Standing Up For Nothing

I can't stop staring at myself
My face reflected in this empty plate
I can't decide if it's the devil
Or if it's just something I ate
'Cause he's been down there all morning
He's patiently waiting at my gate
He's throwing rocks at my window
"Hey won't you come on out and play with me"

Every day when I get up
I see folks trading in their crowns
For all these paper or plastic lives
An opiate for the masses' hounds
And pride like a vestige of lives lost
The stench of the old folks coming around
Now with the news I heard today
I can't tell if this world is lost or found

You go, I'll be waiting here
And I'm awake, no I cannot sleep
So I'll sit upon this rock is you
I ain't standing up for nothing

I've never seen my congressman
But I can't deny that he exists
'Cause I've seen his legislation pass
I've seen his name on the ballot list
The same I can't deny this fallen world
Though not my home it's where I live
How can I preserve and light the way
For a world that I can't admit I'm in

'Cause I know who I say you are
But these crows can't be made to stop
So I'll sit denying by this fire
I ain't standing up for nothing

Lack of interest leads to
Lack of knowledge leads to
Lack of perspective leads to
Lack of communication leads to
Lack of understanding leads to
Lack of concern leads to
This complacency denotes
This approval denies
The truth

But I can't stop staring at myself
It's my face reflected in this empty plate
And I know that it's the devil...

So you lead, I'll be close behind
So you speak, I'll hang on your words
You've got to lift me from this hardened tree
'Cause I ain't standing up for nothing

Nothing

-Caedmon's Call, "Standing Up For Nothing"

What Do We Do Now?

Note: What I'm writing about today concerns a specific set of people. This set of people includes many who read this blog, but it may not include you. If it doesn't include you, what I have to say won't apply and may not even make sense.

Both from my own observations and from conversations with friends, I believe many conservative Christian families are facing a generational dead end. What I mean is that young people who have grown up "in the faith" are not translating that faith to adulthood. Either they don't know how, they don't see the point of making the effort, or they simply don't realize there's something missing.

There are several reasons I see for this situation. First, there is a set of expectations - a status quo - that exists in some Christian circles quite independent of any spiritual reality. This is dangerous. As long as you do the right things and look a certain way and speak a certain vernacular, you can fit in. The name of the game is conformity and good behavior, and it's not that hard to catch on to the charade and the accompanying lingo. What this means is a lot of chaff in the wheat, a dilution of the Gospel, and a general lukewarmedness.

Second, I think our conservative Christian circles have become altogether too isolated and clique-ish. The practical effect of this is to blur the picture of what constitutes "mere" Christianity. The Gospel is no longer stark and stunning; it begins to have all sorts of things attached to it. Certain trivial externals like wearing dresses or reading the King James or not drinking alcohol or not listening to rock music are integrated into Christianity as de facto doctrines. They don't belong there. Those are subjective personal convictions, and if you preach them as Gospel, you're working against the kingdom in two ways:

1) You're giving nonbelievers the impression that the Gospel is primarily about morality.
2) You're giving nominal Christians the impression that they are saved as long as they abide by "the list."

Both are grave distortions of what Jesus is really about.

So, we have this sub-culture that we thought was a good thing that is turning out to have some rather disturbing repercussions.

What do we do now?

I presume it's an unnecessary disclaimer to say that I don't know the answers. At most I may have some useful thoughts to contribute to the discussion. In the end, this takes all of us.

To begin remedying the first problem, it's imperative that we create in our communities the sort of atmosphere where the real thing can't be faked. What would a community like this look like? I submit it would consist of people who see the difference between trees bearing spiritual fruit and trees that merely look nice. Lots of trees look nice, but there's nothing to eat on them. "Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, whatever is born of the spirit is spirit." You can't fake that.

To address the second problem, we need a less complicated understanding of the Gospel, a broader experience of Church, and a bigger context for God. We need to see firsthand how God works in other believers of other nations and cultures and backgrounds who are very different from us. We need to rediscover a sense of the Gospel being especially for people who don't have it all together, and to recognize that that includes us. We need to acknowledge that we aren't in any way better or more holy than Christians who have tattoos and watch R-rated movies and read The Message. We're all the same. To those who think themselves superior, Jesus has this to say: "The tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you." As this realization of our common plight soaks in, we may just become more like Christ and less like little Pharisees.

For us young people, we have our own uncomfortable confessions to make. We need to repent of a spirit of apathy. We need to acknowledge that we say a lot of things that have no real meaning to us. We need to recognize that we haven't taken responsibility and instead have freeloaded on our parents' spiritual initiative. We need to admit that we really aren't any better than the so-called "worldly Church" or "institutional Church." We're messed up. We need Jesus. And we need to start at the same place as everyone else: completely bankrupt, totally dependent on the cross and the blood and the reality of the empty tomb.

This is a tough transition, and there's no formula or guide book for negotiating it. We need to strip down our rhetoric and start rebuilding a meaningful phraseology on solid and simple foundations. We need to take ownership of our own "pursuit of God" and take seriously our commission of communicating Life to the world, not to some vague group of people who are "the lost", but to our generation, right here, right now. Keith Green said each generation of Christians is responsible for that generation of people. Have we realized this task is ours? What are we doing about it?

