain, hardship, unmet expectations, or guilt? If you feel exhausted or trapped, join us at Christ's Church and learn how to experience the power of the resurrection in your life. Your burdens can be lifted—a relationship with God can roll them away just like the stone rolled away from Jesus' tomb at the resurrection.

The front side of the card portrays a stone with the words, "Doubt, worry, fear, anger, pain—He still moves stones."

THIS is the message of Easter?

Help! Someone has taken the "evangel" out of "evangelical"!

Thought-provoking Stuff on Religious "Stuff"

2009-04-05T11:43:00.006-04:00

iMonk takes evangelicals to task for their criticisms of Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians in the area of devotion to religious objects. Here's a sample from his riff...

Humans are religious. In their religious practices, they endow objects, associations, places, persons and certain sense experiences with meaning. They use these objects, etc. to focus upon God’s presence in the world. All that Catholics/Orthodox do is come out and tell you they believe God mediates his presence through matter. We believe the exact same thing, and can outdo our brothers and sisters in the gear department most days. (I haven’t seen Catholic amusement parks and their bookstores are not quite as numerous as Family Bookstores, Lifeway, etc.).

He's right. For years iconoclastic fundamentalists and evangelicals have looked down on their more liturgical brethren for their habits of worship, particularly when it comes to venerating sacred objects or surrounding themselves with material reminders of their faith. All the while, we've been doing the same thing and calling these objects "tools for witnessing," or something like that.

I encourage you to take a look at his post. Just click the link in the first paragraph to access it.

What do you think?

Just in time for Opening Day...

2009-04-01T19:53:00.003-04:00

Be sure to check out Jesus Creed today, where Scot McKnight has a post so funny that I would fall down laughing if I weren't hunched over crying my eyes out.

"Be of good courage, and wait, O longsuffering Cubs fan!"

Pentecost Remix?

2009-03-31T22:47:00.008-04:00

I'm no expert on Rick Warren or the ministry of Saddleback Church. I've read a couple of his books and found them unremarkable. He seems to have the facility that many American megachurch pastors have—he can condense the complex and incomprehensible mysteries of God into concise formulas and communicate them clearly, outlining simple pathways for people to follow. He puts the cookies on the bottom shelf.

Then of course, his organization has all the bells and whistles of a superb megachurch. He is committed to missions and making the world a better place. He has also used his well-built platform to garner nationwide public respect through a more moderate and civil approach to evangelical politics. Rick Warren is the epitome of a successful American entrepreneur Christian leader.

But...if you want to get a taste of the kind of shameless marketing, promotion, and religious salesmanship used by Warren and Saddleback, just read Pastor Rick's latest edition of his News and Views. Stand amazed at the church's latest effort to—yes, you heard it right—stage a second Pentecost. Apparently, if enough people will just take four easy steps and become members of Saddleback, divine history will be repeated!

When you read Pastor Rick's upbeat appeal, can you find...

An extremely truncated Gospel message?
An instant catechism (discipleship) process? (In fact, if I read it correctly, on this day only you even get a "discount" on the normal time required for the membership class!)
Horrendous sacramental theology that focuses on rebaptism of those already baptized in other Christian churches?
A "pastor" who is apparently such a celebrity that only on rare special occasions is it possible for the hoi polloi to meet him? (On this day, you can even have your picture taken with him!)
Free giveaways?

It's history! It's fun! You're the greatest! You can do it all in one Saturday!

Sigh.

The Preschooler and the Pistol

2009-03-30T18:22:00.013-04:00

Recently, here in Indianapolis, a four-year-old was taken by emergency personnel to the hospital with a gunshot wound. At first, it was not clear what had happened. The family told police the child had shot himself. The police weren't sure that the preschooler was strong enough to have pulled the trigger of the suspected weapon by himself, and so they wondered if someone else had done it, perhaps a family member.

It turned out the family was correct. The little boy lived in a home with other relatives, at least one of whom had several guns. This uncle left one of his pistols on a bedside table and the child discovered it there. The preschooler picked up, played with it, and shot himself in the hand. Fortunately, his injuries were not life-threatening, though he did nearly sever one of his fingers. All in all, the whole family was lucky, including the little boy's two siblings, neither of whom were hurt.

In evangelicalism, pastors too often play the part of the preschooler with the pistol. The Bible is a powerful, explosive tool. When its power is used with wisdom and love, it brings healing, comfort, direction, and salvation. It forms people and congregations into the image of Christ. When its power is used recklessly and without discernment, the Bible can hurt, divide, and destroy. You can blow your own hand off, or someone else's head.

A friend told me a sad story this week about her small-town church, an independent Bible-believing congregation that prides itself for standing on the Scriptures and not the doctrines of men. They have a young pastor who has been with them a few years now. A while ago, he came to the "Biblical conviction" that they were not running their congregation according to what the Bible teaches about church polity.

At the time, they had a joint board of elders and deacons, which included women deaconesses as well. The board made decisions together as leaders of the church. The pastor did a study and concluded that elders alone should rule the church, that deacons should not be included in the decision-making process, and that in any case, women should not be allowed a vote as leaders on church matters. So, he put the congregation through an extended process to change this, and ultimately got his way through a congregational vote to alter the bylaws.

My friend was one of the vocal minority who spoke against this, and the pastor let her know that her lack of support had been noted. She didn't tell me much about how others felt, or whether this situation threatened to divide the church. However, it was clear that she was troubled and concerned about the health of the church. And then she told me the kicker—while all this was going on, the pastor has been actively pursuing a position in another congregation. He will be leaving soon, right after taking my friend's church through this controversial process and forcing a change in the way they've done things for years.

I was reminded of the preschooler and the pistol. Here is a pastor who believes in the Bible, but does not appreciate its power, nor comprehend its wise use. His reckless application of God's Word has wounded rather than healed God's people. Now he's going to walk away and leave it to someone else to stop the bleeding.

Let me be clear—I am not criticizing the decision this church made. People of faith can differ on church polity and women in leadership and a thousand other matters, and have for centuries. No, my complaint is about a minister who does not understand Biblical priorities, who showed his lack of wisdom in elevating a matter that was of minor significance in the church so that it became a leading issue that now threatens to divide them.

This is another aspect of the authority problem in the evangelical world. We subscribe to Sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone") as our source of authority for faith and practice, but we have far too little appreciation for proper interpretation and wise application of the Bible's teaching. And too many churches and pastors, especially in the nondenominational or independent Christian world have little or no guidance in the process.

In that autonomous congregation, which eschews "tradition," what theologically sound and historically proven practices were there to provide perspective, structure, and guidance to this pastor and the members of the congregation?

In that small-town congregation, what pastoral mentor or overseer was available to tell the young minister, "Look, you may think you've discovered something in the Bible, but with regard to scriptural priorities, this is way down the list of things for a minister in your setting and situation to be concerned about."

In that nondenominational congregation, what experience or counsel from the larger community of faith was available to help them work through an issue that other churches have dealt with already?

"Scripture Alone" does not mean "My Bible and Me Alone." Scripture is meant to be studied, interpreted, and applied within a community of faith that honors and respects history and tradition, the larger Body of Christ, and the wise counsel of respected spiritual overseers. Instead, we have too many maverick ministers recklessly taking what they find on the bedside table and firing into the crowd each Sunday.

Evangelicalism's Authority Problem

2009-03-30T15:23:00.008-04:00

The Indianapolis Star ran an article this weekend about a man who confronted his pastor in the middle of the Sunday service. The man had evidence about a situation in which the minister was being accused of sexual harassment by a woman he had been counseling. While this was certainly a dramatic instance of how congregations handle ministerial problems, what caught my attention was the Star's observation about (lack of) accountability in autonomous congregations.

...at Hope Baptist and the growing legion of independent congregations with no denominational affiliation, there is no bishop ready to step in, no hierarchy waiting to conduct an investigation or hear an appeal, and no outside accountability.
In traditional denominations, disputes that are not settled within the congregation are funneled through a structured judicial process with long-established rules, said Carol Johnston, an associate professor of theology and culture at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Don Gifford, superintendent of the Indiana District of the Assemblies of God, said he sees the additional layers of a denomination or a fellowship as additional accountability for everyone.
"All of us need to be under authority," he said.
But in recent decades, the traditional denominations have been in decline. As they have shrunk, many people have migrated to independent churches, which often are freer to move into growing population centers and have been quicker to embrace new worship and preaching styles attractive to younger generations.
The risk with being independent comes when the church is organized around the personality of a charismatic pastor who has much greater autonomy than his denominational brothers.

This is an important authority problem Protestants face, particularly with regard to independent, autonomous evangelical churches that have no authority-bearing traditions or practices, and no episcopal levels of oversight.

In the Star article, some of those interviewed said that there need not be a lack of accountability in such churches because boards of directors or deacons may function to provide it. However, the level of historical, theological, and pastoral understanding required to provide true oversight for a pastor or pastoral staff is usually minimal at best when it comes to the lay people appointed to such boards. In my experience, most board members are not even able to provide a knowledgeable annual evaluation of how the pastor is doing with his routine work, even when the local congregation and board have defined it! Imagine how unlikely it is that they would be able to provide skilled guidance in a time of crisis.

When we pursue a "start your own," "make it up as we go along," entreprenurial approach to ecclesiology and pastoral ministry, there are few safeguards. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes.

Houston, we have an authority problem.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, The Missional Issue, Part 3

2009-03-19T16:53:00.019-04:00

My first clear understanding of the missional nature of the church emerged when I was in seminary and pastoring a small church in suburban Chicago. It came to me in the form of two small books by Dr. Richard C. Halverson, called Between Sundays, and How I Changed My Thinking about the Church.

Dr. Halverson has a simple practical ecclesiology, one which I think is still being missed by the church in America...

The church exists in two basic forms: (1) the church gathered, and (2) the church scattered.

The first we might call the Sunday church; the second, the church "between Sundays".

When the congregation gathers, it does so to do "church work"—the work that takes place among God's people, and which also includes maintaining and supporting the institution. When the church scatters, it does so to do "the work of the church"—fulfilling God's mission in Christ in the world.

One primary purpose of the church's gathering is to equip the church to fulfill its mission when scattered throughout the week in various places where the routines of everyday life occur.

Today, a few pertinent quotes from Dr. Halverson to flesh this out a bit...

The Christian life is elliptical; it revolves around two foci--one an invitation and the other a commission. The invitation is that of Jesus Christ, "Come unto me...." The commision, also from Jesus Christ, is "Go ye into all the world...." The healthy Christian life revolves around the coming and the going. (How I Changed..., p.21)

He further observes that this "coming and going" lifestyle must be balanced. There are those who are always "coming"—who build church-centered lives and devote most of their time and attention to being involved with the Christian community. Others, perhaps disillusioned with the institution, are always "going"—devoting their lives to doing good in their community but neglecting the edifying fellowship of other believers.

However, these complementary spheres of Christian living are meant to balance and support one another...

If one were to begin from scratch to build a theology of evangelism and mission on the basis of what he found in the New Testament epistles, he would probably be impressed with the paucity of material upon which to build....

...the weight of the exhortation and instruction in the epistles has to do with the relationship of believer with believer in the community, in the body of Christ. The implication can be clearly drawn that when these relationships are right, i.e., when the brothers and sisters love one another and when they are abiding in Christ, evangelism and mission will be the normal and healthy result of such relationships....

...Here one does not find the churches organizing to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what one does find is the Gospel being scattered widely and rapidly because the church is in such a healthy condition that this can happen. (How I Changed..., pp. 63-65)

The true work of the church happens when this kind of congregation scatters and each member engages the world of his neighbors daily in the context of real life situations...

It became apparent that the work of the church is not what is done for the institution, the organization, the establishment. The real work of the church is what is done between Sundays when the church is scattered all over the metropolitan area where it is located—in homes, in schools, in offices, on construction jobs, in market places. This is the work of the church and it requires every single member. The responsibility of the pastor is to equip every member to do the work of the church wherever he is between Sundays. This radically alters the pastor's way of thinking about his responsibility to the congregation. No longer do they represent men and women who are to be mobilized to do the work of his ministry; but on the contrary, they have a ministry wherever they are and God has called the pastor to equip them for their ministry....

One of the reasons the institutional church has become irrelevant to the extent that it has in our contemporary life is that many Christians have become so busy in church work they have not had time to do the work of the church....

The view persists that the serious Christian, the one truly committed, will be active in the life of the religious institution. If he loves Christ he ought to be doing "something for the church." The program of the establishment is equated with service for Christ. As one does this he is "spiritual." In everything else, except as he may sporadically talk to someone in an effort to win him to Christ or get him into the church, he is "secular." The truth is, everything we do in the church organization, in the church building, in the church program ought to contribute to the church's effectiveness when it is not involved in the building or the program or the organization—when it is out in the world.

...In other words, the measure of the effectiveness of a congregation is not what one sees when the congregation is gathered, not the size of the building, nor the size of the budget, nor the size of the congregation or the Sunday school. The real measure of the effectiveness of the congregation is what happens when the congregation is not in the sanctuary or the Sunday school or meeting officially as boards or committees or councils. The measure of the effectiveness of any local congregation when it is gathered, is the measure of what that congregation is doing when it is dispersed. (How I Changed..., pp. 71-77)

Halverson summarizes the missional focus of the church in this succinct, earthshaking statement:

Think of it this way. The program of our church is everything all the members are doing between Sundays. (How I Changed..., p.106)

Why is this so earthshaking? Because it challenges the fundamental understandings and deeply ingrained practices of a vast majority of churches. In fact, I know of NO churches in my own experience that genuinely believe and act like this.

Isn't the church's program what we announce in our bulletins, calendars, newsletters, and websites?
Doesn't the program of the church consist of what we organize and oversee in order to fulfill God's mission in the world?

For the most part, NO.

The programmatic approach that most churches take says much more about our cultural commitments than it does about living out our Biblical calling to be Christ's people in the world.

Funniest of all time, 1

2009-03-18T22:02:00.001-04:00

Another view...

2009-03-18T17:17:00.005-04:00

Take a look at a blog called "Parchment and Pen," where you'll find a good piece of observational writing from C. Michael Patton, who made an ecclesiastical field trip to visit a couple of (quite) different churches.

The author is kind and generous, but also honest in his observations and evaluation. I think I would have been tempted to come across much more critically.

Read it, and let me know what YOU think.

...Wait, they had an elf who greeted the kids at the door?

Would you take this man into your home?

2009-03-17T17:26:00.005-04:00

A pastor in Chicester, NH thinks that it is his Christian duty to try and help this man, even though the man is a convicted criminal who has committed horrendous crimes in the past.

