Stop the presses!

Read this and brace for a bevy of live remotes as cars move on Los Angeles streets. It looks like a good day to boycott media and work on the church history papers I have due on Friday. I saw Fox News breathlessly broadcasting about this today. And they wonder why their ratings are down.

Our denominational identity

Bishopman has a good post on the internal discussions within the Church of the Nazarene regarding its distinctive doctrine of Entire Sanctification. I'm not going to go into a discussion of the doctrine, except to note that it is the reason the Church of the Nazarene exists. In the 19th Century, the Methodist church tried to distance itself from the doctrine, and the Holiness Movement was in large part created by a bunch of churches that held to that doctrine and wanted to create a church featuring that doctrine.
Sharktacos has a nice review of church history and how there have been groups distinguishing themselves as time passes. I hope that the Church of the Nazarene can peacefully work out these doctrinal issues without a major schism that creates another denomination. The doctrine has been around for a long time. I concur with Bishopman that an update of the methodology is probably in order.

God is faithful

As we plow through church history,reformation to the present, one thing has struck me. God always provides for his church. He always has the faithful that try to honestly serve him, no matter how awful the situation. Whether it be Hus and Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Zinzendorf or any number of people, God always has a faithful core of people to keep the church alive an on the path.

He is truly amazing. And the church perseveres, despite the wickedness of some of its leaders.

Praise God.

It's like Deja Vu all over again

Pray for me this week. I am on campus at Asbury Seminary taking Church History 2 (Reformation to the present). Once again I am living in a dorm room with a roommate. The good news is that for the first time I have an air-conditioned dorm room.

I'll post insights and comments as time permits. I'll be 40 this summer and I'm back in a dorm. The world has come full circle.

Oh what a night!

Tuesday, June 12 is a day I will remember for a long time. I went to the Detroit Tigers vs. Milwaukee Brewers game at Comerica Park. Justin Verlander, the Tigers' 24-year old flamethrower was on his game and threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts. It was as dominant a performance as I have seen in baseball. The Brewers were facing 102 mph fastballs in the 9th inning mixed with 83 mph curveballs and changeups. They looked helpless on the field that night.

Here are a couple photos from the game. I was there with most of my fantasy hockey league for our end of the season get-together. I came in next to last, but hey, I had fun. I never professed to know what I was doing in the league, and I proved it.

The electricity in the crowd was unreal the last three innings. Magglio Ordonez made a sliding catch in right field in the 7th. Neifi Perez stabbed a hot smash up the middle and turned a double play in the 8th. In the 9th, Verlander was hopped-up on adrenaline and broke 100 mph a couple times in striking out the first two batters before retiring the last on a fly to right.

The crowd and the Tigers went crazy. This was the first no-hitter by a Tiger since 1984 and the first at home since 1952. The celebration was long overdue.

Just in case you ever forget...

Guiding Scripture Verse?

Do you have one? I was riding home from the June 12 Detroit Tigers game (yes the one with Verlander's no hitter) with my friend Kurt and we were discussing "life verses" or scripture that guides our thinking and actions. I've never formally said something is my life verse, but it got me thinking that the closest I have come is Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I know that the Lord has been working on me in this area for some time. Humility is not my strong suit, and as a former pastor wisely said "If God has to teach you humility, it will be painful." He is so correct. Loving mercy was harder than I thought. But as the Spirit has shown me the depths of my sin, my heart has softened toward many people. I better understand the concept of those who have been forgiven much loving much. And that I believe, along with some spiritual maturity, is helping me see people differently.

I've always liked Susan Ashton's song "Beyond Justice to Mercy." Take a look at the lyrics and let them dwell in you. I'm sorry I can't find a YouTube of it for you to listen.

I know we don't see eye to eye
We've let angry hearts flare and the bitter words fly
The common ground we used to share
Is harder to find but I believe that it's still there.

I don't know if now is the time
To surrender the silence between your heart and mine
But the love that I've chosen cries out to be spoken
Leaving the heartache behind.

Chorus:
We must reach out beyond justice to mercy
Going more than halfway to forgive
And though the distance seems so far
The love that used to hold our hearts
Longs to take us beyond justice to mercy.

It doesn't matter who's to blame
The love that I have for you is still the same
A tender voice is calling me
To that place of compassion where hearts run pure and free
Where the hunger for vengeance gives way to repentance
Where love will teach us to see.

We can reach out beyond justice to mercy
Going more than halfway to forgive
And thought the distance seems so far
The love that used to hold our hearts
Longs to take us beyond justice to mercy.

To mercy, to mercy.

Chorus:
We must reach out beyond justice to mercy
Going more than halfway to forgive
And though the distance seems so far
The love that used to hold our hearts
Longs to take us beyond justice to mercy...