Make no mistake: I'm asking these same questions of myself, and many days I don't know exactly where I stand. But I'm learning to rely on Him who is able to make me stand (Romans 14:4) and keep me from falling (Jude 24).

I conclude with this admonition from Galatians, and I pray that we have ears to hear.

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

-Galatians 6:3-5

Image courtesy of bigyellowtaxi.files.wordpress.com

Hite Cove

The Grand Miracle

The story of the Incarnation is the story of a descent and resurrection. When I say 'resurrection' here, I am not referring simply to the first few hours, or the first few weeks of the Resurrection. I am talking of this whole, huge pattern of descent, down, down, and then up again. What we ordinarily call the Resurrection being just, so to speak, the point at which it turns.

Think what that descent is. The coming down, not only into humanity, but into those nine months which precede human birth, in which they tell us we all recapitulate strange pre-human, sub-human forms of life, and going lower still into being a corpse, a thing which, if this ascending movement had not begun, would presently have passed out of the organic altogether, and have gone back into the inorganic, as all corpses do.

One has a picture of someone going right down and dredging the sea-bottom. One has a picture of a strong man trying to life a very big, complicated burden. He stoops down and gets himself right under it so that he himself disappears; and then he straightens his back and moves off with the whole thing swaying on his shoulders. Or else one has the picture of a diver, stripping off garment after garment, making himself naked, then flashing for a moment in the air, and then down through the green, and warm, and sunlit water into the pitch black, cold, freezing water, down into the mud and slime, then up again, his lungs almost bursting, back again to the green and warm and sunlit water, and then at last out into the sunshine, holding in his hand the dripping thing he went down to get. This thing is human nature; but, associated with it, all nature, the new universe...

A man really ought to say, 'The Resurrection happened two thousand years ago' in the same spirit in which he says, 'I saw a crocus yesterday.' Because we know what is coming behind the crocus. The spring comes slowly down this way; but the great thing is that the corner has been turned.

-C. S. Lewis

Trees, Fruit, and Work That Endures

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

1 Corinthians 3:11-13

The foundation of salvation is Christ. There is no other name given under heaven. Every disciple must enter at the same gate and begin at the same place.

Salvation is not just something that happened to you once-upon-a-time. Of course, it is that too, but it's also an ongoing process, incremental and cumulative. Some people say "I was saved" as if that settled the matter. We don't even treat ice cream that way. If you tried ice cream once when you were eight, would you be satisfied for life? I doubt it.

The question is not "Were you saved?" but "Are you saved today?" Salvation is a foundation, yes, but it is also what we build on that foundation. (Phillipians 2:12) It's pursuing the likeness of God daily, taking up your cross, building with gold and silver and precious stones.

We can't just "know what we believe" and do the Christian thing to satisfy the status quo. That's wood and hay and stubble, and it's going to burn up. What we need is a vital awareness of God's love, God's holiness, and God's will, to empower us everyday to live sacramental lives of worship.

But wait: this sounds awfully like doing "works." We can't do "works", because we believe in "grace", and "works" and "grace" are not compatible.

Really?

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 2:14, 17

There is no such thing as faith without works. It's like marriage without love or the ocean without water. We need to get our faith into our lives somehow. We need a faith that is lived forward, not analyzed, because sometimes what we think is analysis may actually be nothing more than an autopsy.

This brings us to another realization, which is that the whole debate about faith and works is a mirage. If we couch the question in terms of whether we are saved by grace or works, we will succeed splendidly in spinning our minds in circles, but I don't think we will find many helpful answers.

It isn't our good works that make us Christians - it's our good works that show that we are Christians. (John 13:35) Our good works do not establish or create our Christian identity, they only validate it. Indeed, they must.

You will recognize [false prophets] by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Matthew 7:16-20

For a tree to produce good fruit does not make it a good tree, it merely shows that it is a good tree. Similarly, the good works we fulfill (Ephesians 2:10) do not make us righteous, they simply show that we are righteous. And that righteousness, though it must and will produce good works, can only have its beginning in grace. (Ephesians 2:8)

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. Amen.

All scripture quotations from the ESV

Image courtesy of fwco.com

A Forum for Hope

Exclusive Oakhurst news preview! The article below will run in the Sierra Star next Thursday, covering the Town Hall For Hope event being hosted in Bass Lake.

Over the last few months, there's been a lot of talk about the economy. Everyone has something to say: investors, politicians, business owners, and taxpayers. Despite the wide variety of theories and opinions being expressed, all of this talk has one thing in common.

It's all negative.

Layoffs and deficits and business failures dominate the headlines, but there's no reason they need to dominate your mind. If you're tired of the pessimism and ready for something different, you're not alone.

On Thursday, April 23rd, area residents are joining together to focus on a different message - a message of resiliency and confidence and optimism. In a nationwide event called Town Hall for Hope, national radio show host and New York Times best-selling author Dave Ramsey will be streamed live from Oklahoma City, sharing his vision of hope for America's financial future and answering questions from viewers all over the country.

It's time to stop talking about how bad the economy is and start working on making it better. Come and listen as Dave Ramsey shares real strategies and real answers you can use to better your financial situation and negotiate these challenging economic conditions.

Town Hall for Hope will be hosted at 7 p.m., April 23rd at The Little Church in the Pines, Bass Lake. To learn more, contact Jeremy Becker at 760-7522 or visit TownHallForHope.com.

