TERSANCTUS

Going on to Perfection

2012-01-18T10:03:00.003-06:00

Psalm 38 + Psalm 119.25-48
Genesis 9.18-29 + Hebrews 6.1-12 + John 3.22-36

I am always torn between "getting back to the basics" and "going on to perfection." The author to the Hebrews seems to believe they are opposed to one another. "Let us go on to perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation..." Skipping to the end of the passage he says that it is his hope that we would "realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

It all makes me think, am I pushing ahead? Or have I become sluggish?

John the Baptist is all about pushing ahead. Even as he and Jesus are baptizing together, John is pointing to Jesus. "He must increase, I must decrease." This is, I think, the heart of holiness. Atheletes push on to get bigger and stronger and faster. Christians push on so that they can become smaller so that Christ can become bigger. Am I pushing on? Am I becoming smaller? Is he becoming bigger within and through me?

A while ago, I proposed three questions we can ask ourselves to gauge our growth:

1) Scripture: Am I asking more and harder questions about scripture and the faith?
2) Worship: Am I coming to worship with a growing sense of awe and expectancy?
3) Ministry: Am I ministering to the lost with a greater passion for grace?

I think these are good places to start if indeed we want to realize the full assurance of our hope.

Almighty God, send upon us your Holy Spirit that we may be so filled with your love and grace that there would be no room within us for anything but you. And being filled with your love and grace, may it spill forth from our lives to the glory of your name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And Jesus Looked Upward and Said...

2012-01-05T07:31:00.002-06:00

Psalm 2, Psalm 110:1-7
Jonah 2.2-9 + Ephesians 6.10-20 + John 11.17-27, 38-44

Next week I will begin my second year of coursework in the DMin program at Trinity School for Ministry. It is a fascinating place to study with others who are Evangelicals like myself, but who are also shaped by the Anglican tradition like I have been in the last few years. Many people ask me why I chose to study at an Anglican seminary, and the answer is very simple: Prayer is at the center of their community.

I was born and raised and now pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. I was educated in the Church of the Nazarene, first at Mount Vernon Nazarene University then at Nazarene Theological Seminary. In both of those places we had the opportunity to attend chapel on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those chapel services were very formative and I am glad that I had the opportunity to attend. But looking back, something was missing. At Trinity every day begins AND ends with the community gathering together to pray. Prayer is the center of their community.

Prayer is at the heart of today's readings as well. Jesus' miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead was accomplished through prayer. Jonah's release from the belly of the fish was accomplished through prayer. The Ephesians text is famous for its image of "the full armor of God" but sometimes we are so fascinated by the armor imagery that we miss the real point which comes immediately after the description of the armor:

"Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me..."

The armor is great, but the power is in the prayer. We have been taught, I think, that prayer needs to be a regular part of our daily lives, but I wonder how much we think about praying as a church? How much time do you spend praying with someone else? In a small group? As the body of Christ? Let us resolve this year that prayer will be not only the center of our personal lives, but also the center of our Church life as well.

Ever-present God, who never sleeps nor slumbers but is always attentive to the cry of your people, may your Holy Spirit stir up within us a heart of prayer that will center us in your will, both as individuals, in our small groups, and as a Church. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Go to Siloam and Wash

2012-01-04T07:47:00.002-06:00

Psalm 85, 87 + Psalm 89.1-29
Joshua 3.14-4.7 + Ephesians 5.1-20 + John 9.1-12, 35-38

Much is made of the theme of love in Christianity, and rightfully so. We are, after all, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. This IS the greatest command. Corollary to it, however, is a theme that emerges quite clearly in today's lessons. John tells of a man who was born blind. His disciples inquired as to why the man was blind. Jesus response was that this man was born blind in order to bring glory to the Father. As the story unfolds, God is glorified, but not through Jesus miracle or even through the man's love. The man told everyone:

"Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."

God was glorified through the blind man's obedience. Paul cautions his audience:

"Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Why?

"the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient."

Even in Joshua, God's mighty act is remembered because Joshua was obedient to God's command to select 12 men who would each place a stone as a memorial to God's great power. The Westminster Catechism reminds us that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever." That can only happen if we are obedient to the will of the Father. Sometimes God asks us to do big things, sometimes small. Sometimes God's command makes sense, other times it does not. What is important is that whatever God asks, we obey.

Most glorious God, whose glory was revealed to your people through the many miracles you preformed, may your glory be revealed to the whole world through our obedience to your will for our lives. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Christmas Sermon

2011-01-05T12:39:00.002-06:00

Following is the sermon I preached on the 1st Sunday of Christmas. It is a bit more topical that I prefer, but it tied the three sermons (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, 1st Sunday of Christmas) together well and began a conversation that will carry us well into the new year. It has created alot of discussion, some good and some not so good, but since people seem to be talking about it - and since it touches on some other online conversations I've had recently - I thought I'd post it.

+ + +

One of the questions I get asked quite often around here is, “why have so many of our children walked away from the church?” Closely related to that question is another one that it also very frequently asked, “what is it going to take to start getting our younger people back?” These are not easy questions. And there are no easy answers. But if I had to start to answer those questions, I would start with the incarnation – the birth of God in the person of Jesus, our Immanuel, God with us, fully God and fully human. The birth of Christ is where God’s answer to these questions of salvation begin, and so it is fitting that it is where our thinking about these questions of salvation begins.

I know that many of you were unable to attend one or both of our Christmas services this year for various reasons, and so what I’d like to do is pull together all that has been said, bring in our texts from today and begin thinking together about bringing faith and the community of faith back into the lives of those younger people who have either walked away, or who have never been a part.

On Christmas Eve we talked about the disturbing side of Christmas. The part where we have to choose. The story of salvation in Christ begins with a story of two kings. King Augustus and King Jesus. Both approach being King in very different ways. Augustus on a throne; Jesus in a manger. Augustus wielding power; Jesus serving in weakness. Augustus as the perfect representative of culture and country; Jesus as the perfect representative of God's love and God’s Kingdom. Christmas is so disturbing because now we are without excuse. We have to choose. We cannot hedge; we can serve only one master: which king will it be?

To be Christian then is to convert from being a follower of King Augustus, to being a follower of King Jesus. That conversion must bring about a transformation of our beliefs, of our behavior, and of our worldview. If any of the three fail to be transformed we will ultimately fail in our quest for holiness.

Yesterday morning we considered the idea of the word becoming flesh. When Jesus was born, the word became flesh. God’s nature became human. God’s deepest belief was put into action. Who God is was revealed by what Christ did. The word became flesh and there was a perfect consistency between what Christ taught and what Christ did. Words took on flesh. Jesus didn’t just tell us to heal the sick, he touched the lepers. Jesus didn’t just tell us to love the unlovable, he had dinner with the tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus didn’t just tell us to feed the hungry, he fed the 5,000. Jesus didn’t just tell us to love our enemies, pray for those who harm us, and forgive those who do wrong to us. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus cried out, “Father forgive them!” Belief and behavior came into perfect alignment as the Word of God took on the flesh of humanity.

So why do so many young people walk away from the church, and what do we have to do to start reaching young people? Our words have to become flesh. Our seen behavior has to match our said belief. Young people have no tolerance for saying one thing and doing another. And no matter what experts say, young people know the basics of what the church ought to be about: loving instead of fighting; encouraging rather than gossiping, sacrifice rather than selfishness; praising instead of complaining; inclusiveness rather than prejudice. We could go on and on listing the things people know the church ought to be, but suffice it to say people know the church ought to be, and expect that it will be, a totally different place filled with totally different people.

But what have they found? Usually just more of the same old worldly stuff. I’ve spoken with several people who were raised in this church but don’t come any more. I make it a point to ask them why. You know what their number one answer is? “Those people don’t act any different than the people I work with who don’t claim to be Christians.” I’ve heard people tell me they don’t come because they are tired of all the gossip that goes on. I’ve heard people tell me they don’t come because they heard people talking about the way they looked or smelled. People have commented that if we loved as much as we complained maybe they would come. Young people are looking for transformation. They look to the people of the church, but too often we have let them down by not being transformed ourselves so that our beliefs are seen in our behavior. If we want to start getting the younger generations back, we are going to have to be transformed – sanctified – wholly, entirely, fully so that the Word of God becomes flesh in our lives and in our behavior, just as the Word of God became flesh in the baby born in the manger in Bethlehem.

On Christmas Eve we talked about the need for not only transformed belief and behavior, but for a transformed worldview – the way we look at and think about reality (life, the world, and ministry). This is where our text this morning comes into play. The author of Hebrews claims that “since the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.”

When we look back across the history of the church, they see two predominant motives for living a Christian life: to glorify God, and for fear of death. In the early days of the church, lets say the first three hundred years, people converted to Christianity in order to glorify God. We know that fear of death was not a motive for them because it was converting to Christ that was often the cause of their death. Being Christian was illegal, and the penalty was often death. If they were in fear of death, as the author of Hebrews puts it, they would have not converted to Christ and would have not risked their life by being part of the church. They followed Christ in order to glorify God.

But in the fourth century something changed. Christianity became legal, and it even became the required religion of the empire. This began the motivation to convert from fear of death. During this period, to be a good citizen meant to be Christian, and to deny Christ was to deny the decree of the Emperor, the penalty of which was often death. Convert or die. This was also the period where the crusades occurred. Where the Christians sought to evangelize the pagans by giving them a choice: convert or die -- fear of death.

Over time, that ultimatum changed from a physical choice to a spiritual choice. The 19th and 20th century are marked by evangelism that forced people to choose between eternal life with God or eternal torture in hell. Same tactic of fear. Most of us here today became Christians because we were told that if we don’t come up to the altar and repent and give our hearts to Jesus we will surely die. We were so afraid of hell that we went up to the altar to buy our fire insurance. This conversion of fear became the norm in the church for many centuries and it became so ingrained in us that it effects the way we do everything. Evangelism became about concocting plans to back people into a corner and force them to make the choice to convert or burn. Discipleship became about how one makes sure they don't slip back into hell. Worship became just one more tool to get people saved – complete with extended altar calls and 42 verses of Just As I Am. Even the way we make decisions has largely been influenced by this worldview of fear. “If I do x or y or z will I go to heaven or hell?” This worldview of fear has just been normal for the church for most of 16 centuries.

But in the 20th century, something again changed. No one is sure yet what exactly changed, but people began walking away from this fear for various reasons (some which are good, others which are bad). Today, young people don’t operate out of a fear of death. They are every bit as spiritual as the generations who have gone before them. In many ways they are more spiritual. But they don’t buy into this theology of fear and they want nothing to do with those who do. They have been set free from the fear of death, and are looking for a place to understand God and to glorify him. The pendulum has swung from glorifying God, to fearing death, and now back to glorifying God.

So, I’ve been talking way too long and I really need to get to the point. The point is this: if we want to reach younger people, we need to be transformed. Not just in our beliefs and our behavior, but in the way we look at ministry together and the way we think about ministry together and the way we go about ministry together. We need to come to terms with the freedom from death Paul championed. We need to truly embrace the freedom from fear that we find in our reading this morning. We need to truly understand the truth of the Christmas story, that Christ came to earth as a baby so that “through his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.” We need to be freed from our obsession with and our fear of death and hell.

And then we have to be re-invented to begin operating out of a default setting of glorifying God. How do we glorify God with our thoughts, with our words, with our actions? How do we worship God – not to get people saved but to glorify God? How do our discipleship ministries make fully devoted disciples of Christ whose lives glorify God? What does it mean for outreach and evangelism to be understood as both glorifying God and helping others glorify God. Being the Christians God created us to be, and being the church God is calling us to be, requires that we understand and embrace the simple truth of Christmas: God became human “so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.”

Merry Christmas – you are FREE!

To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

TODAY'S READING: TANSFORMING WORLDVIEWS

2010-12-20T14:21:00.007-06:00

Hiebert, Paul. Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of HOw People Change (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008).

"What is the gospel and what changes must take place when one becomes a Christian?"

It is a question we have all wrestled with many times. Hiebert gives three possible answers: (1) a change of belief; (2) a change of behavior; (3) a change of worldview.

Asked another way, "What must take place for a conversion to be genuine?"

Hiebert suggests, Conversion to Christ must encompass all three levels: behavior, belief, and the worldview that underlies these. Christians should live differently because they are Christians. However, if their behavior is based primarily on traditional rather than Christian beliefs it becomes pagan ritual. Conversion must involve a transformation of beliefs, but if it is a change only of beliefs and not of behavior, it is false faith (James 2). Conversion may include a change in beliefs and behavior, but if the worldview is not transformed, in the long run the gospel is subverted and the result is a syncretistic Christo-paganism, which has the form of Christianity but not its essence. Christianity becomes a new magic and a new, subtler form of idolatry. If behavioral change was the focus of the mission movement in the nineteenth century, and changed beliefs its focus in the twentieth century, then transforming worldviews must be its central task in the twenty-first century (11-12).

In the first section of the book (chapters 1-4) Hiebert gives a philosophical foundation for understanding "worldview." In the second section (chapters 5-9) he traces the development of worldviews from "Small-Scale Oral Societies" to "Peasant Worldviews" to "The Modern Worldview" to "Postmodernity" to the "Glocal Worldview."

Chapter Ten is Hiebert's proposal for a "Biblical Worldview" and Chapter Eleven is his discussion of "Transforming World Views." (if you don't have time to read the whole book, read the intro and then chapters 10-11 to get the thrust of his proposal without all the background).

So having read the book in light of the quote from the introduction above, the first thing I wonder is if Hiebert is really making a case for entire-sanctification. Yes, technically entire sanctification is a transformation of the heart, but does that transformation not necessarily yield a transformed worldview. Is not the holiness of life as important of the holiness of heart?

If this is the case, that conversion is not just a new belief that results in new behavior, but also requires a "second work of grace" by which one's entire worldview is transformed, then we holiness folk ought to be on the leading edge this transformed worldview. We simply must ask the logical evaluative question: how is that working out for us?

Lets not take much time with new converts, we all know holiness takes time. Lets look straight to the old-time, mature and entirely-sanctified saints in our churches. Do their lives give evidence to having a transformed worldview? Do they look at the world differently? Are their values, and priorities and allegiances notably different than all the good people in our communities? Are our churches notably different in the way they approach life than the rest of the world? Do our churches present a radically different kingdom ethos than the secular world of individualism, materialism, consumerism and nationalism?

I was watching facebook the other day when a mentor of mine (a female) posted this update:

What would you have done when the strange man you just met because you are giving him a ride into town says, "I have just gotten out of a psychiatric hospital. I was there because I pleaded innocent by reasons of insanity to the two felonies of kidnapping and rape."

Dee gets it. That is a transformed worldview. Maybe it was dangerous, but I think we are called to take up our crosses - that sounds pretty dangerous to me.

O that I had that kind of faith. O that my worldview might be transformed.

The Changing Face of World Mission

2010-12-15T10:16:00.000-06:00

I just finished reading The Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends, by Michael Popcock, Gailyn van Rheenan, and Douglas McConnel (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005).

If Newbigin (Gospel in a Pluralist Society) was insightful, captivating, and intriguing, then Pocock, van Rheened and McConnell are more along the lines of mind numbing, off-putting and disinteresting. Filled with gross mischaracterizations such as “In contrast with postmodernists, evangelical Christians…” and “In contrast to postmodernitists, Christians maintain…” the authors seem not terribly acquainted with the postmodern movement in the Church and risk alienating many postmoderns who might otherwise find the book helpful. Filled with the kind of stereotypical fundamentalism that advocates divine foreknowledge and determinism, over-accentuates the satanic, and is hyper-fascinated with the demonic, the authors risk alienating many non-fundamentalist evangelicals who might otherwise find their book helpful. Filled with the kind of judgmental, ecumenical blunders such as praising the conversion of other Christians (ie Roman Catholics) or doubting the faith profession of Bono, the authors risk alienating any other Christians, not already offended, who might have found their book helpful.

That said, the authors’ contribution also includes some helpful discussions. Among the positive contributions of the authors is the three-fold yearnings of postmoderns. The perceptivity to note that people have an innate longing to experience transcendence, to feel significant, and to need community is to be commended. Even more commendable is the perceptivity to note that modernity has stripped Christianity of these foundational components reducing Christianity to a life of personal piety with just “me and Jesus – my best buddy.”