You can read about the furor this missional act is stirring up up HERE.

I take it as a given that this kind of hospitality is not possible or even desirable for everyone. However, radical examples sometimes get our attention and cause us to think.

Is this pastor just being naive and idealistic?
What responsibilities does he have toward his other neighbors in a situation like this?
What part should his church (which, according to the article, is in another town) and the local churches in this town play?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

This is NOT missional Christianity...

2009-03-13T17:17:00.002-04:00

Always a Neighbor

2009-03-11T13:39:00.009-04:00

I hadn't planned on sharing this, but it fits with some things I want to say about missional Christianity...

Always a Neighbor
Yesterday, I went to the clinic for an upper respiratory infection. I couldn’t see my regular doctor, who was booked up, so they set me up with another. I have met this other doc before—he is a kind, gentle man with a positive spirit, enhanced by a comforting lilting Irish accent.

He checked me over and made his diagnosis, giving me a prescription and counsel to rest and so on. As we were talking, he discovered that I worked for hospice. Turns out his wife is a hospice patient; end-stage ovarian cancer. Also turns out that I have met his wife, a lovely lady who has spent her life visiting the sick and caring for the unfortunate; one of those rare people that just breathes encouragement, comfort, and affirmation into every situation she enters.

It was obvious that the doctor needed to talk. So, we extended my stay in the examination room quite a bit past the usual perfunctory exam and wrap-up. After he told how his wife was doing, I asked about him. “Well,” he said, “she’s handling it a lot better than I am. She seems to have accepted things, and I’ve told her that’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to be pissed off.” That was a surprisingly revealing, personal comment for a doctor to make to a patient, and I was honored that he felt comfortable enough to share it with me.

After talking for a while more, we parted and I asked him to give his dear wife my greeting, and I wished him blessings from God. He indicated that it had been good to talk. Little had I expected that a trip to the doctor for my needs would turn into an opportunity to minister to the doctor for his needs.

It reminded me that what I do is not just a job. All around me people are going through situations no one imagines or understands. God may lead me, at any time, to be available to help someone. In that sense, I am never off the clock. It is always time to listen to and love your neighbor.

I'm so excited!

2009-03-08T21:59:00.003-04:00

Little Kian was so thrilled to be with grandpa today, he could hardly contain it.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Missional Issue, part 2

2009-03-04T21:03:00.014-05:00

ROSES AND LILIES CHRISTIANITY
Tonight, we began a series of Lenten services at our church. We are reading and discussing Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic, Life Together. Written out of his experiences of living in intentional community in an underground seminary in Germany during WWII, Bonhoeffer teaches believers what it means to relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. However, the book opens with an important reminder that is all too often forgotten by believers today...

It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. "The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared?" (Luther) (p. 1f)

The problem with much contemporary American evangelicalism is that it has created an alternate "kingdom," one which is OF the world but not IN the world. The freedom and prosperity we enjoy in this country has allowed us to withdraw from meaningful interaction with our neighbors in the context of real life situations so that we might spend time in "Christian" pursuits.

Churches are organized to satisfy this centripetal impulse. Life for many American Christians revolves around the "temple" and its program of activities for all ages and interests. It seems that the purpose of the church is to provide what Luther called a "roses and lilies" experience for people that protects them from the harsh realities of the world and the challenges of learning to relate authentically with those who don't share our faith.

This pattern is "of the world" because it grows directly out of the American suburban ethos. Suburban living is all about comfort, security, and prosperity. The modern evangelical movement has capitalized on these desires by providing superbly outfitted temples that continually cater to the consumerist cravings of their congregations. It provides "safe places" where parents can be assured that they and their children will never have to rub shoulders with pagans, never be disturbed by ideas or concepts that challenge their Sunday School faith, and never have to deal with the uncomfortable realities that live next door.

Nor have I even begun to speak about the Christian publishing industry, the Christian music business, the host of Christian enterprises that provide unlimited "edification" opportunities for believers so that they need never be in a situation where they are not surrounded by an atmosphere of godliness.

A church newsletter from one of our local megachurches contained an article about their sports program, written by the elder responsible for it. When asked why he had signed up to lead this "ministry," he related a story about how one of his children had a bad experience with a soccer coach in a community youth league. Apparently this coach was always yelling at the kids. The elder decided he would head up the church soccer league so that no child in his program would ever have to have suffer such indignity.

So...the answer in this situation, as we find so often in the evangelical approach, is to withdraw from the world and start something of our own that will be "safe" and promote a more godly way. Sure, we say we will invite the community and "win people for Christ," but in reality the root desire is for protection, safety, and non-involvement with a messy world of sinful people. We want "to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people, but the devout people."

As we'll see in the next post, this approach denies one whole aspect of the church's identity. The church lives out its life in Christ in two contexts in this world—as the church gathered and as the church scattered. Unfortunately, we seem mostly to have retreated into fortresses of our own making, satisfied that we are fulfilling the Great Commission by lobbing gospel tracts and culture war diatribes over the walls, and occasionally inviting someone on the outside to come in and take a tour of the castle.

We are thus losing the ability to relate to our neighbors on the basis of a shared humanity in the context of real-life situations. This is the missional issue in a nutshell.

GOOD TEACHING...

2009-03-02T21:20:00.006-05:00

While in Chicago, we attended two classes in Biblical studies that were wonderfully stimulating to both mind and spirit.

The first, at North Park University, was taught by Dr. Boaz Johnson. Dr. Johnson is from New Delhi, India, and we have mutual friends in the Christian community there so we were anxious to meet him. He was teaching an introduction to the Bible class, and was dealing with the Book of Joshua. To set the stage for Joshua, he reviewed the Torah and the structure of the early prophetic books (Joshua through Kings). Dr. Johnson gave a breathtaking overview of the First Testament and its message. This is the kind of teaching I received in seminary, which put together so much for me in my understanding of Scripture. How wonderful to know that now college students have access to such rich insights.

The second Biblical class we attended was at Wheaton College, taught by John Walton. I have greatly benefited from Dr. Walton's commentary on Genesis, and was anxious to hear him teach. His lesson was on 1-2 Samuel. His instruction was winsome and insightful, aided by multimedia. Once again, the level of the teaching was extraordinary, the instruction profitable.

It was heartening to see the quality of Biblical instruction being taught at both of these fine evangelical schools.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Saving Darwin

2009-03-01T22:27:00.004-05:00

As part of my ongoing interest in the cultural conflict between science and religion, particularly evangelicalism, I have been reading Karl Giberson's book, Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution.

Giberson is professor of physics at Eastern Nazarene College, director of the Forum on Faith and Science at Gordon College, and Co-Director of the Venice Summer School on Science and Religion. His unique contribution to the literature is to provide an enlightening historical overview of the cultural conflict in the U.S., while at the same time presenting scientific evidence for evolution in a clear manner from a Christian perspective.

The burden of his book is captured in this quote, with which I wholeheartedly agree...

Places exist on which believers can stand, however, in the midst of the controversy. We don't know near enough about evolution to infer from it that God is not the creator. And we don't know anywhere near enough about God to dismiss the idea that evolution might be a part of God's creative processes. If we can embrace a bit of humility and avoid the temptation to enlarge either evolution or biblical literalism into an entire worldview, we can dismiss this controversy as the irrelevant shouting match that it is. (p. 18)

Giberson's book by itself does not offer a complete case that will satisfy most evangelicals, for it is not his task to examine the Biblical creation texts themselves and deal with the interpretive issues they raise. However, as an evangelical Christian, he does offer this sage advice with regard to our approach to the Bible:

Ambiguities about evolution coexisted with ambiguities about biblical interpretation. For evolution to conflict with the Bible, these ambiguities would have to resolve in a specific way that was genuinely incompatible. We can certainly select a biblical interpretation that will conflict with a particular explanation for evolution. But why would we want to do that? Absent a revelation from God commanding such a cantankerous move, there is simply no reason to do this. Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus, not those who go around manufacturing controversy. (p. 58, emphasis mine).

Most helpful to me was the historical overview Giberson gives, with surprising insights about some of the sources of creationist teachings and perspectives. I read The Genesis Flood in Bible College in the 70's when its concepts of flood geology and creationist logic were basic fundamentalist doctrine. However, I was never taught that these teachings originated from the dreams and visions of Ellen G. White, the founder of Adventism, who those same folks considered to be a false prophet.

Giberson also makes the obvious but overlooked point that, in America, this conflict is not really a fight between science and religion, even though the evangelists on each extreme would have us view it that way. To his credit, Giberson attacks the immoderate "religious" agenda of those who are using evolution as a way of promoting materialism with as much vigor as he critiques the persistent creationists.

The creation-evolution controversy is only, in the most trivial sense, a scientific dispute. It is, instead, a culture war, fought with culture-war weapons by culture warriors. Facts are almost irrelevant. Truth is valued when it serves a purpose and not for its own sake. Name-calling, caricature, cover-up, and hyperbole dominate. Compromise is out of the question.... (p. 166)

Thanks to Karl Giberson for providing at least a partial antidote to the unhealthy atmosphere created by this conflict.

WEEKEND IN MECCA...

2009-03-01T19:26:00.015-05:00

We traveled to Chicago this weekend to visit colleges for my son, and had the opportunity to make pilgrimage to two icons of evangelicalism, Willow Creek Community Church and Wheaton Bible Church.

WILLOW CREEK
On Saturday evening we went to Willow and heard a practical, challenging message about finances from guest speaker Dave Ramsey. I had not been there for many years, and was thoroughly impressed (duh!) with their latest state-of-the-art facilities, production values and presentation. The service was simple but creative, with ample use of music and multimedia to communicate the message that God will take care of his people in hard times.

[Editorial comment:] Actually, it was kind of hard to imagine "hard times" in that setting, but I know that people from the wealthiest to the poorest are affected by the current economic crisis, so it would be silly for me to be critical.

During the service, I witnessed one of the more gracious acts of worship I've seen. An older man a few rows ahead of us put his hands over his ears and grimaced through the loud, intense parts of the music. Nevertheless, he stayed and participated fully in a service that I'm sure did not agree with his ideal style-preferences. I think it was C.S. Lewis who said that one sign of grace in a person's life is the ability to worship when singing a hymn he does not like. This gentleman was a contemporary parable to me of that thought.

Dave Ramsey's message was enthusiastic, funny, direct, and at times manic. He is an excellent communicator, and his instruction was solidly based on wisdom teaching from Proverbs. I especially appreciated the distinction he made between "sinful" and "foolish" behavior in Biblical ethics. We were helped by his firm no-nonsense exhortations.

Bill Hybels concluded the service with one of his trademark appeals for folks to make a heartfelt decision to go God's way.

WHEATON BIBLE CHURCH
In the morning we joined Gail's sister for Sunday worship. She attends Wheaton Bible Church, which meets at a new, impressive campus also. The building's appearance is more "church-like" but the ambience inside was pretty much the same as Willow Creek—contemporary, slick, pragmatic.

We went to the earliest service, which is more traditional in style. A lot more suits and ties. A significant number of older people made up the majority of the congregation. Music was mostly hymns, accompanied by organ, piano, orchestra and choir, and directed by a song leader. There was a pastoral prayer, communion, a two-person dramatic skit to introduce the message, and an expository sermon on 1Peter 1.1-2. They used multmedia effectively and with relative unobtrusiveness in a way that (IMHO) enhanced the service rather than being distracting.

As at WC, the emphasis of the service was also on the hard times we are facing, and what a godly response to that entails. Sr. Pastor Rob Bugh's sermon was less "practical" and more theologically-oriented, taken right out of the text itself. He explained how Peter greeted the scattered, suffering exiles in ancient Asia Minor by emphasizing, not their troubles, but God's gracious, eternal salvation plan for their lives. He ended with a moving letter from a congregation member who is truly facing hard times—he's dying with ALS—and how God has used him to advance the gospel in his neighborhood and family in spite of his situation. It was a fine example of solid expositional teaching/preaching.

These two huge evangelical churches represent the "best of the best" of what evangelicalism is all about. There is so much to appreciate in what we experienced this weekend. At the heart of it all is a firm commitment to Scripture joined to a fervent passion for mission and reaching people with the Gospel message. These churches stand at the pinnacle of the evangelical revivalist tradition, and they do much good in the world for God's glory.

From my perspective, they also display the weaknesses of evangelicalism in large format. However, this is not the time to talk about that. We are simply thankful for the experience of being with some of God's people this weekend.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Missional Issue, part one

2009-02-22T19:38:00.009-05:00

The Good Samaritan
Rembrandt (1650-55)

I will introduce the third and final subject of our journey from evangelicalism to mainline Christianity with a story...

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
Lee was a writer and photographer, the kind of person who drew strength and energy from being alone and working on her arts. She and Frank had been married twenty-four years; it was a second marriage for both of them, each having divorced from unhappy first unions. Neither had brought children to the marriage and, after a few tearful arguments early in their life together, the subject of having children with one another never came up again.

Frank worked hard, long hours, and provided well for them, freeing Lee to pursue her artistic interests. Then, unexpectedly, a few years before retirement, he was diagnosed with cancer and almost before you knew it, Frank was bed bound and his free-spirited wife lost her liberty. She attended to his needs night and day, feeding him, helping him to the toilet, passing his medicines, and getting him up in the recliner where he watched TV, increasingly distant and dependent. At first she got out for an hour or two here and there, but Lee could see that those opportunities were diminishing; she became more and more afraid to leave Frank alone for fear he would awaken confused and fall out of bed.

And so Lee became despondent. Frank’s constant demands kept her from pursuing the solitude and creative work she needed to refuel her spirit. They had no family to help them, and couldn’t really afford paid caregivers. Lee discovered she had few human supports on which to lean, and she felt alone, helpless and hopeless.

But a new sense of spiritual hunger also grew in Lee. She began reading the Bible and thinking about church. “Maybe a church family would provide some help with Frank,” she thought. She remembered that there was a new, large congregation a few blocks away, on the edge of her neighborhood. You could almost see it from her house. She decided to phone.

“Jericho Community Church,” the receptionist answered. “How may I direct your call?”

“I’m not sure who to talk to,” said Lee. “I live in the neighborhood and I’m wondering if you have anyone who could help me by coming to my house for a few hours to sit with my husband who has cancer.”

The receptionist transferred her to the Outreach Office. “Are you a member of our church?” the woman there asked her. When Lee said no, she offered to send an evangelistic team over to the house to talk with her and Frank. “But that’s not really what I’m interested in,” Lee protested. “Right now, I’m kind of homebound because of my husband’s illness. I hope to visit your church soon, but what I really need at the moment is a volunteer who can help me by coming to sit with my husband for an hour or two a week. Can you help?”