Image courtesy of jonathanignacio.files.wordpress.com

Musings on a Dying World

And the world is passing away along with its desires...

-1 John 2:17

Very quietly
The world loses blood overnight
Without a fight
And in the morning
The sickness will hide in the light
Out of sight

-Mark Heard

The world is dying. Little by little, moment by moment, the vigor of the planet is draining away into the channels of space, never to be regained. Time is a hard master, carving even rock and stone with its inexorable weight.

The world began in a place called Eden. Eden means pleasure and delight. It means joy, color, beauty, virginity. Some people say Eden is still out there somewhere. I don't know. All I know is that the world isn't virgin anymore.

The scriptures describe the promised land as a land flowing with milk and honey; the spies harvested a cluster of grapes that was so large it had to be carried on a pole between two men. I traveled to Israel last year, and I can say pretty confidently that it isn't like that today.

Driving through the America southwest, I can't help but wonder if the rest of the world was at one time more Edenic - full of green oases and roaring waterfalls. The first time the word desert shows up in the NIV Bible is Genesis 14:6, so I don't suppose my little theory has much meat on it. Still, it's interesting to speculate about how all the people groups of the world ended up living where they did. Was there a lushness in the ancient world that attracted them to an environment that later turned harsh and austere?

I wonder.

Image "Barren Fields" by Vincent Van Gogh, courtesy of vangoghgallery.com

Purpose Check

The purpose of this blog is not...

• To cater to "the cutting edge."
• To anticipate sociological or theological trends.
• To impress anyone (except my wife).
• To offend anyone.
• To fight the culture war.
• To waste time throwing fits.
  
• To waste time with gossip.
• To be merely clever.
• To be narcissistic.
• To be popular.
  

This purpose of this blog is...

• To lift up Jesus.
• To allow me to write about what I'm thinking about.
• To talk about good books.
  
• To share anything of value that is happening in my life, big or small, practical or spiritual.
• To encourage the Church.
  
• To spread the Good News of the Gospel.
• To overturn tables.
• To lift up Jesus.
  
• To make you think.
• To make me think.
• To stimulate constructive dialogue.
  
• To lift up Jesus.
  
• To tell the truth.

Image courtesy of solarnavigator.net

Young Writers and a Teapot of Tea

Writing skills should begin early. Children need to read and write from a young age to develop the kind of familiarity with words and sentences necessary to write confidently and well.

This is an essay written last week by my 8-year-old sister Chloe. I thought it was good so I asked her if I could post it here. Enjoy.


Teapot of Tea

It all started when Peter got into tea.
Because when Peter got into tea, he got into loose tea and he decided it was the best tea.
But we (The Telian Family) did not have very many.
In the meantime he got me into loose tea and I liked it. :)
Then we found a website called Grace Rare Tea & Co..
They sell all kind of loose teas.
So he got four 8 ounce tins.
These are the ones he got:

• Flowery Jasmine - Before the rain
• Winey Reemun - English Breakfast
• Connisseur - Master Blend
• Formosa Oolong - Champagne of teas

There are a few more from Grace Rare Tea & Co. that Peter didn't get, but mommy got samples of.

• Earl Grey - Superior mixture
• Darjeeling - Superb 6000
• Gunpowder Pearl - Green tea

I really like them all except for Gunpowder pearl.
Daddy's favorite is Formosa Oolong.
I make a pot of loose tea almost every day.

-Chloe F.T

Image courtesy of farm1.static.flickr.com

Calvin Miller, Celtic Prayer, and Quiet Earth

Calvin Miller is a pastor-turned-professor with more than forty books to his name and a readable, uncluttered writing style similar to that of Max Lucado. Miller was first recommended to me by Jessica's mother Karen for his poetic retelling of the redemption story in three volumes, The Singer, The Song, and The Finale, collectively known as The Singer Trilogy.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Singer Trilogy, and subsequently ordered and read Miller's book The Path of Celtic Prayer. Though not as rich as some of Miller's other works, The Path of Celtic Prayer addressed several intriguing themes relating to our experience of God.

I. The Spirituality of Nature
From St. Francis to Thoreau to Wendell Berry, I have been attracted to authors possessing a strong sense of the spirituality of nature, blazing a middle-ground between pagan pantheism and fundamentalist utilitarianism. To recognize and appreciate the creation as the handiwork of the Creator is not nature-worship. We ought to know Psalm 19 both from reading the text and gazing at the sky.

II. The Power of Raw Scripture: Lectio Divina
The contemporary Celtic scholar Thomas O'Laughlin described Scripture as "literature born on the high ledges between this world and the next." I believe we need to cultivate a renewed appreciation for the reading of mere Scripture - raw and unadorned. "The Celts... seemed to believe there was a deliberate power for living in allowing the Bible to have its own majestic voice without the clutter of human chitchat trying to explain it." (53)

III. Liturgy as High Praise
There is a renewed interest in liturgy in the Church today that I think stems from a dissatisfaction with the irreverence of impromptu, colloquial devotion. I believe there is a place for spontaneous, spirit-inspired prayer, but I also believe it is untrue that the only "real" prayer is merely praying whatever comes into our heads.

