Missional Churches - Third in a series

For review, here is the original article on which this post is based.

(3) Missional communities are discontent with spiritual formation as primarily cognitive assent ("I believe this to be true"). Instead, formation is presented as a way of life, a rhythm of being, and a rule of values. It emphasizes faithful living during the week rather than gathering for worship at a weekend event. The sharp boundary between the sacred and secular is evaporating as missional fellowships seek to hear God's voice in culture and creation.

Do you hear that? It is the sound of the author hitting the nail on the head! I've been ruminating on what kind of church I would like God to place me in when I begin pastoral ministry. The best I have come up with so far is a church where its actions are fed by discipleship and motivated by love. What I believe the Lord wants is for the spiritual formation that we go through be shared with others as He brings opportunity. Not just witnessing, but acts of service motivated by love.

I love the phrase the author uses "a rhythm of being" for its sheer imagery. It describes a life where our discipleship/spiritual formation or whatever you want to call it is so ingrained into our being that what we do directly reflects what we believe. I think of the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis during World War II. I saw a documentary film about that amazing community and what struck me was the statement of one lady who said,I'm paraphrasing here, "we didn't have to organize and think about it. We just did it because it was the right thing to do." That is spiritual formation driving action motivated by love.

For many of us, spiritual formation has become an intellectual exercise. And I speak of myself here. We need to renew our sense of awe and wonder of creation. Consider this from Paul's letter to the church in Rome:

1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. We can experience God in creation, as well as in the Bible and revelation of the Holy Spirit. Let's hone all of these aspects and then use our love to go minister to all of creation. We have no excuse, and we are incomplete if we exclude any of these areas. Enjoy the fullness of God with me. And then let us share it with others.

Missional Churches - Second in a series

We continue our discussion of a Leadership magazine article on Missional Churches by looking at Tim Conder's second point:

(2) Programming and finances are directed outward. It's easy for much of the church's program and fiscal reflexes to become directed internally. Emphases on church growth or "building the body" are often presented as the mission ("A larger church means more space and opportunity for our community to encounter Christ," is the overt message, when the real message to staff is, in fact, "Keep the saints happy and coming back.").

To counter this temptation, missional communities may cut back on programming to leave space for breathing and living. Some ministries are relocated from the safe confines of the church into the community. Financial assets are viewed as both opportunity and burden. Some missional churches have made a pattern of giving away resources without control or strings attached to reduce congregants' sense of entitlement.

The inward financial focus is a trend I suspect is strongly rooted in many churches. I encourage anyone with access to their church's financial information to go through the expenditures and put expenses in 2 categories - missional, including outreach, missions, education and anything that is directed at bringing people into the kingdom of God, and another category that you can name yourself. If your church is anywhere close to a 50-50 split, I applaud you.

The natural inclination is to keep the saints happy, and that results from the dynamic tension that comes from deciding how to spend money. Is our focus on the current congregation, or on those outside the kingdom? Not that they are mutually exclusive, but resources have to be allocated, and that tension and the resultant budgeting decision will reflect the attitude of the congregation. I've heard many preachers say that "you can judge a person's priorities by looking at their checkbook." The same adage applies to churches. If all our money is spent on us, that tells you something. If it is spent on others, it tells you something else.

I say this not to judge. But I strongly encourage anyone in ministry leadership to prayerfully consider how their church's money is spent. It does tell a story about us.

Missional Churches - First in a series

A recent article in Leadership magazine talked about some characteristics of "Missional Churches." I know this is another title like emerging/postmodern/seeker-sensitive etc that often has a vague definition. If you want to be part of the naming discussion, go to Out of Ur, the Christianity Today blog. The article is title "Missional Buzz" by Tim Conder.

I want to discuss some of the specific points he makes individually over the next several posts. He begins with:

Identifying missional churches can be difficult. Such churches are separated by identity and perspective as much as their visible forms. Nonetheless, there are some common commitments.

(1) Missional communities try to align themselves holistically with God's theme of redemption. They resist the use of Christianity as an anesthetic to the pain of human needs and as an affirmation of the superiority of one culture's way of life.

Wow. That is a power-packed statement. That really smacks the state of American Protestantism over the past 30 years. We have gone into mission fields and interjected our culture along with our religion as if they were inseparable. That is getting better in some tribes of Christianity, but I suspect that it is still prevalent. I find it disheartening to hear people in the far-flung corners of the globe singing American or Western hymns in their language and at a tempo that doesn't suit their culture. The form is not as important as the function for this.

The whole "Christianity is the cure for all that ails you" argument has been spiritually destructive to many people. Yes, ultimately faith in Christ does cure your underlying illness of original sin. But it may not cure your illnesses in this life, it may not help you lose weight, get a spouse back or find a better job. God blesses his people, but He is also sovereign. And sometimes he chooses to allow suffering for reasons we cannot understand. Go read Job for an example.

So a missional church is one that does not misrepresent the Gospel as a path to prosperity and happiness, and one that does not ally itself with a particular culture. If we can grasp that we have made significant progress. There is no "right way" to do church other than to follow the instructions of the Lord. The rest is preference, and each group should be allowed to choose its preferences so long as they do not violate the laws and instructions of God.

We are all sinners, some have been redeemed, some are still waiting. If we keep redemption as our central focus, it will make the mission much easier to grasp. We don't have to be cleaned up first to be redeemed. We don't have to look good, smell good, stop smoking, drinking etc to be redeemed. Jesus meets us where we are. After that, the Holy Spirit will do the cleaning from the inside. We just need to keep focused on the redeeming process. God has cleaned many of us, and we can help those who have joined our tribe. But let redemption be the first order of business. The cleaning comes later.

