I'm a fan of the emergent stuff. I like its willingness to say "I don't know" and to leave room for God to do and be more than we expect. And yet, lately, a lot of the stuff I've been reading by emergent folks tends to have this hint of "who are we to put God in a box, even if that box is Jesus?" Who are we to limit God?
Of course, we're in no position to limit God. And yet, again, this sort of thinking didn't sit right with me. And then I came across P.T. Forsyth. He had this to say about God's "limitations".
'The limitation in God is due to God Himself. Self-limitation is one of the infinite powers of Godhead. If God were not personal, if He did not contain the mighty concentrative lines of personality, He would be less than God. He would be a waste, ineffectual force, without form and void. He could, indeed, hardly be force even, which must work in lines. He would be a dim essence, and empty substance, a gaseous abstraction without contents, without feature, interest, or life. He would be without order, for order is limitation. But surely order is the Divine presence in the world, not its absence. Law is His law, not another’s law laid on Him. And personality is law and order in their highest terms. Limitation is no more undivine or incompatible with infinity in the one case than in the other. Divine law, indeed, when we express it in moral terms, what is it other than God’s self-control?' (PT Forsyth, God the Holy Father, 34)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
What's your theological worldview?
I took a quiz and it gave me this. So, now I'm pondering it...
 | You scored as Neo orthodox. You are neo-orthodox. You reject the human-centredness and scepticism of liberal theology, but neither do you go to the other extreme and make the Bible the central issue for faith. You believe that Christ is God's most important revelation to humanity, and the Trinity is hugely important in your theology. The Bible is also important because it points us to the revelation of Christ. You are influenced by Karl Barth and P T Forsyth.
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Rachel's Psalm
My wife, Rachel, that is.
Why do you despair, O heart?
You know your God is near.
Maker of heaven and earth,
Jehovah Jireh hears your cries.
The One who called will
Provide all your needs.
He desires Salvation to
Sweep over this city.
Feel the refreshing Spirit
Of God fill your heart.
Despair is fading.
There is only hope, peace
In the presence of Christ.
Why do you despair, O heart?
You know your God is near.
Maker of heaven and earth,
Jehovah Jireh hears your cries.
The One who called will
Provide all your needs.
He desires Salvation to
Sweep over this city.
Feel the refreshing Spirit
Of God fill your heart.
Despair is fading.
There is only hope, peace
In the presence of Christ.
Thoughts On The Bread and The Body
She said that Jesus ain't a cracker
But I was bred to believe
That He might be
A cracker like me
Made in my image
White
American
Puffed up and arrogant
Can it be?
Might He not have been a cracker
But someone slightly blacker
With a pureness that is whiter
Than I could ever be?
Can this brown bread that is His body
Make this whitebread that is my body
Into something or someone that is better than me?
I believe
Out of desperation at first
Out of starvation and thirst
I reach for the cup that is offered to me
I reach for the promise
It is difficult to swallow
I choke down this truth and pray that it kills me
Pray that it fills me with someone other than that fat Pharisee
I consume it
In the hope that it will consume me
Overtake me and destroy me
And make me into something more than food for worms
The bread of life within me
Sustains me
And stains me
Ruins me for any other food I might desire
For any other high to take me higher
I'm a whore and a junkie and a liar
So I eat and I drink and hope
This will fix
My need for a fix
That cannot fix
What is wrong in me
Miracle of miracles
The unleavened bread will not stay dead
It will rise
And fill my soul to bursting
And the lie of repentance is turned into truth
And the lie that is me is perfected in Him
And Joshua says "You cannot serve the Lord"
And he is right
And he is wrong
"Dare I return in the Sundays to come
with a well-worn plea
resting softly on my tongue?"
This is what she asks of me
And I ask in return
"Dare I not return
For the bread of life that rests on my tongue?"
I will return
I will be broken like the bread
So that I can rise like the Son
Friday, January 26, 2007
Change Is Good
Rachel was recently given these cool vintage books that parents used in the 1950's to track a kid's life from year to year. One problem. Each year has a section titled "when I grow up I want to be..."
The boys choices include fireman, lawyer, baseball player and astronaut.
The girls choices are as follows: mother, nurse, schoolteacher, airline hostess, model, secretary.
Some good things happened in the 1950's. "When I grow up I want to be..." wasn't one of them.
The boys choices include fireman, lawyer, baseball player and astronaut.
The girls choices are as follows: mother, nurse, schoolteacher, airline hostess, model, secretary.
Some good things happened in the 1950's. "When I grow up I want to be..." wasn't one of them.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Clothed With Christ
This past Sunday, the worship centered around baptism; both Christ's and ours. Around getting clean, going public, being marked as children of God, and receiving the Holy Spirit. We talked about the power of being "clothed with Christ" and declaring citizenship in a new Kingdom.
We talked about the implications of being someone's child here on earth:
Someone is going to take care of you.
You take that someone's name.
You're a part of that someone's family (whether you like it or not).
You receive an inheritance.
You begin, as you grow, to take on characteristics that remind others of that someone.
Imagine the implications of this as a child of God.
God provides.
God gives us His name.
God brings us into His family (whether we like it or not).
God gives us an inheritance.
We begin, as we grow, to take on the characteristics of God.
The greatest compliment those who have been clothed with Christ can receive is "you remind me of your Father."
We talked about the implications of being someone's child here on earth:
Someone is going to take care of you.
You take that someone's name.
You're a part of that someone's family (whether you like it or not).
You receive an inheritance.
You begin, as you grow, to take on characteristics that remind others of that someone.
Imagine the implications of this as a child of God.
God provides.
God gives us His name.
God brings us into His family (whether we like it or not).
God gives us an inheritance.
We begin, as we grow, to take on the characteristics of God.
The greatest compliment those who have been clothed with Christ can receive is "you remind me of your Father."
Best Albums of 2006
1. And The Opera Circuit -Micah P. Hinson
In 1996, I was just 20 years old and attending Abilene Christian University. Micah Hinson was just the kid of one of my professors. A couple of years later, I heard Micah had taken a turn into some heavy addiction and other less than stellar pursuits. So I was surprised (pleasantly) to discover, a few years ago, that Micah was getting himself together and had cut an album. Better yet, that it was a fantastic album. Since then, his output has only gotten better. This album is his best yet. For fans of: Tom Waits/Americana/Indie Pop
2. Boys and Girls In America -The Hold Steady
I have Chuck Klosterman to thank for The Hold Steady. I was just starting to hear some buzz about their album Separation Sunday (that it was for fans of early Springsteen, of which I am) when he came to do a signing at BookPeople. We got to chatting about music and he insisted that I should go out and buy Separation Sunday and Almost Killed Me. I was stunned at how quickly they became one of my favorite bands (and how few of my friends enjoy them). Separation Sunday is still my favorite of the three, but Boys and Girls is still amazing. For fans of: Bruce Springsteen/Thin Lizzy/The Replacements/Rock
3. American Recordings V: A Hundred Highways -Johnny Cash
The first time my wife, Rachel, almost broke up with me was the day she asked why I was wearing all black and I answered "It's Johnny Cash's birthday." I'm as much a fan of the man as the music (probably more) and his stuff with Rick Rubin has been some of his best. This last one didn't make the same splash as some of the others in the American Recordings series, but I count it as second only to American Recordings IV.
4. Post War -M. Ward
I got into M. Ward while I was living in the Chapel Hill area and Merge music was everywhere. I remember thinking that I hoped he wouldn't morph into something deemed more "accessible" as he continued to record. Post War manages to be accessible and radio friendly without ever compromising the talent that made his previous work so incredible. For fans of: Stephen Stills/Townes Van Zandt/Singer-Songwriter
5. The Trials of Van Occupanther -Midlake
I initially heard Midlake on a Paste magazine insert that featured a track off of their first album. I ran out and bought it on that track alone. I then proceeded to wear that album out. When I heard that they were releasing a second album, I was ecstatic. As good as the first one was, I love this one even more. For fans of: Neil Young/Fleetwood Mac/Indie Rock
6. Fewer Moving Parts -David Bazan
I became a Pedro the Lion fan in college, turned on to them by a friend who insisted that it wasn't "that kind" of Christian rock. He was right. Lyrically and musically, it was light years beyond anything I had ever attributed to the Christian rock scene. I've spent the last decade keeping an eye out for anything new that Pedro might release and have always been happy that I did. This David Bazan (the man behind the lion) solo release was no exception. It is as good as anything Pedro ever recorded. For fans of: Pedro the Lion/Fugazi/Indie Rock/Singer-Songwriter
7. Secondathallum -Andre Ethier
Thank you Cole. I could say this about a lot of the music I've discovered this past year. None more so than with Ethier. The lead singer of Deadly Snakes, Ethier goes the calmer singer/songwriter route on his solo debut. As intense as anything by the Snakes, but with greater nuance and subtlety. For fans of: The Band/Bob Dylan/Tom Waits/Van Morrison/Indie Rock/Folk Rock
8. Modern Times -Bob Dylan
A few of my favorites didn't make my top 20 this year (The Boss being among them), but Bob followed Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft with an album worthy of the trilogy. A brilliant picture of America on the brink.