Doing Christian justice is something I viscerally feel, but struggle to implement. It's different than what she is talking about, which is punishment. Acting justly is being Christlike and righting wrongs. Maybe it is that I am still in school, and not in a position to affect change as strongly as I would like. I'm not sure, but I feel the need, but I struggle with the action. Pray for me on this.

Do you have a life verse? If so, how does it affect your Christian faith? I'd like to hear that.

The Pot calling the Kettle Black

Read this and shake your head. Dan Rather thinks that the news was better when he was making up stuff about President Bush. And they wonder why we don't watch anymore.

Decisons Decisions

Bishopman had a good post on freedom and decisions recently. As did Kurt's Korner on the wisdom of decisions. I was thinking about that this morning as I listened to sports talk radio in Detroit discuss the legal troubles of Detroit Lion's player Shaun Rogers. It is alleged that he was in a seedy strip club in Detroit and groped a stripper in her dressing room. She also alleges that he was carrying a gun, which is a mandatory 2-year felony if he was in possession of a gun during the commission of a felony.

The Sean Baligian made a great point on WDFN this morning about our responsibility to others. In this case, he is talking about Sean Roger's responsibility to his team, his family, and himself. Even if he did not do what is alleged, he was in an awful situation where nothing good can happen. With all of the legal troubles in the NFL, this was just plain stupid. It's not like Shaun Rogers is unknown in this city. He is 300+ pounds and his face is on television every Sunday in the fall. What he did may or not be a crime. It may also be a money grab on the young lady's part. I don't know what the truth is. But I do know that Shaun Rogers made a series of bad decisions that got him to this point. And now his name, and his teammates names, are being dragged through the mud.

Too many in the church have this same selfish attitude about their lives. It's as if they can do what they want and it doesn't affect others. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When a Christian sins, the entire body suffers. When the world sees bad behavior from Christians, we are all tarred with that brush. Just like Shaun Rogers' teammates are all looked at a little differently now. People are thinking "What kind of organization is that?" about the Lions. The same thing happens when prominent and ordinary Christians fall.

Take heed of Kurt's advice here:

Here's what I'm taking away from these verses based on the following scripture:

"As I stood at the window of my house
looking out through the shutters,
Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,
I spotted a young man without any sense
Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,
then turning up the path to her house.
It was dusk, the evening coming on,
the darkness thickening into night.
Just then, a woman met him—
she'd been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him."
(Proverbs 7:6-10, The Message)

1. Only the mindless even "stroll by" temptation's dwelling. The smart person in this text (the narrator) was observing from a distance. He was safe and sound in his own home, "looking out through the shutters." Who was frequenting the corner of Mindless and Senseless? "The mindless crowd." How often are we mindless about the temptations we're susceptible to, only to fall?

2. Giving in to temptation requires action on my part. The "young man" being observed in this text isn't a passive victim; he's more like Samson, flirting with disaster as he (a) arrives at the adulteress' corner, (b) walks up the path to her house, (c) at night. Even though v. 10 says the adulteress had been "lying in wait for him," she would have had to wait all night long if this young man had simply avoided this danger zone altogether. When we "end up doing something wrong," it's not as if we were ambushed. We were close enough to the problem to do something wrong in the first place!

3. You can always walk away - even when you've been ambushed. Even though this young man did every wrong thing he could possibly do, the temptress didn't tackle him, drag him into her bedroom, and forcibly take advantage of him. That was her intent - she was lying in wait, "dressed to seduce him" - but even when she surprised him with her offer, he could have walked away. So can I. And so can you.

Let's do ourselves a favor and just stay away from the tempting corner of Mindless and Senseless.

That is some great advice. Many problems can be avoided by staying out of situations where nothing good can happen. Some to consider are;

1) Parties with large numbers of people and volumes of alcohol
2) Being out after 1:00 a.m. Unless you are working, there is little good that can happen.
3) Going to places where criminals and seedy folks are known to hang out.
4) Going anywhere your wise friends are cautioning you against. In Mr. Roger's case, reports say that his coaches have instructed the players to avoid these types of establisments.

We can learn a hard lesson from this. I pray we don't have to learn it first-hand.

How not to make a PowerPoint Presentation

Watch this funny video clip of common PowerPoint mistakes. It'll make you chuckle.



I have personally witnessed many of them, especially the bad color scheme and lack of spel chekking that just drives me crazy.

Have a great weekend.

Al Gore was right

This is the sad state of American news today. This was the lead story on the radio news at noon. Paris Hilton's mental state in jail. People dying all over the world, G8 summit going on, missile shields, congressional investigations etc, and we get a prima donna amateur porn star as our news lead.

And the media wonders why people tune out.

Keeping it Real

If you haven't read the comic strip "Real Life Adventures" click on the link. It is worth your time. I saw this one in today's Detroit News and I chuckled at the candor. What if all things had that level of honesty attached to them? It would certainly revolutionize food packaging. You could buy "Fat laden, vacuous calories with a pure sugar filling" instead of Hostess Ho Hos.