Diversity

This morning I was listening to Glenn Beck talk about Martin Luther King day and diversity. He raised an interesting point that I believe directly applies to the church regarding diversity.

Glenn's comment was that we spend so much time on what makes us diverse that we are beginning to neglect that which unifies us. That is true in the church and society.

How many of us have proof texts to advocate for the reasons why "our way" is the "true way" of doing whatever it is we are discussing. Whether it is theology, worship style or whatever it is that makes up the 30,000+ denominations in Christianity, we spend an awful lot of time and energy focusing on our differences.

Naive Dreamer moment coming.

What if we took that same time and energy and devoted it to that which unifies us? What if we looked for points of common intersection and chose to work on those? What if we stopped bad-mouthing those not like us and congratulated them for being in the faith?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the church Jesus was looking to establish was more like what I have suggested than what we have today. I may be wrong, and feel free to correct me, but that is my hunch.

Grief

January has turned into a season of grief for me, my family and some of our friends. Nothing new and devastating has happened, but I have been made acutely aware of my own grief over the past and God is putting people in my path who are going through similar experiences.

Two years ago, during one of the darkest spiritual times I have ever experienced, my friend Kurt recommended this book. The Emotionally Healthy Church was an eye-opener for me, because it pointed out that I do not deal well with grief. I had always put grief in the category of someone dying, and that is something that I mercifully have little experience with. But Peter Scazzero pointed out that grief encompasses many things, including life changes, moves, job losses and other non-mortality issues. And that is where I am today.

Because of circumstances, I cannot elaborate on the topic, but there have been issues and incidents that have left painful scars on me and my family. And they all came flooding back when a reminder of the most recent one arrived in the mail last week. Since then, I have been in a dark place, and not wanting to go back to face the situation one more time.

But I truly believe God wants me to go there, and I will be obedient. This has been a time of learning for me. God is softening my heart, and bringing others who are grieving across my path and allowing me to see His hand in their lives. I may even be able to help some of them through the process, because they are on a similar journey to the one we endured. I pray that I can be obedient and humble enough to be used however God wants to use me in this. I am learning what grief is. I pray that He can use this as I move forward into ministry. I wish I were not in this place, but God is Sovereign and I am not.

In case you were wondering about the photo, that is a tear moving down President Bush's cheek during the ceremony that posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to a fallen U.S. Marine. Below is the Reuters caption and photo credit:

Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in honor of Medal of Honor winner Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham in the East room of the White House in Washington, January 11, 2007. Cpl. Dunham was killed when he jumped on a grenade to save fellow members of his Marine patrol while serving in Iraq. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)

I cannot imagine the grief Cpl. Dunham's family feels, and the grief of the President who ordered him into battle. Mine pales in comparison. And that is another lesson from the LORD.

Portents of doom

No this isn't about Pat Robertson.

It seems we have a new comet in the neighborhood. And this one, if it lives up to expectations, may be brighter than the Hale-Bopp comet in the late 1990s. Let's pray that no doomsday cult attaches themselves to this one.

This reminds me of the discussion on Epiphany earlier this week. The magi were astronomers and astrologers who studied the heavens for signs. Comets were often portents of doom, and caused great fear in the people. We kind of laugh at their superstitions, but there is some reality to their fear. Things do fall out of the sky.

Just last week a family in N.J found an iron meteorite in their bathroom, along with holes in the ceiling and roof. And the photo I have attached would cause great fear for people who didn't understand the difference between a comet and the shooting stars that we know as meteorites

The heavens are a magical and beautiful place. But there are also many loose objects flying around out there. I have not doubt that the ancients knew of impacts, had seen and heard them, and feared that the God of the Universe was punishing them.

We understand a little better than them what is going on. But we still are powerless to interfere with the sovereignty of the God who made the universe.

Maybe a little fear should accompany our awe at the celestial light show he puts on for us.

Speaking as a prophet

It's back to Pat again. Here are his official comments on the mass killing that he forecast onthe 700 Club earlier this month. Consider this excerpt from his comments:

...Well, the other thing I felt was that evil men, evil people, are going to try to do evil things to us and to others during the last part of this year. I don’t know whether it’ll be in the fall or September or later on, but it’ll be the second half, somehow, of 2007. There will be some very serious terrorist attacks. The evil people will come after this country. And there’s a possibility that—not a possibly, a definite certainty that chaos is going to rule, and the Lord said that the politicians will not have any solutions for it. There’s just going to be chaos. And, of course, we saw chaos in the Gulf after Katrina. The politicians had no answers.

TERRY MEEUWSEN: I think that that rang resonant in everyone’s heart, as they looked at it and realized that when something big happens . . . .

PAT ROBERTSON: We’re not ready.

TERRY MEEUWSEN: . . . . there’s no solution.

PAT ROBERTSON: It’s going to happen. And I’m not saying necessarily nuclear. The Lord didn’t say “nuclear,” but I do believe it’ll be something like that that’ll be a mass killing, possibly millions of people, major cities injured. I hope I’m wrong, and I hope people will pray and that won’t happen.

Let me get this straight. Pat "hopes he is wrong" and he "felt" these things? He claims that God told him this message. If we stick with orthodox Christian thinking, God is never wrong. So, when Pat's previous messages from God didn't happen, what was the problem?

Either God is wrong or Pat isn't listening to God very well.