Perhaps the most important contribution offered by these authors is their careful look at the “Changing Motivation for Missions” in chapter six. This chapter traces the history of missions in each era of the church by examining the driving force behind the mission work of the church. The early church did missions for God’s glory. The Constantinian church used coercive and often violent means in order to expand the kingdom (whether the kingdom in question refers to God’s kingdom or that of the emperor is not always clear). The Reformation-era church did mission out of a fear of hell, as exemplified in Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God.” Which brings the conversation into the present day, post-Christendom church.

After examining the current theological conversations concerning hell, lostness, and glory, it would seem the post-Christendom church has indeed come full circle back to the pre-Constantinian church in its emphasis on the glory of God. This mission motivation, interestingly, is directly linked to the yearnings of post-moderns for transcendence, significance, and community. The larger issue, however, is a missiological question raised by this changing motivation for mission in relation to the transition from modernity to post-modernity – from Christendom to post-Christendom. How does the local congregation, comprised of people whose motivation for mission was formed in the modern world of Christendom (fear of hell) evangelize people who are formed in the post-modern, post-Christian world who long for transcendence, significance and community?

Motive drives method. A “fear of hell” motive will produce a mission endeavor that is focused on comforting this fear by providing a way out of hell and into heaven, but is that what post-moderns are seeking? Put another way, one will always come to the wrong solution if one is not asking the right question. Those operating with a “fear of hell” motive are attempting to evangelize by answering a question no one is asking. The result will inevitably be grand failure. Can moderns evangelize post-moderns, or must moderns have to become post-modern to evangelize post-moderns? The missiological answer (and also the theological one if the incarnation means anything at all) is that moderns must become post-moderns, or at least enter deeply into the post-modern world. Is such a transition even possible, or is world-view so ingrained that modern churches are simply destined to die, while new post-modern ones sprout new life?

What say you?

Newbigin On Pastoral Ministry

2010-12-08T18:23:00.003-06:00

How one can complete 8 years of full-time theological education, including not less than four missions & eveangelism courses, and not encounter Leslie Newbigin’s Gospel In A Pluralist Society (1989) is simply beyond comprehension. If one wants to understand what is going on in the field of missions and evangelism today, one has to start with this masterpiece published over twenty years ago. When one reads the popular emergent church authors like Rob Bell and Brian McClaren, one hears the clear echoes of Leslie Newbigin. When one reads the more mainstream missional church authors like Daryl Guder and Alan Roxburgh, one hears the clear echoes of Leslie Newbigin. When one reads the academics such as Bryan Stone, one hears the clear echoes of Leslie Newbigin. Leslie Newbigin’s Gospel In A Pluralist Society is a must read for anyone wanting to understand better the missionary nature of the faith and of the Church.

I could go on and on and on, quoting the gems in this classic test, but I want simply to reflect on one particular quote that truly resonates with my heart in parish ministry.

What kind of ministerial leadership will nourish the Church in its faithfulness to the gospel in a pluralist society? It is frequently said that the Church in Britain is now in a missionary situation. It is not clear that the full meaning of this has been understood. We have lived for so many centuries in the “Christendom” situation that ministerial training is almost entirely conceived in terms of the pastoral care of existing congregations. In a situation of declining numbers, the policy has been to abandon areas (such as the inner cities [- or the case could be made for rural areas as well]) where active Christians are few to concentrate ministerial resources by merging congregations and deploying ministers in the places where there are enough Christians to support them. Needless to say, this simply accelerates the decline. It is the opposite of a missionary strategy, which would proceed in the opposite direction – deploying ministers in the areas where the Christian presence is the weakest (235-6).

When I read this, my mind immediately jumped to the way The Church of the Nazarene matches pastors with congregations. The prevailing philosophy seems to be the big churches get the best pastors while the little struggling churches have to settle for the left overs. This is quite ironic because we are a denomination of little churches, yet the system is so slanted toward the big churches.

Not long ago our Pensions and Benefits Board voted to change the retirement system for our pastors. Previously, every pastor got a set retirement contribution and a bonus contribution if their church paid their P&B Allocation in full. Under the new plan, the dollar amount of a pastor’s retirement contribution is proportional to the dollar amount her church pays to the P&B Allocation. In other words, large church pastors get a larger retirement, while small church pastors get a smaller retirement. This is but one example of the way The Church of the Nazarene favors the big churches and ignores its smaller churches.

There are many pastors (myself included) that would love to pastor smaller, poorer churches in our urban and rural communities. The problem is that such pastors are typically forced to choose between either (a) living near the poverty line, with no employer provided benefits; (b) being bivocational in order to provide for the family and giving the church what time and engergy is left (which is no recipe for success); or (c) moving up the “ladder” to a bigger church in order to provide for one’s family. Inevitably then, the “best pastors” will inevitably gravitate to the bigger churches, leaving the smaller churches to struggle. Think about it. When was the last GS elected right out of a church whose average attendance was fewer than 100? How about a DS? It doesn’t happen because the “good pastors” pastor the “College Churches” of the world.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am absolutely not criticizing any “College Church” pastors; they are indeed wonderful pastors. The system, however, does exactly what Newbigin describes. It accelerates the growth of the big churches and accelerates the decline of the small struggling churches. What if we created a system that made it possible for the “good ones” to pastor small churches. What if we incentivized pastors to stay in small churches instead of pushing them to take ever larger ones?

In my opinion, the simplest way to accomplish this is through the pay structure. If Districts were directed to implement a pay matrix, similar to that used by teachers and other professions, where pay is determined by (a) years of service and (b) education, then much of this issue would be resolved. As an added bonus, it would also incentivize education! A pastor would be paid the same whether she served a church of fifty or fifty-thousand. That salary should have to include health insurance and retirement as well. Churches who can afford to meet that pay level would be free to call their own pastors, while churches who cannot afford to meet that pay level would be matched with another nearby church who together would share the pastor and the cost.

I realize that change of this magnitude is likely to never happen, but Newbigin is right to assert that churches serious about missions have to reverse the trend and figure out how to deploy the strongest pastors in areas where the Christian presence is weakest.

So how would you approach this difficult task?

On Heresy

2010-11-16T09:52:00.002-06:00

I promised that as I got back into my educational reading, I would be more disciplined in my posting. Currently (at least for today) I am reading Leslie Newbigin's Gospel in a Pluralist Society. Thus far it has been very heavy on the epistemological foundations of missions. What I am finding is that epistemology might be the most tedious and cumbersome and boring branch of philosophical inquiry I have ever encountered. Don't get me wrong. The thought is excellent, just tedious and somewhat tiring.

For the topic of my first post, I ran across a statement that has present implications in the current debates within Nazarene theology. It seems that many have decided to bring "heresy" back into the theological vocabulary. It has become the task of some who are "concerned" about the direction of our church to discern who are faithful and who are heretics. They are quite open about labeling people as heretics. I've even made one of their lists. The problem is that their definition of heretic seems to be "one who disagrees with me."

In contrast to that definition, Newbigin, while talking about "Authority, Autonomy and Tradtion," says the following:

In a pre-Enlightenment society there are only a few heretics in the original sense of the word, that is to say, only a few people who make their own decisions about what to believe. For the vast majority faith is not a matter of personal decision: it is simiply the acceptance of what everybody accepts because it is obviously the case. There is no alternative and no personal choice. By contrast... in a post-Enlightenment society we are all required to be heretics, we are all required to make a personal choice. Everyone, as the saying goes, has to have a faith of his or her own. If, then, I appeal to the authority of the Bible or the Church, that is simply my personal choice. It does not settle any argument.

Of course one could point out... that the heretical imperative is not universal. There are elements in our culture where tradition is operative. No one, in our culture, suggests that each of us should have a physics of his own or a biology of her own. We know, of course, that there are arguments among physicists and biologists, just as there have always been arguments among biblical scholars and church theologians. But where there is consensus among physicists, as there is across the cast range of matter which is included, for example, in a school textbook of physics, we accept that as authoritative. In this field, the statement "All physicists are agreed that..." is normally enough to settle an argument. There is no significant proportion of our society which simply dismisses the findings of the physicists as merely private, subjective preferences. In the case of statements about Christian belief, however, the situation is obviously different. A very large section of society simply dismisses the statements of theologians as expressions of personal opinion -- opinion which they are entitled to hold but which does not rank as public truth, as factual knowledge in the sense that the statements of physicists do. (39-40)

Very interesting indeed.

Ready...

Set...

Discuss...

THE WAYS WE WORSHIP

2010-09-02T11:28:00.001-05:00

+ EXODUS 3 + PSALM 97 + ACTS 9 + MATTHEW 17 +

On most Monday evenings during the summer I can be found on the golf course with another pastor. When we started golfing, we were hoping to be able to get a good group of men to come out and golf together each week. But what has really happened has been that the two of us have had many evenings together to dream the dreams God is giving us for our churches. To share with one another. To encourage one another. To support one another. To help each other ask hard questions and come to the even harder answers.

About midway through the summer he said to me. “You know, I really think my church needs to start seeing itself in terms of ministry instead of in terms of worship.” We talked about that idea for awhile, and this series on which we are about to embark, is my response to his idea.

It is not just his idea. “Missional” is all the rage these days in pastor’s seminars – and journals and magazines and books. There is a big push for the church to be redefined in terms of the Mission of God. This is a big step because for the last 2000 years the church has been defined in terms of the Worship of God, but now we are being asked to leave that identity behind in favor of something else.

My response, both to my friend on the golf course, to my fellow missional pastors, and to you all today, is that where the church is failing in its mission, it is because the church is failing in its worship. Where the church is thriving in its mission, it is because the church is thriving in its worship.

Worship, you see is the heart of the church. The heart sends the nutrient and oxygen rich blood out to the body to do its work, and then the depleted blood is brought back into the heart to be renewed and sent out again. If the body is weak, the first place you look is the heart. If the body is unable to do its work, you look at the heart. If the body is tired, or constantly out of breath, often the heart is the problem. The heart is not the whole point of the body. But without the heart, the body ceases to exist.

Worship functions in a similar way. Without worship, there is no ministry. Without worship, in fact, the body, ie the church, ceases to exist. It is in worship that the people of God are gathered to experience God’s presence, to be transformed by God’s grace and to be united in God’s mission. Each of these three things is built on that which precedes it. The encounter is the causes the transformation. The transformation causes the uniting. Without the encounter there is no transformation. Without the transformation there is no uniting. And so, if there is not worship, there is no ministry. No worship, no mission. Mission and ministry simply cannot exist apart from the worship of the church.

Each of the three readings we read this morning serve to illustrate this point directly. Whether its Moses, or the Disciples, or Saul, their ability to go on with the ministry they are given depends of their experience of God’s presence and the transformation that it brings. Lets take Saul. Saul is a devout Jew who is devoutly anti-Christian. He looks for reasons to persecute Christians and when he cannot find a good reason he makes one up. Paul, on the other hand, is a devout Christian who is devoutly committed to spreading the gospel. Not only does he love Christians, but he loves Jews and Gentiles and wants them both to know the love of Christ that he has encountered and that has so transformed his life.

So how is it that Saul became Paul. Simple. Saul encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmeaus. The result of Saul’s divine encounter was radical life transformation. When a person is transformed the way Saul was, the only possible option is to be united in God’s mission of salvation for all the world. Without the encounter there is no transformation. Without the transformation there is no unification.

When we gather as a church every Lord’s Day morning, we expect the pattern to be the same. We come together expecting to experience God’s presence among us. We don’t know how God’s presence will be experienced, but we come in faith expecting that experience none the less. Sometimes, God’s presence comes as a still small voice, whispering in the wind. Sometimes, God’s presence comes riding the bolts of lightning and booming with the claps of thunder. Sometimes God’s presence is found in a handshake, or in a hug, or in a prayer. We just never know where God’s presence will be revealed to us.

That is why attitude and behavior are so important. If we are truly expecting Almighty God, the creator and redeemer of the universe to show up here, then surely we won’t let ourselves become distracted by the temptation to chit-chat with one another instead of praying to God. Surely we won’t come to worship casually, as if we were going to a football game or a civic club meeting. This is worship, isn’t it? We are expecting God to be here, aren’t we? Have you noticed how many times the concepts of “reverence” and “awe” have come up this past summer in our scripture reading? That is how we are to approach God in worship! Reverence and awe must be descriptive of both our attitudes and our actions as we come together expecting to experience God.

In our divine encounter, we expect to be transformed by God’s grace within us. This is what being a “holiness” church is all about. It is about life transformation. It is about believing that we can never experience God and come away unchanged. It is about believing that yes, our sins need to be – and can be thanks to Christ – forgiven, but also that our lives need to be – and can be thanks to Christ – transformed. It is not enough to be forgiven, we must be changed, we must be transformed. God, through the divine encounter, transforms our hearts and transforms our lives. Our attitudes change. Our actions change. The words we speak to one another change. The way we think changes. Our values change. Our priorities change. Our whole life changes as we are transformed into the holy people God created us, and calls us, to be. As we experience his holiness, we too become holy. As we experience his love, we too become love – transformed by God’s grace through our divine experience of God’s presence.

In our gracious transformation, we expect to be united with Christ in God’s mission of salvation for all the world. When we are transformed by God’s love, we can’t help but being a people who love the world in radical and surprising ways. I am reminded of a favorite story of mine told by Tony Campolo. I know I’ve told it before, but you’ll forgive me for telling it again. He was waiting for the subway one day when a bum sat down beside him on the bench. The bum took a sip of coffee and then offered one to him. He said to the bum, “Sir, I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I can’t take your coffee. Not to be rude, but I have quite a lot; you seem to have so very little. I can buy my own coffee. Please, you enjoy your coffee.”

The bum looked him in the eye and said, “You are right. I have very little. All I own is what you see here. I have no home, no clean clothes, just what you see here. But I do have this cup of coffee. It was given to me by a store owner. Usually I am given very bad, very cold coffee. And I am grateful for even that. But today I was given a piping hot cup of the very best coffee I’ve ever tasted. I may not have much, but I know that when you are given something this good, you just have to share it.”

When we experience God’s presence – when we are transformed by God’s grace – we, like that bum and his coffee, realize that when we are given such a wonderful gift, our only appropriate response is to share it. And so like Moses, like the disciples, like Paul, we find ourselves the recipient of God’s most wonderful gift. As recipients of God’s great grace, we have no choice but to want to share that gift with others. To tell our neighbors the great news. To love our neighbors just as we have been loved. To be united together in the mission of God to bring salvation to all the world.

Over the next many weeks we are going to be looking at what it means to be a church defined by the Worship of God. More specifically, we are going to be looking at the ways we worship. A recent book on current issues in Protestantism contained a chapter on Protestant worship. That chapter is going to form the outline for this series. In it, the author suggested that within Protestantism there are three predominant views of worship. Every person worships best in one of three ways. Every one of you here fits in one of these three categories. Either you worship best through song and congregational singing; or you worship best through scripture and the preaching of the Word; or you worship best through sacrament and the celebration of God’s grace.

Traditionally, the same could be said of every congregation. Every church, then, approached worship by emphasizing its singing, or its preaching, or its sacraments. Typically the charismatic types (Assemblies, Foursquare, etc.) were know for their musical emphasis; the mainline types were known for their preaching emphasis (Methodist, Presbyterian, etc); and the high church types (Lutheran, Episcopalian, etc) were known for their sacramental emphasis. But I would contend that the days of such simple and clear categorizations are behind us. A church fully enthralled in the mission of God is going to have to be a church fully enthralled in the Worship of God through song, scripture and sacrament. A renewed focus on the mission of God can come only by a renewed focus on the worship of God. A revitalization of the church’s ministry can come only by a revitalization of the church’s worship.

It is that simple. If we want people to be involved in ministry, we have involve people in worship. If they never experience God’s presence, they will never be transformed by God’s grace. If they are never transformed by God’s grace, they will never be united in God’s mission. It really is that simple. If we want to create a culture of ministry in which everyone ministers, we begin by creating a culture of worship in which everyone worships – whether in song, scripture or sacrament.

To the Glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Good News...