It would almost be good if our communication were more honest, not cruel, but not the normal Kabuki Dance or verbal gymnastics we go through in our typical day. Speak the truth in love. I think that is what we are called to do. I think that is what the restaurant here is doing.

Enjoy your day.

What does Love look like?

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

1 Corinthians 13

1If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I went to a wedding this weekend and this passage was prominently featured. That is no surprise, but what was a little different was how this thought came into my head. While this couple was celebrating their love for each other, and we were there to share in the joy, God was talking to me about love for others, and not a romantic type of love.Later that evening, my daughter was listening to "Under Pressure" by Queen. The last verse of that song really rips at my heart in light of what we construe love to be.

Look at the song lyrics:

Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie

Um boom ba bay
Um boom ba bay
Um Um boom ba bay bay

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure
That burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets

Um ba ba bay
Um ba ba bay
Dee day duh
Ee day duh
thats ok

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out!
Tomorrow takes me higher
Pressure on people
People on streets

Day day day
da da dup bup bup
Okay

Chippin' around
kick my brains round the floor
These are the days
It never rains but it pours
Ee do bay bup
Ee do bay ba bup
Ee do bup
Bay bup
People on streets
Dee da dee da day
People on streets
Dee da dee da dee da dee da

It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out!
Tomorrow takes me high high higher
Pressure on people
People on streets

Turned away from it all
Like the blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
But it's so slashed and torn
Why why why?

(Love, love, love, love)

Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
Why can't we give love give love give love?
Give love give love give love give love give love give love?
Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care
For the people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way
Of caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
this is our sound

Under Pressure
Under Pressure
Pressure

Love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night. That goes right along with verse 7 where love always protects. What a thought that is for the church. To care for the forgotten, downtrodden and written off. I know many churches do this. I pray that God would make that the burden of my heart. That wherever God calls me to minister that we have a burden for people, and just not good tithers (I was once asked by a board member to bring those kind of people in an outreach program we were launching). Rather, we need to focus on people who need Jesus, not people who need a new church home.

God make it the mission of the church to reach the people on the edge of the night. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Desert Island Gear

Just for fun, let's assume you were going to be stranded on a desert island for a while. Think about what you would like to take along with you. After watching Cast Away, I realize the value of hockey skates (ugh) but I don't think that is high on my list.

Since we are suspending disbelief for this exercise, be creative. Think of a book or series of books, (other than the Bible which we will assume is there courtesy of the Gideons) musical selection (yes there is a player there with electricity) and one item you would want, and it can be from any category.

Here goes my list.

CD: Share the Well by Caedmon's Call - I love the sound they created on their mission trip to Ecuador and India. It transports me to a completely different place when I listen to it.

Book: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If I am going to a desert island, what better reading that pure fantasy with Christian morality backing it?

Item: I was sorely tempted to say a hammock or Swiss Army Knife, but reality and my age set in and I have to go with my glasses. Unfortunately this fantasy exercise doesn't correct physical defects.

What are your selections? Post a comment and let us know.

Scriptural Holiness

The most recent issue of the Asbury Herald had an article on Scriptural Holiness, one of John Wesley's favorite themes, that caught my eye. In it, the author challenged the readers to allow the scripture to transform who we are into a Christlike being. To that effect, the author suggested that we use Psalm 51 as our daily reading every day for at least one week. Not only should we read it, we should allow the scripture to search us, guide us, rebuke us and comfort us.

Would you join me this week in doing this? Make Psalm 51 your daily reading and read it contemplatively? Let the scripture search your heart and mind, and let the Holy Spirit guide you as you read over David's heartfelt plea in this wonderfully moving section of scripture. Listen to the voice of the Spirit as he speaks to you. Then leave a comment if you feel so inclined.

Psalm 51 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ^[a] ;
you teach ^[b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are ^[c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 51:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
2. Psalm 51:6 Or you desired?; / you taught
3. Psalm 51:17 Or My sacrifice, O God, is

The least of these

My daughter Hannah (from whom I have secured permission to write this) is an animal lover. She aspires to be a veterinarian someday, is a Humane Society volunteer and has attended a veterinary camp near Cincinnati. The past few mornings I have her found running in an out of the house with cereal bowls of water for the juvenile birds that may be crippled or just unable to fly. She is trying to rescue them, despite the legion of cats in our neighborhood.

I was chuckling at her as she chased this frightened little blackbird underneath the neighbor's truck before school today. I'm thinking that "this bird has a o% chance of making it and she is going out of her way to rescue him." This despite the horrifying discovery that Bandit, our 16 month old puppy had 4 dead birds in the back yard that he was playing with and tossing in the air. We now know the origin of his bad breath.

I don't want to discourage her tender heart, but there is an element of reality that says "Stop." There is no hope, just let nature take its course and move on. Then God hit me and said "Be grateful I didn't do that."