9. The Crane Wife -The Decemberists
Remember what I said about M. Ward and compromise? Same worry when I heard that The Decemberists were making their major label debut. I needn't have been concerned. The Decemberists remembered that when yo're this good, popular culture comes to you. For fans of: Robyn Hitchcock/The Smiths/Chamber Pop/Indie Pop
10. And Now That I'm In Your Shadow -Damien Jurado
11. Mockingbird -Derek Webb
12. Shearwater -Palo Santo
13. The Information -Beck
14. The River In Reverse -Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint
15. The Greatest -Cat Power
16. The Avalanche -Sufjan Stevens
In 1996, I was just 20 years old and attending Abilene Christian University. Micah Hinson was just the kid of one of my professors. A couple of years later, I heard Micah had taken a turn into some heavy addiction and other less than stellar pursuits. So I was surprised (pleasantly) to discover, a few years ago, that Micah was getting himself together and had cut an album. Better yet, that it was a fantastic album. Since then, his output has only gotten better. This album is his best yet. For fans of: Tom Waits/Americana/Indie Pop
2. Boys and Girls In America -The Hold Steady
I have Chuck Klosterman to thank for The Hold Steady. I was just starting to hear some buzz about their album Separation Sunday (that it was for fans of early Springsteen, of which I am) when he came to do a signing at BookPeople. We got to chatting about music and he insisted that I should go out and buy Separation Sunday and Almost Killed Me. I was stunned at how quickly they became one of my favorite bands (and how few of my friends enjoy them). Separation Sunday is still my favorite of the three, but Boys and Girls is still amazing. For fans of: Bruce Springsteen/Thin Lizzy/The Replacements/Rock
3. American Recordings V: A Hundred Highways -Johnny Cash
The first time my wife, Rachel, almost broke up with me was the day she asked why I was wearing all black and I answered "It's Johnny Cash's birthday." I'm as much a fan of the man as the music (probably more) and his stuff with Rick Rubin has been some of his best. This last one didn't make the same splash as some of the others in the American Recordings series, but I count it as second only to American Recordings IV.
4. Post War -M. Ward
I got into M. Ward while I was living in the Chapel Hill area and Merge music was everywhere. I remember thinking that I hoped he wouldn't morph into something deemed more "accessible" as he continued to record. Post War manages to be accessible and radio friendly without ever compromising the talent that made his previous work so incredible. For fans of: Stephen Stills/Townes Van Zandt/Singer-Songwriter
5. The Trials of Van Occupanther -Midlake
I initially heard Midlake on a Paste magazine insert that featured a track off of their first album. I ran out and bought it on that track alone. I then proceeded to wear that album out. When I heard that they were releasing a second album, I was ecstatic. As good as the first one was, I love this one even more. For fans of: Neil Young/Fleetwood Mac/Indie Rock
6. Fewer Moving Parts -David Bazan
I became a Pedro the Lion fan in college, turned on to them by a friend who insisted that it wasn't "that kind" of Christian rock. He was right. Lyrically and musically, it was light years beyond anything I had ever attributed to the Christian rock scene. I've spent the last decade keeping an eye out for anything new that Pedro might release and have always been happy that I did. This David Bazan (the man behind the lion) solo release was no exception. It is as good as anything Pedro ever recorded. For fans of: Pedro the Lion/Fugazi/Indie Rock/Singer-Songwriter
7. Secondathallum -Andre Ethier
Thank you Cole. I could say this about a lot of the music I've discovered this past year. None more so than with Ethier. The lead singer of Deadly Snakes, Ethier goes the calmer singer/songwriter route on his solo debut. As intense as anything by the Snakes, but with greater nuance and subtlety. For fans of: The Band/Bob Dylan/Tom Waits/Van Morrison/Indie Rock/Folk Rock
8. Modern Times -Bob Dylan
A few of my favorites didn't make my top 20 this year (The Boss being among them), but Bob followed Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft with an album worthy of the trilogy. A brilliant picture of America on the brink.
9. The Crane Wife -The Decemberists
Remember what I said about M. Ward and compromise? Same worry when I heard that The Decemberists were making their major label debut. I needn't have been concerned. The Decemberists remembered that when yo're this good, popular culture comes to you. For fans of: Robyn Hitchcock/The Smiths/Chamber Pop/Indie Pop
10. And Now That I'm In Your Shadow -Damien Jurado
Damien Jurado is one of my favorite artists that no one has ever heard of. Part Micah Hinson, part David Bazan, but less fuzzy and more haunting. This is his best album to date.
11. Mockingbird -Derek Webb
12. Shearwater -Palo Santo
13. The Information -Beck
14. The River In Reverse -Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint
15. The Greatest -Cat Power
16. The Avalanche -Sufjan Stevens
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
I'm going back to making this my main blog space. That being the case, I'm importing past blogs from other sites. It will look as if a bunch of blogs were written on the same day. Rest assured, they were not.
Speaking and Silence
As a preacher, pastor, evangelist, and Christian, I find myself within the tension of the following statements:
"What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence."
"God is the one subject of whom we must never stop speaking."
"He whom we cannot speak of is the one about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking."
Mother Theresa once said that she doesn't speak when she prays, she listens.
Jesus once said of his disciples "If they keep quiet, the rocks will cry out."
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of his attempts to keep silent, "But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
Habbakuk reads, "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him."
We need to shut up more. And we need to shut up less. We need to have a humility that demands silence and a passion that must speak lest we burst.
"What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence."
"God is the one subject of whom we must never stop speaking."
"He whom we cannot speak of is the one about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking."
Mother Theresa once said that she doesn't speak when she prays, she listens.
Jesus once said of his disciples "If they keep quiet, the rocks will cry out."
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of his attempts to keep silent, "But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
Habbakuk reads, "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him."
We need to shut up more. And we need to shut up less. We need to have a humility that demands silence and a passion that must speak lest we burst.
From "Have To" To "Get To"
It occurs to me this week what an excercise the past few years have been in moving from "have to" to "get to". It used to be that I had to go to work. That I had to go to church. That I had to fit my "God time" into my life.
This last week we've had a freeze here in Austin. It all started on Sunday, enough so that the folks who own the building where we meet decided not to open it up that night. It has continued into Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. Enough so that we cancelled our regular Bible study at our house tonight.
Meanwhile, BookPeople has stayed open. I've still been able to manage the drive on ice that it takes to get from here to there. I got to go in yesterday and I got to go in today. I'll get to go in tomorrow. I'm glad for that, as I'd have missed being there and being with the people who work there with me.
I miss being with my church. I'd pay money just to be able to sit down at a table and share the bread and the wine with them. I miss singing and talking and laughing and crying and sharing and serving. It hasn't even been a week since I was last with them, and I miss them. A lot.
This Sunday I will get to be with them again. I will get to be with the church the way I get to go to work. It will be a pleasure. And while I would disagree with those who say that if church is meaningful than it is never a duty or an obligation (what would this say about all the other meaningful relationships we have?), I would say that this attitude shift from "have to" to "get to" makes me feel like we're doing something right.
This last week we've had a freeze here in Austin. It all started on Sunday, enough so that the folks who own the building where we meet decided not to open it up that night. It has continued into Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. Enough so that we cancelled our regular Bible study at our house tonight.
Meanwhile, BookPeople has stayed open. I've still been able to manage the drive on ice that it takes to get from here to there. I got to go in yesterday and I got to go in today. I'll get to go in tomorrow. I'm glad for that, as I'd have missed being there and being with the people who work there with me.
I miss being with my church. I'd pay money just to be able to sit down at a table and share the bread and the wine with them. I miss singing and talking and laughing and crying and sharing and serving. It hasn't even been a week since I was last with them, and I miss them. A lot.