2010-08-03T14:42:00.002-05:00

If anyone ever still checks my blog, you will know I have been largely inactive for a while. There are many reasons for that, mostly bad. Regardless, there is some good news, and a little hope that I will be more attentive to my postings in the near future. I received news that I was accepted to the DMin program at Trinity [Episcopal] School for Ministry. I will begin taking courses in January which means I will have to begin my reading very soon. Hopefully, each week I will reflect a little on some issue raised in the reading that might be of help to discuss here.

Just a little about this next step. TSM is "an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition." They are a very eclectic bunch, all united by both their evangelicalism and their worship. But within that group there are a great diversity of perspectives. In addition to professors from the Anglican side, there are also a couple Presbyterians and even one with Nazarene roots. Some are charismatic and some are catholic. Many are in between. Some are more of a Calvinist slant, while others are of an Aminian slant, with even a Wesleyan or two sprinkled in. It truly is a diverse group built around a common commitment to Scripture and Liturgy.

It is located in Ambridge, PA which is much like many of the "rust belt towns." It is a hard working, blue collar community whose plight is directly related to the steel industry. It is about 45 minutes from home, so I will be able to commute during my on-campus times in January and June. It will take me 3-4 years to do the course work and then some time for the dissertation/project.

My concentration will lie at the intersection of two areas I have always wanted to study more: evangelism and spiritual formation. I will be studying both, focusing on spiritual direction, to see if there is anything that can be applied from that discipline to equip congregants to transform everyday conversations into evangelistic conversations. I fully expect that my studies will enhance my ministry in the areas of evangelism and spiritual direction AND equip my people to better understand and practice evangelism.

I covet your prayers as I begin this next step, and am looking forward to walking this leg of the journey together with you.

EF+

According to Strengthfinders...

2010-02-11T10:30:00.000-06:00

...my strengths are:

LEARNER

You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”

INTELLECTION

You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.

INPUT

You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

IDEATION

You are fascinated by ideas. What is an idea? An idea is a concept, the best explanation of the most events. You are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are. An idea is a connection. Yours is the kind of mind that is always looking for connections, and so you are intrigued when seemingly disparate phenomena can be linked by an obscure connection. An idea is a new perspective on familiar challenges. You revel in taking the world we all know and turning it around so we can view it from a strange but strangely enlightening angle. You love all these ideas because they are profound, because they are novel, because they are clarifying, because they are contrary, because they are bizarre. For all these reasons you derive a jolt of energy whenever a new idea occurs to you. Others may label you creative or original or conceptual or even smart. Perhaps you are all of these. Who can be sure? What you are sure of is that ideas are thrilling. And on most days this is enough.

CONTEXT

You look back. You look back because that is where the answers lie. You look back to understand the present. From your vantage point the present is unstable, a confusing clamor of competing voices. It is only by casting your mind back to an earlier time, a time when the plans were being drawn up, that the present regains its stability. The earlier time was a simpler time. It was a time of blueprints. As you look back, you begin to see these blueprints emerge. You realize what the initial intentions were. These blueprints or intentions have since become so embellished that they are almost unrecognizable, but now this Context theme reveals them again. This understanding brings you confidence. No longer disoriented, you make better decisions because you sense the underlying structure. You become a better partner because you understand how your colleagues came to be who they are. And counterintuitively you become wiser about the future because you saw its seeds being sown in the past. Faced with new people and new situations, it will take you a little time to orient yourself, but you must give yourself this time. You must discipline yourself to ask the questions and allow the blueprints to emerge because no matter what the situation, if you haven’t seen the blueprints, you will have less confidence in your decisions.

myers-briggs type indicator

2009-12-11T20:18:00.005-06:00

I have shared a few conversations lately with a friend with whom I share much in common. We have talked about a range of things, but most interesting has been our discussion of the way our personality effects our identity and effectiveness as pastors. The conversation led me to taking a free online MBTI test.

I was interested, but not surprised, to find that much has changed in me. When I first took this test in 1995 - a freshman at MVNU - I was an ENTP. Now however, I am an INFJ. My strong intuitiveness is the only constant. I am borderline between T/F but the I & J are fairly firmly in place. Anyway, here is a "portait of an INFJ." See if you think the shoe fits:

Portrait of an INFJ –
Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
(Introverted Intuition with Extraverted Feeling)

The Protector

As an INFJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.

INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types.

INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives. On the other hand, INFJs operate within themselves on an intuitive basis which is entirely spontaneous. They know things intuitively, without being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at hand. They are usually right, and they usually know it. Consequently, INFJs put a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions. This is something of a conflict between the inner and outer worlds, and may result in the INFJ not being as organized as other Judging types tend to be. Or we may see some signs of disarray in an otherwise orderly tendency, such as a consistently messy desk.

INFJs have uncanny insight into people and situations. They get "feelings" about things and intuitively understand them. As an extreme example, some INFJs report experiences of a psychic nature, such as getting strong feelings about there being a problem with a loved one, and discovering later that they were in a car accident. This is the sort of thing that other types may scorn and scoff at, and the INFJ themself does not really understand their intuition at a level which can be verbalized. Consequently, most INFJs are protective of their inner selves, sharing only what they choose to share when they choose to share it. They are deep, complex individuals, who are quite private and typically difficult to understand. INFJs hold back part of themselves, and can be secretive.

But the INFJ is as genuinely warm as they are complex. INFJs hold a special place in the heart of people who they are close to, who are able to see their special gifts and depth of caring. INFJs are concerned for people's feelings, and try to be gentle to avoid hurting anyone. They are very sensitive to conflict, and cannot tolerate it very well. Situations which are charged with conflict may drive the normally peaceful INFJ into a state of agitation or charged anger. They may tend to internalize conflict into their bodies, and experience health problems when under a lot of stress.

Because the INFJ has such strong intuitive capabilities, they trust their own instincts above all else. This may result in an INFJ stubborness and tendency to ignore other people's opinions. They believe that they're right. On the other hand, INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them. They believe in constant growth, and don't often take time to revel in their accomplishments. They have strong value systems, and need to live their lives in accordance with what they feel is right. In deference to the Feeling aspect of their personalities, INFJs are in some ways gentle and easy going. Conversely, they have very high expectations of themselves, and frequently of their families. They don't believe in compromising their ideals.

INFJ is a natural nurturer; patient, devoted and protective. They make loving parents and usually have strong bonds with their offspring. They have high expectations of their children, and push them to be the best that they can be. This can sometimes manifest itself in the INFJ being hard-nosed and stubborn. But generally, children of an INFJ get devoted and sincere parental guidance, combined with deep caring.

In the workplace, the INFJ usually shows up in areas where they can be creative and somewhat independent. They have a natural affinity for the arts, and many excel in the sciences, where they make use of their intuition. INFJs can also be found in service-oriented professions. They are not good at dealing with minutia or very detailed tasks. The INFJ will either avoid such things, or else go to the other extreme and become enveloped in the details to the extent that they can no longer see the big picture. An INFJ who has gone the route of becoming meticulous about details may be highly critical of other individuals who are not.

The INFJ individual is gifted in ways that other types are not. Life is not necessarily easy for the INFJ, but they are capable of great depth of feeling and personal achievement.

from: http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ.html

A Must Read!!!

2009-09-08T20:28:00.003-05:00

Cron, Ian Morgan. Chasing Francis. Colorado Springs: Navpress, 2006.

Chase Falson is the stereotypical, middle-aged pastor or the stereotypical, evangelical megachurch. His road to this point has been up and down, but mostly up. He was raised in an Episcopal home, but they weren't Christian. His father was a lousy drunk and Chase had no interest in religion or faith. Not until he met a girl at college. This girl arranged for him to meet up with the campus director of InnerVarsity and Chase gave his heart to the Lord. After college, he planted a church. It grew and it grew. Chase was the darling. He planted, he watered, and now 3,000 members later everything seemed to be clicking.

But then Maggie came along. Maggie was an addict and an ex-con. She had a record, alot of baggage, and a daughter named Iris. But everything was on the up and up for Maggie and Iris too. Thanks to the work of Putnam Hill Church, all was looking bright. Then one day the unthinkable happened. It all unraveled as tragedy struck and Iris was killed. Maggie was shaken. But even more so, Chase Falson was shaken. He was shaken so badly that he denounced his faith from the pulpit and was given a leave of absence.

Chasing Francis is the tale of Pastor Falson's journey to visit Uncle Kenny, a Fransican brother who helps Chase reclaim and redefine his faith as he gets to know St. Francis of Assisi. What Chase is not ready for what he finds: the eerie similarities between the medeivil of the 13th century and the modern church of the 2oth century; the difficult questions being asked of religion in both worlds, and the surprising relevance of a Franciscan response to both.

Things like beauty, transcendence, compassion, generosity, peacemaking, community and others are a stark contrast to the megachurch pragmatics that characature the church of today. Interestingly these same things that Francis used to reform the miedeval church through an authentic embodiment of the kingdom of God seem just the remedy for the reformation needed in the modern church.

Chase was surprised daily by his adventure. Chase was constantly amazed by the reality of God he experienced in his journey. You will be too as you join him in Chasing Francis.

Where Have I Been?

2009-08-19T10:57:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not writing as much here as I should. I have been writings some over at sacramentalnazarenes.blogspot.com -- but not enough there either! Though I've not been writing, I am still reading and thinking. I've been thinking alot about health care reform lately. With the health issues that Pierce has, this issue that is front and center in the national agenda, has been front in center in our families agenda.

I am not smart enough, to come up with a solution (ie, I'm not sure how to answer the "how?" question), but am have come to the clear decision that health-care is a basic human right that ought to be guaranteed to all at a reasonable and affordable cost. If it is so important that I be able to have a gun, or speak my mind, or vote, or have a fair trial, et al... then surely the right to adequate health care is at least as basic as those. What good are those if I am not healthy enough to enjoy them?

I am also smart enough to look at the statistics that show countries like Germany, France and the Netherlands have better health care systems, a higher degree of satisfaction with the health care system, and spend far less on health care than we do now. Again, I don't know how it works, but I can read. Of course I can also read the reports of the dangers of systems like Canada and Brittain. It just goes to show there are a variety of options available and certainly we can find an "American" solution that will be consistent with our "American values" and with my Christian and human rights commitment to make sure that all have adequate and affordable health care.

Anyway, below this post are a couple that I have read that I thought were worth passing on.

For you and with you,

EF+

Sojourners' Health Care Creed

2009-08-19T10:50:00.002-05:00

This one is from Sojourners website:

http://go.sojo.net/campaign/health_care

+++++++

As one of God's children, I believe that protecting the health of each human being is a profoundly important personal and communal responsibility for people of faith.

I believe God created each person in the divine image to be spiritually and physically healthy. I feel the pain of sickness and disease in our broken world (Genesis 1:27, Romans 8:22).

I believe life and healing are core tenets of the Christian life. Christ's ministry included physical healing, and we are called to participate in God's new creation as instruments of healing and redemption (Matthew 4:23, Luke 9:1-6; Mark 7:32-35, Acts 10:38). Our nation should strive to ensure all people have access to life-giving treatments and care.

I believe, as taught by the Hebrew prophets and Jesus, that the measure of a society is seen in how it treats the most vulnerable. The current discussion about health-care reform is important for the United States to move toward a more just system of providing care to all people (Isaiah 1:16-17, Jeremiah 7:5-7, Matthew 25:31-45).

I believe that all people have a moral obligation to tell the truth. To serve the common good of our entire nation, all parties debating reform should tell the truth and refrain from distorting facts or using fear-based messaging (Leviticus 19:11; Ephesians 4:14-15, 25; Proverbs 6:16-19).

I believe that Christians should seek to bring health and well-being (shalom) to the society into which God has placed us, for a healthy society benefits all members (Jeremiah 29:7).

I believe in a time when all will live long and healthy lives, from infancy to old age (Isaiah 65:20), and "mourning and crying and pain will be no more" (Revelation 21:4). My heart breaks for my brothers and sisters who watch their loved ones suffer, or who suffer themselves, because they cannot afford a trip to the doctor. I stand with them in their suffering.

I believe health-care reform must rest on a foundation of values that affirm each and every life as a sacred gift from the Creator (Genesis 2:7).

Amen.

An Open Letter to Conservative Christians in the U.S., On Health Care

2009-08-19T10:44:00.001-05:00

This one is by Brian McLaren from his website:

http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/an-open-letter-to-conservative-c.html

+++++++

Dear friends,

Although today I would not call myself a political or social conservative, I am grateful for my heritage as an Evangelical Christian: my faith is rooted in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I honor and seek to live in harmony with the Scriptures, and I love to share the good news of God's love with others. Since my teenage years when I decided to follow Jesus, I have pursued wholehearted discipleship, and my life has been shaped by that commitment. After completing graduate school and teaching college English, I became a church planter and pastor and served in the same congregation for twenty-four years.

(Continued after the jump.)

But for almost that many years, I have been growing more and more deeply troubled by the way so many from my heritage in conservative Christianity – in its Evangelical, Charismatic, and Roman Catholic streams - have allowed themselves to be spiritually formed by various conservative political and economic ideologies. It's been disturbing to see how many Christians have begun to follow and trust leaders who live more by political/media/ideological codes than by moral/spiritual/biblical ones.

As a result, I sometimes think that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Fox News may now influence many conservative Evangelicals, Charismatics, and Catholics even more than Billy Graham, Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes, Pope Benedict, or even the four gospels.

Now in a free country, people certainly have the right to choose their ideology. But Christians of all sorts, I think we all can agree, have a special calling - to increasingly harmonize our lives (including our lives as citizens) with the teaching and example of Jesus. My concern is that many of my sisters and brothers, without realizing it, have begun seeing Jesus and the faith through the lens of a neo-conservative political framework, thus reducing their vision of Jesus and his essential message of the kingdom of God. As a result, too many of us are becoming more and more zealous conservatives, but less and less Christ-like Christians, and many don't seem to notice the difference.

Thankfully, many Christian leaders are far more thoughtful and nuanced in their integration of faith and public life. They don't jump on talk-radio's latest conspiracy theory bandwagons, nor do they buy flippant talk of "death panels" or inappropriate comparisons to Hitler and so on. But still, so many of them remain silent about what's going on, and thereby grant it tacit approval.

I too was silent for a long time during my years as a pastor. But during the lead-up to the Iraq War, as I saw how little discernment was being exercised regarding the moral logic of pre-emptive war, I began taking risks that I hadn't taken before. I was similarly moved to speak out when, in the aftermath of Abu Ghraib, relatively few Christians in America took a stand against torture. (In fact, according to survey data, Southern White Evangelicals were the group most likely to support doing unto others as they would never want done to themselves.) And when I heard Christians (mis)using the Bible to argue against environmental responsibility, again, I could not be silent.

Now, in the debate about health care, I am similarly disheartened to see the relative silence of thoughtful Christian voices as counterpoint to the predictable rhetoric of the more reactive voices. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting mass-emails and weblinks from Evangelical and Charismatic organizations that present frightening and outlandish claims about what President Obama is planning to do regarding health care. I’ve checked into these claims, and in case after case, they are simply false. They’re based on rumors spread by certain dramatic radio and cable-tv personalities, but they are not based in truth.

Again, people are free to disagree humbly and respectfully with their fellow Christians and their government. (As readers of my books know, I take this freedom seriously in my own life). But we Christians, it seems to me, have a high calling – to be radically committed to integrity and civility, even (especially) with those with whom we disagree. God, after all, is merciful, generous, and kind to "the just and the unjust": how can we not have that same obligation regarding those with whom we disagree? Even if others resort to dirty political tricks and distortion of the truth through exaggeration and fear-mongering, we simply cannot. At the very least, we should be seekers of truth, seekers of wisdom, not consumers (or purveyors) of propaganda – even if it comes from members of our own political party and people who quote a lot of Bible verses (often out of context). We have a higher calling.

So, without going into health-care reform specifics (which is still difficult to do, since there are many fast-changing proposals in play and the process of developing a vote-able proposal is far from over), I would simply like to plead with conservative Christians – conservative Evangelicals, conservative Charismatics, conservative Catholics, and so on – to take a stand for integrity and civility in the health care debate, alongside and in solidarity with those of us who love Christ just as you do but do not rally around the conservative political banner.