Again she was put on hold and transferred, this time to the Small Groups Office. “Are you in one of our Care Groups?” she was asked. “We care for our members through a network of small home groups. If you come to church this Sunday, we could hook you up with one of our Care Group leaders and maybe you could find a group to be part of.” And once more Lee tried in vain to communicate her need. She finally hung up the phone with a sigh.

She moved to the front window and looked out, wondering where to turn next. As she watched, two men crossed the street and walked down the sidewalk opposite her house. For a moment, they glanced up and saw her lonely figure through the darkened glass. Then, redirecting their eyes, they walked on. Lee watched until they reached the end of her street, and turned to walk south, to the church at the edge of her neighborhood.

Job well done...

2009-02-21T21:45:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to my son's brass quintet from Franklin Community High School, which won a "gold" at the ISSMA state competition today at North Central High School in Indianapolis.

David, Grant, Jordan, Josh, and Isaac—great job!

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Pastoral Issue, part three

2009-02-17T14:08:00.015-05:00

In his remarkable book, Under the Unpredictable Plant, Eugene Peterson describes how the conditions in which pastors work, embodied in the three different parties that affect the pastoral vocation, often conflict with the minister's true calling.

First, there is the ordaining body, the denomination.
I had discovered that spiritually and vocationally I was on my own. The people who ordained me and took responsibility for my work were interested in financial reports, attendance graphs, program planning. But they were not interested in me. They were interested in my job; they cared little for my vocation. (p. 80)

Second, the local congregation.
The people who gather in our congregations want help through a difficult time; they want meaning and significance in their ventures. They want God, in a way, but certainly not a "jealous God," not the "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Mostly they want to be their own god and stay in control but have ancillary idol assistance for the hard parts, which the pastor can show them how to get. (p. 81)

Third, the ego of the pastor him or herself.
We must do only what we are there to do: pronounce the Name, name the hunger. But it is so easy to get distracted. There is so much going on, so much to see and hear and say. So much emotion. So many tasks. So much, we think, "opportunity." But our assignment is to the "one thing needful," the invisible quiet center—God.

Such restraint is not easy. Dealing with important matters, we assert ourselves as important. We do it, of course, in the name of God, supposing we are upholding the primacy of the One we represent and intending to build up congregational effectiveness. This is done with distressing regularity by pastors. But such posturing does not give glory to God; it only advertises clerical vanity and contributes to congregational inanity. We are only hogging the show.... (p. 88)

I will use these categories to continue sharing my own perspectives on what I perceive to be some shortcomings of evangelicalism with regard to pastoral theology. I served as a pastor in mostly nondenominational evangelical churches for more than 25 years and directly experienced (and contributed to) the concerns I write about here. What I have seen in that church culture is Peterson's critique gone to seed.

The rest of the story...

First Concern: Where are the "apostles"?
If Eugene Peterson found no nurture and guidance from his denominational leaders, that is a shame. Those who serve as "apostles" above the local church level should have at least some among them assigned to be spiritual mentors and directors to pastors, who need constant support and direction. Peterson's critique shows us that no system is perfect, and that administrative structures don't always address the situations they are created to handle.

However, the problem in the autonomous world of evangelicalism is that there is NO STRUCTURE whatsoever. There is not even the least possibility of spiritual guidance, support, personal counsel, or accountability from the "apostolic" level, for there is no "apostolic" level! Like the churches they serve, pastors are expected to be independent, autonomous, and self-supporting. Each one is a solo act, and he works without a net.

This starts in school, where you will look long and hard to find a course or program that instructs prospective pastors about what a minister actually does day in and day out. Then, the world of church work he enters after school is the world of the entrepreneur. You are the man! Start your own. Do it your way. Come up with the next new and big idea. Climb the ladder. Learn to compete with the big boys. It's spiritual capitalism at its best, and only the strongest survive.

When I left my last church, a troubled congregation, I went home alone with my family. I literally had no idea what to do next. Oh sure, the folks from the pews were sympathetic and kind and very generous to help us out as they could, but where was the vocational "net"? Where was the older, wiser apostle overseeing the churches, whose job it was to pick up a colleague who had fallen on his face, bandage his wounds, put him on his own animal, bring him to the inn, and take care of him until he was strong enough to stand up again? Who would envision a future and point out possibilities?

Some lost pastors have found such healing and help providentially, but in my experience, it is far too rare and most of the time the fallen one himself has to search for it. There simply is no structure, no vocational net. Peterson warns us that denominational structures may not work well, or even at all sometimes. But at least someone cared enough to do something!

Timothy, you are on your own. You won't be hearing from Paul anytime soon.

Second Concern: Cultural ecclesiology
Peterson reminds us that Aaron was one of the most popular spiritual leaders in Scripture. He gave the people what they wanted and let them enjoy their "religion" to the fullest. According to Calvin, all people seek idols before God, and with today's technology, the American evangelical church can churn them out at record pace. In Peterson's priceless words, "John Calvin's insight plus Henry Ford's technology equals North American religion" (p. 81).

One idol that constantly provides hurdles for the evangelical pastor is that of the all-purpose church. This is the suburban doctrine of ecclesiology. A program for everything, and everything packaged in a program. A veritable Disney World of opportunities for all ages to find fulfilling spiritually-themed things to do. A religious activity center.

If the community and congregation are allowed to define "church" in these terms, it has an appalling effect on the pastor's vocation. He is no longer the shepherd whose job it is to help folks pay attention to God in their daily lives. No longer the one who is relieved from the normal demands of daily work to make a living and given leisure to keep company with God himself. No longer the one to practice what David Hansen calls, "long, wandering prayer." No longer the one encouraged to spend time among "the least of these," to "visit the orphans and widows in their distress," to leave the flock and seek the single lost sheep.

Instead he becomes the busy executive, who works in his "office" rather than his "study." Who oversees a staff and conducts their performance reviews and approves their budgets. Who works on a "campus," and conducts programs in the "worship center" rather than leading people to contemplate God in the "sanctuary." Who is called upon to cast the vision and come up with the strategy. Whose true sacred text is his DayTimer. He is CEO. He is shopkeeper. He is where the buck stops. He runs a church.

The customers demand it.

Third Concern: The celebrity pastor
Given the first two concerns, being a pastor in a contemporary evangelical church is a high risk/high reward proposition. You work without a net. You exist in a highly competitive market. If you ain't got the stuff, you'll probably get the stuffin' kicked out of you. If you got it, you can be a star.

Evangelical churches are mostly known by their pastors. Charismatic. Gifted. Dynamic. Visionary. Born leaders. These guys (and they are almost all guys in this tradition) have their pictures on all the conference brochures. You hear them on Christian radio. Their books are the ones you see when you first walk in the bookstore. People visit their churches and run from the parking lot to get good seats in the service.

Has anyone ever thought it strange that they represent a Savior who was mostly unknown by the world in which in lived? Who traveled by foot to obscure places and spent inordinate amounts of time with people who would never be able to return him any favors? Who rejected all attempts at publicity and "marketing"? Who intentionally said things so that some people would turn away and not follow him anymore? Who refused to make his teachings easy or "user-friendly," but spoke some of the strangest, hard-to-grasp words ever spoken? Who let his disciples fail again and again but never gave up on them, even when they gave the "ministry" a bad name? Whose greatest work was done in absolute shame and nakedness, darkness, death and despair? Whose symbol is not some snazzy logo designed by savvy marketers, but a bloody cross?

Pastors commonly give lip service to the vocabulary of their vocation, but in our working lives we more commonly pursue careers. Our actual work takes shape under the pressure of the marketplace, not the truth of theology or the wisdom of spirituality. I would like to see as much attention given to the holiness of our vocations as to the piety of our lives.

Basically, all I am doing is trying to get it straight, get straight what it means to be a pastor, and then develop a spirituality adequate to the work. The so-called spirituality that was handed to me by those who put me to the task of pastoral work was not adequate. I do not find the emaciated, exhausted spirituality of institutional careerism adequate. I do not find the veneered, cosmetic spirituality of personal charisma adequate. I require something biblically spiritual—rooted and cultivated in creation and covenant, leisurely in Christ, soaked in Spirit.

Eugene Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant, p. 5

What I Like about Lutheran Baptism

2009-02-12T16:43:00.032-05:00

One issue that I am sure many will ask about with regard to our joining a Lutheran church is, "Yes, but what about baptism?"

The churches I have served all practiced believer's baptism—we baptized those who professed faith by means of immersion. Baptism was a public testimony of faith in Christ; a sign, a visual demonstration of dying to the old life, and rising to walk in newness of life. Some of the churches theoretically accepted the idea of infant baptism as well, but never performed the rite in public worship. I myself was open to the idea of infant baptism, particularly as it was explained in the reformed tradition.

When we joined the Lutheran church, we didn't spend much time discussing the subject of baptism, considering it a lesser issue than some of the other ecclesiological matters that drew us there. However, as I have taken part in the congregation and have read and thought about this subject, I have become more and more impressed with the Lutheran understanding.

First, let's define what Lutherans believe. Here is Luther's Smaller Catechism on holy baptism...

What is Baptism?
Baptism is not simple water only, but it is the water comprehended in God's command and connected with God's Word.
Which is that word of God?
Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Matthew: Go ye into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

What does Baptism give or profit?
It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.
Which are such words and promises of God?
Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Mark: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

How can water do such great things?
It is not the water indeed that does them, but the word of God which is in and with the water, and faith, which trusts such word of God in the water. For without the word of God the water is simple water and no baptism. But with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says, Titus, chapter three: By the washing of regeneration and renewing the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying.

What does such baptizing with water signify?
It signifies that the old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts, and, again, a new man daily come forth and arise; who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Where is this written?
St. Paul says Romans, chapter 6: We are buried with Christ by Baptism into death, that, like as He was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

I like the Lutheran view because it understands baptism as God's act, not a human act. It's primarily about grace, not faith. It is done to us in God's name (that is, as an act of God performed by his representative), we do not do it ourselves. It is not the sign of my response to God, it is the sign and seal of what God has done for me.

I like the Lutheran view because it emphasizes the Word of God. When God's Word of promise and salvation is spoken at baptism, ordinary water becomes a means of grace to sinners. Lutherans do not emphasize the water apart from the Word, nor do they worry so much about how much water is used, or by what method the water is applied. The key is that the simple, ordinary element of water is combined with the all-important Word of salvation.

I like the Lutheran view because it appropriately broadens our understanding of the Great Commission. Many who argue against baptizing infants appeal to the Book of Acts, where believer's baptism is the common practice. However, they forget that Acts describes only first-generation believers. Lutherans have no problem with baptizing believers who have received the Gospel (nor does any Christian denomination that practices baptism). What the N.T. does not exemplify so clearly is what should happen with second-generation believers. When does the child of Christian parents start becoming a disciple of Christ? That process begins when the child is born, and therefore it is appropriate to baptize the child and begin teaching him/her to obey what Christ has commanded from the beginning of life.

I like the Lutheran view because it enlightens us about the true nature of faith. In evangelicalism, faith is usually described as my decision, my willful choice to follow Christ. Lutherans understand that faith is more mysterious and often less conscious than that. Infants exemplify this broader understanding. Does an infant choose to be conceived or born? Does an infant decide to bond in trustful repose upon its mother's breast? Does the infant intelligently weigh its options and determine to choose life and love? No, a new life begins when others come together in an act of love. Then the incomprehensible life force one day moves the baby to enter the world, breathe, and respond to those who love her. Even so, God, through Word and Sacrament works faith and spiritual life into those who receive his promise.

I like the Lutheran view because it emphasizes the ongoing significance of baptism. Since evangelicalism views baptism as a one-time initiatory act that communicates a singular message about conversion, those who practice believer's baptism don't bring up the subject again in the course of the Christian life. However, Lutherans (following Luther himself) see baptism as an ongoing object lesson of the Christian life that we must remember and reenact every day. We practice our baptism daily by repenting (dying to the old life) and rising to walk in new life.

So hear ye all, and well perceive
What God doth call baptism,
And what a Christian should believe
Who error shuns and schism:
That we should water use, the Lord
Declareth it his pleasure;
Not simple water, but the Word
And Spirit without measure;
He is the true Baptizer.

Hymn XXXIV from "The Hymns of Martin Luther"

An Unnecessary Divide

2009-02-11T21:05:00.007-05:00

The 200th anniversary of Darwin's birthday has raised the usual dust storms of controversy between creationists and those who are convinced that the theory of evolution best accounts for the scientific evidence about the origins and development of life.

I have no interest in entering this debate. I am a Bible-believing Christian who happens to think that most of the evangelical response to this issue has unnecessarily inflamed the culture wars and exacerbated a needless and harmful divide between the church and science.

My interest as a pastor and teacher has always been in understanding the Bible as a follower of Jesus and as one called to provide spiritual nourishment for others. To read Genesis, the relevant text in the creation debate, for ammunition in that battle, is way down my list of priorities. Furthermore, I think it is an illegitimate use of the text when we force it to speak to issues it was never meant to address.

The early chapters of Genesis should first of all be read in the context of the Torah, the five-fold book that begins the Bible.

The Torah's main themes are the Promised Land, God's blessing, and the seed (the chosen people of promise). These are set forth in the topic sentence of the Torah, Genesis 12.1-3.
Genesis 1 introduces these themes by telling how the God who made everything (Gen 1.1) prepared a good land and put his people in it to live within his blessing (Gen 1.2-2.3).
The larger section of which Gen 1 is a part, Genesis 1-11, is the early history of the land of promise. It shows, over and over again, how people failed to live in God's good blessings and were exiled from the land, yet always with the provision of God's salvation as well. This section ends with people moving eastward from the land and being scattered over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 12-50 is the early history of the people of promise. It shows how God chose Abraham and his descendants, promised them the land and the restoration of his blessing to all nations through his seed.

The rest of the Torah, of course, continues these themes and concludes its story with the people on the verge of entering the Promised Land.

My point is that the early chapters of Genesis are about this story—about the land of promise and God's plan that people live in his blessing and experience his rest. These are the very themes that fill the rest of the Torah, the themes that Moses' audience, the first recipients of this book, needed to hear as they prepared to enter the land. That is why Moses, under the Spirit's inspiration, wrote Genesis 1 as he did.