What a thought. That despite the fact that many on this earth aren't going to make it, He poured tremendous resources into us. He gave his only Son's life for us. And the Holy Spirit has a full-time job helping us live righteous lives as He continues to call the lost to him.

This was a bit of a kick from God to the effect that there are no lost causes in His eyes. Everyone has value, and every life is precious.

I would do well to learn from a tender-hearted little girl. I seem to remember something about "out of the mouths of babes" from somewhere.

Al Gore and I agree on something

Mark this day on your calendar. Al Gore and I agree that the media is banal and focuses on trivial things. That is where our agreement ends. One of the trivial and banal things, IMHO, is Al Gore and his relentless shilling for his books and movie/slide show. The guy who tells us global warming will kill us all is jetting around in private jets and has a house that consumes an enormous amount of energy. All the while he wants us to change the way we live. How much pollution does a Gulsfstream IV put out as it zooms through the atmosphere?

Hypocrisy should be covered, but it is only covered on one side of the political and religious aisle.

Thanks for reaching out to me Al. I appreciate the love.

A somber holiday

Memorial Day has added meaning these past few years since our nation has been at war. Prior to that it was a military holiday and the beginning of the barbecue season for many people. But as our nation continues to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Djibouti, and other points across the globe, I encourage you to take time to pray for those who are fighting the enemy. Pray for their safety and success. Pray for an end to the conflict. And pray for the families they leave behind. God help all of them during this stressful time.

If you want to see a nice tribute to some who have been killed in the current conflagration, you can go here. I must admit it is very moving to read the personal notes written by the friends and family members who submitted the photos.

The cheapest mental health counsel you will ever receive

Stop watching the news. Especially the local news, or what passes for local news in most markets. One of the saddest things I have witnessed in my career is how the local news has become essentially irrelevant other than the weather forecast and occasional sports report. Local news has adopted the cable news motto of "infotainment at the lowest common denominator" and it is truly sickening to watch. Which is why I have stopped watching. Maybe I am a bit of a Luddite, but I get my news from the Detroit News, Wall Street Journal and Monroe Evening News, along with a few internet web sites.

Our local Fox affiliate sent a reporter to Hollywood to cover the American Idol finale, and gave that report as much time as the weather and sports reports. The news division is now shilling for the entertainment side, and it is becoming more obvious. The morning talking head shows talk about the TV shows from the night before, and lead that night's programming. Meanwhile, in our great state of Michigan, we have a $1billion state budget deficit, an imploding housing market, jobs leaving in droves, a feckless governor and a legislature that is unwilling to face the reality that trimming around the edges and accounting gimmicks aren't going to make this go away. We have the 2nd highest gas tax in the country, and the legislature is worried about oil companies gouging. According to an opinion piece in today's Detroit News, the state takes in $7.80 in tax off of a typical gas tank filling, while the oil company profits $2.20. Who is gouging? Yet the media mavens have our attention on the Kodak Theater.

What we see on the news is celebrity gossip, fluff, and the latest body count on the streets from murders, rapes and robberies. I have spoken with TV news producers who tell us this is what their research shows the viewers want. If that is true, then I am truly saddened. Do we really want more "investigative" reporters running around trying to justify their existence? They do a service occasionally with their reporting, but 5 nights per week with three networks leads to some pretty thin stories getting hyped.

I'm looking forward to a vacation. I can't hide my head in the sand. But I don't have to watch the pablum that is being served up under the moniker of 'News." I'm sure I can stay informed some other way without supporting that mess.

Praising God no matter where you are

As you have probably read here I have been working with the guidance of the Holy Spirit on removing the scales on my eyes and looking at the world to see God's handiwork no matter where I am. While I am not going to go to the extreme of trying to exegete a banana as my fellow blogger Bishopman depicted so eloquently here.

What I am referring to is the ability to see God regardless of the situation, location or circumstance. The evidence of God's handiwork is all around us. We need to take a minute and look with eyes that see. God will show himself to us when we honestly seek him.

The video below depicts a young man wandering the streets of a big city praising God, and all the folks around him just ignore him. Plus it's a good David Crowder song.

Getting in the God Groove

The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life."

— Galatians 3:11b, TM

That came today in Soul Care, a daily devotional published by the Church of the Nazarene office of Clergy Development. It spoke directly to me as I biked to work on an absolutely glorious morning here in Michigan. We have had 2 spectacular days already this week, and I have been biking whenever possible. It is good for me and saves gas for the 8 mile round-trip.

What I realized over the past two days is how God is working in my life and going ahead of me. My business is good, and recently many things have fallen into place for clients with interviews with major media and audiences they want to reach. For that I am grateful.

As I biked to work this morning I saw a beautifully still river with trees reflecting off of it. I was mallard ducks swimming, gentlemen fishing, older couples walking the bike path, moms and babies in strollers and the usual hustle and bustle of the city. It reminded me that God is the Lord of all things, and the world he made for us is for our pleasure. We are to be stewards, but we are to appreciate what he has given us. I find myself doing that as I bike to work. Praise God for the beauty of the world. Praise Him for all that we have, and all that He has kept away from us. Praise Him for everything.