The secular mind sometimes tries to fashion prayers and generally ends up with a divine headache. But the heart in love with God cheerfully labors over gladsome poetry. The heart is the place of prayer rehearsal. It is the editing room for dialogue with royalty... It is a foundry of intensity that smelts the ore of our devotion till it is fine enough to be formed into the highest kind of praise. Then, and only then, is the word beautiful enough to be spoken.

-40

Other high points in the book include an incisive discussion of the Trinity (33-35), a thought-provoking definition of confession ("It doesn't mean so much that we are informing God of our sins as it is agreeing with him that we are sinful... confession is that bold step by which we stand with God, look at our dark side and agree with all that he has said about it in his Word." -140), and a description of the pagan Celtic concept of spiritual energy referred to as the neart (21) - similar to the Chinese tao as described in C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man.

The old Celtic prayers and runes are easily the best part of the book, almost to the point of giving Miller's commentary the flavor of filler. The prayers are encased in beautiful poetic forms and are of a reverence, depth, and simplicity that is timeless.

I leave you with an old Irish prayer we have hanging in our home just inside the door:

Deep peace of the running waves to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the smiling stars to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

Image courtesy of journeywithjesus.net

Tenth Avenue North and Self-conscious Rock Bands

Amidst the glut of mediocrity that goes under the heading of Contemporary Christian Music, there aren't many voices that blend raw honesty and real talent. (I know I say that a lot, but it's true: usually you have to pick one or the other.)

Tenth Avenue North is one of those voices.

I need Your strength to feel this weak
I need Your touch to fill my need
I need Your strong hands to carry me
Take me, break me, set me free...

I think the best way to describe Tenth Avenue North is as a less self-conscious version of Kutless. I don't know about you, but in every Kutless song I seem to hear them saying "We're Kutless! This is our sound! Don't you like it... don't you like it?!"

Frankly, that's annoying, and, I think, juvenile.

It's refreshing to hear a band that isn't so interested in their own stardom and just wants to share truth and encourage others. Vocalist Mike Donehey's statement about the band's purpose is worth quoting at length:

At present,
We're just trying to find our way in the Christian music industry
"dodging traffic at the intersection of art, faith, and commerce,"
as Jon Foreman once put it.
We all come from church backgrounds and families, and therefore,
are not satisfied saying the same old things in the same old ways.
What we're hoping for with this music that we're making is to not just entertain people.
I think it's safe to say that we already have plenty of that.
What we're wanting is to see people encounter truth.
Remember, we all worked at a church for some time,
and there we saw plenty of emotion. We saw plenty of people having a good time,
but it wasn't long until we realized that if emotion isn't being evoked by truth,
well, then it just doesn't last. And we want this love in hearts to last.
I guess you could say we're done just trying to get emotional from blast beats
and hip guitar lyrics. Instead, we desire to be cut to the heart.
To be honest, genuine, and faithful to what we believe is truth.

Nobody said it would be easy,
but if easy isn't true, then who wants it?

The songs are passionate, honest, and artistic, with clean, strong melodies and solid instrumentation. These guys can rock the house ("Break Me Down"), but they also aren't afraid to do some quieter songs ("Times"). They have a vision for the Kingdom alive here and now, ("Love Is Here") and a burden for the purity of the Church ("Beloved").

Give a listen; I think you'll be blessed and challenged.


Go here to download Tenth Avenue North's full-length album Over and Underneath for $6.99.

Image courtesy of ignitechicago.com

Eating Jesus, Part 2

Go here to read Part 1.

Eating is one of the great unifying experiences of humanity. Everyone does it. Three times a day, most of the world sits down to some kind of meal for health, strength, and enjoyment. In many ancient cultures, sharing a meal together was the epitome of fellowship, and even in modern-day America, when we want a real conversation with someone, we have them over for supper or go out to a restaurant to talk.

Jesus invites us to share his table - to eat his flesh like bread and drink his blood like wine. Some of us have learned to sit quietly and eat what is put in front of us, and have discovered great peace in so doing. Some of us still behave like brats and get into food fights. (I know I've certainly been in more than my share.)

I don't have enough Jesus inside me. I need more. That is the supremely important thing. "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." And we can't partake of Jesus if we're always flinging him in one another's faces. The Eucharist is a sacrament of humility and devotion, a reminder of the massive mystery of redemption. It is an invitation to noisy children to quiet themselves before their Father, let go of their pet doctrines and personal vendettas, and experience the beautiful unity of Psalm 133.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

For years I thought it was zealous to go around telling other Christians what was wrong with their theology, when Jesus just wanted me to love them and rejoice together in our common inheritance - salvation through the blood of the Lamb. "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand."

Jesus is not a weapon. I know about the scourge and the temple and the overturned tables. I know there's a place for rebuke and repentance. I know that Jesus said that he didn't come to bring peace but a sword. But he also prayed we would be one.

I don't think the sword is supposed to be slashing around within the Church. The Church is a place of healing, safety, encouragement. The Church is a place where tears are dried and feet are washed. The Church is where the wine is poured, the bread is broken, and Jesus is shared.

Image courtesy of believingthomas.files.wordpress.com

Back to Blogging

So, I've been married for 10 days. You might expect me to write about marriage, but I'm not going to. Not yet. I think I'm still too close to it - too overwhelmed still with the grandeur and beauty of it all. There's too much to say - my heart is too full.