If you take this stand, you will be heard by your fellow conservatives in ways that some of the rest of us can’t be heard. And lives could be saved as a result of our joint calls for Christian integrity and civility: we've already seen what happens when people translate religious and ideological passion into violent action. Recalling the words of that great 19th century British conservative Edmund Burke, think of what could happen in the next few years if too many good conservative people sit back and do nothing ... while less scrupulous and more desperate conservative people whip their followers into a frenzy through fear and inaccurate information.

I will continue to speak out on these issues as I have done in the past. But I don’t expect the most extreme Christian conservatives to listen to me much. Since I was an outspoken supporter of President Obama’s candidacy, and since before that I was equally outspoken against torture, against the invasion of Iraq, for environmental stewardship, etc., many of them have written me off (sometimes with quite spicy language). But if you are a conservative Christian who cares about integrity and civility in communication and debate, perhaps they will still listen to you when you call them to a higher standard. I hope you will take the risk of speaking out with that in mind.

As my friend Jim Wallis recently said so eloquently (http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/06/truth-telling-and-responsibility-in-health-care/), we may have honest differences with our fellow Christians on the issue of health care and many other issues too, but even in our differences we can agree that debates should take place in the light of truth and civility, not in the shadows of misrepresentation and prejudice.

Be assured, I am no uncritical supporter of health care reform. I am no more in favor now of rushing into expensive health care reform without sufficient debate than I was a few years ago when we rushed into an expensive pre-emptive war without sufficient care and discernment. I’m eager, like many of my conservative friends, to see the kind of reform that encourages small business and entrepreneurship. I'm interested in the kind of reform that reduces the power of both unaccountable mega-corporations and unaccountable government bureaucracy. I’m eager to see the kind of reform that doesn’t pave the way for powerful health insurance companies to do to the public in the next few decades what "too big to fail" Wall Street debt-repackagers did to us over the last few. I’m eager to see the kind of reform that in the long term reduces rather than increases our growing national debt and that truly helps our poorest neighbors without creating reductions in real service for our more prosperous neighbors.

Getting the kind of reform we need won’t be easy, especially with so many powerful interests spending huge amounts of money to achieve their own ends, with too little concern for justice, the common good … or the truth. That’s why, for there to be the kind of debate that produces good results, we who call ourselves Christians - conservative or otherwise - need to stand for full integrity in communication, whatever our political leanings. We need to be sure that the best arguments on both sides are heard ... not being satisfied to compare "our" best with "their" worst, as unscrupulous politicians and media personalities so often like to do, and not reducing the views of others to absurdity, even if we disagree with them vehemently.

The moral authority of Christians has been severely compromised in our culture in recent years. The most serious kinds of sexual scandals have rocked the Catholic, Evangelical, and Charismatic communities, not to mention financial scandals, ugly denominational lawsuits, and high-profile divisions. Studies have shown that some kinds of Christians are not only more likely to support torture - they are also more likely to hold racist views, to engage in domestic violence, and to end their marriages in divorce. No wonder young people are turned off as never before to a hypocritical face of Christianity that radiates shame, anger, and judgment rather than grace, love, and truth.

Even if we disagree on health care reform and other political issues, I hope we can agree that it is time for us to start walking - and talking - more worthy of the calling to which we have been called, to use Paul's words, to speak the truth, and to do so always in love. Or as James said, we must remember in this fire-prone political climate that the tongue can set off tiny rhetorical sparks that create huge flames of unimagined and unintended destruction. It can spread a false wisdom that sounds good on the surface, but beneath the surface is driven not by love but by bitter envy and selfish ambition. In contrast, he said (3:13 ff),

"The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise of harvest of righteousness."

Wise and needed words to guide us in the weeks and months ahead as health care reform is debated for better or for worse. May both the debate and the outcome bring us to a better place.

+++++

By the way, if you’d like to do some fact-checking about the health care debate, here are some faith-based sources that I believe can be trusted to avoid uncritical and inaccurate reporting about health care. I understand they will be offering correctives to rumors and misinformation in the months ahead.

http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/
http://www.sojo.net
http://www.catholicsinalliance.org/

Teaching History and Values

2009-07-18T10:22:00.004-05:00

I have some good news to share and some bad news to share. The bad news is that the church basement, foyer and part of the sanctuary flooded and cause some significant damage. The good news is that we get to do some much overdue cleaning and remodeling. Hopefully, when all is done, there will be six classrooms in the basement and I'd like each of them to be themed with a core value of the Church of the Nazarene and a character from our history that embodies for us that value.

If you had to identify the 6 core values of the Church of the Nazarene, what would they be? And who would be the saints that embody those values and teach us our story as the people of God (please be sure to include Bresee and Wesley)?

shhhh.....

2009-05-21T20:55:00.001-05:00

Amazing how silent the blogosphere has become...

A new post next week... I promise

But if we are the body...

2009-04-29T14:25:00.001-05:00

2. On the Church, the Continuation of God's Narrative

We call Evangelicals to take seriously the visible character of the Church. We call for a commitment to its mission in the world in fidelity to God's mission (Missio Dei), and for an exploration of the ecumenical implications this has for the unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity of the Church. Thus, we call Evangelicals to turn away from an individualism that makes the Church a mere addendum to God's redemptive plan. Individualistic Evangelicalism has contributed to the current problems of churchless Christianity, redefinitions of the Church according to business models, separatist ecclesiologies and judgmental attitudes toward the Church. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to recover their place in the community of the Church catholic.

[reprinted without alteration with permission from: www.aefcall.org]

If I could chose one area of theology that I could change in order to have the greatest impact on The Church of the Nazarene, it would be in the area of ecclesiolgy. Why? Because there is perhaps no other area with as far reaching implications as ecclesiology. The way we understand ourselves as the church determines the way we view salvation, the way we view sanctification, the way we view mission, discipleship, worship, sacraments, and on and on and on. So what would I changes about our ecclesiology? Simple. I ask only that we consider ecclesiology with a seriousness commensurate with its far-reaching implications. The AEF Call hits the nail on the head calling evangelicals to "take seriously the visible character of the church."

Perhaps the most well-known biblical image of "church" is in Paul's "body of Christ" metaphor.

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Rom. 12-4-5).

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink... Now the body is not made up of one part but of many... As it is, there are many parts, but one body... Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it" (I Cor 12.12-27).

We all have heard this metaphor many times, yet its magnitude is not apparent until we consider it in light of another Pauline story. It too is a well known story, but the stories are seldom connected. In this second story, we find a Jew named Saul traveling the world seeking out the church and trying to stamp out the church by identifying, torturing and killing its members. On one quest to Damascus, Saul is stopped in his tracks, blinded, and spoken to. The voice asked Saul a question, "why do you persecute me?" Saul replies with a question, "who are you?" To Saul's question, the voice responds, "I am Jesus of Nazareth." After this experience Saul changes his name to Paul, begins building - rather than destroying - the church, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What I find so amazing is the voices question. Jesus speaks to Saul and says, "why do you persecute me?" This is astonishing! Jesus Christ has long since been crucified, resurrected, ascended and sent his Spirit to breath life into his church. Even so, Jesus does not ask Saul why he is persecuting the church. He asks Saul why he persecutes him. The voice from heaven makes a clear equation. The Church = Jesus Christ.

We must, therefore, correct an earlier comment. In light of Paul's conversation with Christ on the Damascus Road, Paul's "body ecclesiology" is not a metaphor. It is not a comparison. It is not a literary device. It is a declaration. Christ is really and truly present in the world! His presence, however is not in one human body, but in the many who have been baptized into his death and resurrection.

OK, so where I am going with all this? If we began to understand that the Church = Christ, then we really have to ask some hard questions about the way we understand "church": its worship, its mission, its witness, its programming. Is what we do a continuation of Christ: who he is and what he did? Does our worship continue Christ's relationship to the Father as revealed in scripture? Does our mission and the way we accomplish our mission faithfully and truthfully continue the mission and ministry of Christ as revealed in scripture? Is the life of the church clearly revealing to the world not only the goal of Christ's life and ministry, but also the means by which Christ accomplished his divine goals? In short, is the church fully and totally cruciform in all that it is and all that it does? Does the church bear faithful witness to the "peacable reign of God" (Bryan Stone, Evangelism After Christendom)?

My contention is that much of today's evangelical church cannot honestly answer those questions in the affirmative. Such a church would place such things as "unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity" at a premium. Yet many of us live and minister in churches that view such values as undesirable. We are happy being sectarian, so we continue trying to convert Orthodox, Roman-Catholics, and all others not like us to Christianity. We are happy holding "relevance" as the highest goal, so we have removed all that is sacred for the sake of being understandable, sensitive and contemporary. We certainly don't want to be confused with the catholics, so we insist that we believe in "the holy universal church." And most of us probably can't pronounce - let alone spell - apostolicity.

It is time we take our ecclesiology seriously and recover [our] place in the community of the Church catholic. We ARE the body of Christ, and its time we think seriously about what that means.

... but I thought the AEF CALL isn't biblical?

2009-04-13T13:02:00.004-05:00

1. On the Primacy of the Biblical Narrative

We call for a return to the priority of the divinely authorized canonical story of the Triune God. This story-Creation, Incarnation, and Re-creation-was effected by Christ's recapitulation of human history and summarized by the early Church in its Rules of Faith. The gospel-formed content of these Rules served as the key to the interpretation of Scripture and its critique of contemporary culture, and thus shaped the church's pastoral ministry. Today, we call Evangelicals to turn away from modern theological methods that reduce the gospel to mere propositions, and from contemporary pastoral ministries so compatible with culture that they camouflage God's story or empty it of its cosmic and redemptive meaning. In a world of competing stories, we call Evangelicals to recover the truth of God's word as the story of the world, and to make it the centerpiece of Evangelical life.

[reprinted without alteration with permission from: www.aefcall.org]

I have heard it so many times I feel nauseous. "You don't believe in the Bible." "You promote non-biblical doctrines." "You endorse clearly non-scriptural practices." Of course what such comments really mean is "You approach the tasks of interpreting and applying scriptures differently than I do" which, of course, sounds much too congenial to actually say. Isn't it much more fun to just accuse others who are different of being wrong?

And then there is the issue of repeating the history we failed to learn. This "it's not biblical" argument is simply a return to one of the big issues that confronted the reformers. There were (and still are) two basic lines of thinking: the permissive and the prescriptive. Those who approach scripture with a permissive paradigm suggest that if a practice is not clearly forbidden in scripture, then that practice ought to be permitted in the church. An example of this might be clerical vestments. Scripture is silent about what a pastor ought to wear when conducting worship and celebrating the sacraments. Therefore, a pastor ought not be forbidden from wearing vestments. Further, in judging the tradition in the church of pastors wearing liturgical vestments, since scripture provides no guidance, then tradition can be deemed appropriate for practice and faithful to scripture.

However, those who approach scripture with a prescriptive paradigm suggest that Christians ought only be allowed to do those things that are prescribed in scripture. Using the same example of liturgical vestments, a prescriptive proponent would argue that scripture does not require clergy to wear any distinctive uniform. Therefore since scripture does not prescribe vestments, the church should not prescribe vestments. In fact, to prescribe the donning of liturgical vestments is viewed as unbiblical and many prescriptionists would go so far as to say any use of clerical attire, prescribed or not, since it is not found in scripture, is unbiblical.

This brief lesson in history serves to give background to much of the contemporary debate. The AEF Call is obviously shaped by the permissive paradigm. It is clear in its call for the scriptures to be understood as the "divinely authorized canonical story of the Triune God," that the story of God is "truth" and that sacred scripture is to be the "centerpiece of evangelical life." With this, doubtless anyone could disagree. But it also realizes the limitations of scripture. Scripture, while authorized and inspired, by an infinite God, was written by finite human beings. As such, scripture must be understood to be written by particular human beings, with a particular perspective, in a particular place, at a particular time, and from within a particular culture. Scripture, then, cannot be approached prescriptorally. First century Jewish men could not begin to prescribe all that is necessary for 21st century life. Nor could they speak from within a 21st century culture or with a 21st century vocabulary. Thus the issue is not with Scripture, its inspiration, its authorization, its content, etc., but with how it is interpreted and applied.

The AEF Call seems to recognize two dangerous tendencies that have arisen within the contemporary evangelical church. The first is to attempt to interpret and apply the scriptures in a vacuum. That is, to suggest that we can interpret and apply them without giving thought to what they have meant in the past. A seminary professor often reminded us that a passage cannot mean what it never meant. In interpreting and applying scripture, we must take into consideration what the author meant and what the audience understood, as well as how the passage has been interpreted and applied throughout the 2,000 year history of the church. In an attempt to address the danger of isolationist interpretations of scripture, the AEF Call seeks to recover the concept of a "Rule of Faith" that guides the appropriation of scripture and defines biblical orthodoxy for the church.

The second dangerous development is identified as the reduction of scripture to a set a "propositional truths." It cannot be denied that scripture contains "propositional truths." However, scripture is not to be understood as "propositional truth." What seems to be missing is an adequate understanding of truth. Truth is much larger than logical arguments and propositional statements. For as long as humans have been able to talk they have told stories in order to convey truth. In fact, Jesus' own preferred way of teaching was telling stories. Does the fact that the story of the prodigal son was not a historical story with real life characters that actually did what we are told change the truth of the story? Of course not! Was Jesus a liar because he told stories that didn't really happen? Of course not! Stories can certainly be true despite lacking historical factuality. Properly understood, scripture is a story. It is a story that does contain historical people, in historical places, that acted in history. It is a story that contains propositional truth. But to reduce scripture to a set of propositional truths by ignoring the relevancy of the story of God is a great danger. Therefore, the AEF Call reminds "Evangelicals to turn away from modern theological methods that reduce the gospel to mere propositions, and from contemporary pastoral ministries so compatible with culture that they camouflage God's story or empty it of its cosmic and redemptive meaning."

I fear, this post has already droned on too long and rambled to broadly. The point is simply this: the AEF Call is not "unbiblical" as many of its critics accuse. Rather, it seeks a full, robust understanding of scripture that returns the story of God / the story of salvation to its rightful place at the center of Christian thought and practice.

Resurrection Peace,

Eric +

Why an Ancient Future?

2009-04-07T08:20:00.004-05:00

Prologue

In every age the Holy Spirit calls the Church to examine its faithfulness to God's revelation in Jesus Christ, authoritatively recorded in Scripture and handed down through the Church. Thus, while we affirm the global strength and vitality of worldwide Evangelicalism in our day, we believe the North American expression of Evangelicalism needs to be especially sensitive to the new external and internal challenges facing God's people.

These external challenges include the current cultural milieu and the resurgence of religious and political ideologies. The internal challenges include Evangelical accommodation to civil religion, rationalism, privatism and pragmatism. In light of these challenges, we call Evangelicals to strengthen their witness through a recovery of the faith articulated by the consensus of the ancient Church and its guardians in the traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation and the Evangelical awakenings. Ancient Christians faced a world of paganism, Gnosticism and political domination. In the face of heresy and persecution, they understood history through Israel's story, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of God's Kingdom.

Today, as in the ancient era, the Church is confronted by a host of master narratives that contradict and compete with the gospel. The pressing question is: who gets to narrate the world? The Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future challenges Evangelical Christians to restore the priority of the divinely inspired biblical story of God's acts in history. The narrative of God's Kingdom holds eternal implications for the mission of the Church, its theological reflection, its public ministries of worship and spirituality and its life in the world. By engaging these themes, we believe the Church will be strengthened to address the issues of our day.

[reprinted without alteration with permission from: www.ancientfutureworship.com]

---

The opening sentence lays the foundation. I hardly think anyone would disagree that the goal of the Christian life is to know God in such a way that we become like God. We only know God because God became human in the person of Jesus Christ who perfectly revealed God to the world. We can only know Jesus as the Holy Spirit reveals him to us through the story of Christ recorded by the apostles (i.e. Scripture) and passed down to us from generation to generation by the great cloud of witnesses - the communion of the saints - that has gone before (i.e. Church). This is the base of all that is to come: A Triune God who works to sanctify God's people through the scriptures and in the church.