Creationism vs. evolution? Not anywhere in sight.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Pastoral Issue, part two

2009-02-10T19:19:00.022-05:00

Eugene Peterson defines the shape of pastoral work as a triangle. With a triangle, it is important to get the ANGLES right. The precision of the angles determines the shape of the triangle and the length of each line. If the angles are all constructed equally, the result is a triangle with matching sides, perfectly balanced.

In pastoral ministry, Peterson says there are three “angles” that form the shape of our work: (1) Prayer, (2) Scripture, and (3) Spiritual Direction. If we properly understand and give attention to these angles, we fulfill our ministerial calling, and the “lines,” which represent the activities in which we engage, will fall into place.

By his definition, then, a pastor is called to be a person who attends to God through…

Prayer, living in a responsive, conversational relationship with God,
Scripture, living a contemplative life that is immersed in the words of the Bible,
Spiritual direction, being with people in community and individually for the cure and care of their souls

If we "work these angles" and let them shape us, the result will be a pastoral ministry that has integrity, depth, and appropriate balance. Peterson comments,

None of these acts is public, which means that no one knows for sure whether or not we are doing any of them. People hear us pray in worship, they listen to us preach and teach from the Scriptures, they notice when we are listening to them in a conversation, but they can never know if we are attending to God in any of this. It doesn’t take many years in this business to realize that we can conduct a fairly respectable pastoral ministry without giving much more than ceremonial attention to God. Since we can omit these acts of attention without anybody noticing, and because each of the acts involves a great deal of rigor, it is easy and common to slight them.

This is not entirely our fault. Great crowds of people have entered into a grand conspiracy to eliminate prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction from our lives. They are concerned with our image and standing, with what they can measure, with what produces successful church-building programs and impressive attendance charts, with sociological impact and economic viability. They do their best to fill our schedules with meetings and appointments so that there is time for neither solitude nor leisure to be before God, to ponder Scripture, to be unhurried with another person.

…Pastoral work disconnected from the angle actions—the acts of attention to God in relation to myself, the biblical communities of Israel and church, the other person—is no longer given its shape by God. Working the angles is what gives shape and integrity to the daily work of pastors and priests. If we get the angles right it is a simple matter to draw in the lines. But if we are careless with or dismiss the angles, no matter how long or straight we draw the lines we will not have a triangle, a pastoral ministry.

Working the Angles, p. 4f

In my years as a pastor in local congregations, I saw (and lived out) some very different incarnations of ministry, pastoral caricatures which would lead one to suspect some poorly drawn angles. Here are a few I have witnessed and experienced…

The rest of the story...

THE PROFESSOR
Faster than Mr. Answer Man! More powerful than a German theologian! Able to parse Greek verbs with a single glance! I have been the professor. I have attempted to turn small churches into world-renowned seminaries. At times, I held the belief that discipleship means opening a new convert’s head and pouring in vast amounts of Biblical and theological knowledge. Many pastors love to teach. We were trained to teach. We got the idea, somehow, mistakenly, that what it really takes to help people follow Christ is for pastors to teach them Bible stories and Bible facts and Bible passages and Bible themes until their cranial cavities are bursting with sound doctrine. So, sanctuaries become lecture halls, words like “eschatological” are taught to toddlers, and congregations split over the number of links in the chain that will bind Satan during the Millennium.

I believe in deep, sound, faithful teaching, but pastors are not simply professors. How dull would that be?

THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES
This guy knows how to work a room. With Osteenesque brilliance, this genial host makes everyone feel welcome. Praying in public, he warms each one’s heart. As Master of Ceremonies, he makes certain that the presentation is impeccable, his stage manner flawless. His stories make you feel good. He speaks in sayings that are consistently clever and witty. Did I mention that smile? His sermons (“talks”) may not have depth, but they are eminently listenable. He is always positive, always affirming, always patting little children on the head, always making sure that people leave feeling better than when they came in. He never forgets a name. He could sell sand in the Sahara.

We all appreciate positive, affirming people, and we should. We should also be as encouraging and winsome as possible toward others. However, being a pastor is not to be equated with being “Mr. Personality.” Ask Luther or Tozer, or better yet, their congregations.

THE SHOPKEEPER
First one in the door, last one to leave. Responsible for each detail of the operation. Familiar with every inch of the property and every last piece of inventory. Takes his work home and burns the midnight oil pouring over the books. Never takes a vacation; in fact, rarely takes a lunch! Eats, drinks, sleeps, and breathes the business. Always working on new ideas to make things better and more profitable. Keeps one eye on the competition at all times. “Workaholic” is an insult—he is more dedicated than that. The answer to every problem is simply to roll up his sleeves and hit it a little harder.

I admire dedicated pastors who work hard. Slothfulness is a sin, and diligence is a virtue. It may very well be better to burn out than to rust out. I just don’t think it’s our calling. Even God stopped working at one point; we call that Sabbath. It doesn’t all depend on you, Mr. Shopkeeper.

THE DRILL SERGEANT
Mr. Shopkeeper thinks he has to do it all himself. At least this next pastoral type understands that people in the congregation must also have an active faith that works. In fact, that is his sole focus. People, get busy! You have been saved to serve! Start standing on the promises rather than sitting on the premises! God wants to direct your life, but he can’t steer a bicycle that is standing still, only one that is moving! To the work! The Drill Sergeant takes the urgency that’s burning in his own soul and urges it onto others. Hear the constant, fervent appeals for folks to get busy for the Lord by getting involved in the church program? His counsel to anyone who has a spiritual problem is to stop focusing on self and start working for Christ. He has no time for spiritual navel-gazing or people who want to waste time. When the house is on fire, you don’t sit around sharing your feelings.

Yes, pastors are called to assist people in using their spiritual gifts for the Body’s benefit and the world’s blessing. However, we are shepherds, not sheep dogs.

THE CEO
Natural born leader, remarkably gifted, entrepreneurial, visionary, with great capacity for understanding large organizations, an uncanny knack for administrating them, and endless energy to keep it all going, this is the "rancher" that the church growth movement used to talk about. (As in, a shepherd cares for a flock, but a rancher oversees an operation; ergo, for churches to grow really, really big they need ranchers not pastors.) The guy's ambitious and knows how to build. He could run a Fortune 500 company; instead he runs the incredibly complex megachurch. He is high profile, thrives on new challenges, and earns the respect of the business folks who used to thumb their noses at the church. Finally, they say, a minister we can respect! A guy who can duke it out with the bankers and politicians! He does it the American way and does it right.

Thank God for this pastor's amazing gifts. The problem comes when he is lifted up as THE model for pastoral success. Then the whole enterprise for all of us becomes about being big and excellent, and about having more, and about pastoring a "great" church. Ever gone to a pastor's conference where the keynote speaker was Pastor Joe from rural Kansas, who shared about his church's great success in reaching four new children for VBS this year? Didn't think so. He's a shepherd, not a rancher.

THE VISIONARY LEADER
The pastor who has regular visions may or may not become a CEO-type. He may not have the stuff to build big, but he sure dreams and talks big. There is always something great on the horizon and his job is to see it and rally the troops in hot pursuit. To use the lingo, he devotes a great deal of effort to "vision-casting" (ugh), continually challenging his congregation to new heights, ever the cheerleader to spur them on, always ladling out the hot sauce to keep the enthusiasm high. After all, God is in the business of doing new things... all the time... everywhere... for everyone! His sermons are rife with military metaphors—conquest, triumph, and victory over the strong forces arrayed against us. He knows how to raise the flag and get the patriots to cheer.

Nothing wrong with enthusiasm or being on the outlook for new direction from the Spirit. However, having my eyes fixed on the horizon may mean missing something right beside me, something not so exciting or dazzling but just as important. Why not lead the flock beside quiet waters once in awhile?

THE TECHNICIAN
Have I got a program for you! Take this discipleship course, and in thirteen weeks, guaranteed or your money back, you will be a mature follower of Christ! Memorize this packet of Bible verses and your mind will be renewed! Follow these nine steps and you will be financially free! Here are some Christian diet suggestions to keep you healthy, a Christian exercise video to keep you fit, Christian clothing so you can be a public witness, Christian music for your CD player to keep you holy while you drive, a Christian Yellow Pages so that you never have to hire someone who doesn't work "as unto the Lord," Christian child-raising tips so your kids will turn out just right, a Christian sex video to keep your marriage smoking hot, and our latest church newsletter so you can find something to do at the church building every day of the week. By such means, pastoral ministry morphs into programmatic activity.

The technician pastor believes in a lot of this stuff. He probably has testimonials to back up the claims. It's simple. It's easy. It works. Where's God?

In the entrepreneurial, anti-tradition, historically ignorant, low-accountability world of evangelicalism, pastors are pretty much free to choose their identity and many end up like the caricatures above. Of course, each description contains elements of genuine pastoral ministry, but only when we properly "work the angles" at the heart of our calling can we escape the unbalanced approaches that are more determined by personality and culture than Biblical wisdom.

LISTENING RECOMMENDATION...

2009-02-05T21:46:00.005-05:00

When we lived in Chicago, I loved to listen to Milt Rosenberg's radio program late in the evening. In my experience, his show, Extension 720, has proven to be an ongoing one-of-a-kind, post-graduate level seminar on a host of interesting topics. Now, when the atmosphere is right, I can still pick up the WGN signal occasionally and catch the general drift of the discussion when the static fades.

Of course, that is not necessary. WGN's website gives one the ability to listen online, and Extension 720 is also available as a podcast. I give it my highest recommendation as a way to keep your mind sharp as you participate in literate interactions on subjects that range far and wide with some of the world's most intelligent people.

AN INTERVIEW YOU SHOULD READ

2009-02-03T16:48:00.005-05:00

Check out Michael Spencer's interview with Christine Wicker, author of the challenging book, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation.

Here are a couple of quotes:

The evidence comes entirely from evangelicals themselves. When I talk about demise, I’m talking about numbers, growth, attitudes and behavior. The preachers often say that the culture has had more impact on the church than the church has had on the culture.

...What worries me is that the split between evangelical ideals and evangelical actions may be getting wider. Not because evangelicals are comfortable being hypocrites but because societal pressures are more intense.
For instance, I’m told that many evangelical kids and single adults come to church on Sunday and are regularly sleeping around or living with people they aren’t married to. Why? Because waiting until you’re married to have sex means that you are very likely never to get married and never to have sex either. Those are the “facts on the ground.”
...For the brand [of Christianity] I like best, you would look among the quieter, more humble, probably the older members of the congregation. I’d look among those with the least power. Not because powerful people can’t be Jesus-shaped, but the temptations are so much greater for them. I suspect it’s easier to become like Jesus if you’re among the “nobodies” of the world.

For more of Ms. Wicker's perspectives, visit her website. I also recommend her book highly. You won't agree with all her comments or interpretations, but the the analysis is one we need to hear and ponder.

If you must have a "worship band," please read this...

2009-02-02T21:33:00.005-05:00

Here's a good word on the Out of Ur blog to remind us who is accompanying whom when we sing praises in worship, and a few implications of that fact.

Huh?

2009-02-02T16:41:00.007-05:00

I have great respect for anyone who would put himself or herself in a position of prominent public service in our country. The scrutiny these folks are under is incredible. Everyone gets to watch, evaluate, and criticize their work. Each misstep is splashed all over the media for the public to see. Sure there are perks, but I simply could not imagine myself wanting to be that out front, that naked, that vulnerable. The limelight, the spotlight, the interrogation light--not my cup of tea.

Even so, with regard to those who choose this vocation, there is something I simply can't grasp. What's the deal with all these people in public positions not paying their taxes?

Is this a besetting sin for political leaders and other public servants? How can people whose job day in and day out not only depends upon taxes, but also deals with government and its fiscal programs all the time miss this? Is this like the evangelical pastor who never reads his Bible, the shoemaker who walks around with his soles flopping, the president of GM driving a Honda?

The Bible tells me, a humble Christian, that the bottom-line in being a good citizen in my society is paying my taxes (Romans 13.7). And I belong to another kingdom!

C'mon Mr. Geitner! C'mon Mr. Daschle! C'mon all of you who would have no patience with me failing to pay my fair share. Pay attention and pony up! For everyone's sake, can we please just get a few basics right?

A Great Night...

2009-02-01T22:26:00.009-05:00

Picture from Reuters

Great game. Springsteen put on an amazing half-time show. The commercials were entertaining if not groundbreaking.

I'll speak for myself and say Super Bowl XVIII was a lot of fun to watch. With no specific rooting interest in either team, I was just hoping for an exciting game, which is what we got—Steelers 27, Cardinals 23. MVP is Santonio Holmes, who made the remarkable game-winning catch seen above.

I'm Speechless...

2009-01-31T16:52:00.002-05:00

This one gets a gigantic, "Huh?"

Read this post and see if you can make any sense of it. I sure can't.

It actually sounds like one of Jesus' parables, you know, those stories that so often shamed the religious folks by pointing out that "sinners" were acting in a much more godly manner than the "righteous."

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Pastoral Issue

2009-01-30T20:10:00.014-05:00

Marc Chagall
Solitude, 1933

Thus far, I have posted about the central issue that led my wife and I, recently in a position to search for a church family, to leave non-denominational evangelicalism and to join a mainline (Lutheran) church. That core issue is worship. In an early post in this series, I pointed out two other areas of concern: the pastoral issue and the missional issue.

Today, I begin to take up what I believe is the broken model of pastoral work in evangelicalism and our search for ministerial integrity.

The rest of the story...

Actually, there would be an simple way to write this post. I could simply recommend to you all the books on ministry written by Eugene Peterson. However, instead of taking the easy way out, I will try to put my own thoughts together in a series of articles. But I will use Peterson today to introduce this series by giving you some of my favorites quotes from a few of his books.

I could not easily put my hands on all the books I wanted to quote from, but I think you will get the message from what is shared here today.

When I look for help in developing my pastoral craft and nurturing my pastoral vocation, the one century that has the least to commend it is the twentieth. Has any century been so fascinated with gimmickery, so surfeited with fads, so addicted to nostrums, so unaware of God, so out of touch with the underground spiritual streams which water eternal life? In relation to pastoral work the present-day healing and helping disciplines are like the River Platte as described by Mark Twain, a mile wide and an inch deep. They are designed by a people without roots in an age without purpose for a people without God.

Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, p. 12

Until about a century ago, what pastors did between Sundays was a piece with what they did on Sundays. The context changed: instead of an assembled congregation, the pastor was with one other person or with small gatherings of persons, or alone in study and prayer. The manner changed: instead of proclamation, there was conversation. But the work was the same: discovering the meaning of Scripture, developing a life of prayer, guiding growth into maturity.