But I do want to get back to blogging. Whenever I'm away from sentences for too long, I start missing them, like some people miss their Pilates or their pets. And there's more to write about than ever. We live in an endlessly interesting time. There is change all around us, and there is need for alertness and courage, for the Church's responsibility to interact with culture in a sanctified and meaningful way is still the same.

So in my spare time between kisses, I'll once again be contributing my trademark blend of sagacity and simplemindedness to the bloated bucket of nonsense we call the blogosphere. Stay tuned.

Me? Getting Married?

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord." - Proverbs 18:22

In one week, I'm getting married.

In some ways it still seems unreal, like I'm somehow disembodied and observing my life as a spectator. In other ways I feel more alive than ever before. Either way, it's really happening. It's really her - it's really me.

I won't bore you with all the planning and preparation details. As you know, a wedding is kind of a big deal, and it takes a lot of work. Sometimes it's difficult to keep the sacramental immensity of marriage in view amidst all the activity. It's so much more than rings and vows and candles and champagne - it's the highest institution of mortal love that we will ever experience.

This is not a drill. This is for life.

God has shown his faithfulness countless times over the last few months, even through my failures and clumsiness. For years I wondered how I would "know" who I'm supposed to marry, but I understand now the certainty that borders on awe. "This is the way, walk ye in it." Thank you, Lord.

Our plan is to build a small cottage here on my folks' property over the summer. While we build, we'll be living in a twenty-eight foot travel trailer, which Jessica has been making into a wonderful home with her remarkable womanly touch. (I know some of you are skeptical that anyone will ever be able to civilise me, but if anyone can do it, she can.)

We'll be leaving for a short honeymoon after the wedding. For the "real" honeymoon, we're planning to take a longer trip sometime later this year to England and Ireland, to celebrate history, literature, and the color green. If you've visited the British Isles, we'd love to hear any advice you have to share.

There's lots of things I've been wanting to write about. Right now I simply don't have enough time or concentration to spare. Hopefully I can return to the blog in a few weeks after some of the dust settles.

Thanks for reading and thanks for praying. Soli Deo Gloria.

Image courtesy of mississippifamilylawblog.com

The Mystery of Godliness

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.

-1 Timothy 3:16

Image courtesy of esamultimedia.esa.int

The Open Door Fallacy

Life is full of decisions and opportunities. Continually we come up to intersections and forks in the road. Wanting to understand and follow the will of God, we stop to consider and evaluate the options.

Lots of Christians subscribe to a theory of divine guidance which we might call "The Open Door Theory." This theory basically says that when you find an opportunity - an "open door" - you should walk through it, because God must have opened it.

Wait.

Maybe God did open it. Maybe he didn't. Maybe the Devil did. Maybe the wind blew it open.

How do you know?

I don't mind granting that occasionally God creates opportunities and "opens doors." What I take exception to is the idea that every open door is a sign from God. That's not discernment - that's merely taking the path of least resistance. Godly discernment means looking open-eyed at the opportunities and obstacles before us, laying them before the Lord, and then and only then proceeding.

Sometimes we may be able to walk through an open door; sometimes we may find it necessary to knock and pray and weep at a closed one. Sometimes we may find ourselves completely walled in, as it were, in a place where it seems like there are no doors at all, with no choice but to wait on God or build a ladder.

Paul had his own perspective on open doors. Writing to the Corinthian church about his work at Ephesus, he says:

For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

1 Corinthians 16:9

Does that sound like an open door to you? It did to Paul. He knew that following the leading of the Lord didn't mean he wouldn't have opposition. In fact, he expected opposition. (Acts 20:23, 2 Tim. 3:12) His confidence in the direction and protection of the Lord was not affected by the obstacles that he faced. "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Paul was also careful about staking his decisions too heavily on a single factor. Consider what he writes about being in Troas:

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

2 Corinthians 2:12-13

There were opportunities in Troas. People were listening. Things were happening. God was working. Even with all that, Paul was restless because he didn't know where Titus was! So he packed up and sailed across the Aegean Sea to seek his brother, knowing God could open more doors whenever he wanted to.

While we're at it, there's one more crystal ball to smash. I have in mind the example of Gideon, which seems to be chronically misunderstood in the Church today. The expression "putting out a fleece" has become a euphemism for seeking the will of the Lord. That wasn't what Gideon was doing. God had already told him what to do, and he was afraid to do it. He didn't turn tail and run like Jonah, but he was unable to move forward without more "evidence."

I submit that "putting out a fleece" is simply lusting for a sign. "[Jesus] answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.'" (Matthew 12:39) It's spiritual skepticism dressed up as discernment. Beware of spending too much time seeking "confirmation."

Justus ex fide vivit: the just shall live by faith.

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Where Is Your Confidence?

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

-Psalm 42:5-6

Between being sick, dealing with challenges at work, and running at the limits of my concentration with wedding plans and the responsibilities of life, I've been reminded of something.

I'm not Superman.

I don't have what it takes. I can't alter the arc of the universe; I'm just a man. It's a hostile world. The obstacles are too big.

God wants to strip away our self-reliance - until there's nothing left for us to do but trust God, love people, and put one foot in front of the other. I don't know where I'm headed, but I'm walking. I have ideas, but I don't have answers. "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

God doesn't expect us to keep up with him. He expects us to trust him to carry us when we get tired. He expects us to trust him for the strength to carry others when they get tired. And he expects us to give him the glory - not just verbally, but to understand deep inside that it really belongs to him.