Understanding this, we must always have a spirit of discernment, for our context is rapidly changing. Many want to deny that the world is changing, but sticking our heads in the sand cannot stop the sands of time from shifting. To understand this shift - and to understand part of the motivation of the AEF Call, Dr. Webber (in "Younger Evangelicals") gives some characteristics that are descriptive of the changing world. Some of them include (see p 54, I won't list them all here):

1. Have recovered the biblical understanding of human nature
2. Differ with the pragmatist approach to ministry
3. Stand for the absolutes of the Cristian faith in a new way
4. Recognize the road to the future runs through the past
5. Committed to the plight of the poor
6. technology [savy]
7. Highly visual
8. Communicate through stories
9. Grasp the power of the imagination
10. Advocate the resurgence of the arts
11. Appreciate the power of performative symbols
12. Long for community
13. Committed to multiculturality
14. Committed to intergenerationality
15. Demand authenticity
16. Realize the unity between thought and action.

All this is to say that people are different, with different values, with different thought processes, with different world views than they were a generation ago. Everyone agrees that ministry must be contextualized. It would be ludicrous to go to Africa and simply recreate a American model of church (some could argue that is what we've done - but this is not the place for that). A church in Africa must be an African church. It must do what a church does in an African way, in a way that will speak to Africans and allow Africans to speak to God. What we are seeing here in America is the emergence of a new context. And with that new context the church has to be a new church, in a new way, that will speak to new people and allow new people to speak to God.

Further complicating the situation in which the American church finds itself at the start of the 21st century are some very un-Christian developments in the the mainstream evangelical world. The conflation of the national and the religious to the point that much of evangelicalism equates nationalism/patriotism with one's religious identity. The reduction of religion to a merely rational enterprise. The loss of any communal element of faith and the defining of faith in strictly private terms. And the embracing of an "ends justify the means" mentality. All of these developments leave the church in a very precarious position - starting a century behind the eightball if you will.

So how does the church respond to these developments within the church and the changing cultural context in which the church exists? Only with the discernment and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

It is often said that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Younger evangelicals seem keenly aware of the truth of this proposition. We are not willing to sit by and watch the church repeat past mistakes (heavens know we've made more than our share). So as we look forward, we also look behind us. We look for things that might help us confront our current situation. We look for things that might enhance our ministry. We look for lesson to be learned from those who went before us. We understand we cannot know where we are going if we do not understand from where we came. We are fully aware that who we will be is largely determined by who we have been. It is quite a natural part of the maturation process to ask about our identity, where we came from, family stories, family traditions, etc. Those are the things that make us who we are and shape who we are going to be. We are not entering waters never before sailed. In our 2000 year history the church has been there and done that. The past is a powerful tool for present work and there is no reason to ignore it and what it has to teach us.

The AEF Call was cast in order to keep our compass firmly fixed on Christ as he is revealed in scripture and has been embodied in the church. The AEF Call is all about a faithfully Christian future. We trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us into that future, but even so, Maranatha - Come quickly Lord Jesus!

For you and with you,

Eric+

2009-04-06T10:16:00.002-05:00

I have not written much of late for three primary reasons. First, I have not had the time. Second, when I have had time to write have I enjoying contributing to the sanctifying worship blog. Third, I have been deeply affected by the explosion of divisive blogs appearing on the Nazarene blogosphere. At first, I just watched with interest as the "fundamentalists" clashed with the "emergents" -- both labels I avoid giving myself for various reasons. But then one of these Christian extremist blogs called me out by name. Let me be clear, I have not read any of these blogs that explicitly demand any kind of action by the people who hold ideas they oppose. However, there are very clear implications to their opposition -- implications that are neither a stretch nor invalidly/inaccurately implied.

To this point I have been silent, not wanting to further any rifts within the church and for fear that my hurt would manifest itself in such similar personal attacks as have been launched against me and my friends. However, I have decided that I must respond to the accusations leveled against me and my friends. Not out of anger, not out of a need to be right, not for any reason other than to further the discussion at hand and to facilitate the transformation of lives by the renewing of our minds. With this as my goal, I propose to respond not so much to the allegations made, but rather to discuss exactly why I support A CALL TO AN ANCIENT EVANGELICAL FUTURE.

The call is composed of 6 paragraphs plus a prologue and an epilogue. I will be committing to you all to include 1 blog to address each of the 8 sections of the call. I hope and pray that our Lord will be glorified by our discussion and that it might be used to bring to fulfillment Jesus' High Priestly prayer that we all might be one. I look forward to discussing with you all soon.

Holy Week Blessings,

Eric+

Time for an update...

2009-04-02T11:50:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have been absent for so long. I've had my hands full of late. Perhaps you saw the news yesterday and I wanted to simply let you all know that though I have been excommunicated, I am still alive and well.

Peace,

Eric+

A Temple-Based Religion...

2009-02-13T14:38:00.002-06:00

You can read the whole thing here.

A friend emailed me the link and asked me about this quote:

"I still haven't shaken my position that much of the traditional church today is a Jewish Temple-based form of Christianity which attempts to repair the veil that God ripped in half as Jesus finished his work upon the cross."

I find it an interesting quote with very interesting ecclesiological presuppositions as well as implications. I thought it might make for some good discussion here... we haven't had much recently.

I addressed three areas:

1) "much of the traditional church today is a Jewish Temple-based form of Christianity" Is this really problematic? Much like Methodism was a "renewal movement" withing Anglicanism, wasn't Chritianity a similar "fulfillment movement"? Christ was a devout Jew. Most of his disciples were devout Jews. Is it really problematic or surprising that there are still very clear similarities in the religion?

2) "working to repair the veil that God ripped in half." I haven't studied this small detail in the crucifixion account enough to comment very intelligently about it. I know much was made of it in my upbringing and in pop theology, but I have never studied it much aside from that. Perhaps some of you could help at this point.

3) "Jesus finished his work upon the cross." Perhaps this gentleman should pay a little closer attention in liturgics class. I recall a phrase "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." Only one of these is finished, so I am not sure in what sense Jesus finished his work on the cross. Resurrection, constant intercession on behalf of the saints, second coming/judgement follow crucifixion. And we can't forget the work of Christ in the world today through his body the church.

I suppose I might have picked things apart a bit too much. Feel free to respond to my response or to add your own.

For you and with you,

EF+

A Couple Articles Worth Reading

2009-01-13T13:25:00.004-06:00

This one is from Keith Drury's blog. For those of you who aren't familiar with Dr Drury, he is on Faculty at Indiana Wesleyan University and is quite a prolific writer/thinker and very often speaks quite prophetically to the church. Take a look at his article "What's Wrong with the Church"

This one is from Holiness Today. It is the denominational magazine for the Church of the Nazarene. It is really a quality article worthy of thought and discussion called "Remember Your Baptism."

Perhaps I should have put these separately because there is so much to discuss!

Personal Mission Statement

2009-01-05T14:50:00.003-06:00

So here is the first part of my New Years Resolution, and I would like your help to refine and clarify. Here is what I have so far:

Leading the people of God in being a community of holiness, shaped by and embodied in our commitment to the Wesleyan practices of (a) sacramental worship, (b) faithful evangelism, (c) mutual discipleship.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2009!

2009-01-02T12:51:00.005-06:00

Another year has come and gone. This time next year we will be celebrating the end of a decade. Can you believe Y2K is already almost a decade away? Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. I hope your year is a full of joy and life as ours was this past year.

Also, it is time again for me to make my annual resolutions that I'd like to keep but probably won't. To help me keep track, I will be updating my sidebar so you can watch how well I do or do not keep these handful of resolutions. With no further adeiu:

Spiritual: Morning & Evening prayer from the daily office every day.

Physical: Cut way back on the soda & Walk around town more.

Mental: The year of NT Wright.

Professional: Develop a personal mission statement.

Recreational: Spend time with the family outdoors & spend more time on the boat.

Well there they are. Stay tuned so you can help monitor my progress.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Who is a Pastor?

2008-12-21T14:20:00.006-06:00

I have talked with friends on several occasions in an attempt to understand exactly who a pastor is and what a pastor does. Someone I respect a great deal gave me a book "A New Beginning for Pastors and Congregations" by Kennon Callahan. I have just started the book, and I need to read more... perhaps if I did, my questions would be answered. However, I have not been able to get past one problematic paragraph that has me stumped. Callahan writes:

"The truth is, the pool of available pastors out there is comparatively small. Some people imagine they can find a young pastor with lots of experience. Few pastors have twenty years of experience yet are only thirty-four years old. Further, among the pastors who are out there are a number still thinking and behaving as though this is a churched culture. They do not seek people out. They spend most of their time inside the church. They wait for people to find the church. Just enough people do so to create the illusion that the long lost churched culture still exists. In our time, a congregation benefits from having a congregational, community, missional pastor, not a professional, churched, cultured pastor" (25).

Now perhaps I am overly sensitive since I am churched and cultured (or so I like to think) and insist on a professional (and educated) clergy. If I am being overly sensitive, I trust you all will point that out. What I have a beef with is the false dichotomy I believe he is setting up. Does one have to be either "congregational, community, missional" or "professional, churched, cultured"? The underlying question is who is a pastor and what does a pastor do?

I have thought about this alot recently. Callahan insists that pastors who spend most of their time "inside the church" are missing the mark. Really? If you asked me my top three priorities as a pastor, I would tell you:

1) I am the lead worshipper. Life in the Kingdom of God revolves around our worship. It is to worship that we are gathered. It is from worship that we are sent. As the lead worshipper, the pastor faithfully preaches the word and rightly administers the sacraments. However, this entails much more than just the Sunday service. It entails visitation of the sick and the homebound, making sure none are neglected. It entails providing care and counsel to those in crisis so they can in good faith hear and receive. The pastor as lead worshipper preaches/teaches, administers the sacraments, visits the sick and shut ins, and provides pastoral care and counsel to those in need.

2) I am the lead visionary. The Jewish prophet’s single task was to call the people to faithfully embrace their identity as the people of God and to live their life together in such a way that they were an embodiment of God’s love and peace in the world. As the lead visionary, the pastor first embodies among the people a different kind of life. In living that kingdom life, the pastor constantly paints a picture of what the Kingdom of God must look like in the context of a particular community. The pastor then is a constant reminder that our mission in the world is to bear witness to the reign of God among us and in our world. The pastor as lead visionary casts a vision and calls the people to embrace the call and embody his kingdom.

3) I am the lead steward. Stewardship is about making sure the people have what they needed to thrive and be healthy. The Church of the Nazarene has designating the pastor as the CEO. The CEO is not a power figure, but rather an administrative figure. The CEO is responsible for the health/success of the organization. This is done by knowing its resources and appropriating them wisely and diligently. Likewise, the pastor must be a faithful steward of the churches resources: passions, gifts, finances, time, facilities, etc. This however, cannot be done alone, every CEO has a primary task of developing leaders to oversee and lead specific areas so that she can see clearly the big picture. The pastor as lead steward develops leaders to oversee the various ministries of the church.

Those three things, patterned after the offices of Christ (Prophet, Priest, and King) comprise the pastor's job description. And guess what. They are all done inside the church. That is not to say that the pastor should be singularly focused inwardly. Quite the contrary. Each of these offices must be approached missionally (we could talk forever about missional worship, vision, and stewardship, but I'm not sure it is necessary here), but it is not the responsibility of the pastor to "seek people out." I am not employeed to "seek people out." That is my duty and passion as a Christian, as it is the duty and ought to be the passion of all who call themselves Christian, but it is not my "job" as pastor. As a pastor my calling, my responsibility, my job is to shepherd the flock and to do so in such a way that the church will be missional.

After all, the very title "Pastor" implies that this person who is called pastor, is called such because there is a people who she/he pastors. That people is called the church. A pastor is only a pastor in as much as she/he is "inside the church." If she/he ceases being "inside the church" (ie the local congregation) she/he ceases being a pastor. Perhaps if we had more "professional, churched, cultured" pastors who embrace their position inside the church to lead worship, cast vision, and administer the resources of that church in a missional way we would have more missional churches.

Am I missing something? Should I not be concerned with Callahan's sentiments? I am being to sensitive or overly nuanced?

Christmas Eve Liturgy

2008-11-20T13:34:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve
+ please stand where indicated with a +

WE GATHER TOGETHER

+ Processional Hymn: O Come All Ye Faithful (#175: 1,2)

+ Prayer of Confession
ALL: God of Love, all year long we pursue power and money, yet you came in weakness. All season long we covet grand material gifts, when you alone offer what is lasting. Through the work of this Lord Jesus, who comes among us full of grace and truth, forgive us, heal us, correct us. Then open our lips, that we may sing your praise with the angels, and remake our lives, that we may witness to your transforming love. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Absolution, Welcome & Call to Worship (Ps 96)
Pastor: Sing a new song to the Lord!
People: Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Pastor: Sing to the Lord & praise his name.
People: Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
Pastor: Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
People: Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

Pastor: Great is the Lord!
People: He is worthy of praise!
Pastor: O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
People: Recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Pastor: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
People: Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

Pastor: Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
People: Let the seas and everything in them shout his praise!
Pastor: Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
People: Let the trees of the forest rustles with praise.
Pastor: Sing a new song to the Lord!
People: Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

+ Prayer of Invocation

+ Hymn of Praise: Away In A Manger (#176: 1,2,3)

GOD SPEAKS TO US

Prayer of Illumination

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 9.2-7

Gospel Reading: The Christmas Story

Anthem: Silent Night! Holy Night! (#171: 1,2,3,4)

Epistle Reading: Titus 2.11-14

A Christmas Meditation

WE RESPOND TO GOD

+ Affirmation of Faith: The Nicene Creed (#14)

+ Responsive Hymn O Holy Night! (#183: 1,2,3)

+ Prayer of the People
All: Almighty God, you make us glad with the yearly festival of the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ, the light of the world; grant that we, who have known the revelation of that light on earth, may see the radiance of your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever.
Pastor: [prays a prayer on behalf of the people]
All: The Lord’s Prayer

Eucharistic Hymn: O Little Town of Bethlehem (#169: 1,2,3,4)

Holy Communion
Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord.
People: It is right for us to give him thanks and praise.

Celebrant: [prays a prayer of thanksgiving concluding with] … Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whole of creation to proclaim the glory of your name.
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Celebrant: [prays a prayer of praise concluding with] … Therefore, according to his command O Father,
All: We remember his death. We proclaim his resurrection. We look forward to his coming again.

(After the prayer of consecration the participants will come forward to receive)

Celebrant: Let us pray.

All: Almighty and ever-living God, we thank you for your feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ who is born unto us this day; and for assuring us that we are living members of His body. And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of the birth of our Lord. To him, to you and to the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever, Amen.

WE ARE SENT INTO THE WORLD

+ Sending
Pastor: Go now into God’s world as God’s holy people … that the whole world might join us in:
People: Bowing our lives at the feet of the Father; Sharing salvation from the cross of the Son; Growing in grace by the power of the Spirit; Giving his gifts so his work can be done.

+ Blessing

+ Recessional Hymn: Go Tell It On The Mountain (#181: 1,2,3)

Book Meme

2008-11-20T13:20:00.002-06:00

Okay, I've been "tagged" with "book meme" by Todd Stepp @ wesleyananglican.blogspot.com . - According to what his blog says, this is the way the game works:

I am supposed to:
1.) Pick up the nearest book. - That happens to be The Westminster Dictionary of Worship

2.) Turn to page 123

3.) Find the fifth sentence, and

4.) Post the three sentences afterward.

Here we go... from the entry "Cathedra"

"This is undoubtedly the oldest insignia of a bishop's authority, and many centuries before bishops assumed the wearing of mitres, rings or even the carrying of pastoral staves and croziers, they were enseated in their throne or cathedra on the day of their consecration to the episcopate as the sing that they were invested with the authority to preside over the church in their diocese. Thus the writer of the fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions says: "And early in the morning let him be placed in this throne in a place set apart for him among the bishops, they all giving him the kiss in the Lord." In the earlier centruies the bishop's throne was normally placed in the centre of the apse behind the altar; on either side there were lesser seats for his presbyters."

Now I must tag 5 more people, so I am tagging: Evan/Julia, Kevin P, Adam F, and Amy Williams (Yes, I know that's only 4, but its all I have that haven't already been tagged).