This Sunday I will get to be with them again. I will get to be with the church the way I get to go to work. It will be a pleasure. And while I would disagree with those who say that if church is meaningful than it is never a duty or an obligation (what would this say about all the other meaningful relationships we have?), I would say that this attitude shift from "have to" to "get to" makes me feel like we're doing something right.
The Gospel According To Jerk
It seems like this has come in conversation a few times in the last few weeks. It came up last night, again. The fact that I spent years of my life being (committed to being, enjoying being) a jerk.
There were a lot of reasons for it, a lot of history behind it, but I'm not going to get into all that here. The fact is that a lot of people with a lot better reasons and a lot sadder histories have been less jerkier people.
And so people want to know what changed. And while I don't want to use this time as an excercise in self praise, I am a better person than I used to be.
But I don't praise myself for it. I praise God.
I didn't wake up one morning and decide to be nicer. I didn't read a book that changed my life. I met a man.
We had met before, but I hadn't really given him much of anything but lip service. He was the one and only Son of God and blah blah and so on.
What a life changing experience it was to discover that the things I had been saying were, in fact, true. They were as true as anything I had ever said or ever believed.
And I began to pray that this man, Jesus, might change me. Make me less self-involved and self-conscious and selfish. Less like me and more like him.
I've got a long way to go. I've long had a t-shirt idea for the Christian t-shirt market that reads, simply, "I'm a jerk...that's why I need Jesus". It gets to a lot of my personal testimony and the testimonies of those who have gone before for thousands of years.
We keep trying to get ourselves together. And we can't. And he can.
And so I spend my time now being (committed to being, enjoying being) a Christian. A Christian by its simplest definition, someone who believes Jesus Christ is Lord and acts accordingly. I don't always act accordingly, of course. In fact, I sometimes wonder if I can call myself a Christian if part of the criteria is being like Jesus.
I heard a great definition of a hypocrite once. A hypocrite is someone who claims to be something he has no intention of becoming.
For a long time, that was me. Claiming to be a follower of Jesus, but never really following him. Now I follow, some days closer than others. But Christlike is something I have every intention of becoming.
And I can see it working everyday. And I'm a little less of a jerk than I used to be.
There were a lot of reasons for it, a lot of history behind it, but I'm not going to get into all that here. The fact is that a lot of people with a lot better reasons and a lot sadder histories have been less jerkier people.
And so people want to know what changed. And while I don't want to use this time as an excercise in self praise, I am a better person than I used to be.
But I don't praise myself for it. I praise God.
I didn't wake up one morning and decide to be nicer. I didn't read a book that changed my life. I met a man.
We had met before, but I hadn't really given him much of anything but lip service. He was the one and only Son of God and blah blah and so on.
What a life changing experience it was to discover that the things I had been saying were, in fact, true. They were as true as anything I had ever said or ever believed.
And I began to pray that this man, Jesus, might change me. Make me less self-involved and self-conscious and selfish. Less like me and more like him.
I've got a long way to go. I've long had a t-shirt idea for the Christian t-shirt market that reads, simply, "I'm a jerk...that's why I need Jesus". It gets to a lot of my personal testimony and the testimonies of those who have gone before for thousands of years.
We keep trying to get ourselves together. And we can't. And he can.
And so I spend my time now being (committed to being, enjoying being) a Christian. A Christian by its simplest definition, someone who believes Jesus Christ is Lord and acts accordingly. I don't always act accordingly, of course. In fact, I sometimes wonder if I can call myself a Christian if part of the criteria is being like Jesus.
I heard a great definition of a hypocrite once. A hypocrite is someone who claims to be something he has no intention of becoming.
For a long time, that was me. Claiming to be a follower of Jesus, but never really following him. Now I follow, some days closer than others. But Christlike is something I have every intention of becoming.
And I can see it working everyday. And I'm a little less of a jerk than I used to be.
What Would Jesus Think?
I've been seeing this group on facebook titled 'Jesus Would Have Thought Bush Was A Douchebag'.
OK, it might strike you as funny at first. It did me.
That is, until I thought about it.
Forget about the fact that Jesus is alive and that, therefore, the "Would" and "Was" in that sentence don't work.
I believe Jesus and Bush probaby would part ways on a lot of their ideas about who runs the world and how it should be run. I'm confident that Jesus would have a few pointed words to say, were the two of them ever to sit down and talk.
But even at Jesus most angry (and he got angry and, I can only assume, still gets angry), I've never seen any Biblical reference of him thinking someone was a douchebag, and not just because they hadn't been invented yet.
For Jesus, the word might have been fool, and he has hard words for those who might demean others by calling them fools.
For Jesus, it was the actions that he always found intolerable, not the people.
After telling the rich man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor, the rich man refuses and walks away.
The Bible doesn't say "and he turned to his disciples and said 'What a douchebag.'" It says that Jesus loved him. In fact, it was Jesus' love for the rich man that made Jesus command him to sell what he had.
I know the group is made in fun and I know I risk coming off a humorless crank on an Andy Rooney rant.
But Anne Lamott wrote that "you can be sure you've created God in your own image when God hates all the same people you do." That goes for Presidents who might believe that God hates Iraqis. And it goes for his detractors who think that God hates the President too.
OK, it might strike you as funny at first. It did me.
That is, until I thought about it.
Forget about the fact that Jesus is alive and that, therefore, the "Would" and "Was" in that sentence don't work.
I believe Jesus and Bush probaby would part ways on a lot of their ideas about who runs the world and how it should be run. I'm confident that Jesus would have a few pointed words to say, were the two of them ever to sit down and talk.
But even at Jesus most angry (and he got angry and, I can only assume, still gets angry), I've never seen any Biblical reference of him thinking someone was a douchebag, and not just because they hadn't been invented yet.
For Jesus, the word might have been fool, and he has hard words for those who might demean others by calling them fools.
For Jesus, it was the actions that he always found intolerable, not the people.
After telling the rich man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor, the rich man refuses and walks away.
The Bible doesn't say "and he turned to his disciples and said 'What a douchebag.'" It says that Jesus loved him. In fact, it was Jesus' love for the rich man that made Jesus command him to sell what he had.
I know the group is made in fun and I know I risk coming off a humorless crank on an Andy Rooney rant.
But Anne Lamott wrote that "you can be sure you've created God in your own image when God hates all the same people you do." That goes for Presidents who might believe that God hates Iraqis. And it goes for his detractors who think that God hates the President too.
Shalom
The great writing prophets of the Bible knew how many ways human life had gone wrong because they knew how many ways human life can go right. And they dreamed of a time when God would put things right again.
They dreamed of a new age in which crookedness would be straightened out, rough places made plain. The foolish would be made wise, and the wise, humble. They dreamed of a time when the deserts would flower, the mountains would stream with red wine, a time when weeping would be heard no more, and when people could sleep without weapons on their laps. People could work in peace, their work having meaning and point. A lion could lie down with a lamb, the lion cured of all carnivorous appetite. All nature would be fruitful, benign, and filled with wonder upon wonder; all humans would be knit together in brotherhood and sisterhood; and all nature and all humans would look to God, walk with God, lean toward God, and delight in God, their shouts of joy and recognition welling up from valleys and crags, from women in streets and from men on ships.
The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Old Testament prophets called shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or cease-fire among enemies. In the Bible shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.
We are now fallen creatures in a fallen world. The Christian gospel tells us that all hell has broken loose in this sorry world but also that, in Christ, all heaven has come to do battle. Christ the warrior has come to defeat worldly power, to move the world over onto a new foundation, and to equip a people—informed, devout, educated, pious, determined people—to follow him in righting what's wrong, in transforming what's corrupted, in doing the things that make for peace.
That's what the church is for. It's for shalom. It's for peace in the sense of wholeness and harmony in the world. It's for restoring proper relationships with nature and other humans and God, and for teaching us to delight in the wonders of creation that remain. The church equips us to be agents of shalom, models of shalom, witnesses to shalom.
As C.S. Lewis once said, we are trying to retake territory that has been captured by the enemy. We are trying to recapture society, culture, and all creation for Jesus Christ. We will need the right attitudes for this recapturing program, including the attitude of delight and of love.