Climb on
A back that's strong
You can't get what you want
Climb on
A back that's strong

-Caedmon's Call (Shawn Colvin)

When we're discouraged, it's usually because we're looking to ourselves too much. "Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."

Look to God, and see if you don't feel better. And yes, I believe feeling better is scriptural.

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Heirs Together

"...being heirs together of the grace of life..."

1 Peter 3:7

God has given us a rich inheritance; one that is lavish, free, and complete; a generous gift from a good Father to his undeserving children.

This inheritance is two-dimensional. We have inherited the gift of physical life - with all of its wonder and sparkle and colour - and we have also inherited spiritual life through the Gospel.

To marry is to join yourself intimately with another soul and share together the joy of this inheritance. There is love, there is patience, and there is mutual encouragement to claim these wonderful gifts as your own. When you're discouraged, there is a word of hope. When you fall, there is a gentle reminder of grace. When the world looks dark, there is a beautiful refuge of love, poured out in all of its sacrificial splendor.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?

Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

This person becomes a partner - indeed, a part of you - who knows you as well as or better than you know yourself and yet has the spiritual autonomy to speak the words you need to hear. It's like a pair of rock climbers working in tandem, completely dependent on one another. They are both sharing the same experience and subjecting themselves to the same risks, but at any given moment, at least one will have solid footing and be ready to catch the other.

To have someone who is willing to walk this closely with you through life's blessings and discouragements in this way is an indescribable gift. You're not alone anymore. Everything is shared, everything is together, and somehow, sharing two burdens makes both lighter.

In this breaking we are hand in glove / Come with me my love / We will find shelter here

-Sandra McCracken, Gravity | Love, "Shelter"

I love you Jessica!

Image courtesy of Jeff Slagg

Confessions of a Pacifist

I haven't talked much about nonresistance and political activism on this blog, mostly because it's been such a hot button for me in the past. However, a good friend recently reopened the subject, and in thinking about it again I'm realizing that as I move into a new area of life and contemplate protecting a wife and family, my perspective is changing.

Most who know me know that for a long time I have leaned hard-core nonresistant. I was raised on stories of martyrdom and nonviolence and identified strongly with Anabaptism and "The Remnant." In many ways, I still identify there, but it's becoming clear to me that the issues and questions are more complicated than I had originally thought.

One of those issues is family defense. I deeply regret addressing this question before I had any idea of what is at stake and what it feels like to have a wife and children that you are responsible for. It's just arrogant. In one conversation that I remember distinctly, after I had been aggressively zealously advancing my simplistic uncompromising stance, an older brother who was obviously sympathetic to the classic Anabaptist position told me simply and quietly: "I know where you're at. I used to think exactly like you do. But I don't anymore."

There was no argument, just a calm statement with the ring of wisdom and experience, standing quietly on its own two feet. Here was something that required reflection, not refutation. I was off balance, and I didn't know what to do.

From that moment, I suspected that all might not be as it seemed. It would be much longer before I really began to soften my heart and question the motivation and purity of my over-simplified idealism, but the seed had been sown.

Another issue where I've talked beyond my experience is military service. I've realized it's a very easy thing to criticize and a very hard thing to do, and while I won't be enlisting anytime soon, I won't be condemning those who choose otherwise. Every pacifist needs to read C. S. Lewis' pointed essay Why I Am Not A Pacifist to get the straight explanation on why their beliefs sometimes look a little pallid next to soldiers giving up everything and going to war.

Today is Martin Luther King Day, in honour of a man who worked hard for peaceful change. I have a lot of respect for men like that. They may not have been exactly right, but they did something.

On all sides, I want to learn to ask more questions and throw fewer rocks. Toward this end I'll be hoping to accomplish some reading on this subject over the next several months, eventually expanding the study beyond personal matters into Church & State issues. If there are books you've found helpful, please let me know in the comments.

Peace!

Image courtesy of perspectivesphotogallery.com

The Unqualified Jesus

Jesus is very hard to describe in a word. He is loving. He is also austere. He is down-to-earth. He is also holy. He is understanding. He is also unpredictable.

We know that Jesus is God, and that God is complete. The immediate difficulty is this: How do we present Jesus to people without leaving something out? There's simply too many adjectives and qualifiers to keep track of.

Truth may be a tightrope, but it isn't a tightrope that we walk alone. Jesus isn't watching from the ground and critiquing our performance; he's right there with us, holding our hand and helping us get it right. He's not somewhere way out past the moon, busy with cosmic accounting; he desires incarnation and participation in our lives. That is why I'm starting to believe that if there's one word to describe Jesus, it's this one:

Emmanuel.

God. With. Us.

Have you ever stopped to think about the joy of simply being with someone you love? There's sympathy, connection, a million interwoven strands of non-verbal communication. This is God's invitation. Walk with me, give me your cares, put your fingers into the holes in my wrists and your hand into my side.

Emmanuel.

Don't try to box him in or explain him. We should know God as an obsession, not an object. He is not defined by his attributes: he IS. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life.

Jesus is the theology of the Father, revealed to us.

-Thomas Merton¹

Emmanuel.