SEARS PORTRAIT STUDIOS

2008-11-11T16:03:00.002-06:00

To whom it may concern:

I would like to express concern regarding my past two experiences at Sears Portrait Studios. Both times we have been very rushed by the photographer. There was a lets just get a few shots and be done because I have other customers waiting or because "I have to go get my kids off the school bus and you are making me late" attitude. This is not appreciated.

Second, the quality of the photographs and the artistry/creativity of the photographer is of poor quality. We have had baby pictures done there and each time we have had the same white sheet background pushed on us. In two of the sessions we had the blue with moons and stars. This time I specifically requested not to use either of those and was told, "If you didn't dress your baby in the same clothes every time we might be able to do other backgrounds." Then we were give the same boring white background again!

Finally, I have a serious problem with the pricing. When we had our child we bought one of the supersaver (buy one get one free cards). When we did our child's 6 month pictures we bought 8 sheets. 4 we paid for, 4 were free. The ones we paid for were $8 per sheet making our total $32 plus tax. Today, we bought the exact same thing and was told it was $60 plus tax because $8 is a "standing coupon" price not the "regular price." The regular price is $15 per sheet which is what we were charged. So our total, with the coupon was $60 plus tax. If we had not used the coupon it would have been $64 plus tax. BIG SAVINGS!!! THANKS! If this is your policy you ought to be ashamed. Why did this time cost double the last time.

I am very disappointed in the customer service I receive, the quality of the product I receive, and the integrity of the pricing. I have very serious doubts if I will ever return to Sears Portrait Studios and would appreciate a response and explanation.

O, one other thing. When I paid I asked about the info so I can view the pics online. I was told they could not provide me with that information because they were "too busy." I was told if I wanted it I would have to call back in a couple hours. It is not my responsibility to take my time and call back to get my info. It is the cashiers responsibility to provide me with that information.

I am not usually a complainer and it bothers me that Sears would accept this type of customer service. I will be awaiting your response.

Sincerely,

Eric E Frey

Revisiting The Best Book I've Every Read

2008-11-01T10:32:00.005-05:00

Stone, Bryan. Evangelism After Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007). 318 pages.

In a world where results are everything, where the all-important question is, “What have you done for me lately”? and where success is measured by statistical data (not to mention future employment opportunities), Stone, in this landmark work, prophetically reminds the church that it is faithfulness and obedience that measure Christian success, not numbers. He reminds us that even Christ, who is himself the Good News to which we as His church bear witness, left the world with but a handful of faithful followers. Stone carefully explores the place of evangelism with "The Politics of Jesus" (He is very much shaped by the works of John Howard Yoder), and calls us to think deeply and reflect carefully on what it means to “bear faithful witness” in a broken, conflicted and violent world.

“I consider it folly to continue down one of the two now standard paths evangelism has taken within modernity. The first is preoccupied with establishing the intellectual respectability of the gospel in terms of purportedly wider or more universal criteria for what counts as truth and plausibility. The second busies itself with demonstrating the practical value and usefulness of Christian faith for persons in a society that determines value by the logic of the marketplace and measures usefulness by service to the nation, the economy, or the private well-being of individual egos. On the contrary, it is from the margins – epistemologically, culturally, politically, economically, and spiritually – that a fragmented, post-Christendom culture will have to be evangelized” (11).

“Evangelism from the margins, then, requires no prior foundations in either human experience or reason that would somehow shore up the relevance, truth, power, or beauty of its gospel. It does, however, require a people that has been made into the temple of God in which the Spirit dwells, built upon the church’s only secure foundation, Jesus Christ” (12).

“Evangelism will have to be understood, not as an adventure in “winning friends and influencing people’ but as a fundamentally subversive activity, born out of a posture of eccentricity … and out of the cultivation of such deviant practices as sharing bread with the poor, loving enemies, refusing violence, forgiving sins, and telling the truth” (13).

In order to build his case, Stone first defines evangelism as one of a handful of “core church practices.” He follows Reinhold Hutter in understanding a practice to be a thing that is “constitutive of this praxis – for example, proclamation of the gospel, commemoration of the law, celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and baptism” (25).” Therefore, as a practice, evangelism is something that the church does because it is the church, but also it is something that defines the church as the church.

Further explanation of evangelism as “a practice” follows from Alasdair MacIntyre’s work, highlighting four characteristics of a practice. First, “[T]he goods that are realized in carrying out a practice are ‘internal’ to that practice” (30)… or, “a means internal to a given end when the end cannot be adequately characterized independently of a characterization of the means” (31). Second, “Just as the goods realized in a practice are internal to that practice, so it is with the standards of excellence by which we judge a practice. In other words, the criteria for doing well in a practice are determined largely by the practice itself and, indeed, are ‘partially definitive’ of a practice” (34). Third, a practice is, “a ‘socially established’ and ‘cooperative’ human activity” (35). Lastly, a practice “may be ‘systematically extended’” (36).

Stone shores up this foundation by examining the narratives available to the world. He begins by articulating the narrative of Christianity, retracing the story of the people of God and its central defining characteristic of shalom (peace) from its calling forth as God’s people, to the life and teaching of Christ, all the way through the Apostolic witness in the beginning of the church. He then sketches the rival narratives that would have one align one’s life according to their values (Constantinianism and Modernity).

Building on this foundation, Stone then moves to a second important contribution. He redefines salvation from a private, spiritual ascent of the will, to a corporate, wholistic, realignment of allegiance. Conversion, therefore, “is not primarily a matter of deciding in favor of certain beliefs or having certain experiences. It is rather a change of worlds, participation in a new worship, and a journeying toward a news city. The practice of evangelism always hopes for such a conversion and seeks to actively nourish it. But where the evangelist is tempted to become impatient with the inefficiency of obedience and worship when more ‘efficient’ means are readily available such as manipulation, accommodation, and imposition, we are reminded that evangelism is ultimately an activity of the Holy Spirit and is not subject to our own calculus of effectiveness and ‘return on investment.’ Evangelism, then … is not primarily a matter of translating our beliefs about the world into categories that others will find acceptable. It is a matter of being present in the world in a distinctive way such that the alluring and ‘useless’ beauty of holiness can be touched, tasted and tried” (21).

As such, ecclesiology is front and center in Stone’s theology. The church is the community, through its worship, economics, hospitality, and pacifisity that bears witness to the “peacable reign of God.” It is by joining the community and thereby uniting oneself with the people of God to be shaped and formed into the holy people of God that conversion takes place.

Evangelism, therefore, is not the programs and ministries a church does, but is rather the values and virtues embraced and embodied by the church. These Stone lists as four. Authentic Christian witness must be present, patient, courageous and humble. He explains and illustrates these cardinal virtues in the story of the El Salvadoran civil war c. 1980, and more particularly the martyrs, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero, it produced. For, “Martyrs rather than the pastors of megachurches might now become our evangelistic exemplars, and the ‘excellence’ of evangelistic practice’ will be measurable not by numbers but rather by obedience to a crucified God” (18).”

Stone concludes, “The practice of evangelism is a complex and multilayered process – a context of multiple activities that invite, herald, welcome, and provoke and that has at its end the peaceable reign of God and the social holiness by which persons are oriented toward that reign. As the end of evangelistic practice, the reign of God is not external to evangelistic practice, but internal to it in the form of the politics by which that practice is carried out, a politics that is formed by a distinctive story and sustained by distinctive virtues… To practice evangelism faithfully and with excellence, then, is to practice it from within this politics, to play by the rules of this politics… ‘One who flouts them is to be thought of not as naughty or nasty, but simply as disengaged from the practice in question’” (316).

Stone throws down the gauntlet. Much of what passes for evangelism in today’s market driven church, simply and quite frankly, is not. If we are to understand who we are as the people of God – if we are to understand our work of evangelism – it must begin with the careful reading of and thoughtful reflection on this monumental work. We must be willing to engage in the conversation Stone has thankfully started. We must be willing to rethink who we are and what we do. We must be willing to fully align ourselves with God's peaceable reign.

I cannot recommend this book enough. All that said, I do offer some words of caution. This is a theological masterpiece. It is no easy read. Before deciding to tackle the book, I would highly recommend reading the introduction and the conclusion. There you will get the boiled down skeleton of Stone’s argument. If you have difficulty with those portions, understand the rest is much more difficult. If, however, you were enthralled and unintimidated by the first and last, I invite you to open the door to one of the most important conversations you will ever have.

God bless, and good reading.

A Tale of Two Letters...

2008-10-16T08:39:00.004-05:00

I'd like to take a moment to compare letters sent by two holiness denominations to their pastors/people concerning the upcoming election.

Here is the first. It was sent out in a denominational email to all pastors.

September 2, 2008

Dear Pastor:

Greetings in the name, grace, and power of our Lord Jesus Christ! Nazarenes living in the United States are experiencing unique opportunities in many places to be a voice for the proclamation of biblical values. Along with our sisters and brothers in other Christian churches, we view with grave alarm the steady erosion of what were once perceived to be the impenetrable foundations of marriage, family, and home as dominant social institutions in our national fabric. We believed them to be impenetrable because their value has been historically celebrated by this nation due to the affirmation of our forebears’ belief in the JudeoChristian bedrock of ideals on which the American experiment in democracy rests.

In recent years cultural abrasion has steadily diminished the stature, importance, and sanctity of both marriage and the conception of children, and now the very definitions of the matrimonial covenant are under attack. The onslaught of this well-orchestrated effort has found support in various constituencies throughout popular culture. This situation is extremely challenging for the church because our members and friends are continuously exposed to its messages through the various media outlets and venues and the ubiquitous world-wide web.

There is a vigorous and robust national debate that is engaging the issue of same-sex marriage, and political initiatives will appear on the fall election ballots of at least three states: Arizona, California, and Florida. We encourage all Nazarene clergy and pastors to reflect on the significance of these issues by engaging dialog, securing information, and prayerfully responding to the serious questions these initiatives raise. There are specific actions that you can take to ensure appropriate access to biblical truth for all of your congregation and community:

1. Use this opportunity to proclaim the biblical standards, definitions, and boundaries of holy matrimony as the union between one man and one woman.

2. Cooperate with other evangelical believers in your community in ways that challenge the subversive message by those who would ignore or even destroy the biblical model and standard regarding Christian marriage.

3. Fearlessly declare the biblical truth that the challenge set before the American people by the architects of proposals for legalizing same-sex marriages must be resisted.

4. Participate in local democracy by casting your vote and encouraging your congregation to join you in standing against any and every proposal that ignores, diminishes, or reverses the scriptural ideal of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Your colleagues on the Board of General Superintendents affirm your courageous voice and faithful witness as you lead your faith community in these challenging times. We join in solidarity with you, praying that God will find us faithful when the faith “once delivered to the saints” is sorely contested in the public and political arena of our nation.

In His Service,

J. K. Warrick,
Secretary Board of General Superintendents

Here is the other. It is from a sister holiness denomination (The Free Methodist Church) and can be viewed at their website: www.freemethodistchurc.org

Kingdom Perspective in an Electoral Season

Board of Bishops, Free Methodist Church

In the current political and social climate of the United States, we must appreciate the truly global church we have become as Free Methodists. This places a profound responsibility on those of us located in one of the wealthiest and most resourceful nations on earth. We recall that we are kingdom people, that God calls all people everywhere to be His. Our citizenship is in heaven first. In fact, we are bound to and have more in common with brothers and sisters in Christ around the world than even our fellow Americans who are unbelievers. We affirm that God does not need us or our nation to carry out His kingdom agenda. The gospel of the kingdom does not depend on current or anticipated political, social, cultural status quo.

The church’s mission to manifest kingdom reality, in cooperation with God’s Spirit, challenges every “this-worldly” platform and ideology. No party will champion the cause of the kingdom in its entirety. We acknowledge that Christians in the United States have often been seduced by reductionist views of the gospel and morality and have thus given uncritical allegiance to partisan agendas that fall short of the Christian hope.

Therefore, we urge our members and adherents to weigh carefully and pray fervently over candidates, ballot referenda and all political issues before us. Then seek to vote in ways that reflect Jesus Christ’s heart for the whole world. In so doing, we remind our people that the way of Jesus is the way of cross-bearing, of self-sacrificing love, of costly obedience and of giving all for the sake of others — especially for those on the margins. Indeed, this way of Jesus often directly counters the ideologies of this world.

Board of Bishops
Free Methodist Church

Matthew Thomas
David Roller
David Kendall

Please forgive the lengthy post, but I think it is worth noting the difference between how the two similar denominations are viewing the upcoming elections. I have several observations, but I'd like to hear yours first.

Hope for Today

2008-08-18T14:08:00.007-05:00

I need your help. Did any of you happen to catch the interview with Obama and McCain that aired last night on CSPAN? I caught a small sliver of it while I was flipping the channel. The moderator asked each candidate about their perspective on the faith question. I didn’t hear enough of Obama’s to make much of a comment, only that he talked quite a bit about “the least of these,” “clothing the naked,” “feeding the hungry,” etc. When he was finished, there was minimal response from the congregation.

What I’d really like your help with is understanding McCain’s response. McCain began by reminding us of his military service and the time he spent as a POW. He talked about how he was tortured and some of the methods used to torture them. Then he told the story of how one night the “gun guard” came in a loosened McCain’s ropes at the beginning of his shift, and retightened them at the end of his shift. Several weeks later, it was Christmas, McCain remembered. At Christmas, the POWs were permitted a few minutes outside alone. During McCain’s free time, that same guard came out, looked him in the eye, drew a cross in the dust with his boot, looked at McCain and then erased the cross and walked away. “At that moment,” McCain said, “we were just two Christians worshipping the same God.”

The crowd erupted.

I used to think a lot of my crazy ideas were just idealism. I used to think that I would outgrow my crazy notions once I got out of the ivory tower of academia. Instead, I find that I don’t feel so crazy. Instead, I find those beliefs more important to me than ever. Perhaps I am just clinging to a place and time that was special for me. So how exactly can two people go from maiming, torturing and killing one another one minute, to being just two Christians worshipping the same God the next minute, to trying to maim, torture and kill one another the next minute? That does sound crazy - doesn't it? Perhaps I am learning the gospel is crazy. Perhaps I am learning the gospel is idealistic. Gospel is supposed to be good news isn’t it? The angels came proclaiming peace didn’t they? In a world that seems to be sucked deeper and deeper every day into the bottomless pit of depression and despair, the church has a much greater opportunity to bear good news! And yet we continue to hear voices like McCain continually tell us it is not possible. We are stuck with the reality of the evil. We are hopelessly captive to the evil in the world. I happen to think he is wrong. I happen to think grace changes more than just my heart. I happen to think Jesus really meant it when he told us to pray “thy kingdom come.” I happen to think it is not an eschatological hope, but a hope for today! Lord knows we need a little hope. Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

"Evangelism After Christendom" by Bryan Stone

2008-08-05T09:16:00.003-05:00

Finally! An evangelism book that looks interesting. For those who don't know him, Bryan Stone is a Nazarene, educated by Nazarenes who is now an Evangelism Professor at the Boston University School of Theology. I had the priviledge to meet him a few years back at a conference in San Diego, so when I saw this book at Cokesbury I gave it a quick glance and bought it.

That quick glance was very refreshing. He suggests a major paradigm shift is needed as we think about evangelism. Most, especially in evangelical circles, think of evangelism in terms of convincing and converting. He contends evangelism ought to have more to do with "bearing witness" than with apologetics and arguments. Here is a particualarly telling and powerful quote from the introduction (it is all the farther I am, I'll add more as I go).

"Conversion. . .is not primarily a matter of deciding in favor of certain beliefs or having certain experiences. It is rather a change of worlds, participation in a new worship, and a journeying toward a new city. The practice of evangelism always hopes for such a conversion and seeks actively to nourish it. But where the evanfelist is tempted to become impatient with the inefficiency of obedience and worship when "more effecient" means are readily available such as manipulation, accommodation, and imposition, we are reminded that evangelism is ultimately an activity of the Holy Spirit and is not subject to our won calculus of effectiveness and "return on investment." Evangelism, then, or so this book will argue, is not primarily a matter of translating our beliefs about the world into catefories that others will find acceptable. It is a matter of being present in the world in a distinctive way such that the alluring and "useless" beauty of holiness can be touched, tasted, and tried" (21).