In a world that is searching for purpose, we offer purpose wrapped up in peace, serenity formed out of shalom. A shalom that effects the everyday. How will the job I'm preparing for serve God by serving other people? How will it clean a lake instead of polluting one? How will it offer opportunity to marginalized people rather than crowd them still further out to the rim of things? How will it yield an honestly built product or genuinely useful service that will anticipate the new heaven and earth? In other words, how will the knowledge, skills, and values of the church translate into daily life? How will these things be used to clear some part of the human jungle, or restore some part of the lost loveliness of God's world, or introduce some novel beauty into it? That is, how does what I believe touch what I do? How does it make for shalom?
They dreamed of a new age in which crookedness would be straightened out, rough places made plain. The foolish would be made wise, and the wise, humble. They dreamed of a time when the deserts would flower, the mountains would stream with red wine, a time when weeping would be heard no more, and when people could sleep without weapons on their laps. People could work in peace, their work having meaning and point. A lion could lie down with a lamb, the lion cured of all carnivorous appetite. All nature would be fruitful, benign, and filled with wonder upon wonder; all humans would be knit together in brotherhood and sisterhood; and all nature and all humans would look to God, walk with God, lean toward God, and delight in God, their shouts of joy and recognition welling up from valleys and crags, from women in streets and from men on ships.
The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Old Testament prophets called shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or cease-fire among enemies. In the Bible shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.
We are now fallen creatures in a fallen world. The Christian gospel tells us that all hell has broken loose in this sorry world but also that, in Christ, all heaven has come to do battle. Christ the warrior has come to defeat worldly power, to move the world over onto a new foundation, and to equip a people—informed, devout, educated, pious, determined people—to follow him in righting what's wrong, in transforming what's corrupted, in doing the things that make for peace.
That's what the church is for. It's for shalom. It's for peace in the sense of wholeness and harmony in the world. It's for restoring proper relationships with nature and other humans and God, and for teaching us to delight in the wonders of creation that remain. The church equips us to be agents of shalom, models of shalom, witnesses to shalom.
As C.S. Lewis once said, we are trying to retake territory that has been captured by the enemy. We are trying to recapture society, culture, and all creation for Jesus Christ. We will need the right attitudes for this recapturing program, including the attitude of delight and of love.
In a world that is searching for purpose, we offer purpose wrapped up in peace, serenity formed out of shalom. A shalom that effects the everyday. How will the job I'm preparing for serve God by serving other people? How will it clean a lake instead of polluting one? How will it offer opportunity to marginalized people rather than crowd them still further out to the rim of things? How will it yield an honestly built product or genuinely useful service that will anticipate the new heaven and earth? In other words, how will the knowledge, skills, and values of the church translate into daily life? How will these things be used to clear some part of the human jungle, or restore some part of the lost loveliness of God's world, or introduce some novel beauty into it? That is, how does what I believe touch what I do? How does it make for shalom?
Epiphany
We find ourselves in the season of epiphany, the celebration of the declaration of a new King, beginning with the wise men.
When word of the new King's birth got to Herod (the reigning king), he was so threatened by the idea that he had all 2 year old male babies in the region to be killed.
Herod was right to feel threatened. Not because this new King would grow up and raise an army and take the kingdom by force, but because the new Kingdom being declared was God's Kingdom, a threat to the fabric of society and the status quo.
Those who would trade in violence, those who would store as others starve, those who would value power over principle and happiness over holiness, those kings of earth are put on notice by the birth of a new King.
Your time has come. A new Kingdom is coming. One with laws that include love of enemies and turning the other cheek. One that speaks shalom into emptiness, and brokenness, and loneliness, and helplessness, and hopelessness.
A new King has come. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
And may His presence be a threat to anything else that we might pledge allegiance to.
The Sin Sick Soul
There's a song that I grew up singing in church that, for years, I sang without understanding what it meant. The name of the song is "There Is A Balm In Gilead". Since I didn't know what a balm was, the song was sort of lost on me.
I don't know that there was a day when I suddenly knew what a balm was, but I know what a balm is now. Webster's simply defines a balm as "a healing or soothing medicine".
I've been thinking about healing a lot today, because the flu hit my house last night. As a result, I am miserable. I can't breathe, I ache, I'm feverish. I find myself wishing I could throw up and just get whatever it is that's making me sick out of me.
I've also been thinking a lot about sin. I'm preparing a sermon for Sunday and perusing nooma videos online and wishing we had a better terminology for sin that didn't sound so much like something you have and I don't. That didn't sound like you're bad and I'm good, you're wrong and I'm right.
And I started thinking about the "sin sick soul". This is a phrase in the song "Balm In Gilead". A soul made sick by sin. That's something people can understand whether they believe in God or not.
That feeling of guilt, of shame, of loneliness and hopelessness. The reality of lostness. The inability to breathe, the ache, the fever. The wishing I could just puke out whatever it is that's making me feel this way.
I think it's helpful to think of sin as something that's bad for you. Too often, because we've handpicked certain sins as worse than others and called some things "sin" that weren't, sin has been seen as something arbitrary, a way for those who are without sin to feel superior to those with sin.
But what if we accepted these realities:
God wants what is best for us (not necessarily what we want most, but what is best).
God views sin that which keeps us from what is best.
Our common venacular for recovering from illness is "getting better". What if we saw recovering from sin the same way?
Lying, greed, lust, hate, pride, gluttony, and so on.
These things are bad for us.
These things are sin.
These things make us spiritually sick,
I think it's helpful to think of sin as sickness. Then we're no longer talking about me being better, but me getting better. We're not talking about something I can lord over you, but something I can share with you. There is a balm in Gilead that makes the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead that heals the sin sick soul.
As Christians, we're not called to bring a message of condemnation into the lives of others, but a message of healing and hope. Jesus came so that we might have life, and we share that life with others who have yet to discover it.
The message of Jesus is for those who are sick and suffering. Jesus himself said that he came to heal those who are sick, So we simply have to acknowledge our sickness and desire healing and be willing to take in or put on whatever is necessary to get better. We put on a balm as an external remedy that brings internal healing. we put Christ on in baptism the same way. In the case of the flu, we take in a whole lot of bad tasting medicine. In the case of the soul, we take in the body and blood of Christ. It may be hard to swallow at first, but it brings healing in the end.
I don't know that there was a day when I suddenly knew what a balm was, but I know what a balm is now. Webster's simply defines a balm as "a healing or soothing medicine".
I've been thinking about healing a lot today, because the flu hit my house last night. As a result, I am miserable. I can't breathe, I ache, I'm feverish. I find myself wishing I could throw up and just get whatever it is that's making me sick out of me.
I've also been thinking a lot about sin. I'm preparing a sermon for Sunday and perusing nooma videos online and wishing we had a better terminology for sin that didn't sound so much like something you have and I don't. That didn't sound like you're bad and I'm good, you're wrong and I'm right.
And I started thinking about the "sin sick soul". This is a phrase in the song "Balm In Gilead". A soul made sick by sin. That's something people can understand whether they believe in God or not.
That feeling of guilt, of shame, of loneliness and hopelessness. The reality of lostness. The inability to breathe, the ache, the fever. The wishing I could just puke out whatever it is that's making me feel this way.
I think it's helpful to think of sin as something that's bad for you. Too often, because we've handpicked certain sins as worse than others and called some things "sin" that weren't, sin has been seen as something arbitrary, a way for those who are without sin to feel superior to those with sin.
But what if we accepted these realities:
God wants what is best for us (not necessarily what we want most, but what is best).
God views sin that which keeps us from what is best.
Our common venacular for recovering from illness is "getting better". What if we saw recovering from sin the same way?
Lying, greed, lust, hate, pride, gluttony, and so on.
These things are bad for us.
These things are sin.
These things make us spiritually sick,
I think it's helpful to think of sin as sickness. Then we're no longer talking about me being better, but me getting better. We're not talking about something I can lord over you, but something I can share with you. There is a balm in Gilead that makes the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead that heals the sin sick soul.
As Christians, we're not called to bring a message of condemnation into the lives of others, but a message of healing and hope. Jesus came so that we might have life, and we share that life with others who have yet to discover it.
The message of Jesus is for those who are sick and suffering. Jesus himself said that he came to heal those who are sick, So we simply have to acknowledge our sickness and desire healing and be willing to take in or put on whatever is necessary to get better. We put on a balm as an external remedy that brings internal healing. we put Christ on in baptism the same way. In the case of the flu, we take in a whole lot of bad tasting medicine. In the case of the soul, we take in the body and blood of Christ. It may be hard to swallow at first, but it brings healing in the end.