Rich Mullins had the gift of seeing God in nature. I truly miss him since his death 10 years ago. Look at the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that he wrote. The song is "The Color Green" from CD A Liturgy, A Legacy and A Ragamuffin Band:

"And the moon is a sliver of silver
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop
And every house must have it's builder
And I awoke in the house of God
Where the windows are mornings and evenings
Stretched from the sun
Across the sky north to south
And on my way to early meeting
I heard the rocks crying out
I heard the rocks crying out

Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise

And the wrens have returned and they're nesting
In the hollow of that oak where his heart once had been
And he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born again
And the streams are all swollen with winter
Winter unfrozen and free to run away now
And I'm amazed when I remember
Who it was that built this house
And with the rocks I cry out

Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green

Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise"

What a gift he had. The video for that song is below. Just click on the play button in the screen.

The price of Gossip

1 Timothy 5 has some advice: 12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. Read this story. I find it chastening because I can be prone to this and the Lord is working in my life to show me a better way. As you may know, I believe Gossip and Gluttony are the only two permissible sins in the church. By permissible, I mean things you rarely hear preached about from the pulpit, are allowed to persist in the open, and in many cases have leaders that condone if not participate in them. Imagine if church discipline were handled like this town handled their issues. I'm not advocating that, but it is something for us to think about. It harms the body of Christ and our witness. And it can destroy people's lives and reputations.

WHEW!

The semester is finally over! I have now completed 22 of the 96 hours needed for my Master of Divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. This was a different semester with the classes I took, but I wanted to share with you a neat book from my Christian Doctrine class.

Across the Spectrum does a wonderful job of taking a bunch of issues on which evangelicals may disagree. Some of them include:

Biblical Inspiration
Sovereignty of God
Baptism
Sanctification
The Lord's Supper
Women in Ministry

and the list goes on. I give the authors credit for presenting all sides fairly without forcing the reader to a conclusion.

If you want to explore some of these issues I encourage you to read this. Each chapter is about 20 pages, and is a quick read. If nothing else, it will make you think and sharpen your arguments. It may even change your mind on some things. You never know.

Going off the deep end

Did you know Jerry Falwell was a liberal? Me neither. But according to the Westboro (name omitted to avoid besmirching my Calvinist brethren) Church, brother Falwell is deserving of a protest. I realize that I just posted something about criticizing the church, but this bunch is ridiculous. Fred Phelps and his band of hate-mongers are giving all Christians a bad name. Pray for divine intervention to stop this mess.

Some thoughts on fault-finding

I apologize for putting the entire message here, but I can't find this on their website. This is a recent email from Emergent Village that struck a chord with me. I have been a vocal critic of the church and this chastened me some. We do need to fix some things, but we need to make sure that we are not condemning in our critique. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Deep Church

From Jason Clark, co-ordinator of www.emergent-uk.org, planting/senior pastor of www.vineyardchurch.org , and Ph.D Student at Kings College London.

In the world of psychiatry, students study not just the manifestations and causes of mental dysfunction, but the idea of 'wellness,' of what helps the well part of a patient become 'more well.' In the worlds of education, and business, rather than focus on people's weaknesses, there is the move to explore and develop people's strengths. In looking at developing countries,debt relief agencies, look for positive attributes for assessment, instead of previous models that just measured the bad ones.

This doesn't mean you ignore glaring weaknesses and problems inherent to the system you are involved with. What it does mean is your focus stops being 'what is wrong?', and becomes 'what is right?' Back to a medical example, doctors have had to learn that referring to a pathologist, doesn't lead to good health.

And with that in mind, I often wonder if we have made the mistake in our assessments of church, in becoming almost pathological. We look at current forms of church, and church in the past, with an eye to the 'ill health,' the deformations, the things we dislike etc. Then we construct idealisations of church in reaction to this 'sickness' diagnosis. Church be-comes about 'not being,' and we measure who we are by what we don't do, and what we are not. Are we left with any understanding of 'wellness' of the church at all?

In Europe where the church has been almost deracinated (for instance where I live around 1-2% of the population are connected to a local church community), does this focus on what is wrong, or just exacerbate the problem. Does it give us more reasons to avoid the notion of the people of God in any missional sense, with our pessimism about church seemingly insurmountable, and our confidence shattered beyond restoration. Indeed church within the pathological vision might become so bad, that we might see ourselves as post-church to escape the sickness that is church.

How do we avoid the slide into a pathological ecclesiology, whilst attending to the very real problems of church. How do we speak prophetically, idealistically and passionately to the need for church reformation, whilst being practical and pragmatic, without losing the confi-dence towards action? How do we find the best of church through history, to take us for-ward into the future, without a blind naive sentimentalism to the past, whilst on the other hand avoiding the fostering of a negative and bilious cynicism that invalidates everything that has gone before us?