What do you think?

Vacation update...

2008-07-03T09:40:00.005-05:00

OK. We made it safely to Dayton last night, which means the Hocking Hills leg of vacation is over. It was so nice having some family alone time! Just a quick rundown.

Monday: We went to see "Tecumseh," the outdoor drama by Allen Eckert that tells the story of the great Shawnee chief. It was a perfect evening, though it was a touch cool and we had to dodge a few raindrops before the show started. It is always dangerous going back to places you love from your childhood. They are rarely as good as you remember. Antonina and I enjoyed the play as much today as I remember from years ago!

Tuesday: Perhaps the highlight of vacation so far was a 2 hour family nap! After driving from Circleville to Lancaster where we enjoyed a couple big, fat buritos at Chipotle, we arrived in Logan where we stayed at some good friends' cabin. Antonina unpacked us and I went to Kroger to get some supplies. When I got home we took a 2 hour nap, all three of us, and it was simply divine!

When we got up we did a little sight seeing. First we went to Cedar Falls. It was named for the many cedar trees around the creek, but really there are no cedars at all. We loved the hike and the beautiful waterfall. Then we settled in at a picninc table and had sandwiches and chips, fed Pax, watched to baby squirrels frolic on a nearby tree, and drove on to Ashe Cave. This is a fairly short walk and the trail is paved most of the way. The cave is very sandy and red. The waterfall is a long way up, but not much water flowed. We took the steps up to the top and walked along the rim for a while. With dusk coming soon, we headed back to the car and explored some of the back roads on our way back to the cabin.

Wednesday: our final day in the Hocking Hills, but by far the most exhausting. We began our adventure at Conkel's Hollow. The Hollow trail makes it way along the valley floor to the water fall at the upper end. It too is a very nice trail and is paved most of the way. It was fun to explore the cave and the waterfall as the path followed Big Pine Creek.

Then we took the coutless steps up from the hollow floor to the rim trail - a rugged 2.5 mile loop that is exactly what it claims, the rim of the cliff. Along the trail you are just one missed step from plummitting 200+ feet to the bottom. A very exhillerating (and nerve wracking) experience for two brand new parents carrying a newborn! While hiking the trail we encountered many breathtaking views, and also a lone doe munching on the shrubs, seemingly unconcerned about us as we watched her grazing.

After lunch, it was off to the repelling and rockclimbing area to explore more rocks and seek better views, but after about half and hour of this we decided it was a bit much for us with Pax, so we got back in the car and explored more back roads as we made our way back to the cabin.

After a short rest, a light snack, a thorough cleaning and packing the car, we said goodbye to our brief home and headed to Dayton. On our way however we had one last stop in the Hocking Hills: Rockbridge.

What is there to say. I think the pictures say it all. If words are needed, perhaps Antonina's words, as we drove west, say it best, "I never knew Ohio had anything like this." Or perhaps the words of the psalmist resonate, "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

Well there it is - the Hocking Hills. Now its off to Dayton for friends, the Air Force Museum, the Reds, the Aquarium, and much more! Bye Bye!

A Wonderful Mystery

2008-06-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

We all know that worship is all about experiencing the mystery of God's holiness and presence in our life. We all know that worship is all about celebrating the mystery as we come together at the Lord's Table. But I particularly enjoyed worship this past Sunday because of another mystery - one a little less divine.

I start every Lord's Day at 6:00am. I rise. I go to the church. I pray. I prepare. I make sure the powerpoint is all ready. I make sure the DVD is all queued up. I print out and preach my sermon. This Sunday was just like every other Sunday, and so I left everything neatly in place about 7:30 to go home, shower, walk the dog, and come back to worship.

Worship went great. We opened with "Praise to the Lord the Almighty" (one of my favorite hymns). I greeted the congregation, welcomed them, Psalm 17 called us to worship, and I read the invocation of my pile of neat, white papers stacked neatly atop the pulpit.

I went to my seat and the song leader came up and lead the praise sequence. I went and delivered the children's sermon. Chuck read the Epistle Lesson. Joe sang the Christ Tomlin arangement of "Amazing Grace - My Chains Are Gone," and it was my turn to preach.

When I arrived in the pulpit, my sermon was gone! Where did it go? It was not there. Did I forget to bring it up this morning? I know it was here because I prayed the invocation from the pages. What do I do? I've preached without a manuscript before, but I've always prepared for it. Do I stop and go looking for it? That would be too disruptive. I guess I'll have to wing it from memory. So I preached, and did very well if I do say so myself, but always wondering where the sermon went - confused the whole time about this great mystery.

When the sermon was over Danny (the song leader) came back to the pulpit and lead the responsive sequence, I prayed, we collected our gifts and I went back to the pulpit for announcements, sending and blessing. My eyes must have been wide as saucers. Right where I always leave my sermon was my sermon - Neatly stacked on the right half of the pulpit, just like always. What's going on here? How can this be? Now I am really stupified. It is simply amazing. And once again the mystery proved to be the highlight of my worship!

I Came Across An Interesting Interpretation...

2008-06-17T08:27:00.001-05:00

"I read in John 19:23 that the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing. This was because He wore a garment that was seamless. Now, I've always heard and read that only the Rabbis wore such garments. Further, I see throughout the Gospels that people come to Jesus and address Him "Rabbi" or "Teacher". In other words, Jesus dressed like the religious establishment. I also strongly suspect that He was the ruler (chief elder) of a synagogue for a while in Capernaum, because Luke 4:16 talks about Him going into the synagogue and standing up to read "as was His custom". This suggests to me that He was the "senior pastor" of the local synagogue.

I think that, given these things, if Jesus were here in human form today, He would probably wear a clerical collar. I think He would wear vestments when leading worship. Of course, this is just my own opinion, and I don't mean to exclude the ideas of others."

http://irregularchristian.blogspot.com/2008/01/clergy-collar-what-would-jesus-do.html

A Great Week

2008-06-02T07:50:00.006-05:00

This was quite a full week. I left Tuesday for our NMI convention and District Assembly. I am not a big fan of all the organizational stuff, but I love the connection, the expression of the church on a larger scale, and the preaching this year was unusually good! I think the thing I always enjoy the most is the fellowship with old friends and current colleagues.

Tuesday night I had wings with Chad and Rachael Kuhn - friends from MVNU, Pizza Hut, and NTS. Rachael is now the regional director for a group called Extreme Nazarene Missions. Google it and see what you come up with. Their most recent project was the Bruno Radi Center in South America. Maybe they could use your help.

Wednesday night, I crashed in my hotel room. I got back from convention around 10:00. On my way home I got a 44oz Mt Dew. I got ready for Thursday. I shaved, showered and even ironed my shirt! Then about 10:30 I settled into my bed with my Mt. Dew in one hand and a good book in the other. I read the whole thing - cover to cover - in just under 2 hours. That was great! I highly recommend the book. Hopefully a review will come soon.

Thursday was a day full of friends. Mark, Wade, Tracy, Steve, the Johnsons, and many others. It was also the ordination service. My good friend Steve Johnson was ordained. MVNU gave him a really sweet sculpture of Jesus laying hands on Peter. They connected it somehow to "Christ always being with us," but we really know that the subject was the ordination of St. Peter, beginning the great apostolic succession of the faith. I am jealous of such a fine gift and icon of Steve's holy orders.

Friday I finally made it home to see Pax and Antonina after a long week away. Sunday was Pax's baptism. Evan and Julia came out to do the service. Evan preached, and preached, and preached, and preached (OK - I'm just giving you a hard time! You know I love you!) and Julia Baptised Pax. It was so great that all the family could be together. Make sure you check out his page - there will be more posted there. Well, it was a full and great week. But this is a new week and I need to get to work.

Two Reflections:

2008-05-17T18:27:00.006-05:00

Perhaps I am going to break blogging protocol, but I'd like to briefly discuss 2 things that came up this week. Please feel free to comment on any or all of them.

1) The first is an observation. This week we had a men's ministry fish fry. We had about 15 men, give or take a few, who came. Some attend here regularly, some do not. Here is my point. In both of the churches I served in as some kind of pastor there have been strong men's ministry groups. We have been camping, fishing, to retreats, played sports and lots of dinners. In both churches were the groups very well attended. However, in both churches Women's Minsitry has struggled. In both churches there were multiple poorly attended groups and none could really gain momentum and get off the ground.

So in both churches that had gender ministries, the men were far more successful than the women. However, when it comes to worship attendance, the women are far more active than the men. Is your experience similar? Do you have any thoughts or ideas that might explain this?

2) The second is a letter to the editor I read in "The Living Church" (a weekly publication of the Anglo-Catholic Church). It said:

"Indeed, Orthodox churches could make more effort to welcome visitors. We rarely have "greeters." However, the Orthodox Church is growing. My own Anthiochian archdiocese has about four times as many churches as it had 40 years ago - mostly converts. Last week I visited the new Orthodox monastery in Kenosha, WI, which with 19 young nuns is full nearly to capacity... Perhaps evangelistic techinques aren't the chief cause of church growth?"

I have also heard, though I can't cite it, that the Orthodox church is the fastest growing church in the US. Can any of you confirm this? I know google tells you the JW is the fastest growing, but I don't count them among the orthodox Christian churches.

What else, besides evangelistic techniques might contribute to the Orthodox Church's growth? What can we learn from them?

This is for you my friend.

2008-05-15T19:44:00.003-05:00

As we continue to talk, I continue to pray for you - I continue to weep with you.

May the Lord be your strength and your peace.

ef

Building Boxes

2008-05-09T15:49:00.006-05:00

Most of you know me - most quite well. I love things packed neatly in boxes. I despise clutter. Things should fit neatly in their own little boxes. Most of all my theological musings. I try to fit everything into a nice box. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel safe. Here are a few of the boxes I have built, that reflect several different ongoing conversations in which I find myself.

1) Baptism is essential. It was commanded by Christ that making disciples involves baptism. It is commanded also in scripture that we must repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. So, if you ask me if baptism is necessary, I would unequivocally say yes. One can no more be a Christian while neglecting baptism, than she can while neglecting one of the 10 Commandments.

2) Worship is defined by the Proclaimation of the Word and Celebration of the Sacrament - Word and Table. Christian worship by nature and by definition must include both aspects.

3) Marriage is absolute and is forever. Even in the cases where divorce appears to be a scriptural possibility, remarriage never is as long as you both shall live.

4) Seminary should be a requirement for ordination. And ordination should happen before one becomes a senior pastor. I would not go to a doctor who has not been to med school, and I would not seek out a lawyer who has not been to law school. No one should be ordained who has not been to seminary and no one who is not ordained should be a senior pastor.

Now, these are just some of the boxes I have made in my mind by my theology. Before anyone gets upset at me, here is my struggle. The boxes work great in my mind. The world, however, cannot be boxed and neither can God! So how do I make sense of all this. What do I do with people who are devout believers, but who are not baptized? Are they Christian? What about the many Nazarene churches who do not have a weekly eucharist? Do they not truly worship? And in both cases what about the Christian faith traditions that do not believe in any sacraments? What about my friends who are remarried? Or my many friends who are good pastors but have never been to college let alone seminary?

The problem with boxes is that they have an inside and an outside, and they always leave more on the outside than they contain on the inside. But I love boxes. And I love the ones not in my boxes. But I can't have it both ways.

Christianity cannot be reduced to personal belief - the kind that says "whatever you believe is ok for you." But neither can we go around taping ourselves in, and everyone else out. Maybe that's why my friend Joe quit reading theology. He says the world needs more poets and less theologians. Theologians, he says, build boxes. Poets, he says tears them up.

To box or not to box. That is the question.

Clergy Shirts

2008-05-08T17:04:00.006-05:00

Which do you like better?

The tab?

The neckband?

The hybrid?

Cassocks

2008-05-08T17:02:00.001-05:00

Which do you like better? The one on the right or the one on the left?

Benedict's Apostolic Pilgrimage - part 1

2008-04-15T18:43:00.003-05:00

In light of the Holy Father's visit to America, I have been watching EWTN for commentary about the pilgimage. I wanted to reflect on some of my observations in this series.

The first quote is not directly related to the visit, but I heard it while trying to follow the visit -

Fr. John Corapi was talking about a conversation he had with a woman who converted to Roman Catholicism. She told him, "You really convinced me, because you are so convinced yourself." He relayed that to his audience and then said - and this is the interesting part - "It is true. I am convinced. I believe everything the Church teaches. I may not understand it all. I may not be able to explain it all. But I believe it all."

There are several interesting things about this notion of believing everything the church teaches. I wonder how many Nazarene pastors would say the same thing? I talk with pastors all the time who say things like, "I know the style="font-style:italic;">Manual style="font-style:italic;"> says [fill in the blank] but I think [fill in the blank]. I find it oddly refreshing that someone believes everything their church teaches. I wish the same could be said for us instead of the continual infighting over Wesleyan Holiness vs. American Holiness; baptism vs. dedication; Real Presence vs. Memorial, etc, etc, etc.

It also points to what I believe is one of the The Church of the Nazarenes greatest failings. Many will disagree with me, citing Bresee, or Wesley, or Augustine or whoever really said it, "in essentials unity, in non-essential liberty, in all thing charity." That is a lovely quote, but it just doesn't work. Never did. Never will. Why? Who says what is essential? For me sacraments are essential: one can no more be holy as God is holy while ignoring the sacraments as she can while ignoring the 10 commandments. As long as there is no clear understanding of essentails, the quote fails.

The church must step up and clearly teach what it believes. No wishy-washy-ness. No having it both ways. No muddled doctrinal statements trying be pacifying rather than clarifying. When we cannot clearly articulate what the Church believes about [fill in the blank], we are doing ourselves and the world a great disservice.

Further, his statement is a faith statement. It is a faith statement in the Church. It demands a high respect for and understanding of the Church, one which is sorely lacking in most evangelical circles. The Church is not just wherever two or three are gathered in His name. The church is not just an organiation. The church the body of Christ. It is Christ's continuing presence in the world. Most evangelicals I know would not care if a person believed everything the church taught because it really doesn't matter. All that matters is what the Bible says, and how I interpret and believe what the Bible says. The church somehow gets left out of the mix, perhaps by its own retreat from the conversation.

If we believe the church is just wherever 2 or 3 are gathered then it is ok that we all believe whatever we want. If the church is just an organization it is ok that we are all able to believe what we want within the confines of the organization. But it if the Church is the body of Christ - Christ continuing, physical, mystical presence in the world then we must be much more careful to be the church. To believe what the church teaches.

Perhaps this will be a little more clear after the next observation which is directly related to the nature of the Church. For now though, help me unpack this wonderful faith statement:

"I believe everything the church teaches. I do not understand it all. I cannot explain it all. But I believe it all."

A More Entertaining Service

2008-04-14T09:19:00.002-05:00

OK, so you have to hear this. I just got off the phone with a "marketing firm" wanting to ask me questions about how to better market General Assembly 2009 in Orlando - which I will do my part and highly encourage you to attend. The woman, I don't know if she is a Nazarene or just a call-center employee, asked about what stood out to me about the last General Assembly I was at. I told her it had been a while. I believe I was in high school, so it would have been the early 90's in Indy. I told her that what stood out to me was the silly wafer/cup communion elements. I told her it was the first time I saw them, was shocked, and that I hope I will never have to see them again.

She was silent for a moment, perhaps not knowing how to respond. Then she began asking questions about the Sunday Night Communion Service. In the dialogue, she expressed that it was their hope that the Communion Service would have a better attendance and that not so many people would leave early to get back home. Some of the changes we will notice - according to this young woman - are:

Family Day: moved to Monday morning to encourage people to stay - OK, fine, sounds good to me.

Service Length: the service is being shortened so as not to become to long and drawn out. - EXCELLENT, nothing worse than a 2 hour service when it can easily be done in 1!

A More Entertaining Service: WHAT? *&!^#@$(*@#$&* Since when is the Eucharist entertaining? Can you just imagine that upper room: Jesus, "This is my body broken for you." Apostles, "O man, Jesus, that is hilarious - tell us another one!" Jesus, "OK - This is the cup of salvation, given for you." Apostles, "HA! HA! HA! Jesus, you are so entertaining! Do you mind if maybe we have a skit when you are finished?"