To understand the with-ness of God is to understand the unqualified Jesus and breathe the free air of spiritual simplicity. He straightens the crooked road and smooths the rough places. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.

We don't need to constantly be balancing our presentation of God's nature to make sure we cover all the bases. He is with us.

We can speak his unique word to each unique situation, without qualification and without apology, relying on him to reveal himself more comprehensively to people in his time, as he chooses. He is with us.

We can be confident in the continuing work of sanctification, believing Philippians 1:6 for ourselves and for others. He is with us.

We don't need to be anxious about the future and we don't need to be afraid of man. He is with us.

We don't need to memorize what he looks like. He is with us.

Emmanuel. Think about it.

(1) Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island, (Barns & Noble Books, 2003), 23

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Great Music: Where We Are And Where We Long To Be

Every now and then you find someone making great music with creativity, talent, and conviction. It doesn't happen very often, so when it does I always want to share it.

A couple weeks ago I ran across Rick Hopkins on NoiseTrade, and downloaded his latest album Where We Are And Where We Long To Be. Wow. Talented vocal work, thoughtful lyrics, and strong rock rhythms make for an excellent collection of honest and worshipful songs.

They say You aren't there / and I'm inclined to believe them tonight...

From "Psalm 42"

Jessica and I both have been very encouraged by Hopkins' artistic expressions of faith. This is really good stuff. Don't miss it.

Image courtesy of rickhopkins.com

Kiva.org: The Ultimate "Building Fund"

Kiva.org is a perfect example of an active response to poverty that is creative, smart, and personal. Technology has many drawbacks, but it has made it possible to work together as the body of Christ as never before, and we ought to take advantage of it. There's a time to pray and there's a time to roll up our sleeves.

Check it out.


A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Galatians 2:10

There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.

Mohandas Gandhi

Travel Light, Part 2

In my last post I talked about our need to travel light - to discard all the materialistic and theological complexities that weigh us down. This is all well and good, but it invites a further question.

What should we keep?

What does a minimalist Christian creed look like today in America in 2009? What are the essentials? If we get rid of all the hype and rhetoric and intrigue, what's left?

Perhaps inventing creeds is too ambitious for a layman. Then again, perhaps we're too serious about creeds, and not creative enough. After all, a creed need not be exhaustive to be worthwhile; it's simply a statement of what you believe, what's important to you, what matters.

I'm a sojourner, and I don't want to carry more than I need, because The Way is uphill. If I forget everything else, here's twenty-five things I want to remember.

• I am a sinner.
• Jesus loves me.
• Jesus loves my neighbour.
• God is Jesus.
• God is love.
• Grace is free.
• The Gospel is Good News.
• Talk is cheap.
• Good trees bear good fruit.
• Words mean things.
• Wisdom asks questions.
• Humility listens.
• Life is short.
• Laughter is healthy.
• Choices are eternal.
• I don't know everything.
• I don't even know how much God knows.
• Answers are overrated.
• Pain is everywhere.
• Beauty is everywhere.
• The Bible is true.
• Truth can be messy.
• Faith is active.
• Hope is essential.
• Love is the greatest thing in the world.

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Image "The Narrow Way" by Dan Hayward, courtesy of etsy.com

Travel Light

And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing."

Luke 22:35

In a world that grows more rabidly materialistic by the day, we would do well to remember a theme we find throughout the Bible, and possibly even adopt it as a motto for the coming year. If taken to heart, this simple formula could save us a lot of unnecessary grief.

Travel light.

Two simple words, alive with freedom and possibility. If you don't need something, get rid of it. Trim fat, shed ounces, discard baggage. Backpackers understand this principle, as do swimmers and certain successful writers. When there's something you want to say or somewhere you want to go, less is more. Holding a bowling ball in your lap is fine if you're sitting still, but if you want to run a marathon it's going to get heavy real fast. As we see in Hebrews 12:1, it's just spiritual physics.

We have altogether too much stuff. I mean this in both a practical and spiritual sense. Our houses, garages, and storage units are filled with clutter, and so are our minds. Our mental furniture is piled so high we can no longer see out the windows. It's time for a purge.

In speaking of spiritual cerebral clutter, I don't mean only entertainment, technology, and information. I mean theology too. Everyone has an opinion about God, and though we can glean much from others who have learned to share their schooling in Christ, we are not obligated to carry about in our heads the multitudinous theories of every evangelical pulpit pundit. It's futile, unnecessary, and presumptuous.

Paul knew this. He knew our tendency to adorn, embellish, and gather wool. He knew that things would become complicated and tangled up. And he feared lest Jesus should be lost in the process.

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:2

We can't talk sense if we've got a theological kitchen sink stuffed into our brains. That's not spirituality, it's suffocation. We need to be light, nimble, ready to move. Keep what you need: leave the rest behind. As Oswald Chambers would say, "May God keep us in fighting trim!"

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't believe stuff, and neither does it mean that we shouldn't possess anything. It only means we must maintain a vital internal detachment from theories and things, remembering our supreme purpose: that of knowing and serving Christ. If an object or idea doesn't help us on toward this goal, throw it away; it's only dragging you down.

This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealing with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

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Big Family Survival - Part 5: Being Sick

The morning news is that So-and-So isn't feeling well. Everyone nods their heads gravely. Yes, we'll pray for them.

The evening news is that the Vitamin C is gone. Everyone looks surprised. Really? How could that be?