If I were purporting to speak for God, I would make VERY sure that I had the details down. In the Old Testament, a prophet who was wrong was typically branded a false prophet and earned a one-way tripto the stoning pit outside of town. I'm not advocating that for Pat. But I would ask anyone with their own satellite and television network to think carefully about what they say GOD TOLD THEM especially when previous pronouncements have not come true. It diminishes God when people say they are speaking for Him and are not accurate. We already have a credibility problem with many people. This does not help.

Epiphany

We just celebrated one of the quietest parts of the Advent and Christmas Season. January 6 marks the date of the wise men from the east described in Matthew 2:1-12 went to see the Christ Child. There are several amazing parts to this story, but I only want to concentrate on the astrology portion of the story, highlighted in a World Magazine essay in December, 2006.

In the essay, Bill Boyd notes that to most observant Jews, the magi were sorcerers and idolaters, because they were astronomers and astrologers. But it is magical that they noted the birth of the Hebrew king, yet it seems that no one in Israel did. God used nature to speak to non-believers to call them to Him and fulfill His purpose. That is the true magic of Epiphany to me.

Romans 1:18-20 sums up Paul's argument that no one is without excuse for knowing who God is:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. And the Magi got the message. That is just an amazing part of the story to me.

How would we react if non-believers came to tell us what God was doing? Would we dismiss them? Listen to them? Fear them? Ignore them? Probably a little of all of those and some I haven't listed.

Let us never forget that God is LORD of ALL CREATION, and He can choose to speak through whomever he wishes. Our part is to have discerning ears that can hear his voice.

Stop and listen

Check out this link. It is a lecture by N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, speaking during the Calvin College January Series on January 5. I have read a few of his books, and like what I have read. You will need the free Real Player to listen.

Enjoy

Accountability

What does genuine Christian accountability look like? It has been talked about for some time, especially since Promise Keepers made it an emphasis for their men's groups. I've been in accountability groups where guys were forced together, and they never seem to take off. It seems kind of like an arranged marriage, and we were doing a kabuki dance around the issues.

I've been thinking about accountability lately. For many people accountability is all about confessing our sins of commission to each other in order to stop committing them. Promise Keepers made a huge push on the issue of lust and its traveling companion pornography. Both of these are common issues for men in our hyper-sexualized society. There is value in that. But I fear that many stopped at that point.

I've been wanting to start a Renovare group at my church, but that didn't happen last fall because I was asked to chair a capital campaign. I'm still kicking that idea around and looking at the type of accountability it offers. I need to have accountability for my sins that recur. But I also need to be called on the carpet about how I am growing in the faith. How am I integrating my faith into action? Am I living the faith or just reading and talking it? Where did I meet God this week? What did I learn? What didn't I learn? These are measures of accountability that also need to be taken into consideration.

If any of you have any good experiences with accountability, please share them. I am honestly working through this issue and would love to hear your examples. You can post them as comments or email them to me. It's your call.

Roy

Don't buy stocks in insurance companies

Another new year, another profoundly ignorant comment from Pat Robertson. It seems that Pat is our generation's Jeremiah, or prophet of doom. God has told Pat that we will experience a "mass killing" from terrorists late in this year. Why he told Pat and no one else, well that is between God and Pat.

You know my love for the inane things that come out of Pat's mouth. No doubt there will be a "clarification" in the next few days of what he meant, like he did after he called on the U.S. government to assassinate Hugo Chavez.

Will someone either take his microphone away or shoot down his satellite? Please?

Game on!

It is now officially the presidential election season. Aren't you excited? I know I am so looking forward to 2 years of endless analysis, talking heads, Chris Matthews interrupting people, and everything being a calculated political decision. Can I move to Fiji?

Soon we will be treated to the Clinton attack machine subverting all opponents. It appears that Barack Obama may already feeling that pain.

But the more interesting race to me is on the Republican side. It involves the religious right and whether they can support a conservative like Mitt Romney, who happens to be a Mormon. Americans tend not to elect Senators to the presidency (Kennedy is the exception in the past century) and Governors have management experience. But Romney's faith may be an obstacle, that opens the door to Rudy Guiliani and John McCain, both of whom have issues with the religious right.

I'm not nearly as political as I used to be, because I have learned that all politicians disappoint, because they are human. But this will be a fascinating test for the right. Do they hold to their religious values or their political ones.

Happy New Year!

I know this is premature, but I am leaving town for a few days. It's that time of year to work on our New Year resolutions. For some reason this is the time of year when we join health clubs, take up exercise and make resolutions to change that which do not like about ourselves.

So here is my list.

1. To become more accepting of my Christian brothers and sisters who worship in a different manner than me.

I have yet to make good on my goal of attending an Orthodox church service, though I still intend to do so. God has been speaking to me about finding common ground with other denominations. It's not like the Holiness movement is the ONLY way to worship, build the kingdom, and get to heaven. Richard Foster's "Streams of Living Water" has been a great help for me to understand how the other branches of Christianity function. If you haven't read that book, please do so.

While purchasing my wife's Christmas present from my children and myself, we had an enlightening discussion with an Armenian Orthodox Christian jewelry sales clerk. I was trying to explain the Orthodox church to my children and she overheard us talking. We had a nice discussion of the church and the Armenian genocide in 1915. I am grateful that I had just taken church history and was up on the Orthodox church. And the young lady was encouraged that someone not from her faith understood a little about it and the tragedy that the Armenian people have endured. I say that not to boast, but to thank God for putting me in that place at that time.