I Will Say It Again...
Rejoice!
Last night we celebrated the last Sunday of advent. Each week has drawn us closer to the birth of Christ and heightened the anticipation of His coming. Each week we have lit more candles as a symbol of increased light in the world. Each week we have read from a different prophet's speaking about the coming Messiah. Jeremiah talked about how we are faithful in the present because we have faith in the future. Micah and Malachi reminded us that God's presence brings an awesome mix of fear and reverence and hope and should never be treated lightly. This week, Isaiah reminded us that whatever we might not know about Christ's coming, we know that it will be cause for rejoicing. And so we did.
Each week we have sung the song "O Come O Come Immanuel" and each week we have added verses to it. Last night we finally added the chorus:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Immanuel will ransom captive Israel
It brought tears to my eyes as we sang. This time has been a reminder that we live between the now and the not yet and that God who was and is and is to come holds time within His hands.
Last night we celebrated the last Sunday of advent. Each week has drawn us closer to the birth of Christ and heightened the anticipation of His coming. Each week we have lit more candles as a symbol of increased light in the world. Each week we have read from a different prophet's speaking about the coming Messiah. Jeremiah talked about how we are faithful in the present because we have faith in the future. Micah and Malachi reminded us that God's presence brings an awesome mix of fear and reverence and hope and should never be treated lightly. This week, Isaiah reminded us that whatever we might not know about Christ's coming, we know that it will be cause for rejoicing. And so we did.
Each week we have sung the song "O Come O Come Immanuel" and each week we have added verses to it. Last night we finally added the chorus:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Immanuel will ransom captive Israel
It brought tears to my eyes as we sang. This time has been a reminder that we live between the now and the not yet and that God who was and is and is to come holds time within His hands.
Advent: Week Two
This last week, my wife and I were thinking back on some of our worst job experiences. Skating Sonic waitress and clean-up crew for a catering business were among my wife's, right next to telemarketer and a brief stint with Texas Bollweevil for me. However, the job that caused me the most initial frustration was the year I spent working in a greenhouse. Besides the fact that I have two purple thumbs, I was constantly annoyed by how slow the process went, how little cultivation and growth seemed to take place from the time a seed was planted to the moment a plant reached full bloom.
You can imagine then, my excitement as I began to see the fruits of my labor, as weeks passed and buds turned into stems and stems gave birth to leaves and flowers. I was elated. I took pride in a job well done. That is, of course, until my boss explained that our job was far from over.
What I had not realized, and was dismayed to discover, was that the plants that looked healthy and vibrant were actually weak and very susceptible to disease. The next step in the process was to pull at leaves that might show spots, denying water to some plants and drowning others. Sometimes, entire flowers would be plucked away; leaves snipped off, as the plants were thoroughly pruned.
When the process ended, what remained was a greenhouse full of sorry looking plants. I could not believe how big a step backward we seemed to have taken, why couldn't we have sold these plants while they were still beautiful? My boss just smiled and said, "give it time".
Sure enough, within a few weeks these leaves and flowers were growing back stronger than ever. They had returned to their original beauty, with the added benefit of being healthier and heartier than they had been before. These plants were made to last. When the next round of plants were set for pruning, the experience seemed a more hopeful one.
As humans, we go through a similar experience. Often we find ourselves in situations that seem ideal, like Job before it all went wrong, like plants before the pruning. Life is as it should be and all is right with the world. And then, without warning, the pruning starts. It takes on a variety of circumstances, sometimes we are picked at, sometimes we are drowning, and sometimes it seems that God's blessings have dried up completely. We look around and wonder, "what was wrong with my life before?" We cry out to God in dismay. And often, God's response is, "give it time".
The writer of Hebrews tells us that "no discipline is pleasant at the time" and we assume that discipline means punishment, God's intervention for things done wrong. This is not always the case. As in the case of Job, it can be God's intervention to make things better or to make us stronger. Note the people in your life who are examples of strength and faithfulness in difficult circumstances. How did they become this way? They would most likely tell you that it was by going through difficult circumstances and enduring them with God's help.
Look how the writer of Hebrews completes this passage on discipline; "Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it". This harvest is not a reference to our ultimate reward, but to Christ's likeness being developed in us every day. The fruit of the Spirit is not something we find, it is something that God nurtures within us, often by pruning at us until we are the kind of people who are patient and gentle and faithful and kind.
As we celebrate this season of advent, we are reminded that the refining that is done on us is done so that we might become who we were always meant to be. That we might be prepared for the coming of the King.
You can imagine then, my excitement as I began to see the fruits of my labor, as weeks passed and buds turned into stems and stems gave birth to leaves and flowers. I was elated. I took pride in a job well done. That is, of course, until my boss explained that our job was far from over.
What I had not realized, and was dismayed to discover, was that the plants that looked healthy and vibrant were actually weak and very susceptible to disease. The next step in the process was to pull at leaves that might show spots, denying water to some plants and drowning others. Sometimes, entire flowers would be plucked away; leaves snipped off, as the plants were thoroughly pruned.
When the process ended, what remained was a greenhouse full of sorry looking plants. I could not believe how big a step backward we seemed to have taken, why couldn't we have sold these plants while they were still beautiful? My boss just smiled and said, "give it time".
Sure enough, within a few weeks these leaves and flowers were growing back stronger than ever. They had returned to their original beauty, with the added benefit of being healthier and heartier than they had been before. These plants were made to last. When the next round of plants were set for pruning, the experience seemed a more hopeful one.
As humans, we go through a similar experience. Often we find ourselves in situations that seem ideal, like Job before it all went wrong, like plants before the pruning. Life is as it should be and all is right with the world. And then, without warning, the pruning starts. It takes on a variety of circumstances, sometimes we are picked at, sometimes we are drowning, and sometimes it seems that God's blessings have dried up completely. We look around and wonder, "what was wrong with my life before?" We cry out to God in dismay. And often, God's response is, "give it time".
The writer of Hebrews tells us that "no discipline is pleasant at the time" and we assume that discipline means punishment, God's intervention for things done wrong. This is not always the case. As in the case of Job, it can be God's intervention to make things better or to make us stronger. Note the people in your life who are examples of strength and faithfulness in difficult circumstances. How did they become this way? They would most likely tell you that it was by going through difficult circumstances and enduring them with God's help.
Look how the writer of Hebrews completes this passage on discipline; "Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it". This harvest is not a reference to our ultimate reward, but to Christ's likeness being developed in us every day. The fruit of the Spirit is not something we find, it is something that God nurtures within us, often by pruning at us until we are the kind of people who are patient and gentle and faithful and kind.
As we celebrate this season of advent, we are reminded that the refining that is done on us is done so that we might become who we were always meant to be. That we might be prepared for the coming of the King.
Advent: Week One
This past Sunday, we began the season of advent. Advent begins the church calendar year, and refers to the anticipation we feel at the coming of the birth of Christ. We talked this last week about Jeremiah's prophecy of Jesus, the messiah who would come from "the branch of David". The one who was coming to put things right. The hope of Israel's future.
We talked about how Jeremiah was called by God to by a piece of land in the very place where he was also called by God to proclaim destruction and exile. Jeremiah's investment was an investment in God's future promise, that the destruction would not be complete or eternal. That salvation was coming.
During the season of advent, we attempt to put ourselves in the place of those who awaited the messiah. This isn't really that hard to do. We, like them, anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ, only His second coming, not His first. And because we believe in the promise of the future, we invest in the present, in the cities where we live and in the lives of the people living and working in those cities. We declare good news in the present tense, because of the great I AM, who was and is and is to come.
We talked about how Jeremiah was called by God to by a piece of land in the very place where he was also called by God to proclaim destruction and exile. Jeremiah's investment was an investment in God's future promise, that the destruction would not be complete or eternal. That salvation was coming.
During the season of advent, we attempt to put ourselves in the place of those who awaited the messiah. This isn't really that hard to do. We, like them, anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ, only His second coming, not His first. And because we believe in the promise of the future, we invest in the present, in the cities where we live and in the lives of the people living and working in those cities. We declare good news in the present tense, because of the great I AM, who was and is and is to come.
My Church's Name Is Immanuel
This is something we hear Harry say a lot to people. Watching him grow with this church that he is only slightly older than is an amazing experience. We love the way he refers to the gathering of people and not the place as Immanuel. We like the way he is already learning a certain reverence for times like communion.