...The between-Sundays work of American pastors in this century, though, is running a church. I first heard the phrase just a few days before my ordination. After thirty years, I can still remember the unpleasant impression it made.

I was traveling with a pastor I respected very much. I was full of zest and vision, anticipating pastoral life. My inner conviction of call to the pastorate was about to be confirmed by others. What God wanted me to do, what I wanted to do, and what others wanted me to do were about to converge. From fairly extensive reading about pastor and priest predecessors, I was impressed that everyday pastoral life was primarily concerned with developing a life of prayer among the people. Leading worship, preaching the gospel, and teaching Scripture on Sundays would develop in the next six days into representing the life of Christ in the human traffic of the everyday.

With my mind full of these thoughts, my pastor friend and I stopped at a service station for gasoline. My friend, a gregarious person, bantered with the attendant. Something in the exchange provoked a question.

"What do you do?"

"I run a church."

No answer could have surprised me more. I knew, of course, that pastoral life included institutional responsibilities, but it never occurred to me that I would be defined by those responsibilities. But the moment I became ordained, I found I was so defined both by the pastors and executives over me and by the parishioners around me. The first job description given me omitted prayer entirely.

The Contemplative Pastor, p. 66f

There are powerful cultural forces determined to turn Jesus into a kindly, wandering sage, teaching us how to live well, dispensing homespun wisdom, arousing our desire for God, whetting our appetite for higher truths—all of which are good things. These same forces are similarly determined to turn us, the church's pastors and leaders, into kindly religious figures, men and women who provide guidance through difficult times, who dole out inspiration and good cheer on a weekly schedule, who provide smiling reassurance that "God's in his heaven...," and keep our congregations busy at tasks that bolster their self-esteem—also good things.

And if they don't turn us into merely nice people, they turn us into replicas of our cultural leaders, seeking after power and influence and prestige. These insistent voices drum away at us, telling us pastors to go out and compete against the successful executives and entertainers who have made it to the top, so that we can put our churches on the map and make it big in the world.

The Unnecessary Pastor, p. 1

We're not the only church in Bel Air, and I'm not the only pastor. Few places in America are unchurched. Am I going to trust the Holy Spirit to do his work through other churches in my community, or am I going to think that if we don't do it, it's not going to get done?

A great deal of arrogance develops out of the feeling that when we have something good going, we have to triple it so everybody gets in on it. Many different ministries take place in the community and in the world, and it's bad faith on my part to assume the Holy Spirit isn't just as active in them as in my ministry.

Subversive Spirituality, p. 228

There is, of course, nothing wrong with a large-membership congregation. But neither is there anything right about it. Size is not a moral quality. It is a given. It is what is there—part of the environment in which the pastor works. "It is not the pastor's fault if he is born in times of barrenness, when it is difficult to do good" (Bengel). Size is mostly the result of cultural conditions. Congregations are large when there is social approval to be part of a religious establishment, small when there isn't. The pastor cannot choose his or her culture. The size of the congregations we serve is contingent on what decade we happen to be living in and what qualities of leadership happen to be in vogue at the time. While pious ways in the pastor will attract churchgoers in one place, worldly sophistication will attract them in another place. Angry preaching will be rewarded at one time, kindly preaching at another, quite apart from whether either the anger or the kindness communicates the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because these variables are notoriously inconstant, spiritual and biblical integrity is far more important than the skillful use of propaganda in doing pastoral work, the doctrine of providence of more significance than any image-making publicity.

Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, p. 165

Amazing words. Peterson's insights on the pastoral ministry cut like a laser to the heart of the matter almost every time. I regret that I did not read, digest, and figure out how to put his stuff into practice every week of my 30 years of pastoral ministry. Any further thoughts I share will be faint echoes of his strong voice.

I Love Snow...

2009-01-28T18:03:00.007-05:00

This is what winter should look like. The news said Indianapolis received 12.5 inches of snow yesterday and today, the most in one storm in 13 years. I couldn't be happier.

A PROPHECY OF DOOM: What Do You Think?

2009-01-27T19:11:00.008-05:00

Adam and Eve Expelled
Marc Chagall, 1954-67

UPDATE 3: Part 3 of Michael Spencer's forecast about the future of evangelicalism has been posted at Internet Monk.

UPDATE 2: Part 2 of Michael Spencer's forecast about the future of evangelicalism has been posted at Internet Monk.

UPDATE: In one of the comments on Internet Monk, the theological problem of evangelicalism has been called, "Therapeutic Moral Deism." This is a devastatingly accurate description of the kind of "teaching" that is permeating so many evangelical churches and groups today. I, for one, don't believe that such doctrinal weakness can sustain God's people for very long.

***

Echoing warnings from books like The Fall of the Evangelical Nation, by Christine Wicker, Michael Spencer at Internet Monk predicts that...

I believe that we are on the verge- within 10 years- of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity; a collapse that will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and that will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West. I believe this evangelical collapse will happen with astonishing statistical speed; that within two generations of where we are now evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its current occupants, leaving in its wake nothing that can revitalize evangelicals to their former “glory.”

The party is almost over for evangelicals; a party that’s been going strong since the beginning of the “Protestant” 20th century. We are soon going to be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century in a culture that will be between 25-30% non-religious.

Is there such a dramatic sea change in the near future for evangelicalism? What do you see from your vantage point?

This would be a great article to read and discuss. Feel free to do that at iMonk or here. I'd love to hear from you.

2009-01-25T16:23:00.002-05:00

My first Mac, 1988

Happy 25th birthday to the Apple Macintosh computer!

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: One Final Word about Worship

2009-01-25T13:53:00.012-05:00

THE CENTRAL ISSUE: Worship (lack thereof)
One Final Word

I have hit some of the main points about worship that have influenced my journey from being a non-denominational evangelical to a mainline Lutheran. There remains just one thing to be said.

Of all that might be said about worship practices, we must not leave this subject without emphasizing THE fundamental truth about worship. It must be said, because in my opinion our worship practices fall short mainly because we forget this truth.

The rest of the story...

Here it is: WORSHIP IS WHAT GOD'S PEOPLE DO FOR GOD.

We have been conditioned to think, on the contrary, that worship is for US.

That worship is where I go for my weekly spiritual inspiration.
That worship is a habit of godliness that keeps me on track in my walk with God.
That worship is where I go to get spiritually fed.
That worship is where I go to stay in fellowship with God's people.
That worship is where I go to get blessed and filled so that I can go out and face my daily life with God.
That a worship service is where unbelievers come to hear the Gospel and get saved.

Because we think worship is primarily for us, we get concerned when someone no longer "goes to church." We think of going to church and attending the worship service primarily as something beneficial for people. And of course, it is! However, we must understand that the benefits we gain from worship are byproducts that accrue from participating in it.

Worship is for God. Worship is what we do for God. Worship is God's people coming together and participating in actions that are directed toward God.

Bringing offerings to God.
Giving gifts to God in response to the gifts he has given us in Christ.
In the call to worship, we are invited to actively praise God.
In confession, we acknowledge our sins to God.
In the Creed, we affirm to God that we believe in the revelation of his mighty deeds.
With our voices and hearts, we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to him.
We present to him our material and monetary offerings.
We also offer God our thanks and receptive hearts when we humble ourselves to partake of his Word and Sacraments.

Worship is for God, and worship is what his people do. Worship is not a service we attend. It is not a concert. It is not a preaching service made up of preliminaries and then the "real thing"—the message and invitation. It is not a missionary endeavor in which an audience of unbelievers is confronted with the Gospel through public proclamation. Nor is it a Bible study or Christian meeting designed primarily for a believer's spiritual growth and development. All these conceptions of worship assume that the service is directed toward the congregation, that those up front or on the "stage" are those who act on behalf of God, and that the main purpose is for them to give something to those in attendance.

This, however, is not the meaning of worship. Worship is what God's people do for God. Each worship service is like a special occasion on which we honor our great Hero and celebrate his accomplishments in winning a decisive victory. If you and I were invited to participate in a ceremony honoring a war hero, what would that be like?

We would come together to express our appreciation through words, gifts, rituals, songs, and other activities.
We would decorate the hall with banners and flags and emblems of victory.
We would put our hero front and center.
Every activity would be planned for the purpose of honoring him, all the focus would be on him, and all applause directed toward him.
Special speakers would tell his story and pronounce his praises.
The community would feast together.
Neighbors and family members would give testimonials.
Presents would be lavished on our hero, and each member of the community would want to say "thank you" personally.

Now, let me ask, would that occasion be a blessing to those who participate? Of course! Such a celebration would uplift and inspire everyone in attendance as well as encourage and challenge them to live a better life. But not because they came in order to receive a blessing. No! Those who came gathered for one purpose—to honor their hero. To lift up his name. To tell the glad story of his achievements. To express appreciation and gratitude to him. To participate in activities that magnified him. As a result, they themselves were blessed. The natural byproduct of honoring another is the blessing that accrues to those who participate.

Of course, God meets with us in worship. Of course, God blesses his people with his presence. Of course, God teaches us from his Word. Of course, God's Spirit fills us and transforms us. Of course, we receive food for our journey through the Sacraments. Of course, we are spiritually formed and edified when we meet together in Christ's name. Of course, if unbelievers join us, they may respond to the Gospel and experience God's saving grace.

These are all good and necessary things. But the question here today is, what is worship? In order to get the genuine byproducts of it, we must pursue the genuine article. As Robert Webber said so succinctly, worship is a verb. We don't attend worship, we worship.

It is what God's people do for God.

The "Right" Church?

2009-01-24T19:06:00.003-05:00

Again I direct you to Michael Spencer's Internet Monk blog today for some wise pastoral theology and counsel.

Some of you might have the mistaken idea that the search we have been going through and writing about is a personal quest to find "the One True Church," or "THE Right Church" in contrast to all others who are deficient in doctrine or practice.

Listen up! There is no such place, and the compulsion to find it can drive you crazy.

President Obama

2009-01-20T16:58:00.003-05:00

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2.1-3)

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part five

2009-01-19T18:17:00.015-05:00

THE CENTRAL ISSUE: Worship (lack thereof) Part Three

Today, we resume our discussion on worship by looking at some areas that evangelicals have traditionally devalued or disregarded.

Let me start by saying that, in general, liturgical worship is poetic while evangelical worship tends to be prosaic. The liturgical tradition values an aesthetic approach, while evangelicals are much more straightforward, plain and pragmatic. This has led to the stereotype that portrays "high church" worship as elitist, pretentious, and snobbish, while "low church" style is the domain of the common man—honest, direct, speaking straight to the heart.

The rest of the story...

The following quote from A.W. Tozer (fifty years ago!) represents a voice from within the nonliturgical community that shows the damage done to evangelical worship when we cling to that stereotype and promote the merely pragmatic:

We of the nonliturgical churches tend to look with some disdain upon those churches that follow a carefully prescribed form of service, and certainly there must be a good deal in such services that has little or no meaning for the average participant—this not because it is carefully prescribed but because the average participant is what he is. But I have observed that our familiar impromptu service, planned by the leader twenty minutes before, often tends to follow a ragged and tired order almost as standardized as the Mass. The liturgical service is at least beautiful; ours is often ugly. Theirs has been carefully worked out through the centuries to capture as much beauty as possible and to preserve a spirit of reverence among the worshipers.

...In the majority of our meetings there is scarcely a trace of reverent thought, no recognition of the unity of the body, little sense of the divine Presence, no moment of stillness, no solemnity, no wonder, no holy fear. But so often there is a dull or a breezy song leader full of awkward jokes, as well as a chairman announcing each "number" with the old radio continuity patter in an effort to make everything hang together.

A. W. Tozer, God Tells the Man Who Cares, p. 11f

An important element in my journey from evangelicalism to a liturgical tradition was a growing desire for less prose and more poetry in worship. I was looking for...

A church with a worship space that puts God front and center, focusing attention on him. To put it bluntly, an altar not a stage.
A worship space that communicates both God's transcendence and immanence, lifting our faces and hearts upward and gathering us as one family together around the God to whom we look.
A worship space that is intentionally designed and decorated with elements of beauty that stimulate the imagination and delight the heart and mind.
A worship service that is personal, hospitable, and authentic, but not "chatty" or "casual."
A worship service that encourages the active participation of all worshipers, not one that reduces the congregation to an audience of spectators and listeners.
A worship service in which the leaders understand the power of words, and use them to lift us into a higher realm of thinking, imagining, and relating to others.
A worship service that is not just all about analysis and answers, but one that invites us into the mysteries of realities that transcend what our minds can comprehend.
A worship service that is filled with Scripture, along with time and space to meditate on what God is saying.
A worship service that honors the sacraments as well as the Scriptures.
A worship service that allows for holy silence.
A worship service that both reflects what the Holy Spirit has taught the church over the ages (history and tradition) and what the Spirit is saying to the church today (creativity, spontaneity, freshness).
A worship service that respects and includes people of all ages and backgrounds.

Transcendence. Mystery. Beauty. Imagination. Silence. Participation. Hospitality. Reverence. Careful and thoughtful preparation, especially with regard to words and atmosphere. These are characteristic of a transforming worship that looks up to the Father through the Son in the Spirit.

Such worship lifts us out of the prosaic and becomes a poetic window to the heavenly, spiritual realm, a foretaste of eternal newness.

The "Big Picture" of the Gospel

2009-01-17T19:40:00.005-05:00

It has been a slow week with regard to blogging—what with sickness and all—but I'm slowly finding my way back to the computer.

Let me start tonight by recommending a good summary of the Gospel, written by Derrick Olliff.

We tend to make the Gospel into an individualistic matter, when the real point is that God, through the Gospel, is calling us to participate in his program of transforming all creation through the Lord Jesus Christ. We also divorce the Gospel message from its First Testament roots, turning it into a strictly personal transaction rather than part of a continuing story.

Olliff overturns these notions and gives a good overview of the full Gospel message.

A Man Who Walks the Walk

2009-01-12T18:23:00.009-05:00

In sports, the troublemakers often seem to get all the press. Today was different. Today, especially here in central Indiana, was about saying goodbye to one of the truly good guys—Coach Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts, who announced his retirement from football.

His record speaks for itself...

A regular season record of 127-65
Overall mark of 136-74
Ten consecutive playoff appearances
First African-American coach to win a Super Bowl

However, as the senior NFL writer for FOXSports.com, Alex Marva, writes, "The NFL's loss will be society's gain. For all of his football accomplishments, the best is yet to come for Tony Dungy."