I intend to learn more about the other denominations and find areas where my belief system intersects with theirs. There is much to be learned from each other's tradition and practices. This is my year to act on it.

2. To become more intentional about supporting others in need of encouragement.

It is very easy for me to overlook those in need of encouragement when I am over committed, busy and focused on my own needs. This year I resolve to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit more closely to reach out to my brothers and sisters who are hurting.

3. To be completely surrendered to whatever God wants me to do.

I have been struggling a little with my call to ministry. Some of it is probably normal seminary turbulence. Some of it is that I do not like what I think God may be calling me to do. But this year I resolve to say "Yes Lord" to whatever He wants me to do. I say that with some trembling, but with complete faith in the One who calls me.

4. To increase my level of participation in my children's spiritual development.

It is too easy to back off on this because our children attend a parochial school and church. But since going to the Dundee church, we have been convicted that we were allowing our former church, which is much larger, to do what is our job. The sheer amount of activity coupled with the biblical teaching at school made me lax in this area. This year I will continue to teach my children the tenets of the faith.

Let the dead rest

Gerald Ford hadn't been dead more than a day when the Washington Post breathlessly reported that Ford disagreed with the war in Iraq. Whether former president Ford agreed agreed with the Iraq war or not, there is an element of tact that is missing here.

The man accomplished a lot during his brief tenure. He healed the nation after Watergate, gave clemency to draft dodgers, forced New York City to own up to it's financial mess, and kept the country on a fiscally responsible course.

Yet the Post wants to view the world through the lens of Iraq. That is just wrong and tasteless. Shame on them. Let's celebrate the man, his life, and his accomplishments. Iraq will still be there next week.

It's a God Thing

Every once in a while God does one of those things that just grabs you. One of them happened to me today.

I've been ruminating on what my call to ministry looks like. It has been an evolutionary process for me, starting with me having God in a tiny box to the present "Whatever you want Lord" attitude. One thing I have been noticing in my life is that I am often in positions of leadership at a moment in time when changes are needed. I've started a thread on The OOZE discussing what I think God might be calling me to do.

Tonight, I suddenly felt the urge to call a former pastor who had a similar ministry. It turns out that God used that call to encourage him at a difficult time in his ministry. I had no idea that would happen. I called for purely selfish motives to gain some insight into what the future may hold for me. And God used that to encourage him.

God is truly an amazing being. And one I still have a hard time getting my head around.

Shalom.

Peace

Merry Christmas to all! What a joyous season this is, even without snow here in Michigan I wish you the love and peace of Christ this holiday season.

I've been reflecting on peace all through Advent. Peace is so easy to say, and so hard to understand. What is peace? Is it the absence of war? That is the way many view it. But peace means so much more than that.

When I hear Christmas carols such as Away in a Manger and Silent Night, they evoke a scene in my mind of stillness and calm. I suspect that Jesus' birth wasn't all that quiet and peaceful. After all he was born in a stable. Think about a stable. He was in a feed trough among a bunch of animals. Cows mooing, donkey's braying, horses neighing, Mary going through childbirth. And the smell. Oh my goodness the smell is something that I cannot even fathom. I've been around enough livestock to know that scene was neither peaceful or pleasant.

True lasting peace is usually won, not given. The United States is at peace with Japan, Italy and Germany after horrific loss of life to defeat the evil regimes that ran their countries. We paid an enormous price in the lives of soldiers and treasure of our country, and so did they. The same is true of Christ's peace.

God paid a horrific price in sacrificing Jesus. We have paid an enormous toll in lives lost before Christ and in martyrs. But there is peace between us and God. If we are willing to accept it. Christ is the avenue for the peace we seek. The angels announced his coming with trumpets, yet they were still when he was bearing the wrath of God. But peace is now available to you. Take it. Then share that peace with those around you. And that will begin to bring peace on earth through our goodwill to men.

Merry Christmas.

Roy

There's no envy like snow envy like no envy I know

Life here in Michigan has been A little tough, with the auto downsizing, bad economy and now, bad weather. It is nearly Christmas and we have no snow, and it just keeps raining. I know, give me some cheese for my whine.

Then, to add insult to injury, my friend John sends me these pictures. He just moved to Colorado Springs this summer, and they are getting buried. I am so envious.

Really, what is the point of being cold if you don't have snow?

Just in time for Christmas

Thanks to Bishopman for raining on the holiday parade with this article. It seems that (gasp) many Christians are overweight and churches have developed a culture of social events with high-fat foods. He is treading very lightly since he lives in the heart of the Bible Belt, but he has a point.

My past history of ignoring dietary advice has caught up to me, and my Dr. is strongly encouraging me to change my diet and lighten the load I place on the earth. So this has been a season of Splenda instead of sugar (it works) and more vegetables and fiber, and less simple carbohydrates ( I miss potato chips and Milk Duds). So when I talk about overweight Christians, I know of what I speak. But, I have had an epiphany, and am actively working to change my lifestyle, which isn't easy. But it beats what is coming down the road, if my doctor is correct in his predictions.

I've often wondered how the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit argument only worked for alcohol and tobacco, but gluttony was permissible. But that is another discussion best held after the holidays.

Merry Christmas to all. And to all, a good diet.

Helping the suffering in Darfur

SaveDarfur.org has a post called "Evangelicals for Darfur" that's worth checking out...

Please take the time to read the article and browse the site. God's children are suffering mightily there, and we can make a difference with donations and political action.