This year, we have been celebrating Advent with our home family as well as our church family. As such, we light three candles (pink for joy, purple for anticipation, and white for Jesus Christ) and recite scriptures from the book of Revelation.
Each night, we see a little more from Harry. Already he knows that the lighting of the pink candle brings with it our recitation of "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God almighty, who was and is and is to come."
Wednesday night, our small group gathered together as is our regular routine of food and fellowship. We took time to include them all in our family routine of advent. Their patience with Harry, their participation with him and all of us, it was a thing to see.
It was a reminder that when two or more gather in the name of Jesus, he is present. That the gathering of believers brings "God with us". That my church's name is Immanuel.
This year, we have been celebrating Advent with our home family as well as our church family. As such, we light three candles (pink for joy, purple for anticipation, and white for Jesus Christ) and recite scriptures from the book of Revelation.
Each night, we see a little more from Harry. Already he knows that the lighting of the pink candle brings with it our recitation of "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God almighty, who was and is and is to come."
Wednesday night, our small group gathered together as is our regular routine of food and fellowship. We took time to include them all in our family routine of advent. Their patience with Harry, their participation with him and all of us, it was a thing to see.
It was a reminder that when two or more gather in the name of Jesus, he is present. That the gathering of believers brings "God with us". That my church's name is Immanuel.
Worship In The Park...
..ing lot. That's what we did this past Sunday night. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we went in another direction, we adapted, we tried something new. And it was amazing. One of the best Sunday meetings we've had. On a night that celebrated "new"ness and change, it was a reminder never to get too comfortable. Some thoughts from that night:
We live in a world where many feel just as hopeless as the discples must have felt between death and resurrection. The promises of modernism proved to be less concrete than we had hoped, the ideals of postmodernism can prove too unwieldy. Nietzsche said "God is dead" and too often he looks to be right. G. K. Chesterton said that the horrifying thing about a life without God is not that we believe in nothing, but end up believing in anything. The maxim of the day is "it's all good", but when everything is good then none of it is good. We had a war to end all wars, and we have had nothing but wars ever since. We had a sexual revolution and it gave us casual relationships and broken families. We pursued wealth. The poor stay poor and the rich get rich and they all end up empty. Even the "haves" wake up feeling like "have-nots". We can do whatever we like and we have all forgotten why we liked it. Our dreams have gone sour, and we do not even know who we are anymore. Even within the church itself, there are many whose hopes were placed within their own ideas of Messiah, one who would make us prosperous and powerful, and those ideas are dying a slow death.
Jesus walks alongside us and explains how the mission of God is and has always been to heal and restore. He says that no one is good but God and that God is out to recreate humanity and the world as it was meant to be, to deal with evil, to create a new family where forgiveness is common and to challenge the rule of war, sex, money, and power. And, beginning to end, the stranger interprets both old and new testaments and explains how this re-creation and revolution will take place.
Jesus speaks resurrection into our world. He is still calling us to new life, a new way, a new reality. One that leaves room for evidence as well as mystery, but overturns our assumptions about both. The sacrifice of Jesus means death to our old lives, but that is good news. His resurrection means our resurrection. It means everything is different now. Everything is new.
We live in a world where many feel just as hopeless as the discples must have felt between death and resurrection. The promises of modernism proved to be less concrete than we had hoped, the ideals of postmodernism can prove too unwieldy. Nietzsche said "God is dead" and too often he looks to be right. G. K. Chesterton said that the horrifying thing about a life without God is not that we believe in nothing, but end up believing in anything. The maxim of the day is "it's all good", but when everything is good then none of it is good. We had a war to end all wars, and we have had nothing but wars ever since. We had a sexual revolution and it gave us casual relationships and broken families. We pursued wealth. The poor stay poor and the rich get rich and they all end up empty. Even the "haves" wake up feeling like "have-nots". We can do whatever we like and we have all forgotten why we liked it. Our dreams have gone sour, and we do not even know who we are anymore. Even within the church itself, there are many whose hopes were placed within their own ideas of Messiah, one who would make us prosperous and powerful, and those ideas are dying a slow death.
Jesus walks alongside us and explains how the mission of God is and has always been to heal and restore. He says that no one is good but God and that God is out to recreate humanity and the world as it was meant to be, to deal with evil, to create a new family where forgiveness is common and to challenge the rule of war, sex, money, and power. And, beginning to end, the stranger interprets both old and new testaments and explains how this re-creation and revolution will take place.
Jesus speaks resurrection into our world. He is still calling us to new life, a new way, a new reality. One that leaves room for evidence as well as mystery, but overturns our assumptions about both. The sacrifice of Jesus means death to our old lives, but that is good news. His resurrection means our resurrection. It means everything is different now. Everything is new.
Telling The Story
Last night was our night to invite friends and tell our story. There were 10 of us, including the 8 members of Immanuel. Not a ragin success by the world's standards, but I'm getting increasingly comfortable not judging by those. This is going to be small and it is going to take awhile. We said all along that we wanted to grow a church from relationships, and relationships take time. We're also discovering that there is a world of difference between a friend who loves and supports you and comes to your home and one who wants to come to your church. Which can be good. It shows those friends take what we believe seriously enough to question it. Not that they can't question it with us. Anyway, a bit from the story I shared last night:
For God was so in love with the world that He sent His only Son, Jesus, so that whoever believed in Him would not die, but live. This state that we put ourselves in is killing us. That was what I realized. I had too many mornings where I woke up and looked in the mirror and hated the guy I was. This guy without purpose. This guy without direction. This guy whose only desire was for his own desires. I suffered from selfishness and self-righteousness and just....self..ness. I was so committed to being liked, to being cool, to fitting in, to being above it all, to using people as connections more than friends that it was destroying me. I wanted to be better than the person I was. I wanted to stop being the person I was. I needed to start over. I recognized all the things about me that were awful, I realized the hole I was in, and I was looking for a new way to be, for some higher truth, for some light to guide me.
My fear was that if I turned to God, as I..d been raised to do, I..d only face condemnation. But I had this story. This story that had been available to me my whole life, sitting on tables in my house. So I started turning the story over to see what I could find.
What I discovered was that Jesus liked to tell stories. Stories about fields and farmers and seeds that were really about the Kingdom of God and how He had come to bring it into the world in a new and powerful way. What I discovered was the story of how and why Jesus came into the world, not to condemn the world but to save it. Sure, He treats my sin seriously, or wouldn..t have had to die for it. But He doesn..t expose my sin so that I can carry it around with me, but so that He can take it away. Through His death, He makes the sacrifice for my sin. Through His resurrection He offers the possibility of new life. Through my repentance and baptism, I die to my old self and begin that new life in Him.
For God was so in love with the world that He sent His only Son, Jesus, so that whoever believed in Him would not die, but live. This state that we put ourselves in is killing us. That was what I realized. I had too many mornings where I woke up and looked in the mirror and hated the guy I was. This guy without purpose. This guy without direction. This guy whose only desire was for his own desires. I suffered from selfishness and self-righteousness and just....self..ness. I was so committed to being liked, to being cool, to fitting in, to being above it all, to using people as connections more than friends that it was destroying me. I wanted to be better than the person I was. I wanted to stop being the person I was. I needed to start over. I recognized all the things about me that were awful, I realized the hole I was in, and I was looking for a new way to be, for some higher truth, for some light to guide me.
My fear was that if I turned to God, as I..d been raised to do, I..d only face condemnation. But I had this story. This story that had been available to me my whole life, sitting on tables in my house. So I started turning the story over to see what I could find.
What I discovered was that Jesus liked to tell stories. Stories about fields and farmers and seeds that were really about the Kingdom of God and how He had come to bring it into the world in a new and powerful way. What I discovered was the story of how and why Jesus came into the world, not to condemn the world but to save it. Sure, He treats my sin seriously, or wouldn..t have had to die for it. But He doesn..t expose my sin so that I can carry it around with me, but so that He can take it away. Through His death, He makes the sacrifice for my sin. Through His resurrection He offers the possibility of new life. Through my repentance and baptism, I die to my old self and begin that new life in Him.
Nothing But The Blood
"For so many in our country -- the homeless and the fatherless, the addicted -- the need is great. Yet there's power, wonder-working power, in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people."
So spoke President George W. Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address. I was reminded of his speech this past week as I prepared for my sermon last night on the death of Jesus. In this line, President Bush borrows from a Christian hymn I grew up singing, titled "Power In The Blood". The chorus goes as follows:
"There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the precious blood of the lamb."