Tony Dungy is a man of strong Christian faith. Today he taught all prosperous American Christians a lesson by example. Success is not everything. Money is not everything. Sports are not nearly as important as many of us think. What is important is participating in God's mission in the world.

And by all accounts, that is what Dungy intends to do in a different way now, starting with devoting more time to his own family. He also has a passion for participating in good works that will help make the world a better place, especially for young African-American men.

I'm sure he won't coach again. He has moved on, letting go a life that most of us dream about.

Walk on, Coach Dungy, walk on. Lead on.

Long Days, Lost Weekend

2009-01-12T16:28:00.028-05:00

Last Friday after work I came home and knew things were not right. All week long I had a mysterious pain in my right lower back that radiated around to my thigh. I thought I had twisted my back and pinched a nerve. It’ll work out. Except it didn’t. On Thursday I had a strong urge to urinate often, and it burned when I did. By Friday evening, after I made it home feeling dizzy and out of sorts, I crawled into bed with uncontrollable chills.

My weekend plans were set.

The rest of the story...

Since I couldn’t get in to see a doctor on Friday as I had planned, I managed to scrounge an appointment for Saturday morning. I slumped over to her office, shivering all the way, waited ten minutes and then was invited in to the exam room, after having left a urine sample. When the nurse came in the room, we exchanged a few words about urinary tract infections, and she said coldly, “Now you know what your wife goes through.” I think she had issues.

When the doctor came in, she was much more compassionate. “You know, in men this is often caused by a kidney stone, and I don’t like that flank pain you have.” Great. Two words in the English language I never wanted to hear spoken together and addressed to me: “kidney” and “stone.” “How is your pain tolerance?” she asked. I’m probably average, for your spoiled, middle-class, Baby Boomer. I don’t have any. “You know,” she smiled, “women who have had both babies and kidney stones say that they would rather have the baby.” This day has started with such encouragement.

She sent me to the hospital for a CT scan to check for stones. Maybe that’s not it after all. After stopping at the pharmacy to get my antibiotics, I arrived at the hospital (part of the health network for which I work), went dutifully to registration and gave my information, squirming in my chair to find a comfortable position. “Did your doc call and put you on the schedule?” I didn’t know, and when I said so, she shot me a disapproving look. She called the imaging department and apparently the doctor hadn’t phoned. Disapproving look number two. “You’ll have to go to the waiting room until they can call your doctor. Please tell her next time to call; we have to follow the appropriate protocol.” From far away somewhere in a gathering storm of misery, I nodded meekly.

Now to Radiology, where for almost an hour I must have looked like a homeless man taking shelter from the cold as I sat in the waiting room, head down between hunched shoulders trying to stay warm and comfortable. From snippets I heard, the delay was because the young woman at the desk could not get my information to come up right on the computer. She tried and tried again. She sighed and whined and tried again. She called the IT help line. She called in coworkers, who came, punched a few keys, shook their heads and walked out again. Some grating “crisis of the week” movie was on the TV. I had to get up and pee at least five times.

Somehow, the technical problem got resolved. I had my two minute test...then waited...and waited for the results while their people called my people and waited for my people to call back only to have to wait again for their people to call back and talk to my people. In the end, good news—a normal scan. No kidney stones.

Still, I figure I have about a 102 degree temperature, I haven’t eaten since yesterday’s lunch, I ache all over, my back and leg hurt like crazy, and now I get to drive home. Stopping to get a sandwich and a drink, I take two bites of the sandwich and then throw it away. Tastes like dust.

From that point on, the trajectory of my weekend was flat. Lying on the couch watching football. Lying in bed sleeping. Lying in bed watching football. Lying on the couch trying to get comfortable. Etc., etc., etc. We usually make remarks about how time flies and how we can’t believe it’s already such and such a date. These were the longest days of my life.

Life went on all around me, but I honestly don’t remember much about anything. Most of Friday night through Monday morning was like being shut in a closet and subjected to some sick torture treatment with a relentless soundtrack of football talk, games, inane commercials, distant sounds of family life going on without me, phones ringing, cars needing muffler work growling by my window. It was all repeated endlessly, while I turned over and over again in the bed to find a good position, alternately burning with fever and drenched with sweat. All in all, a pretty good foretaste of Purgatory, I’m sure.

I write this not to elicit sympathy. My illness didn’t turn out to be deadly serious or anything. But for one who spends his days visiting people who lie in their beds, I wanted you to know that I gained a bit of perspective over that long weekend. I hope I will never enter one of their rooms again without a new measure of sympathy and a new sense for what might encourage them.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part four

2009-01-06T16:23:00.025-05:00

THE CENTRAL ISSUE: Worship (lack thereof)
Part Two

My journey from evangelicalism to a more mainline congregation, at its heart, has been a search for a community of faith that understands and practices genuine worship. If my definition of worship (given in the last post) is accurate at all, then this has certain implications about the way a congregation and its pastoral leadership goes about planning and participating in worship services.

Let me say something right here at the outset, before we proceed. I think the "worship wars" of recent years have been fought about the wrong things most of the time by all sides. Battles about worship waged in churches have primarily focused on the question of style--traditional or contemporary--and this has been applied almost exclusively to music. In my view, music is only one element of worship and should not dominate the discussion as it has. There are certainly important things to say about music, but we must not let this one small part of the matter keep us from seeing the more central and significant issues that should be our concerns when it comes to the worship of God.

In the next few posts I will explore some of "the more central and significant issues," in my opinion, with regard to worship. The first is...

The rest of the story...

DISTRUST OF FORMS
A primary attitude in non-liturgical churches is that worship should not conform to set forms, but should be free and spontaneous. In their eyes, liturgy is seen as set, scripted, vainly repetitive, dull and without spiritual vitality. On the other hand, non-liturgical worship is seen as free, lively, Spirit-led, from the heart, and open to possibility.

In my experience, this dichotomy bears no resemblance to reality.

First, in the free-style evangelical churches where I've worshiped, the worship was just as scripted as any liturgy.

The order basically remains the same week after week.
A limited number of songs are sung, thus creating a repetitive musical "tradition" within the congregation.
An annual calendar is followed, though not the Church Year calendar. It takes into account the major Christian holy days, but is based more upon the pastor's preaching schedule, secular holidays and schedules, and church events.
Prayers in worship, though "spontaneous," take on forms that become repetitive.

And so on. The argument is not, and never has been, between "form" and "freedom" (defined as "lack of forms"). The real difference is between one kind of form and another.

Second, those who advocate evangelical free-style worship often fail to grasp the significance of the kinds of forms we use.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "Pastor, it really doesn't matter what form we use, as long as we worship God from our hearts!" There is a sense in which this is true, of course. Paul and Silas were able to worship and praise God in a Philippian jail cell, without the assistance of a church building, Bibles, musical accompaniment, or comfortable seats. God has never been confined to a building or set pattern of worship, even when he gave Israel specific instructions about how to approach him.

However, I don't think that is what folks mean when they protest forms. Rather, they are suggesting that they are free to do whatever they enjoy and call it worship, and if a friend comes along and suggests there might be more to it than that, they resist as though someone were trying to deprive them of their liberty.

It is the responsibility of pastors to start, not with people's preferences, but with the God we worship, as revealed in creation, Scripture, and in Christ and his Gospel. The first question to ask is not, "What will attract people?" Rather, we begin by asking, "Who is God, and what has he done for us?" That question should be our main guide in choosing the forms we use.

That does not mean everyone has to use exactly the same forms in shaping worship. Nor does it mean we have to use only old forms or traditional forms. We need not sing only hymns and reject gospel songs or praise choruses. We need not have only certain forms for hearing Scripture or participating in prayer. We are free in the Spirit to creatively adapt our forms, as long as the forms we use maintain a sense of integrity with God's revelation.

I'll give one example. I think contemporary evangelicalism misses the mark and fails to recognize the impact of the forms our worship takes in the area of congregational participation.

Church buildings now being constructed have auditoriums that are more like concert halls than sanctuaries. These buildings mold us into stage-actors and audience. The form of our architecture tells us that a worship service is something that we attend and others perform.

In many church services, the only opportunity for congregational participation is through singing. However, even in churches that sing a lot, it is not uncommon for the band and singers on stage to be so dominant that the congregation does not have a sense of lifting their voices together in musical praise. The atmosphere is more like a concert where people show enthusiasm for the music without really being the choir that produces the music.

In these same services, often the only people who speak during the service are those who speak from the stage. The congregation learns that its main job is to sit and listen.

Now, contrast this with a typical service from the liturgical church we attend:

Welcome by pastor, with response by congregation
Gathering song, sung by the congregation (with no "worship leader"—we all sing together and follow the instruments—same with all hymns and songs)
Responsive greeting between pastor and congregation
Sung Kyrie ("Lord, have mercy"). One singer, standing at congregation level, leads us by singing the verses and congregation sings the refrain with him.
Hymn of praise (congregation)
OT reading, by reader who is member of congregation
Choral Anthem by adult choir
NT reading, by reader
Gospel song, sung by congregation
Gospel lesson, read by pastor
Children's message, children gather at altar and are taught by pastor
Sermon, by pastor
Hymn (congregation)
The Creed (said together by congregation)
Prayers of intercession (said responsively with reader and congregation)
Offering, followed by offertory sung by congregation
Responsive prayer before communion (pastor and congregation)
Communion, made up of many elements that are responsively read or sung by pastor and congregation, including the Lord's Prayer, said together in unison. Communion is taken at the altar, distributed by pastor and reader, and a couple from the congregation
Blessing, by pastor
Closing hymn
Announcements, given by pastor and other congregation members

Whatever you might think of the individual elements or how they are practiced in this particular church, you must admit that this service is overwhelmingly congregational. The only extended period of sitting and listening is during the sermon. In every other part of the service, the family of God is actively involved in giving worship to God. In this church, we don't attend worship, we worship!

Congregational participation is a Gospel value that is integral to genuine worship. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is creating a forever family, and he wants his whole family to be actively involved in worshiping him together. He wants to hear from each one of us, as well as speak to each one of us. He desires that we experience the unity of the Spirit as we lift our voices together to give him offerings of praise.

The word "liturgy" means, "the work of the people." No spectators allowed when it comes to worship! We should reconsider any forms of "worship" that diminish congregational participation.

Two Posts on Pastoral Integrity

2009-01-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

Today, I'm recommending two posts that deal with the pastoral issue, the second matter that I will be considering in my own series, "An Evangelical's Lament and Journey" (see posts below).

The first is by Michael Spencer (aka Internet Monk), the second by Scot McKnight on his Jesus Creed blog.

I encourage you to read them and join in the conversation. There is certainly a great deal of confusion about the nature of the pastoral office in the church today.

NO JOY IN INDY...

2009-01-04T10:49:00.005-05:00

The Indianapolis Colts football team is a class act, and a very successful franchise. Coach Tony Dungy and QB Peyton Manning have led them to the playoffs for a record ten straight years. However, last evening in the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs, they couldn't stop 5' 6" Darren Sproles, who ran around, over and through them to lead the San Diego Chargers to a 23-17 overtime win over the visitors from Indy. The little guy did everything but the equipment manager's job for the Chargers, and fittingly scored the winning touchdown.

It was a great game to watch, but in the end the Blue Crew and their fans are blue once again.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part three

2009-01-03T17:27:00.010-05:00

THE CENTRAL ISSUE: Worship (lack thereof)
Part One

The most important issue to us in our journey has been that of corporate worship. For thirty years now, this theme has always been at or near the center of our thinking and practice in ministry. In the last post, I summarized my critique of what passes for worship in many evangelical congregations today, especially in the pacesetting megachurches. Today, I give my own definition of worship.

Of course, worship can be defined or described in various ways. In its broadest sense, we worship God whenever we faithfully respond to his grace and live for his glory (1Cor 10.31). Paul also uses worship language to describe our total response of faith to the Gospel (Rom 12.1-3). However, we are talking about something more specific here—corporate worship—when God's people gather for what we call a "worship service."

Before giving a more detailed critique of contemporary evangelicalism's approach to worship, here is how I define it...

Worship is a meeting with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which a congregation of believers, in response to God’s revealed character and acts, presents offerings of...
praise
thanksgiving
confessions of faith
confessions of sin
prayers of petition and intercession
vows of obedience
readiness to hear and respond to God’s Word.
For his part, when his people gather to meet with him, God applies the benefits of his saving grace in Christ to them through...
the living Word, by which the Holy Spirit renews and transforms his people
his Sacraments, by which the Holy Spirit reassures and sustains his people
the koinonia of the Holy Spirit, which produces unity and mutual edification among his people
the filling of the Holy Spirit, which empowers his people for love and service.

What do you think of this definition?

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part two

2009-01-02T20:55:00.010-05:00

A few months ago, I wrote a post called, “Where’s a Pastor to Go?” I began that post with these words:

How does a pastor find a church when he is between churches? What does his family do when their life has been built around the routines of church life, and then the rhythm changes?

An unexpected journey, it eventually led us to a surprising destination. After thirty years of worshiping and serving in mostly non-denominational evangelical or fundamentalist churches, we chose to become members of a mainline congregation—a Lutheran church (ELCA).

The rest of the story...

In retrospect, this should not have been so surprising. My own studies and experiences have led me to question many aspects of the contemporary evangelical approach, particularly in the area of ecclesiology. I have long been a contrarian against conventional church culture and practice, and found it difficult to not to laugh (or cry) at the all too common assumption that following Christ is to be equated with participating in someone’s clever church program.

My critiques grow out of a personal disillusionment, not only with certain church practices, but with a much larger culture—the culture of American middle class suburbia. At its root, my critique is that contemporary evangelical churches have, by and large, uncritically adopted the perspectives and values of American suburban affluence rather than allowing the story of the Bible, Jesus, apostolic Christianity, and the history of the church throughout the centuries, to inform their ecclesiology and practical theology.

In this post, I will give a general outline of three areas of dispute that caused me to look away from the contemporary evangelical church to other options when we were looking for a church home. Succeeding posts will add detail.

THE CENTRAL ISSUE: Worship (lack thereof)
Worship in the evangelical church has consistently followed patterns established by the American revivalist tradition. The “service” is essentially a stage show. Music and other elements prepare for and build up to the main event: the sermon. After the sermon, the preacher calls for response through an invitation. The “actors” are those who hold forth on the stage. The congregation is the “audience.” The preacher is the “star.” The sermon is like a sales pitch and the invitation gives the listeners the opportunity to buy in. This inevitably leads to a performance mentality on the part of those on the stage and a spectator mindset for those in the audience. Even those who do their parts with best intentions can’t overcome the unspoken messages they are sending.