Fellowship

Those of you who know me know of my disdain for the sanctified gorge-fest that is known as a church fellowship. Somehow, the concept of bearing each other's burdens in Christian love has been boiled down to green bean casserole served lukewarm in a potluck. I would imagine that more than 90% of the church use of the word fellowship involves food. Which is not what fellowship is about.

According to dictionary.com, here are the definitions for fellowship:

.	1. the condition or relation of being a fellow: the fellowship of humankind.

2.	friendly relationship; companionship: the fellowship of father and son.

3.	community of interest, feeling, etc.

4.	communion, as between members of the same church.

5.	friendliness.

6.	an association of persons having similar tastes, interests, etc.

7.	a company, guild, or corporation.

8.	Education. a. the body of fellows in a college or university. b. the position or emoluments of a fellow of a college or university, or the sum of money he or she receives. c. a foundation for the maintenance of a fellow in a college or university.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to admit to fellowship, esp. religious fellowship.

–verb (used without object)

10.	to join in fellowship, esp. religious fellowship.

Did you see food mentioned in there? Neither did I.



I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring today and this thought struck me. Frodo was at his most vulnerable when he was separated from the fellowship. When he put the ring on and had to face the Nazgul alone, he was injured and nearly killed. But when he stayed with the fellowship, they were there to guide and protect each other.

That is what saddens me about what our churches have done with fellowship. It has been taken from a concept of community where we guide, protect, love and support each other to a concept of expanding each other's waistlines. It's about food. We sit with the same people at the "fellowship" events anyway. Instead of involving ourselves in each other's lives, we feed our faces. We waste a valuable opportunity to build up the spirital side of the body. Instead, we choose to build the body mass, and let the spirit wither.

For more of my thoughts on this, go here and here.

This is a hard nut to crack, as I have discovered. It is an ingrained practice handed down from the Lord himself, just ask the fellowship diehards. It could be so much more. But alas, it is a celebration of Aunt Edna's Three Bean Salad.

Upon the advice of my doctor, I am swearing off potlucks. At least that is my plan.

A picture is worth a thousand words

So I will save you the words. This cartoon says exactly what I was talking about in a previous post.

Vanity

Is this just the most vain gift idea you have seen? I hear this ad on the radio frequently, where you can name a star after someone you love. Aside from the sheer folly of giving a gift that is basically a name in a book somewhere, there is an issue with this that struck me today.
Can we really name stars? I see in the Bible where Adam was given the authority to name the animals. We have continued this to name plants and minerals, merely to help classify them. But naming a big ball of gas billions of light years away after your uncle because you can't think of anything else to get him seems a bit pretentious to me.

After all, the heavens for the most part are God's domain. There are very few instances in the Bible where a man exerts some control over the heavens. Elijah made the rain stop for 31/2 years, but typically the heavens are assigned grandeur and majesty. They are not a wall to pick a gift from.

Psalms 19:1 The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Nope, nothing in there about gift giving, or Aunt Edna.

I encourage you to go outside on a clear night, stare at the grandeur of what God created for our viewing pleasure and thank Him for that. It will make you feel pretty small. And it will make you feel very special.

The more they stay the same

22 years ago at Christmas we were graced with the song "Do they know it's Christmas" by Band Aid. Organized by Bob Geldof, it was an admirable effort by British music artists to raise money to help the starving Ethopians enduring a drought and government-engineered famine. It was soon followed by the awful "We are the World" by USA for Africa.

Fast forward to 2006 and a crisis of similar proportion is unfolding in Sudan. A government engineered famine, ethnic cleansing and a feckless United Nations, and you have hundreds of thousands suffering in Darfur. Except this time they don't have a cheerleader raising money for them. But the need is just as great.

If you want to help out the suffering people of Darfur, you can go here to see some organizations that are working in that region. Not every relief organization is willing to send its people into this volatile are. And please don't give any money to the United Nations relief efforts. The graft and corruption in that organization is shameful.

The more things change...

Some things are just so predictable. The sun will rise in the east, and set in the west. Winter is cold, summer is warm. And the Secretary General of the United Nations will blame the United States for whatever is wrong in the world.

In a predictable fashion, Kofi Annan scolded the United States about abandoning its democratic ideals in the war on terror. Is this the same guy who ran the corrupt Oil For Food program with Saddam where billions was siphoned off from humanitarian purposes to feed Saddam loyalists and his army? The UN didn't sanction its members who participated in this, but individual countries have.

Is this the same United Nations that did nothing in the Balkan crisis, and the US and NATO intervened without their blessing to stop a genocide?

Is this the same United Nations whose "peacekeepers" were sytematically raping and torturing young girls in the Congo while they were supposed to be protecting them?

Thanks for the input Kofi. Now take your corrupt team and get off of the world stage. Your time has been a disgrace at an organization seriously in need of a purpose. This is just one more evidence of why we need to put our faith in God, not in man, or institutions created by man. They will always disappoint us and are prone to corruption. Even those started with high ideals.

A good Children's Advent book

If you are looking for a good book to read to your children for Advent, this is an excellent one. Jotham's Journey is a fantastic tale of a shepherd boy who winds up on a spine-tingling tale because of his disobedience. It is broken out in sections to be read each day, and our kids loved it.

It draws you into a strong narrative set at the time of the birth of Christ that will reinforce the message of Advent and keep the kids interested.

Another Good Book

Pick up a copy of The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen. It is a first-person narrative of a first century Jewish grain merchant who is forced to spy on Jewish groups by Pilate. While he never directly interacts with Jesus, he crosses paths with him many times and talks with people who have met Jesus.