Powerful words for those of us who believe in them; and the "goodness and idealism and faith of the American people" acts as a poor replacement.
For those who are homeless, fatherless, and addicted, God offers hope; through Himself, through His Son, through His Spirit, and through His church. To offer up less than God as an answer for the world's ills isn't just tactless, it's irresponsible and hopeless.
This isn't meant to be a rant against the President or even against goodness, idealism, and faith. But the Christian story hinges on the truth that nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin. No one else can save us. No one else but Him.
Our attempts to rely on our own goodness continue to fall short, since only God is good. Our idealism is so often less than ideal and so easily turned into cynicism. Our faith might be something to boast about, if we didn't have so little.
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
So spoke President George W. Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address. I was reminded of his speech this past week as I prepared for my sermon last night on the death of Jesus. In this line, President Bush borrows from a Christian hymn I grew up singing, titled "Power In The Blood". The chorus goes as follows:
"There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the precious blood of the lamb."
Powerful words for those of us who believe in them; and the "goodness and idealism and faith of the American people" acts as a poor replacement.
For those who are homeless, fatherless, and addicted, God offers hope; through Himself, through His Son, through His Spirit, and through His church. To offer up less than God as an answer for the world's ills isn't just tactless, it's irresponsible and hopeless.
This isn't meant to be a rant against the President or even against goodness, idealism, and faith. But the Christian story hinges on the truth that nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin. No one else can save us. No one else but Him.
Our attempts to rely on our own goodness continue to fall short, since only God is good. Our idealism is so often less than ideal and so easily turned into cynicism. Our faith might be something to boast about, if we didn't have so little.
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
New Beginnings
We met in our semi-permanent space (Central Christian Church Community Room on 12th and Guadalupe) for the first time. We had an hour to set uo and used every minute of it. Hope to finish with time to spare this next week, but we'll see. This week there were already a few visitors and new faces, which we were excited to see. Hopefully, getting a behind the scenes look didn't put anyone off or scare them away. Personally, I enjoy being with a church where you get to see the man behind the curtain. Hopefully I'm not the only one.
This week we had a prayer service that broke up into Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Thanksgiving centered around the Eucharist (which means, literally, "thanksgiving"). Eucharust/communion/Lord's supper is always such a meaningful time for me. Especially as it followed on the heels of our public and privae confession/s.
I was reminded if the popular website and book PostSecret. The concept is folks sending in their secrets and fears anonymously to this website, where they are then printed on the site (and in the book). Such a great first step and ultimately helpless act. Here's my sin...now what. I out it out there, now what do I do. I believe that such an important part of being the church is being the place where you can post your secret and post your sin. Where you can carry it to the feet of the cross and have it forgiven.
It is a powerful thing to recognize your own sin. Not to recognize it in some generic way ..Yes, I..m a sinner, the Bible says we..re all sinners.. but to know it and own it, to recognize that it was this week that I ignored the homeless guy standing on the corner, that it was just yesterday that I gossiped about my friend, just hours ago that I spoke unkindly to my wife. It..s important to recognize that we are so inclined to sin, it..s a wonder we ever do anything else. It..s important that we see our sin as real, because it is real, and if it isn..t then our Lord isn..t and His sacrifice isn..t. We must recognize that we share a common problem, we are sinful, we are broken, we are evil, we miss the mark almost as often as we shoot. Recognizing that is a powerful thing.
In the beginning, God created a perfect world. He created human beings in His image and hoped to share that world with them and share relationship with them. Within a very short time, they exercised the free will that love requires and they broke the world and that relationship. They sinned. We continue that tradition. Since just after the beginning, humans have sinned, and we are no exception. Recognizing that, the weight of that, is a powerful thing.
What has been done in response is even more powerful. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, was sent to earth to die for our sin. He was raised from the dead to show His power over death and over sin. He has promised that those of us who believe in Him, who live in obedience to Him, can die to sin and be resurrected in Him.
But we..re like prisoners who have been offered a pardon, we have to accept it. We have to be willing to call Jesus our Lord if we want Him to be our Savior. We have to repent of the sin that we confess and we have to choose to be baptized in His name. We have to live in obedience to Him. If we don..t, than we're as helpless as someone with a secret and a postcard, thinking that's all there is.
The Lord..s supper proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. It proclaims His atoning work and His resurrection victory. It proclaims God..s judgment upon those who reject His offer of grace but it also welcomes all who come in faith. It proclaims hope, but also proclaims the finality of God..s work in Christ. Even as it includes, it excludes those who set themselves against the gospel. It visibly unites the people of God and gives expression to their fellowship with each other and with God. The supper proclaims the gospel.
When we eat and drink we renew our covenant with God. We pledge ourselves to keep the covenant. Just as Israel voiced its willingness to obey the covenant, so we ratify the covenant in our life when we eat and drink. It is a moment of rededication and recommitment. In the context of this worship, we voice our commitment to live worthy of the gospel. We vow to take up our cross, call Jesus Lord and follow Him into the world as obedient servants. The supper is the moment when we renew the vow we made in baptism.
When we take this supper, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin. We remember the grace that has been offered to all who believe and obey. We affirm that Jesus is the Son of God and that only through His death and resurrection can our sin be forgiven. That if we call Him Lord we can also call Him Savior. And we give thanks for that. To the One who remembered us in our low estate, who freed us, who gives us this food as His body and blood, we give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
This week we had a prayer service that broke up into Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Thanksgiving centered around the Eucharist (which means, literally, "thanksgiving"). Eucharust/communion/Lord's supper is always such a meaningful time for me. Especially as it followed on the heels of our public and privae confession/s.
I was reminded if the popular website and book PostSecret. The concept is folks sending in their secrets and fears anonymously to this website, where they are then printed on the site (and in the book). Such a great first step and ultimately helpless act. Here's my sin...now what. I out it out there, now what do I do. I believe that such an important part of being the church is being the place where you can post your secret and post your sin. Where you can carry it to the feet of the cross and have it forgiven.
It is a powerful thing to recognize your own sin. Not to recognize it in some generic way ..Yes, I..m a sinner, the Bible says we..re all sinners.. but to know it and own it, to recognize that it was this week that I ignored the homeless guy standing on the corner, that it was just yesterday that I gossiped about my friend, just hours ago that I spoke unkindly to my wife. It..s important to recognize that we are so inclined to sin, it..s a wonder we ever do anything else. It..s important that we see our sin as real, because it is real, and if it isn..t then our Lord isn..t and His sacrifice isn..t. We must recognize that we share a common problem, we are sinful, we are broken, we are evil, we miss the mark almost as often as we shoot. Recognizing that is a powerful thing.
In the beginning, God created a perfect world. He created human beings in His image and hoped to share that world with them and share relationship with them. Within a very short time, they exercised the free will that love requires and they broke the world and that relationship. They sinned. We continue that tradition. Since just after the beginning, humans have sinned, and we are no exception. Recognizing that, the weight of that, is a powerful thing.
What has been done in response is even more powerful. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, was sent to earth to die for our sin. He was raised from the dead to show His power over death and over sin. He has promised that those of us who believe in Him, who live in obedience to Him, can die to sin and be resurrected in Him.
But we..re like prisoners who have been offered a pardon, we have to accept it. We have to be willing to call Jesus our Lord if we want Him to be our Savior. We have to repent of the sin that we confess and we have to choose to be baptized in His name. We have to live in obedience to Him. If we don..t, than we're as helpless as someone with a secret and a postcard, thinking that's all there is.
The Lord..s supper proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. It proclaims His atoning work and His resurrection victory. It proclaims God..s judgment upon those who reject His offer of grace but it also welcomes all who come in faith. It proclaims hope, but also proclaims the finality of God..s work in Christ. Even as it includes, it excludes those who set themselves against the gospel. It visibly unites the people of God and gives expression to their fellowship with each other and with God. The supper proclaims the gospel.
When we eat and drink we renew our covenant with God. We pledge ourselves to keep the covenant. Just as Israel voiced its willingness to obey the covenant, so we ratify the covenant in our life when we eat and drink. It is a moment of rededication and recommitment. In the context of this worship, we voice our commitment to live worthy of the gospel. We vow to take up our cross, call Jesus Lord and follow Him into the world as obedient servants. The supper is the moment when we renew the vow we made in baptism.