Unfortunately, it really doesn't matter how strong your immune system is, because with ten people the virus or bacteria or whatever nasty germ-thing it is will be hanging around for a few weeks. You'll get it sooner or later.

By far the most frequent family malady is the appropriately named common cold. Everyone has experienced the sinking feeling when your throat begins to tingle and your eyes begin to burn. Visions of nasty potions, painful thermometers, and unearthly quantities of mucus fill the mind. I'm getting sick!

It's not that bad, really. A few days of reading, sitting around drinking Squirt, and feeling generally like a rotten pineapple. Still, there's always a few in denial. "I'm not (sniff) SI-(cough)-CK!!" Right. Go back to bed.

More books, blankets, and tissue boxes. It's true that finding a Kleenex is often more aggravating than it should be; usually by the time you're checking the third bathroom there's things running through your head that you shouldn't say out loud. Toilet paper works too, just don't rely on it too heavily or you'll have a premature runny-nose rash. The more green types are proud of their sticky cloth handkerchiefs, and are often seen turning them around in circles looking for a "clean spot".

So far, that's pretty minor stuff. Sometimes, however, the danger gets really serious.

You see someone lying prone on the couch, looking a disturbing shade of red or green. When you see the tell-tale plastic bowl on the floor beside them, you know. They've thrown up! Gross!

You tiptoe up to ask them how they're doing, perhaps - if you're really brave - rubbing their shoulder gingerly. They moan. You tiptoe away, gratified that you've accomplished your sympathetic duty, resolved to spend the rest of the day as far away as possible.

God, send me to Africa, but please, please, PLEASE don't make me throw up!

Sometimes you make real memories being sick, like the time we all had chicken pox and watched more television in two weeks than we'd watched in the previous two years. Or the time we all had pinkeye and sat around the kitchen in the evenings dripping Colloidal Silver into each others' eyes. Or the time we'd all had colds for so long that we called the local water quality guy to see if there was something nasty in our well. Yes, good times.

Being sick in a big family is no fun, but it's survivable. Just don't forget your Vitamin C or your sense of humour.

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A Reader's New Year

Like last year, I decided it would be good to once again bring in the New Year with a book report. I guess it makes sense that readers would mark and remember the passage of time with books. Here's a few of my favourite titles from 2008.

1. Manalive - G. K. Chesterton

Set in Chesterton's beloved 19th-century England, Manalive is a delightful and provocative story about a man who steals from himself, uses a pistol to bring people to life, proposes marriage to his wife over and over again, and travels to the end of the world to find his own home. This is the sort of book that surges over you and makes you smile at the world, like a warm fire or a good wine.

2. Dissident Discipleship - David Augsburger

If there's any book that I would recommend as a sort of manifesto for 21st-century Christianity, this would be it. Augsburger has succeeded in painting a richly textured portrait of discipleship, avoiding the trite catchphrases of a bankrupt evangelicalism and appealing to the ancient truths and wisdom of God. The book is spiritual without being merely sentimental, and serious without being stiff, presenting classical Christian orthopraxy in contemporary terms. (For a more detailed synopsis, read my section-by-section review from earlier this year.)

3. The Presence of the Kingdom - Jacques Ellul

From 20th-century France comes the voice of Christian Anarchist philosopher Jacques Ellul, denouncing the idolatry of technology and institutions, raising high the banner of grassroots faithfulness. Ellul's rigorous reasoning and controversial positions make his work stimulating and stirring; I've read three of his books, and The Presence of the Kingdom is easily my favourite. Imagine a Christianity that is not merely a "cause" to advance but is rather the lifeblood of the way things are, the heartbeat of creation, the assured destiny of the cosmos. Imagine ignoring the deceptive allurements of power, and overwhelming the world with life. Imagine: love as a conspiracy!

4. The World of Pooh - A. A. Milne

Were it not for my beloved Jessica, I might never have had the pleasure of reading this unassuming collection of "children's" stories. (Thank you, darling!) Milne has crafted a delightful world of sunshine, green, and adventure, full of wonderful characters, unusual situations, and light, gentle humour. If literature is a celebration of words, The World of Pooh is a prime specimen. Don't miss it.

5. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith - Rob Bell

If I can say so without descending to stereotypes, most of what has come from the "Emerging Church" has been unsubstantial at best. This book is different. In his nimble, straightforward style, Bell describes a Christianity that is alive, growing, and going somewhere. His sensitivity to the multi-dimensional nuances of faith in a modern and post-modern (and post-Christian) world continuously informs his writing, while his generosity remains rooted in a confidence in the truth. This is an excellent book for those who are interested in stripping away the layers and aren't prone to getting hung up on stories and analogies that disturb their sense of politically correct theology.

Honourable mentions:

1. St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox - G. K. Chesterton
2. True Spirituality - Francis Schaeffer
3. The Children of Húrin - J. R. R. Tolkien
4. The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God - N. T. Wright
5. The Christian Imagination - Leland Ryken, Ed.
6. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander - Thomas Merton
7. A Severe Mercy - Sheldon Vanauken

May the New Year bring much more growth, wisdom, and laughter. And books!

Images courtesy of images.barnesandnoble.com, menno.org.uk, robhorton.us, ecx.images-amazon.com, and standrewsbookshop.co.uk