If you are looking for a narrative way of talking about Jesus in easy to understand terms, this is an excellent resource. It is a quick read that will transport you back to the first century. It won't replace the gospel accounts, but it will add to the depth of your understanding without a bunch of big theological terms.

Enjoy it as I did.

Roy

The Important Things

I know I have been on a bit of a rant about the BCS and how Michigan lost 2 positions in the coaches poll without playing. I'm done with that, I promise. I just hope that OSU andUM put serious beatdowns on their upcoming opponents. Rooting for OSU is hard, but I will do it this year.

I just read a great article on The OOZE about keeping the important things first. As Christians, that means keeping Christ first, in all aspects of our lives. Easy to say, hard to do. Especially when we leave the confines of the church building walls. We as a society take our eyes off the ball very easily. We focus on where Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are going and how they are dressed. Meanwhile we have hundreds of thousands of troops in harms way in Iraq and Afghanistan, a madman with nuclear weapons in North Korea, a madman pursuing nuclear weapons and assuring the destruction of our country and Israel in Iran, and a massive humanitarian crisis in Darfur. I don't want to get into the politics of these things other than to say that there are significant threats to our world, both in military and moral terms, staring us in the face. How we react to them is how history will judge us.

I don't know what to make of Darfur. I can't understand the lack of interest in this country or in the United Nations. This is a humanitarian tragedy on a massive scale, and the world is turning a blind eye toward it. This is a cause that churches can get their arms around. It can be preached from the pulpit, money can be raised, and politicians can be called to demand action. Pray for the 600,000 + people suffering there. They need our help.

As for Iran and North Korea, they scare the daylights out of me. Irrational people with Messianic complexes and no fear of death holding nuclear weapons is not a good thing. When these same people support terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, it scare me even more. Pray for our leaders, so that we do not awaken one day to a mushroom-shaped cloud in our country. I don't know how to fix it. But I know we are called to pray for our leaders.

Hypocrisy

I promise I will stop on the UM/OSU/Florida fiasco. But read this. It seems that the University of Florida trumpets their rematch against FSU that gave them a national championship in 1996. They lost their last regular season game to FSU (Sound familiar) and then beat them in the Sugar Bowl.

Enough, I'm done. But what amazes me is that Urban Meyer can do this with a straight face. He should run for office.

Bummer

It looks like Urban Meyer's campaigning has paid off. Florida will play Ohio State in the BCS Championship game while Michigan will face USC in the Rose Bowl. I'd be happier with this if Meyer hadn't been shooting his mouth off for the past few weeks that a rematch of UM and OSU would be a miscarriage of justice. He seems to forget that the only national championship Florida has won was in a rematch against Florida State.

Oh well. Bring on the Trojans.

Thank you Bruins

Thanks to the UCLA Bruins for knocking off the USC Trojans. This keeps the University of Michigan hopes for a rematch with Ohio State alive in the BCS championship game. We'll see what comes out of the BCS rankings tomorrow, but hope is still alive.

More on Slavery

If you have never read this book, I heartily endorse it. I read it during an ethics class at Asbury Theological Seminary and it really rang my bell. It reminded me of the line in the Rich Mullins song "Boy like me, Man like you" that says "Stories like that make a boy grow bold, stories like that make a man walk straight" because the stories of Charles Finney, Jonathan Blanchard, Theodore Weld and the Methodist reformers who were vehemently anti-slavery in the early 19th Century give me great pride in my religious heritage. Of special note is the group of abolitionists at Oberlin College who carried the fight against slavery to extremes at great peril to their own lives and freedom.

We now live in an era where slavery is not as prevalent, but it is still practiced in many parts of the world. Lord, give us the holy boldness that these men and women had to stop an injustice. Their stories inspire us.

What are Christian Issues?

Recently, the president-elect of the Christian Coalition parted ways with the organization over the direction and emphases he wanted to implement. You can read the story here.

What I find striking is that the issues that divided them are all "Christian" issues. It seems that Rev. Hunter wanted to go beyond abortion and homosexuality and deal with poverty and environmental issues. Eventually they came to the conclusion that he was not a good fit there. Hooray for both sides realizing their limits and not prolonging this into a disastrous marriage.

But it begs the question. What are the Christian issues of today? Certainly abortion and homosexual marriage have been in the forefront of legal, political and fundraising issues for some time now. And both sides of the political spectrum are engaged on them.

But there are other issues such as the ones Rev. Hunter wanted to discuss that are in need of a serious look by Christians. I know the Church of the Nazarene is making strides in Africa with HIV/AIDS and sustainable community development in their mission areas. But why is it that gay marriage and abortion are the things that attract the most attention and $$$$?

Is it because they happen in our country? Are we that narcissistic? It it because the issue is easier to get our heads and wallets around? After all, one more Supreme Court Justice and the Christian Coalition will be smiling. Or is it because the other issues seem insurmountable? I just don't know. I know the right wing of the American church is a latecomer to the HIV/AIDS issue. I just wish they had the same fervor for that that they do for politics and legal wrangling.

Elephants

I like elephants. Big, lumbering creatures, Indian or African. I love seeing them in the zoo, with all of the power and majesty that goes with an animal that large. It's really hard to hide an elephant in most situations. Maybe that is why I love the Non Sequitur comic pictured here so much.