When we take this supper, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin. We remember the grace that has been offered to all who believe and obey. We affirm that Jesus is the Son of God and that only through His death and resurrection can our sin be forgiven. That if we call Him Lord we can also call Him Savior. And we give thanks for that. To the One who remembered us in our low estate, who freed us, who gives us this food as His body and blood, we give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
Here I Am To Worship
t's a fairly regular occurence for a co-worker or friend to ask me "So, how's the church thing going?" For the past month, as we headed towards a corporate worship time, my response had been "I just want it to be over."
What I meant was that there were so many administrative tasks, and I'm not an administrator. There were so many details, and I'm bad with details. There was a lot of pressure, and I wanted the pressure to end.
Of course, the pressure was mostly self-inflicted. Just over a year ago, Rachel and I moved back to Austin to begin a downtown community known as Immanuel. What began as an vision formed into a core group. That core group began meeting for times of fellowship and discipleship in our home. That group began looking toward a time of worship together.
And as that time approached, the pressure was on. The pressure to produce. Produce big numbers, an elaborate setting, hip music, and all while trying to look like that wasn't what I was doing. And all while worrying that I couldn't produce. So, when people asked, I'd say "our first worship time is coming up soon, and I just want it to end."
Shame on me. What I was saying, without meaning to say it, was that nothing good could come of this time unless I pulled off the most impressive of events. What I was saying is that God couldn't possibly move and shape people better than I could. What I was saying is that because I didn't feel prepared, God must be feeling the same way.
Last night we came together for our first time worshipping together as Immanuel. We found a temporary place to meet last week. We barely had time to invite people or tell them where we'd be. We ended up with a fairly small crowd singing familiar songs, praying together, reading the Bible, confessing sin, and taking communion.
It was awesome. What I had forgotten was that initial call. To move back to Austin and begin sharing Jesus with people by sharing my life with them. To invite them into a community of faith made up of imperfect people doing their best to worship a perfect Lord. That's what we did last night. We worshipped God together. And I would guess that He was pleased. Not because I pretend to know the mind of God or because we were a particularly impressive bunch, but because we remembered (I remembered, we didn't all need as much reminding as I did), just in time, that God loves the worship of a people whose hearts are given over to Him. There's probably a lot that we fell short of doing last night. But we came and we worshipped. And I think it was good. As good as we get anyway. I know that the Spirit of God was there. I know that's always good.
Next week, we'll do it again. We're going to give it our best and know that is never good enough. I hope you'll come and join us. I don't even know where we're going to be, but I hope you'll plan to be there anyway. Come join us in worship to the only One who is worthy of it. If you're like me, you'll never want it to end.
What I meant was that there were so many administrative tasks, and I'm not an administrator. There were so many details, and I'm bad with details. There was a lot of pressure, and I wanted the pressure to end.
Of course, the pressure was mostly self-inflicted. Just over a year ago, Rachel and I moved back to Austin to begin a downtown community known as Immanuel. What began as an vision formed into a core group. That core group began meeting for times of fellowship and discipleship in our home. That group began looking toward a time of worship together.
And as that time approached, the pressure was on. The pressure to produce. Produce big numbers, an elaborate setting, hip music, and all while trying to look like that wasn't what I was doing. And all while worrying that I couldn't produce. So, when people asked, I'd say "our first worship time is coming up soon, and I just want it to end."
Shame on me. What I was saying, without meaning to say it, was that nothing good could come of this time unless I pulled off the most impressive of events. What I was saying is that God couldn't possibly move and shape people better than I could. What I was saying is that because I didn't feel prepared, God must be feeling the same way.
Last night we came together for our first time worshipping together as Immanuel. We found a temporary place to meet last week. We barely had time to invite people or tell them where we'd be. We ended up with a fairly small crowd singing familiar songs, praying together, reading the Bible, confessing sin, and taking communion.
It was awesome. What I had forgotten was that initial call. To move back to Austin and begin sharing Jesus with people by sharing my life with them. To invite them into a community of faith made up of imperfect people doing their best to worship a perfect Lord. That's what we did last night. We worshipped God together. And I would guess that He was pleased. Not because I pretend to know the mind of God or because we were a particularly impressive bunch, but because we remembered (I remembered, we didn't all need as much reminding as I did), just in time, that God loves the worship of a people whose hearts are given over to Him. There's probably a lot that we fell short of doing last night. But we came and we worshipped. And I think it was good. As good as we get anyway. I know that the Spirit of God was there. I know that's always good.
Next week, we'll do it again. We're going to give it our best and know that is never good enough. I hope you'll come and join us. I don't even know where we're going to be, but I hope you'll plan to be there anyway. Come join us in worship to the only One who is worthy of it. If you're like me, you'll never want it to end.
Immanuel: Our Story
In April of 2005, Kester and Rachel moved to Austin, TX with their son, Harrison (Harry), to plant a downtown community that would reach out to Austinites who might be less likely to get involved with a church. They began vocational jobs in the downtown area in order to dive into the culture they love and begin forming relationships in the local community. Kester has been working at BookPeople (largest independent bookstore in Texas) for over a year and a half now and continues working there today.God has amazed us through the spiritual friendships through BookPeople. God provided Rachel with a part-time job as a speech-language pathologist in a pediatric clinic in October, 2005.
In January of 2006, after many months of prayer and planning, the Lord brought together a core team of people who committed to helping start and shape this community. The team consisted of Adam and Erica Sweeney, Nathan and Melissa Jerkins, and the Smiths. What started off as The Jesus Community ultimately settled on the name Immanuel. It is a simple word that means “God with us” and speaks to the community we share with God and with each other, as well as proclaiming the One who is Immanuel, Jesus Christ. January through March of 2006, was spent praying, researching, and planning together for a fall launching of the Immanuel Downtown Community.
In March of 2006, weekly Bible studies began in the Smiths’ home, which continue to this day. People we had been growing in relationship with for months began coming to our study group on Wednesday evenings.
In August of 2006, God brought us Chris Morton through the Mission Alive apprenticeship program (missionalive.org). He is an energetic individual, hailing from Denver, and more recently Harding University and Atlanta, GA. After a great deal of prayer and planning, we began public worship services on Sunday nights at the beginning of October, 2006. We were blessed to have been offered a community room in the Central Christian Church free-of-charge. The building is centrally-located in downtown Austin and the church has a wonderful reputation in the community.
As our relationships have grown, so have our numbers, but what we are most excited about is the way that the group that is being formed is being formed in the image of Jesus Christ.
As we continue to search and learn and grow and change, we invite you along. You may be a Christian strong in faith or one who sees more weak spots than not. You may not be a Christian at all, but one who comes seeking a higher truth, a better way, and an abundant life. You may be someone looking for a group of friends who will accept you as you are and help you become all you can be. If so, we want to invite you along. We want to hear your story. We want to share ours with you.
In January of 2006, after many months of prayer and planning, the Lord brought together a core team of people who committed to helping start and shape this community. The team consisted of Adam and Erica Sweeney, Nathan and Melissa Jerkins, and the Smiths. What started off as The Jesus Community ultimately settled on the name Immanuel. It is a simple word that means “God with us” and speaks to the community we share with God and with each other, as well as proclaiming the One who is Immanuel, Jesus Christ. January through March of 2006, was spent praying, researching, and planning together for a fall launching of the Immanuel Downtown Community.
In March of 2006, weekly Bible studies began in the Smiths’ home, which continue to this day. People we had been growing in relationship with for months began coming to our study group on Wednesday evenings.
In August of 2006, God brought us Chris Morton through the Mission Alive apprenticeship program (missionalive.org). He is an energetic individual, hailing from Denver, and more recently Harding University and Atlanta, GA. After a great deal of prayer and planning, we began public worship services on Sunday nights at the beginning of October, 2006. We were blessed to have been offered a community room in the Central Christian Church free-of-charge. The building is centrally-located in downtown Austin and the church has a wonderful reputation in the community.
As our relationships have grown, so have our numbers, but what we are most excited about is the way that the group that is being formed is being formed in the image of Jesus Christ.
As we continue to search and learn and grow and change, we invite you along. You may be a Christian strong in faith or one who sees more weak spots than not. You may not be a Christian at all, but one who comes seeking a higher truth, a better way, and an abundant life. You may be someone looking for a group of friends who will accept you as you are and help you become all you can be. If so, we want to invite you along. We want to hear your story. We want to share ours with you.
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