Let me say unequivocally—this is not worship. I'm not saying that these services don't serve a purpose, particularly in mission settings, and it's true that some may find a way to worship while they sit in these shows, but on the corporate level these types of services are not designed so that God’s people may offer worship to him. We chose to seek a church that prepares and practices worship, not a stage show.

THE PASTORAL ISSUE: Hey Look! I’m an Entrepreneur!
It seems the primary models for church leaders today are celebrity megachurch pastors, successful business leaders, and media-savvy spokesmen. The successful pastor’s study has been transformed into his office, complete with a staff to insulate him from people who might waste his time. He imposes his will (sorry, vision) upon the congregation. His main tool is not his Bible but his Blackberry. He dresses cool, refuses to stand humbly behind a pulpit when he preaches, and majors in “practical” messages filled, of course, with pop culture references.

Eugene Peterson once said he was horrified to hear himself answer an inquirer’s question about his work with the sentence, “I run a church.” But this is the evangelical model, and it has run amuck. We chose to seek a tradition in which the pastoral role is defined and practiced differently.

THE MISSIONAL ISSUE: Living in the Temple
Large, “successful” evangelical churches now have “campuses” filled with buildings in which a multitude of programs take place. Those who defend them say that they are designed to attract the community so that they can hear the Gospel. However, they are much more successful in providing safe, “Christian” environments for the faithful and their families. In my generation, we have also seen the establishment of an alternative Christian culture that has created a world of its own, from homeschooling conventions to stores filled with “Jesus junk,” from Christian amusement parks to creation “museums,” from lucrative music and publishing industries to media empires. Christians need not ever leave the evangelical fold and venture into the world. And many don’t. Since, in the suburban world we relate to others according to “networks” rather than “neighborhoods,” believers can plug into the evangelical network and never have a meaningful conversation with a non-Christian if they so choose.

The evangelical church has become an artificial cosmos unto itself. It is of the world, but not in it. We chose to seek a tradition and church practice that is more organically related to real life and Jesus’ mission in the world.

PRAY FOR GAZA'S CHRISTIANS

2009-01-02T15:55:00.005-05:00

Source: NY Times

Lost in the news stories about Israel's bombing of Hamas targets in Gaza is the fact that there are many minority groups caught in the crossfire. The Christian community in Gaza is one such group. There are about 3,000 Christians in Gaza, and they are unwelcome in either the Muslim majority of their own communities or in Israel. They are trapped in the midst of the violence, and we should pray for them.

For more information, read this Mission Network News piece, which quotes Carl Moeller of Open Doors...

"It's remarkable how much that the church is facing there," Moeller said. "And yet the Christians continue to pray; they continue to cry out to God; and when they can, reach out to their neighbors with comfort."

Let us continue to cry out to God for them.

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part one

2009-01-01T14:39:00.011-05:00

This is part one of a series on leaving the contemporary evangelical church and returning to a mainline congregation. My wife and I recently joined a Lutheran church (ELCA) after having pastored and served in mostly non-denominational churches for 30 years.

The rest of the story...

Here's a bit of background about us...

We met at and graduated from a fundamentalist, dispensational Bible college
Served in an independent Baptist church in New England
Went to seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Ev Free Church), one of the most prominent evangelical seminaries in the world
While there, served in a fundamentalist Bible church (IFCA)
Moved to Indianapolis, where I was an associate pastor at a non-denominational, evangelical "Community" church
Moved to a sister church, where I was the senior pastor
Resigned and began serving as a hospice chaplain, a ministry I hold to this day
While exercising my chaplain ministry, I helped at a couple of independent churches—one with more of a Bible church/Baptist background, the other with folks who came from the Nazarene tradition

Let me also share some facts from my journey that are pertinent to this series of posts.

Bible college taught me to love the Bible as God's Word, and that one of my primary duties as a pastor would be to mine its riches and give God's people the tools to do the same.

My first pastoral experience, in a small, rural New England village church, taught me that people matter most. That congregation really trained me to have a pastor's heart and not to put too much stock in programs or strategies. I did a lot of visiting, leading worship, teaching, and pastoral care.

During those early years, I began to study about worship. A few significant trips to Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA, an evangelical church with a high view of worship, introduced me to the subject and whetted my appetite for deeper understanding in this area.

In seminary, I took the first class on worship they had ever offered. My teachers also introduced me to Eugene Peterson and his teaching on the pastoral role, which is deeply critical of the way the vocation is being practiced in contemporary America.

Seminary also helped me focus my attention on the Apostle Paul, not only his doctrine but also his pastoral theology. I began to hunger to see the same convictions and priorities that moved him motivate me also.

As an associate pastor I was responsible for worship and music. This proved to be an apprenticeship in learning and teaching about worship, as well as overseeing the practical details of planning and implementing worship week after week. Robert Webber's writings began to have more of an impact on my thinking, and I had the privilege of having him come to our church and lead a worship seminar.

My last senior pastor position was in a troubled church, and though many good things came from our stay there, ultimately I resigned in the midst of insoluble problems and found myself for the first time wondering about my vocation and not knowing where to turn next.

In God's providence I was able to find a position as a hospice chaplain. This work has been an unmitigated blessing. As one who goes every day to people's homes, hospitals and nursing homes, I began to experience more than ever before the great joy of ministering out in the world and not just within the "temple" (church programs).

In a nutshell, this summarizes some of the formative experiences and influences that have shaped my view of the church, worship, the pastoral ministry, and the mission of God's people in the world. Of course, this is just a summary. There is so much more to say, especially about the specific people who have blessed and influenced my thinking and life.

These points will help you understand a little bit of where I'm coming from in upcoming posts, as I lament the condition of evangelicalism today and relate why our journey has led us in this season of life to a mainline congregation.

PLEASE READ THIS!!!

2008-12-30T06:52:00.004-05:00

iMonk has a fantastic post today that I'm asking you to read and consider. It's about the opportunity that mainline churches have to reach out to evangelicals who are tired of the shallow, a-historical, stage-oriented, programmed worship and church life of the evangelical movement.

I am about to post a series on returning to the mainline. This article would be an excellent place for us to start talking.

Read it HERE, and join in the discussion. Please.

Sermon: Attend to the Baby

2008-12-28T06:51:00.003-05:00

Our pastor graciously asked me to preach this morning while he and his family traveled to visit relatives. My sermon is about keeping the season of Christmastide, from the Gospel text for the day, Luke 2.22-40.

If you would like to read it, you may access a PDF copy HERE.

Why Don't We Go to Church on Christmas Day?

2008-12-27T23:27:00.008-05:00

In my experience, I have found it rare that churches hold services on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve, yes, but not on December 25.

Why is this? Christmas is arguably the second most important holy day in the church year, behind Easter Sunday. On Christmas Day we mark one of the most remarkable events in human history: God taking on human flesh to inaugurate his promised salvation and new creation. Should this not be an occasion of highest worship?

What do our practices say about our real feelings regarding Christmas? I read one question and answer column where it was asked, "Does your family go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?" A respondent replied, "No, for us Christmas is to be spent with the family, not with the priest." As a pastor, I heard that sentiment many times.

It tells me that our cultural celebration of Christmas owes more to Charles Dickens than to the Biblical text or church tradition. In the early 19th century, the author almost singlehandedly transformed and revitalized the holiday as an occasion for family, feasting, and charity through his story, "A Christmas Carol."

While Dickens saw his work as complementing and applying the message of Christ to confront the sins of his own society, isn't it striking that the church plays no role in his ethic?

Scrooge's transformation of heart leads him to value good things: human kindness, the simple gifts of home and hearth, compassion for the poor and needy, concern for the conditions of workers, and a spirit of joy, optimism and cooperation. These are all aspects of our mission as the church scattered in the world, and we must not neglect them. But is there no place for the church gathered on Christmas Day?

I would love to hear comments on this.

Christmastide, or the Twelve Days of Christmas

2008-12-26T18:04:00.015-05:00

I saw signs in the retail community this year advertising "Twelve Days of Christmas" sales. For the twelve days leading up to Christmas, the stores that held these sales had certain items at special prices each day so that shoppers could get ready for the holiday. This reflects a common understanding of the Twelve Days in our culture—that they lead up to and end on Christmas Day.

However, the Twelve Days of Christmas actually begin on Christmas Day. In the Christian Year of the Western Church, it is Advent season that leads up to Christmas, and then comes Christmastide, a twelve-day feast of our Lord's nativity. Christmastide ends with Epiphany on January 6, which celebrates God's revelation of Christ to the Gentiles in the story of the magi. The last night is traditionally known as "Twelfth Night," a feast that includes removing Christmas decorations. In different cultures and throughout the centuries, this season has been marked in various ways, but the point is that celebrating Christ's birth takes place over a SEASON, and not a single day.

Here is a prime example of how following a church-year pattern of spirituality can form us and transform us in Biblical ways and help us not be conformed to the ways of our fallen culture.

For most people, Christmas is over. After Thanksgiving, a season of shopping and special events builds up our spirit of anticipation toward the day for which we are all waiting. That morning, we run down the stairs, pass around gifts and open them until the room is inundated in a sea of paper and ribbon, and then we go to the grand feast. That's Christmas. The day after, when in our view Christmas is over, is "gift return and exchange" day, when we eagerly begin a new season—the season of post-Christmas sales.

However, in the liturgical tradition, Advent preparation for Christmas involves meditating on God's promises of salvation and the coming of Messiah. And Christmas Eve and Christmas Day usher in a period of almost two weeks to consider the wonder of the Incarnation. Christmas is the beginning of our walking in the Good News of great joy for all people which has come among us.

We welcomed a new baby into our family this year, about a week before Christmas. One thing we know—life is different now. Suddenly, we don't make decisions without considering the baby. New thoughts, new concerns, new priorities mold our choices. And even though the child is small and, at this point, devoted mainly to eating and sleeping, we have found ourselves taking time—time to hold him, look at him, ooh and aah over him, rock him, kiss him, tend to his needs, and make sure at all times that he is safe and secure in our care.

Christmas is not over, it has just begun. Take time these twelve days and give attention to Jesus, the newborn King.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T10:23:00.003-05:00

A Christmas Prayer

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born this day of a pure virgin: Grant that I, who have been born again and made your child by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through my Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

The Eve of the Nativity

2008-12-24T09:13:00.011-05:00

The Prayer of the Church on this Christmas Eve...

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that I, who joyfully receive him as my Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Fourth Week of Advent: Tuesday

2008-12-23T21:23:00.004-05:00

The angels who greeted the shepherds on Christmas night proclaimed Good News for all people. Today's psalm, Psalm 67, reminds us that God's plan of salvation is deep and wide—transforming people's spirits and changing the whole world.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him. ²³ ⁵⁷

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When, with the ever-circling years,
Shall come the Age of Gold;
When peace shall over all the earth,
Its ancient splendors fling,
And all the world give back the song,
Which now the angels sing.

The Fourth Week of Advent: Monday

2008-12-22T09:56:00.004-05:00

Today's reading comes from Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm, and not human;
scorned by others, and despised by the people.
All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
"Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’
Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help."²⁴⁵⁷⁸¹⁰¹¹

Once more, our reading takes us from the cradle to the cross. The Christ who came at Christmas was born to die. First, Bethlehem had no room for him. Finally, people had no use for him. Born an outcast in a manger, he died a criminal's death.

Yet, through it all, he trusted in God. And he who became sin for us, rejected of men, and forsaken by his own Father, was made the righteousness of God for all who believe.

The Fourth Week of Advent: Sunday

2008-12-21T15:04:00.011-05:00

The Adoration of the Magi
Bartolo di Fredi, 1380's

The readings for Sunday of the fourth week of Advent encourage us to think about God's light, which has come to fill this world of darkness. In the days of Israel's kingdom, God's people considered Mt. Zion, the city of Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount the center of the earth, the hilltop from which the glory of God shone. This is reflected in today's Vesper's psalm, Psalm 48:

We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
Your name, O God, like your praise,
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with victory.
Let Mount Zion be glad,
let the towns of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments.
Walk about Zion, go all around it,
count its towers,
consider well its ramparts;
go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide for ever.

(Psalm 48.9-13)

God's name, like his praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. He so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. The Good News proclaimed by the angels was for all people. The Gospel of Matthew illustrates this by introducing us to the magi, Gentiles from the east, as the first people who bowed before the newborn King. God intended the light of Jesus to reach all people and fill all his creation.

To shine this light, Jesus came to be the New Temple, the meeting place for God and human beings. John tells us, "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth" (John 1.14). When the apostle says that Jesus "lived among us," he uses the word for "tabernacle," thus linking the First Testament Tent of Meeting with the Word Incarnate. As the shekinah glory filled the tabernacle and later the Temple, so God's glory filled Jesus and became apparent to those who met him.

This psalm encourages the people of Israel to thoroughly familiarize themselves with Mt. Zion and its sacred places, in order that they might more fully know and love the God of glory. In the same way, the more deeply we know Jesus, the more we will say, "This is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our Guide forever."

The Third Week of Advent: Saturday

2008-12-20T11:13:00.010-05:00

Today's reading, Psalm 68, portrays the awesome might of God in battle, overcoming his enemies and then returning triumphant to his throne amidst the cheers of his people.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

(Psalm 68.32-35) ³³³⁴³⁵

This exhilarating song is filled with vibrant imagery that stirs the imagination to martial heights. However, in Psalm 68 we also read some of the tenderest descriptions of God and his saving grace in Scripture:

Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God gives the desolate a home to live in...

Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy...

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up...

(Psalm 68.5-6, 9-10, 19)⁶¹⁰

Blessed be the God of might and mercy!

Meekness and majesty
Manhood and Deity
In perfect harmony
The Man who is God
Lord of eternity
Dwells in humanity
Kneels in humility
And washes our feet

O what a mystery
Meekness and majesty
Bow down and worship
For this is your God
This is your God

Father's pure radiance
Perfect in innocence
Yet learns obedience
To death on a cross
Suffering to give us life
Conquering through sacrifice
And as they crucify
Prays: 'Father forgive.'

Wisdom unsearchable
God the invisible
Love indestructible
In frailty appears
Lord of infinity
Stooping so tenderly
Lifts our humanity
To the heights of His throne


by Graham Kendrick
© 1986 Kingsway's Thankyou Music

The Third Week of Advent: Friday

2008-12-19T17:54:00.005-05:00

Psalm 84 is chosen for today's Vespers psalm. This song of pilgrimage describes the joy of those who went up to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. It expresses delight in God's House and anticipates experiencing the presence of the Lord there, which is what makes Zion such a special place. In this psalm we also read a prayer on behalf of the king (vv. 8-9), and echoes of wisdom teaching that affirm the blessedness of those who trust in the true and living God (vv. 11-12).