I have been in so many situations where there is an elephant in the room that everyone moves around. Sometimes I see them, and others don't, which drives me crazy. Especially when the elephant materially affects me or the organization and inhibits our ability to accomplish our mission. Many elephants just sit there and impede progress, and people are just content to move around them because they believe the price is too high to deal with them.

What are your elephants? Share some good elephant stories in the comments. I would love to hear them.

Slavery

Slavery isn't dead. More than 140 years after a horrific war fought in this country to end slavery, there are an estimated 27 million people still in slavery around the globe. Next February a new movie about William Wilberforce, who led the charge to end slavery in the British Empire, will be in theaters. Go here to read up on the anti-slavery campaign that is being mounted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce's triumph.

A few years ago the church flocked to theaters to see "The Passion of the Christ" which was the first rated R movie many had seen. I wonder if churches will put the same effort into getting people to see this movie and behind this issue. It is a consequential issue for millions of people, but not many in this country. I say that not to be judgmental, but to highlight that because it isn't happening here, we probably won't pay much attention. Which is sad. Slavery and genocide are still happening, but we don't talk about them much.

God hates slavery. It is an awful thing that needs to be ended once and for all. Sign the petition and look at the steps you can take to help end this detestable practice.

Rumors, speculation and innuendo

No I'm not talking politics or the lobby in church on Sunday morning (hateful boy, hateful boy).

I'm talking about the plethora of internet rumors about this company or that dissing Christmas, Christians, supporting homosexuals, disrespecting the war or veterans or whatever the latest and greatest rumor may be.

What really surprises me is the number of Christians who blindly send these along without ever verifying the authenticity of what it says. Almost all of these are injurious to the reputation of an individual or corporation.

Here is my simple suggestion. Before you pass along any email of this type, go here to verify the truth. This website does its best to determine the accuracy of internet rumors and dispel myths. Please avail yourself of it. I'm really tired of reading how some company is evil when it isn't true. There is enough evil in the world. We don't have to add more.

Saving the planet

Many people are concerned about the environmental impact that humans have on the planet, with good reason. We have not been good stewards in many ways, but I have good news. I have a very simple process that will make your life easier and lessen your eco-footprint.

Interested?

Here's the deal. (No I am not selling anything.)

Click on the image above. It will take you to the Direct Marketing Association website where you can pay a $1 fee and have your name removed from mailing lists. I have personally done this, and after 3-6 months, you will see a noticeable difference in the amount of junk mail you receive.

Every piece of mail you don't receive is one less that has to be produced, requiring recycled paper, trees, fuel and all of the resources required to get something you don't want delivered to your home. This isn't an original thought with me, I took it from a wonderful little book called "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth."

While I am not one of the environmental doomsayers, it does seem foolish and wasteful to send me things I do not want, and then ask me to recycle or dispose of them. This is your way of greatly diminishing the amount of unsolicited mail you receive. Consider it my gift to you

Roy

Free Music

Go to Derek Webb's site to LEGALLY download his new album Mockingbird. It's well worth the time. You can also visit his MySpace site here.

A just war

Over the weekend I Tivo'd some of the classic war movies that air every year on Veterans Day. I was watching Twelve O'Clock High with Gregory Peck and I began to think about what they were doing with daylight precision bombing and whether it was a just tactic in a just war.

The arguments against the bombing were 1) the horrendous civilian casualties; 2) the incredible loss of life among aircrews and 3) the ineffectiveness of the bombing at stopping the war. As I watched this movie, I wondered if I could have separated my patriotism from my faith enough to question and denounce this practice that killed millions of people without any military benefit. We were attacked and prosecuting a total war, but are there some things you just don't do in war? Firebombing civilians a la Hamburg seems to be one.

The guys flying the planes just wanted 25 missions and the chance to go home. But I suspect some of them questioned the tactics. But did the church? I can't find any evidence of any non-pacifist churches questioning this in a public way. And I wonder if that wasn't a mistake.

Now we are in a different war arguing over civilian losses and what constitutes torture. 60 years have gone by and here we are again.

Come Lord Jesus. Come

Superstar Pastors

Read this piece on Superstar Pastors. I saw in in my local paper, and it made me shake my head.

The following paragraph illustrates the problem as I see it.
So when Haggard fell spectacularly from grace in a scandal involving drugs and allegations of gay sex, many wondered if New Life, so tied to his public persona, would crash with him.

The answer has significance far beyond the Haggard tragedy. As evangelical megachurches have sprung up around the country, concerns have grown over whether superstar pastors help or hurt faith communities.

The article goes on to talk at length about megachurches with superstar pastors. But the question is probably rhetorical. Are we really that shallow? Do we really go to churches just because a particular person is in the pulpit? I realize that pastors make a huge difference, but are we really that shallow?

I really hope not. But I do have some appreciation for strong denominational oversight of pastors. I don't necessarily advocate moving pastors around against the congregational wishes, but I can see the perils of a cult of personality that forms in many of these churches.

Don't Shoot the Wounded

Excerpt from a post on The OOZE

With the advent of the latest news, the evangelical world has come to a choice point. They need to think carefully about how they will move forward. Opportunities to alter the course of a movement’s history do not come often. Now is the perfect time to let the world know we don’t serve a God who looks at our sin and is somehow in shock, disbelief, and denial. And God’s people shouldn’t be either. Now is the time to pray for Ted, his family and friends, and the Haggard’s spiritual fellowship. It is time to pray for the former escort, Mike Jones, who felt the need to air this allegation. We should lift up the divided communities in our nation—the gay and lesbian community, the evangelical community, and everyone in-between and intertwined. Now is the time to recover an ancient truth: Though David suffered extreme consequences for his sin, God never removed him for a single moment from serving as Israel’s king. Evidentially God knows how to differentiate between sin and sinner. If Ted comes clean and changes course through a process of healing and restoration, I pray the evangelical world will allow him to continue to serve as (to borrow Henri Nouwen’s phrase) a “wounded healer,” one who ministers the paradoxical power of Jesus from the pain and brokenness that is common to all of us. If the evangelical world doesn’t do this, it won’t be a judgment on Ted. It will be a judgment on the presumed inefficacy of the blood of Jesus.