How do we navigate these dilemmas and arrive at a positive and enabling vision of church, that leads us to 'wellness?'

For some of us in the UK, the notion of 'Deep Church,' a phrase coined by C.S.Lewis is providing a mood to direct our reflections and actions to that end. It maybe finds it conjunctive resonance, outside the UK in the 'Deep Ecclessiology' articulated and lived by Brian Mclaren, and the Emergent movement/network/tribe/mode/phenomenon.

Deep Church hopefully values and affirms the many streams of what the Spirit is doing with the church in our times. Maybe this includes amongst many others, the fluid, and emerging forms of church, outside the existing church structures. Then perhaps the 'fresh expressions' of the inherited church as it seeks to experiment with new forms of church outside of itself, but in relationship with it. Then there is the inherited church and existing church that is seeking to renew itself, whilst we then find the streams of church that are trying to preserve traditions and practices in the face of cultural change.

And in all these forms/streams, the Deep Church focus becomes, not about what is wrong and invalid or that which is authorised by existing or new groups, but about the challenge of the shared context we find ourselves in. There is within Deep Church, a desire to re-cover a confidence in the gospel and scripture, along with the accessing of the spiritual re-sources of the historical church in non superficial ways, so that we might align ourselves with the work of the Holy Spirit in forming communities, that are living faithfully in disciple-ship to Jesus, in our contemporary context.

We are not wanting to re-package the past, or be fashion victims of the emerging culture, but rather aspire to an understanding of church embedded in the past, whilst fully engaged in the present. So that within that we might discover and build on what is 'well' with the Church Catholic.

If you want to comment and interact on thisn article, and explore the Deep Church vision, with others from around the world, you can do so at www.deepchurch.org.uk.

Jason Clark

www.jasonclark.ws

24/7 x 10 Prayer

My local church, in cooperation with three other churches in Dundee, is hosting a 24/7 prayer room from May 17-27. If you have a chance to come out, it is located at 120 Tecumseh Street in Dundee. If you have something you would like prayed for, send it to prayerroom@dundeechurch.com and we will add it to the prayer list. The video clip below gives some background on the 24/7 prayer movement.

Goodbye to Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority founder, Liberty University founder, and pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, went on to his eternal reward yesterday. While I often cringed at the comments he made, he was my brother in Christ. There is no doubt in my mind that he sincerely loved his Lord and was doing his best to serve his Savior.

He changed evangelical Christianity with his emphasis on political action, and brought many social issues to the forefront of the political debate. His leadership energized many Christians to rejoin the fray in the electoral and judicial process, and for that we can be grateful. Like all of us he had flaws. But he loved God and lost people. I would do well to emulate those traits.

Rest in peace Brother Falwell. Your Lord awaits you.

Neglect

My once proud backyard is in a bit of a shambles. What once was lush green grass and shrubs is now a collection of ground ivy patches, holes dug by the infernal dog, dead spots in grass courtesy of same dog, a path worn through the grass by dog, and bushes that need trimming. And it all seemed to happen so fast.

I think it started a couple summers ago when I was busy with stuff and was painting the house. That consumed most weekends and I just sort of let it go. Then last year came, school interfered with life and the puppy was here. Now, it's a mess and I may wind up nuking large portions of the grass and starting over. I once sprayed most of the yard with Roundup and took a weed torch to anything that survived the Roundup. I had a great lawn after that.

As I was mowing (baling) the back today, I was also thinking about a paper I am writing. It is a "Rule of Life" for my Vocation of Ministry class. Basically it is a set of governing principles for my life. More on that another day.

But one area of emphasis is ongoing spiritual formation. And spiritual neglect can make a mess out of a person in the same way that my neglect of the yard made a mess out of it. It can be as benign as doing good things (painting the house) at the expense of other things. Or it can be as ugly as sloth (choosing to play rather than work in the yard), but either way the result is the same. What was once a beautiful garden is now overgrown with weeds and thorns and requires radical action to fix.

Don't let your life be like my lawn. Do your daily maintenance by praying, reading scripture, visiting the sick, comforting the mourning, and working to right injustices. It will keep the weeds out.

Colored People - DC Talk Style

I have to confess that when DC Talk released their Jesus Freak CD in the 1990s I wasn't a big fan of theirs for several reasons we don't need to get into here. But as I grow older( and hopefully more mature), I truly appreciate what they were doing with that CD. The title track is still played at every Toby Mac concert I have attended, but the song Colored People really grabs me. Part of the attraction is that I like Kevin Max's voice on that song. But take a look at the lyrics:

[1, 1, 1, 1... 2, 2, 2, 2... 3, 3, 3, 3... 4, 4, 4, 4]

Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir
I couldn't help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin


We've gotta come together
And thank the Maker of us all

(chorus)
We're colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We're colored people, and they call us the human race
We've got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace

[1, 1, 1, 1... 2, 2, 2, 2... 3, 3, 3, 3... 4, 4, 4, 4]

A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an Artist's heart
By God's design, we are a skin kaleidoscope

We've gotta come together,
Aren't we all human after all?