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Selah
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

(Psalm 86.1-7)

During Advent, we sing about God coming to us. However, this psalm tells the other side: it pictures believers coming to God in worship, fellowship, joy and delight. It all comes together when they arrive in Jerusalem, for there God meets them in the Temple and blesses them with his presence.

Worship is the place where we meet the God who comes to us. As the angels stirred the hearts of the shepherds to run to Bethlehem to see the Savior who had come to earth, so God's grace and mercy stir up our faith today and move his people to gather before him in praise and adoration.

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Welcome to the World!

2008-12-17T22:14:00.002-05:00

Welcome, Kian Jerome Yates.
Born December 17, 2008
Congratulations, Hannah and Rob.

The Second Week of Advent: Wednesday

2008-12-17T08:44:00.011-05:00

Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Selah

(Psalm 24.7-10)
⁸⁹¹⁰

Psalm 23, the most familiar of all psalms, ends with this affirmation of faith: "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long." The author's focus is on the Temple, the dwelling place of God, where the true and living God met with his people. Today's reading from the next psalm, Psalm 24, picks up this theme and presents a gathering song for worship at the Temple...

Proclaiming that the God who meets with his covenant people is the Creator God, who made heaven and earth (vv. 1-2).

Setting forth what it means to belong to the company of those who would come before him in worship (vv. 3-6).

Anticipating the advent of God's presence as he enters the Temple in power and glory (vv. 7-10).

This same God, the King of Glory, is the One we worship. We, the company of those who seek him, also desire that he form and transform us into holy worshipers. We too eagerly anticipate his marvelous appearing.

Of course, at Christmastide, he comes in quite the unexpected fashion! The King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts descends in a most curious disguise—that of a helpless infant in a cattle stall, who will grow up to demonstrate the even mightier power of love and self-giving.

Infant holy, Infant lowly, for His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the Babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging Angels singing, Noels ringing, Tidings bringing:
Christ the Babe is Lord of all.

Traditional Polish carol
Translated by Edith M. G. Reed, 1925

The Third Week of Advent: Tuesday

2008-12-16T11:02:00.006-05:00

Today's reading is Psalm 40. Here are David's words in the first eight verses:

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt-offering and sin-offering
you have not required.
Then I said, ‘Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.^*
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.’ ²³⁵⁷ ⁸

These words tell of the king's vindication—his deliverance from the pit of despair.

In turn, the king makes a proclamation—a new song of praise that celebrates the benefits of trusting in God.

Finally, we see the king's dedication—he delights in doing God's will from the heart, not simply offering external sacrifices.

The King who came for us in the Incarnation, the King of kings, came to fulfill his Father's plan as it was written "in the scroll of the book." Throughout his life and ministry he announced the Good News of God's wondrous works; his invasion of history to bring salvation and make the world new. Ultimately, though rejected by his own, God raised him up from the pit of death and gave him all authority in heaven and on earth. As we look to him and give him our heart's loyalty, we share in his victory now and forever.

"Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."

The Third Week of Advent: Monday

2008-12-15T06:59:00.006-05:00

The psalm portion for today is from Psalm 44, which combines a historical review with a communal lament.

The first part of the song looks backward and recalls the "days of old," when God displayed his mighty power in setting the people free, overcoming their enemies, and planting them in the good land he promised to give them. This was all of God's grace: "for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them" (v.3).

The second half of Psalm 44 is a song of lament and supplication:

Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
and have not gone out with our armies.
You made us turn back from the foe,
and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
and have scattered us among the nations.
You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughing-stock among the peoples.
All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

...Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not cast us off for ever!
Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For we sink down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

(Psalm 44.9-16, 23-26)

As Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann puts it, they have moved from a place of orientation, where all seems right with the world, to a place of disorientation, where their world has been turned upside-down and their experience seems to contradict God's goodness and promises to them. They cry out for reorientation—that God will arise and act once more to set them on their feet again.

In Advent, we long for reorientation. We pray for God to come and set the world—and our lives—right once more.

Away with sorrow's sigh,
Our prayers are heard on high;
And through Heaven's crystal door
On this our earthly floor
Comes meek-eyed Peace to walk with poor mortality.
In dead of night profound,
There breaks a seraph sound
Of never-ending morn;
The Lord of glory born
Within a holy grot on this our sullen ground.

Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary 1736.
Translation: Charles Williams 1839

The Third Week of Advent: Sunday

2008-12-14T11:32:00.015-05:00

Adoration of the Shepherds
Hugo van der Goes, c. 1480

Today we enter the third week in the Advent season, the time of watching and waiting for the promised Messiah to come. Christ-followers around the world are preparing their hearts and lives to celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas in the manger at Bethlehem. We are also anticipating his Second Advent, the parousia, when he shall come to put his creation to rights.

In our daily meditations, we have been taking the psalm chosen for the evening Vespers office in Phyllis Tickle's prayer book, The Divine Hours. This resource is also available online, with a wonderful tool that enables one to search time zones and pray with our brothers and sisters around the world.

Today's psalm is Psalm 63, a worship song that expresses deep longing for God to come to us. Here is the first portion of this psalm:

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.⁶⁷⁸

Here once more we see exhibited the faith of King David. The heading invites us to read this psalm in the light of one of his wilderness exiles, while pursued by his enemies. Yet in the midst of uncertainty, fear, and stress, we read here that he feels a deeper hunger, a stronger thirst—his desire to experience the presence of God in worship. And so, even in the wilderness, King David finds a sanctuary, as he discovers that his Lord is there too, an ever present help in time of trouble.

Jesus also spent time in the wilderness and was constantly under pressure from those who opposed him. However, his Father's presence and sustaining grace was ever a comfort and help to him. He clung to God, and God's right hand upheld him.

No matter where we find ourselves geographically or situationally during Advent, we may find a place for worship. God is with us and will satisfy our hunger and thirst.

In the shadow of his wings, we may sing for joy.

The Second Week of Advent: Saturday

2008-12-13T12:17:00.009-05:00

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding-place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

(Psalm 32)

Here is a wonderful psalm upon which to meditate as we prepare our hearts for worship tomorrow on the third Sunday in Advent.

David's exemplary faith teaches us not to hide our sins but rather to confess and acknowledge them to the God who knows all about them anyway, and who stands ever ready to forgive.

We may take refuge in God, not only from the troubles that surround us, but also from the brokenness within us.

The only impediment to a free and open relationship with God is our own stubborn refusal to deal honestly with him.

Let us open our hearts to God today and prepare them for Advent worship!

The Second Week of Advent: Friday

2008-12-13T11:58:00.008-05:00

The Apostle Paul described his life as a Christ-follower in these terms: "and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2.20).

I have become convinced that the penultimate phrase in this text should be translated, "I live by the faith of the Son of God." The emphasis of the verse is not on OUR faith in Christ, but on CHRIST'S faith (or faithfulness) in loving us and sacrificing his life on our behalf. We live by his faith and faithfulness.

Today's Advent psalm, Psalm 31, is an exposition of this truth. It describes the Faith of the King. Here are the first five verses:

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.²⁴⁵

Jesus found in King David's words such a statement of his own faith in his Father that he used them when he was dying on the cross.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23.44-46)

This is why our Savior came into the world at Christmas. He came to live by faith in his Father and to be faithful to his mission, which meant loving us and giving himself for us.

We live by the faith of the Son of God.

The Second Week of Advent: Thursday

2008-12-11T16:22:00.011-05:00

Why does God bless his people? Why does he help and sustain those who trust in him? If we experience God's blessings and favors during this Advent and Christmas season, what are we to do with them?

The answer to these questions is found in today's psalm, Psalm 67.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him. ²³ ⁵⁷

God, the greatest Giver, always gives to his people so that they in turn may give to others. God blesses us, that we may bless the world. God's gifts are not only for our enjoyment, but also that we may practice hospitality and generosity to those around us, near and far.

This psalm reflects many First Testament gospel texts, including Aaron's benediction upon Israel (Numbers 6.22-27) and the promise to Abraham that his Seed would bless all the peoples of the earth (Genesis 12.1-3). God's plan from the beginning was to restore his blessing to all nations, and, indeed to all creation, not just some small remnant of people.

One day, people from every tongue and tribe and nation will honor him. And one day, the trees themselves will clap with joy, the mountains sing, and the wolf lie down with the lamb in a new creation of righteousness and peace. This is why, at Jesus' first Advent, the eternal Word himself took on real flesh and entered this material world and experienced true humanity and life within space-time history. This is why Paul and the other apostles took the Good News and hit the road, proclaiming it to the ends of the earth. This is why, in our Christmas hymns, we call upon "heaven and nature" themselves to sing and affirm that "He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found." This is why we announce,

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love.

The nations, ALL nations, will experience God putting things to rights and filling them with his steadfast love. And the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the seas. Until then, our calling as Christ-followers is to seek God's blessing--not for ourselves alone--but for the sake of our families, our neighbors, our communities, our world.

"Let all the peoples praise you!"

The Second Week of Advent: Wednesday

2008-12-10T11:01:00.004-05:00

Psalm 36 is a psalm of two widely divergent perspectives.

In its beginning and ending, the focus is on the transgressions, the godlessness, pride, corrupt and deceitful speech, and evil plotting of those who oppose God. A "dark" perspective of spiritual conflict in a fallen world frames this worship poem. Worship does not, like Polyanna, ignore or fantasize away the reality of evil. Nor should we be afraid to talk about it in frank terms. Too many who call themselves believers simply avoid the subject. The Book of Psalms will not allow that option.

However, in the central portion of the psalm is an entirely different point of view.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgements are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!

Note the strong words that fill this section of Psalm 136: steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, judgments, refuge, abundance, delights, life, light, salvation. In the middle of this flawed and broken world, there is another reality--a light that shines in the darkness and enables us to see light. These words do not take us OUT of brutal reality. They sustain us in the midst of it. Furthermore, they send us out into its midst, that we may exhibit and proclaim these truths.

As you mark Advent, may you find that bright center amidst the darkness.

The Second Week of Advent: Tuesday

2008-12-09T09:25:00.004-05:00

Today, we read a portion of Psalm 43. Most Bible scholars consider Psalms 42-43 to be a single psalm. Note the repeated refrain in 42.5, 11; and 43.5. This is a psalm of exile. The unnamed psalmist is far from his home and from the worship he loves at God's house. He finds himself among those who taunt his faith and wonder mockingly why God won't come to help him. In his distress, the psalmist tries to stir up his own spirit to remember that the living God is real. He is his true hope, and will be his help and the restorer of his joy.

Psalm 43.3-5 concludes this psalm with an appeal for the light of God's truth to shine in the darkness, to lead us home again.

O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

The Second Week of Advent: Monday

2008-12-08T09:26:00.025-05:00

The Story, of which Jesus' first Advent is the climax, goes back further than the Exodus, which we thought about yesterday.

The Hebrew Bible begins at the absolute beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1.1). The following meditation on God's subsequent creative work (Genesis 1.2-2.3) portrays Him as a Master Craftsman and Temple Builder, who formed a special land, filled it with living creatures, and set human beings there as his representatives to live and rule in his blessing. The high point of this account is when God creates humans in his image and blesses them.

Today's Vespers psalm, Psalm 148, reflects on God's works and calls them to praise their Maker:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!²⁴⁶⁸¹⁰¹²¹⁴

Why was Jesus born at Christmas? Why will he return in power and glory to reign? To fulfill God's original plan for the works of his hands. Jesus has come and will come again to restore God's blessing to all creation. Indeed, this present creation will be purged of all sin, evil, corruption, and death, and a new creation will emerge--a new heavens and new earth, in which righteousness and peace dwell.

What is at stake in Jesus' coming is set forth in Ephesians 1.9-10: "He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns:
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sin and sorrow grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground:
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love.

Original Version by Isaac Watts
Psalm 98, Part 2
The Messiah's coming and kingdom

otium sanctum

New Blog Coming...

SUMMER HIATUS

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES REGIONAL NEWS

EVERYONE MUST ACCOMMODATE

A GREAT WEEK FOR OUR FRIENDS

A Christian Apologizes to Atheists

UPDATE: What is the Gospel?

BECOMING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, part 3

BECOMING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, part 2

Becoming the Righteousness of God

DEFINING SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Art Show Enjoyment

What is the GOSPEL?

WHY I AM NOT A CULTURE WARRIOR...

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

ROOKIE UPDATE...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: BioLogos

WHY LITURGY?

A Rookie to Watch...

RED SOX NATION...

EVANGELICALISM'S PROSPERITY GOSPEL PROBLEM

Reflections from the Bible Belt

Who comes to church?

The five minutes that made me a Dave Matthews fan...

MAYBE THE BEST BLOG ARTICLE EVER...

RECOMMENDED READING: Mark Galli on Worship

What Passes for the Gospel Nowadays...

Thought-provoking Stuff on Religious "Stuff"

Just in time for Opening Day...

Pentecost Remix?

The Preschooler and the Pistol

Evangelicalism's Authority Problem

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, The Missional Issue, Part 3

Funniest of all time, 1

Another view...

Would you take this man into your home?

This is NOT missional Christianity...

Always a Neighbor

I'm so excited!

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Missional Issue, part 2

GOOD TEACHING...

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Saving Darwin

WEEKEND IN MECCA...

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Missional Issue, part one

Job well done...

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Pastoral Issue, part three

What I Like about Lutheran Baptism

An Unnecessary Divide

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Pastoral Issue, part two

LISTENING RECOMMENDATION...

AN INTERVIEW YOU SHOULD READ

If you must have a "worship band," please read this...

Huh?

A Great Night...

I'm Speechless...

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: The Pastoral Issue

I Love Snow...

A PROPHECY OF DOOM: What Do You Think?

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY: One Final Word about Worship

The "Right" Church?

President Obama

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part five

The "Big Picture" of the Gospel

A Man Who Walks the Walk

Long Days, Lost Weekend

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part four

Two Posts on Pastoral Integrity

NO JOY IN INDY...

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part three

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part two

PRAY FOR GAZA'S CHRISTIANS

AN EVANGELICAL'S LAMENT AND JOURNEY, part one

PLEASE READ THIS!!!

Sermon: Attend to the Baby

Why Don't We Go to Church on Christmas Day?

Christmastide, or the Twelve Days of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

The Eve of the Nativity

The Fourth Week of Advent: Tuesday