This will be an interesting test for the church. What if Ted honestly repents? Will they ostracize him or restore him? Peter was restored after denying Christ. Will we follow the restoration guide in Galatians 6:1? Will we allow this scandal to distract us from the real issue of bringing Christ to a lost world? I hope not. Ted did serious damage to the cause, but we serve a mighty God who can rise above all of our failings.

Let's not get in His way.

Foolishness

It all ends on Tuesday. "The MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR HISTORY" since the last most important election in our history will be over. And there will be much rejoicing. One side will be the victors. Another will be the vanquished. And the rest of us will get a respite from the computer-dialed phone calls telling us when to vote, where to vote, and why one person is terrible and another is good.

Enough of these cursed robo-calls. My phone was ringing non-stop this morning with them. Enough of the slick little advertisments from eveyone but the candidates. I don't mind candidate pieces, but the parties, conservationists, pro dove hunting and anti dove hunting crowds, and everyone else telling me why this person is bad for America is too much.

I used to love politics, now I despise it. I don't watch the news anymore because it is just politics, polls, disasters and scandal. I have enough depressing stuff in my life. I don't need any more.

Not again

Here we go again. A prominent Evangelical leader, this time Ted Haggard, is caught up in a scandal that brings down his ministry. As soon as I heard the reports of this, I had another pit in my stomach. Not that I am a card-carrying member of the NAE, but because this will hurt the Church of Jesus Christ in the eyes of an increasingly skeptical world.

I don't know what Ted Haggard did or did not do with this man, and I really don't want to know. I think it will sicken me if I did. But I do know that an Christian leader who was leading a drive to stop gay marriage in Colorado has been found to have engaged in "sexually immoral behavior" according to the oversight board that dismissed him from the pastorate of his church in Colorado Springs. Our pastor talked about Schadenfreude today - taking pleasure in other's misfortune. I don't have any of that here, but I am sure there are many non-Christians who do. And Satan certainly does.

This is a chastening experience for an aspiring pastor. Not only am I reminded that what I do is not just between me and God, I am also reminded that what I do can affect so many people. My family, congregation, and all those who look to me for spiritual guidance. This is a sobering thought. And one that makes me fearful.

Pray for all those in positions of spiritual leadership. Pray that they would remain faithful to the One who has called them. Pray that they would live lives worthy of their calling. Pray that they would bring Glory to God and build the Kingdom of God. And pray that the enemy would be kept at bay. God help us all.

Why? redux

As I continue my journey into the imponderables of the Christian life, I ran into another thing that we as Christians do almost reflexively. Yet I have never understood why we do it. That thing is standing every time we sing. Why on earth do we do that?

Does the music sound better 6 feet off the floor than it does 3 feet off the floor? Do our voices sound better to us or God? Are we closer to God because we are standing? I just don't get it.

This past Sunday I chose not to stand for some of the songs. Partially because I have an aching right knee (prayers appreciated) and partially because I had some stuff on my mind that I was praying about. And I pray better sitting than standing.

A well-meaning young man in the congregation was prompting me to stand, and I had to politely tell him that I wasn't going to, which made me ask why do we do this anyway? In the current church era, the 20-minute song sets get a bit tiring on my aging legs. If I wanted to stand that long, I would go to a Pink Floyd concert and wave my lighter.

Seriously, does anyone know why we do this?

Grave Robbing

One of my favorite movie scenes is in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" The plague comes to town and a man goes through the village with a cart collecting the dead so they can take them out of town to prevent the spread of this dread disease. A bit of a discussion ensues between the dead collector, the person carrying the dead person (who isn't dead yet) and the nearly dead person. You really have to watch the movie to see that scene. But it illustrates a larger point about dead things. You can't let them hang around. And you can't bring them back.

Colossians 3;3 speaks to this "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." We are dead in Christ. But so many of us keep digging up our old life and dragging it around, long after it was buried.

How many of you know people who have been in Christ for years, but keep dragging around hurts and injustices from back in the day? They hold onto them like prized possessions and get them out whenever they need a crutch. And that is another separate topic.

When we were born again, our past was nailed to Christ's cross. So whatever was done to us is gone, because it was done to a dead person. That is part of the victory we have in Christ. But we diminish that victory if we keep digging up the stinking corpse and strapping it to our bodies as a shield. It's gross, it smells, and no one will recognize it for what it once was.

Let the dead rest. Including all of the sins we committed and the ones committed against us. Christ paid the price and buried them. Leave them there.

Update

Previously I mentioned that pretty teachers who have sex with students don't have to go to jail, a la Debra LaFave. She is the stunning blonde accused of having sex with a male student.

Well this story out of Indiana gives me hope. It appears that 1) there are jurors with brains in Indiana; or 2) she wasn't that pretty. She didn't even touch the kids and got 9 years. Debra LaFave has a book and movie deal I am sure.

God help this country. We are becoming Rome.