(repeat chorus)

Ignorance has wronged some races
And vengeance is the Lord's
If we aspire to share this space
Repentance is the cure

[1, 1, 1, 1... 2, 2, 2, 2... 3, 3, 3, 3... 4, 4, 4, 4]

Well, just a day in the shoes of a color blind man
Should make it easy for you to see
That these diverse tones do more than cover our bones
As a part of our anatomy

(repeat chorus)

We're colored people, and they call us the human race
[Oh, colored people]
We're colored people, and we all gotta share this space
[Yeah we've got to come together somehow]
We're colored people, and we live in a tainted world
[Red and yellow, black and white]
We're colored people, every man, woman, boy, and girl
[Colored people, colored people, colored people, colored people, yeah]

When I hear that song I feel so sick for the way we have treated people based on their race and ethnicity. God forgive me for my bigotry and hatred toward so many people in my life. As I mature, I look back with sadness at many things I have said and done.

God forgive the church for the racism it has practiced and condoned throughout the years. God help those people to not close their hearts to Christ because of the behavior of the church and the Christians who are its body parts. And God let me be a minister that sees souls and not melanin. The world has had enough of that.

Go buy the Jesus Freak 10th Anniversary CD if you want a good listen. The remixes on the 2nd CD are worth every penny, including Jesus Freak in a minor key.

Judas

Do you ever feel sorry for Judas? Sometimes I wonder if he knew what he was doing when he betrayed Christ. He had been with Christ for three years or so, heard him teach, saw the miracles and had the chance to walk with him and learn from the Master.

I often wonder if 30 pieces of silver was really enough to make him betray Jesus. And I wonder if he knew that execution was the price of his betrayal. The account in Matthew 26 seems to give the thought that Jesus told them that he was going to be crucified THEN Judas hatched his plan. Maybe I've been to easy on Judas. Maybe he really did want Jesus to die. Maybe he thought that would bring about the violent revolution to overthrow Rome and free Israel from their pagan oppressors. We will never know what he thought. But I do feel sorry for him, in an odd sort of way.

Joining or becoming?

My friend Kurt Stevens, over at Kurt's Korner had a great post on What The Marines Taught Me About Christianity Click on it and enjoy.

I found his discussion the distinction between joining something and becoming something to be very insightful. It is a subtle distinction, but a crucial one with Christianity. We need to become something new, to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We aren't joining a club. We are becoming like Christ. The mindset is very different.

He said it much better than I can. Go read it for yourself.

A lesson in humility

No, I didn't have a foot-washing service. But I did have a positive lesson in humility over the weekend. For those who do not know I recently received my district minister's license from the Eastern Michigan District of the Church of the Nazarene. It is a significant step in my call to ordained ministry, and I am humbled by the honor and the office.

Last Sunday I had the privilege to preach in a friend's church so he could take the day off. And what was truly humbling was how the Holy Spirit took what I said and amplified it to speak directly to several persons in the congregation about situations in their life. It certainly wasn't my eloquence or fiery delivery (neither of which happened) but rather the Spirit of God taking the text and illustrations and showing them how God can move in areas of their lives where they are struggling right now. For some it was encouragement. For others is was a challenge. And for some it was an answer to prayer.

It is my first experience with how God takes the stuff that comes out of my mouth and uses it to build his kingdom. It's not me, it is clearly him. And I pray that I never think it is about me. I have a role to play in diligently preparing and praying, but He does the true work in their hearts. And if I ever get too big for my britches, I just have to remember that God also spoke through a donkey to Balaam.

This would be funny if there wasn't truth in it

Granted it is hyperbole, but there is enough truth there to make it hurt. Many churches have fallen into an insular world where it is all about them. One thing I have been hearing clearly from the Lord is that the "fields are white for harvest." We live in an intensely spiritual age. Unfortunately much of the spiritual seeking is chasing false gods. But people are yearning for something larger than them. We need to be like Paul in Acts 17 and point them to the God they seek but do not know.

Pray for Holy Boldness for all Christians to share Christ with those we know who are seeking.

The newest enemy of the planet

I don't watch the news any more simply because they cover stuff like this.

I am still trying to figure out when the moment celebrities became experts on anything other than their celebrity. We have actors testifying in front of Congress, telling us how to live our lives and save the planet.

Will someone please remind me to stay upwind of Sheryl Crow? Just in case I forget.

Churches are to airports...

No, this isn't an SAT question. But if you take a listen to Reggie McNeal's presentation to the M7 Conference I attended in February, you will gain some understanding of where I am going with this. He is addressing the Church of the Nazarene on evangelism. His point is that our goal is not to make people into church people. The church is like an airport. We are the conveyance device for people into life. Jesus didn't say that "I come so that you might have church, and have it more abundantly." Many churches have lost sight of the fact that like the airport, we are not the destination. No one wants to go to the airport for the sake of going to the airport. And they get awfully restless and grumpy when they spend too much time in the airport (church) and don't reach their destination.

He powerfully argues that too often the church is asking people to accept a culture, rather than accept a savior. That we are so preoccupied with the things of the church that we neglect the things of the kingdom. We are so focused on us, that we forget the work of the Father. He pokes a great deal of fun at the church, but there is a serious message to what he says.

It is a powerful presentation that is worth listening to. My advice is to download it and fast forward to his presentation. He is the guy in a black shirt wearing a beret. If you stream the video, you can't fast forward nearly as easily. You can also subscribe to the Itunes Podcast if you want .

Listen and let me know what you think.

Every Parent's Nightmare

The massacre at Virginia Tech this week is every parent's nightmare. You send your child off to college knowing that the world is a scary place. But you never expect a massacre of students in the classroom and dormitory. I cannot even imagine the grief those parents are feeling.

I also cannot imagine the pain that Cho Seung-Hui's parents are feeling. Not only have they lost their son, they live with the knowledge that he was a deeply disturbed individual who killed 32 people in his final spasm of violence.

Pray for all the families including Cho's parents. What their son did is unimaginable and evil. But they need God's love right now, just like the families of Cho's victims. God can heal the hurt and wrap his arms around them. I pray that the Church of Jesus Christ will embrace these folks and let them know they are loved. They certainly need it.

Come Lord Jesus, Come.

How long must we sing this song?

That is the plaintive cry of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2. It is a cry born in the pain of the IRA/Britain struggle, but it resonates on so many levels, especially in the wake of another disturbed young man who has killed a group of people for no apparent reason.

The world is hurting, and we, as Christians, have a message of hope to bring to the hurting. We have a God who understands hurt. We have a God of compassion. And we have a God who will ultimately be victorious.

How we bring that hope to the world is up for debate. But there is no debate that the world needs to hear the hope that is in Jesus Christ. As the words to the hymn go:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

We are in a period of darkness right now, and His face seems to be hidden. We need to rest in the grace of Jesus and use the holy boldness to proclaim his message of love, reconciliation and holiness to a hurting and desperate world.

Watch U2 sing their cry. I wish the church could speak with a voice that loud and passionate.

Unimaginable Horror

By now most of you have seen the stories about the carnage at Virginia Tech University on Monday. I cannot imagine the horror of what happened to those students and faculty on an overcast ordinary Monday morning.

As the stories continue to roll in, there is great confusion and some contradiction of information. But there are also stories of individuals who acted selflessly and some who died for their actions. Read this story about an Israeli engineering professor who was shot to death barricading the door while his students jumped out the windows. There are glimpses of God acting in the lives of people in the midst of unimaginable, evil acts by people. Such is the world since the fall of man.

I don't have any words of wisdom to offer. Only heartfelt prayers to those who were injured and their families and the families of the deceased. Virginia Tech will never be the same and all who have been touched by this will carry memories of this horrible day with them for the rest of their lives. But God can heal their wounds because he knows what it is to suffer. He knows what it is like to see a child die unjustly. And Jesus knows what the pain of torture and execution feels like. It may seem trite to say that, but God does understand. And I am sure that he is saddened on this day as well.

Join me in praying for those who have been affected by the evil actions of this young man.

Hateful Boys

My former pastor used to playfully accuse me of being a hateful boy because of some of the things I said. This week I was able to see what hateful boys can really look like. Just look at Mike NiFong and Don Imus.

I'm sure you heard the incredibly stupid remarks that Imus made on his show about the Rutger's University Women's Basketball team. I don't know if he deserved to be fired for them, but there was nothing redeeming about those remarks. They were racist, sexist and just despicable. But comments like that have been a part of Imus' show for some time. I find it odd that CBS and MSNBC suddenly found religion with him.

NiFong is a despicable human being for what he did to the young men on the Duke Lacrosse Team. He knew early on that the rape allegations against them were without merit, and he allowed them to be branded as racists and rapists for an entire year so that he could curry favor with African-American voters and win reelection. The abuse of power here is breath-taking.

Imus said something stupid on the radio. NiFong charged them with a crime he knew they didn't commit. Yet all our attention is on the words of Imus. To paraphrase Ray Donovan, former Secretary of Labor in the Reagan Administration "Which office do these young men go to to get their reputations back?"

Both of these men deserve to be sanctioned. I just think we are stringing up the lesser of two evils with Imus. NiFong abused the public trust as a prosecutor and branded these young men as criminals for crass political purposes. That is just hateful and wrong.