Why does it seem that the message of holiness and the pursuit of holiness is waning so in our world and in our denomination? If the Lord's Supper is not understood as holy, what is? What to recover the doctrine of holiness, start with the Lord's Supper - start with worship. Let's at least act like we believe in a holy God. Maybe then we can start to see some lives changed!

Sorry for the rant.

EF+

Incentivizing the Minimum

2008-04-08T13:48:00.002-05:00

Why do we always seem to settle for the lowest common denominator. Not only do we often settle for the lowest common denominator, we quite often incentivize the minimum by penalizing those who strive for better than the minimum.

For instance, today I found out that my friend was denied his district license? Why? They claim he didn't have enough of the courses done. And why did he not have enough of the courses done? Because he did not settle for doing the minimum necessary to get by. Instead of enrolling in the District course of study and doing the minimum, he enrolled in a Nazarene University to complete a BA in religion. Because he is persuing a BA instead of a certificate that is not worth the paper it is printed on, he had to take courses like Psychology, Sociology, Math, etc. And, because he took Psychology, Sociology, Math, etc, he did not take enough of the "right" courses and was denied his District License. Never mind that he is better prepared to be a pastor than someone 1/4 of the way finished with a District Course of Study... quality of preparation not really that important anyway. It is far more important that we have enough pastors than that we have educated pastors.

Now before this turns into a full blown rant, I would like to suggest a simple solution to this dilema. Here it is:

Ordination requires a Bachelors Degree or higher in Religion from a Nazarene University or Seminary - or another academic institution approved by the General Board.

This takes all the "District" influence out and levels the playing field. It also produces better pastors. However, many will complain that this will cost a pastor too much money. In education, after you serve x number of years in a "low income school district" you are eligible for debt forgiveness. I propose a similar system whereby ministerial students are given debt relief depending on the income of their congregation.

There it is: simple and effective - just the way I like it.

Peace.

Is Ohio Really That Racist?

2008-03-05T09:22:00.004-06:00

Just a quick observation from yesterdays election results. The only counties where Obama won were counties with a large urban core. Franklin (Columbus), Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Hamilton (Cincinnati), and Montgemry (Dayton). The only exception was Deleware County. What is even more astonishing is that Obama did the worst in the most rural/appalachain counties, recevice 20% or less of the vote: Galia, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Pike, Scioto and Vinton.

So, I just wonder, what was this election really about? Issues, candidates, experience, change, race?

[edited for clarification]

This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased!

2008-02-14T08:23:00.002-06:00

Well, the day came and went. I now have a son. His name is Pax Joseph Frey. I am too excite - or tired - to reflect much now. But until I recover, I will direct you to another new blog:

www.paxpics.blogspot.com

There is a link in the "My Friends" section of links. We love you all and thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Eric & Antonina.

Lord Have Mercy... Christ Have Mercy... Lord Have Mercy

2008-02-07T13:40:00.000-06:00

I am so scattered. I am so out of balance. I am so unfocussed. I can’t think. I can’t write. I can’t pray. I can’t worship. I can’t be me. There has to be something more. The status quo makes me sick. Who in their right mind puts new wine into old wineskins? Everyone wants new wine, but no one wants new wineskins. Certainly, no one is willing to get rid of the old ones. Who should want new wine skins when they already have perfectly rotten, dry rotted, cracked ones that don’t hold wine and haven’t for years?

Isn’t there more? Isn’t the God I know so much bigger? Isn’t the God I know so much better? Isn’t the God I know so much more beautiful than anything I could ever imagine? Then why am I stuck? Why is my life so ordinary? Why am I surrounded by the mundane? Where is the majesty? Where is the splendor? Where is awe? Where is the grandeur? Where is the beauty? Where is the glory? Where is the sacred and the holy? Where are you God?

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

Amen.

not sure I have anything to say...

2008-01-27T14:57:00.000-06:00

I never thought I'd say that, but since I am trying to write every week I thought I'd better say something.

Just a couple of things. First, I am always amazed when I find people who read my blog. Just this week I found another one. Everyone, please say hi to Kero.

"Hi Kero"

Please make him feel welcome in our conversations.

---

Second, it must have been about a year ago that I had my first experience ice fishing. It was miserable! It was blustery and cold. The wind was gusting and the temperature reached a high somewhere in the low teens as I recall. It was so miserable, in fact, that this year I bought an ice pole. Well, yesterday I went ice fishing for the second time. It was about 30 degrees and there was no wind. It was a beautiful experience and I had a ball. It wasn't a trophy day, but I caught about a dozen - of which 6 were keeper bluegill. I hope the ice lasts so I can get out again.

Just a reminder that if you try your hand on the ice BE VERY CAREFUL.

ef

The Call of Discipleship

2008-01-20T12:50:00.000-06:00

This week the church celebrates the call of the first disciples. John tells the story in 1.35-51. Before you read it, take a minute to consider the Jewish context.

Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, teaching Jewish disciples, living in a first century Jewish world. His world revolved around Judaism. The educational system was 100% religious. When children were 5 they would begin the first stage of education. It was called Beit Sefer. During the next 5 years, students would dedicate themselves to MEMORIZING the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). By the time they were 10 years most Jewish children had the first 5 books of the OT MEMORIZED!!!!

At that point, most students went to work with their parents to learn the family trade and begin working. But the best students started another phase of education called Beit Talmud. Their they spent the next 5 years memorizing the rest of the Hebrew scriptures. By the time these students were 15, they had the entirity of the OT MEMORIZED!!!

Again, most of those who entered this phase, went back to work with their families, but the best of the best went on to the final stage of their education called Beit Midrash. Here, the best of the best sought out a Rabbi for whom they wanted to be a disciple. A disciple was not just a student. A disciple was one who learned the Rabbi's thoughts and followed his ways so that the disciple could do teach what the Rabbi taught, do what the Rabbi did, and be just like the Rabbi.

Watch this clip about discipleship from Rob Bell's series "Nooma."
(since I don't know how to post a link, go to familychristian.com and search for "nooma dust." There will be an option to watch a preview).

Now check out John's story.

The really cool thing about all of this is that we are not called to be students of Christ, but rather DISCIPLES of Christ. Any student can answer the oft asked question: "What would Jesus do?" But only a disciple can really do what Jesus did and be who Jesus is. The call to follow is a call to be a disciple of Christ. That means not only do we seek to know Christ, but we seek to be like Christ. This is the essence of Christian Holiness. More than just knowing God, we must be like Chirst. We must think as he thinks, do what he does, live as he lives, and love as he loves. That seems a pretty tall order, but we must remember that Rabbis don't call just anyone to be their disciples. They only call those who they know can learn their ways, do their deeds... be just like them.

Christ calls you! That means Christ believes you can be just like him. You can know him. You can learn his ways. You can have his mind. You can do his work. You can have his heart of love. I know, it seems like such a difficult task. It seems like an awefully high expectation. I know, it seems impossible. It seems impossible that ordinary sinful people who live in a broken and sinful world could truly be holy just as our Father is holy. There is only one way to find out if you can really be transformed...and the world through you... That one way, in the words of Christ, is if you will "Come and See!"

+++

Now it's your turn. If being a disciple is more than just being a student, what else might it entail? What do you think discipleship might look like in your life? In your church? What other things might helps us to be just like Christ?

The Baptism of the Lord

2008-01-13T13:13:00.000-06:00

Matthew 3.13-17

This week the church celebrates the Baptism of our Lord. I have only one question. Why was Jesus baptized? That is always the question isn't it? As we have thought about it, banterred about our ideas, and read the opinions of scholars and novices alike, still none of the answers seems completely satisfactory to my mind. The most common, the "identification with humanity" is good theology and sounds reasonable, but it seems to me like an answer develped when we can't find anything else that fits.

The one thing that resonated with me, was one commentator who embraced that lack of a satisfactory answer. In the passage, Jesus comes to John to be baptized. John's baptism was one of repentance, yet the sinless Jesus surely is without need of repentance. John calls Jesus on it, they argue & John gives in. When Jesus emerges from the waters he suddenly has eyes to see and ears to hear as the Spirit descends annointing his ministry and as the voice of God affirms his Sonship.

When John asked Jesus the very same question we all want an answer to, Jesus simply replied, "It is the will of the Father." But that's not good enough. Why? What was accomplished? What necessitated it? We have all these qestion. We need good reasons and clear explanations.

To be quite honest, I think I sound a bit childish. Dad yells, "Don't go in the street!" I want to know why. What do all good dads say? "Because I said so." I contest, "That is no good reason." I argued then. I argue now. "It is the will of the Father." That's just not good enough... or is it? Could it be that the life of faith does not require reasons and explanations and coherent, logical arguments? Could it be that obedience is the virtue here? Could it be that more often than we'd like - or even that we're comfortable - the life of faith is one of blind obedience. When we are willing to obey without question, without explanation, without clear understanding of the reasons or benefits, then God is able to truly be seen in and through us. Obedience. Perhaps that is the word of the day.

The Epiphany of our Lord

2008-01-07T10:04:00.000-06:00

This week the church celebrates the Epiphany of our Lord. The Gospel lesion is Matthew 2.1-12 where the Magi come from the east, find the baby Jesus, and bow down and worship him. The Epiphany can have a couple of foci. It can emphasize God’s self-revelation. That is, when God first revealed to the world that this baby was not ordinary baby, but was indeed the Messiah, the son of God. It can also emphasize the revelation of God’s mission to the world. The Magi, you see, were gentile. Read in such a way, the story reveals that God’s message of Good News is for all people. That includes you and me!

In both cases, the common theme is an epiphany. An epiphany is an aha moment when you get it. Like when you tell a joke and you can tell the instant the hearer gets it by watching their face. That moment of getting it, is an epiphany. Or perhaps it could be compared to the proverbial light bulb coming on in your head. When the light dawns, that is an epiphany (perhaps this is a more Biblical understanding as the OT lesson from Isaiah tells, “Arise! Shine! For the light has come!”).

In the gospel story there are three groups (or persons) who are confronted with the reality of the Baby Jesus. The obvious one is the Magi. They come seeking a king and find a Messiah. They have an epiphany as they illustrate the proper response to the presence of Christ in our world… they bow and worship. The second person is King Herod. He has an epiphany too. He realizes who this child is and he is afraid. He plots and schemes to destroy the presence of Christ in the world. Both the Magi and the King have their own epiphanies, and both respond, albeit in different ways.

The truly intriguing characters in all of this are the Chief-Priests and the Scribes. This group of the religious elite – the experts, the pastors, the scholars – never seem to see it. They are gathered by Herod, informed of the events, and asked where this baby was to be born. Like good and pious men, they quote scripture and tell Herod where the Messiah is to be born, but for them, the light never comes on. They never get it. They never share in the epiphany.

I wonder why not? I wonder why those so well trained, so well educated, who have spent their whole lives learning their scriptures and traditions, who are the backbone of the establishment, miss it entirely? Is there a lesson for us in that? Is there a lesson for us who have been in the church our whole lives? Is there a lesson for us who know the scripture and the tradition so well? Is there a lesson for us who are the backbone of the Christian community?

What do you think?

New Year's Resolution

2008-01-03T16:46:00.000-06:00

Perhaps it is a bit cliché, but after much thought, I think my New Year’s Resolution is… drum-roll please… HEALTH. I feel like my time in pastoral ministry has been marred by unhealthy living. Noticing the looks of the pastors around me, I am not alone! However, I want to improve my health in a variety of areas this year. Here are some of them.

1) The obvious one is physical health. I have always been an active person. I have always been involved with sports. I like to think I have stayed in decent shape. In High School, sports. In college, intramurals. At seminary, just being a youth pastor tends to keep you active. But being a pastor, a year and a half of lunch meetings, desk sitting, and lots of stress have left me feeling lazy and out of shape. I hate running. I have not found any rec leagues I can join. I think I am going to try and dust off my bike. I am going to try and ride 5 days a week. Outside if the weather permits, and maybe I’ll find a cheap stationary I can ride when its miserable outside.

2) The next noticeable is my mental health. I feel like I am getting dumb. I don’t feel like I read or write nearly as much as I’d like (sermons don’t count!). So, I have a plan. This is going to be the year of Wesley. I am going to try to read one sermon, letter or journal entry per week. I am also going to try and read about Wesley in book and in my WTS journals. Additionally, I am going to write. I am going to write a brief article each week about something the church celebrates each week. Perhaps an event (like the incarnation, the epiphany, the resurrection, etc) or perhaps a person (like an apostle, a saint, or any other significant hero of the faith). You can watch for those here or at torontoinfocus.com/religion. Finally, I am going to assign myself a writing project. I am going to try and write a scholarly article about the influence of the liturgy of the Church of England on the shaping of Wesley’s doctrine of Christian Perfection. I don’t know what I’ll find, but it will be fun… I think.

By the way, did you know that to be in one of Wesley’s small groups you must agree to three things: (1) always do good; (2) never do bad; (3) regularly attend the means of grace!

3) I want to get spiritually fit. I miss midweek Eucharist at St. Peter’s Episcopal on Red Bridge Road. But there are no midweek Eucharists here. So, my goal for spiritual health is (1) find a spiritual director; (2) find an accountability partner; (3) pray Morning Prayer from the Daily Office of the Book of Common Prayer each morning when I first get to the office and then pray Evening Prayer when I last leave the office.

Health is an important thing, but man is it exhausting just thinking about getting back in shape!

Merry Christmas,

EF

Did I mention...

2007-12-28T18:49:00.000-06:00

... I HATE END NOTES!!!

I just started Collins' new book on Wesleyan theology. I love to read footnotes to see where he is drawing info, to see relevant comments etc. But there are none! They are all end notes and it is impossible to keep flipping to the back everytime I want to check a note. It drives met nuts!

(or maybe I'm just nuts for liking to read footnotes!)

Advent Thoughts From an Expectant Father

2007-12-27T18:52:00.000-06:00

I hope you don’t write this off as just another of Eric’s grumblings. I know I complain every year at this time of the year about how we gloss over the season of Advent. I talked a little about it in a sermon last week. You can read the whole sermon on torontonaz.blogspot.com (I think there is a link to the right).

This Advent, however, I think gives me a new perspective on what is already my favorite season. Advent is all about waiting and preparing. It is about letting the joy build like the fizz in a champagne bottle. The longer we shake – the longer we wait to pop the cork – the more spectacular the celebration is.

Make no mistake about it. It is very difficult to remain faithful to the spirit of Advent. It is quite difficult to wait for Christmas Day to celebrate Christ’s coming. This Advent, I found myself especially inspired to wait for the birth of God’s Son by my personal wait for the birth of my son.

When I think of Advent, I think of the baby with which Antonina and I have been blessed. I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago after our last ultrasound. He asked me how much our baby weighed. I told him our son weighed 3 pounds 8 ounces. He said to me, “Your baby is already 6 oz heavier than my son weighed when he was born at 32 weeks.”

They had many difficulties with their pregnancy, and their baby was born very early. It occurred to me that we could have our baby any time. It could come early just like theirs did. I am glad I get to wait. Every day I grow even more excited. Every day I feel the baby do things I could never have imagined. Every day that goes by is a better chance that both Antonina and the baby will be healthy. Every day that goes by is another day to prepare our home for the coming of the baby. Every day that goes by my joy is increased. I could jump the gun and wish my son was here now, but then I think of all the joy I’d miss…the joy that only comes by waiting, and anticipating, and watching the baby.

Always watch the baby, but never rush it. Embrace the wait and experience the joy. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Ford fan no more!!!!

2007-12-12T14:05:00.000-06:00

I have always had a Ford. I have always loved my fords and found them reliable and good preforming. I have a Ford Escape and love it!

However, my loan is through Ford Credit Service and it is TERRIBLE. I simply want to set up an online payment that is a set amount, the same date every month. THEY CAN'T/WON'T DO IT!!!!

How hard can it be to set up my account to take out $400 every month on the 18th of each month? Toyota did it no problem. FORD CANNOT DO IT! They will only set you up to pay the amount due each month. Since I paid an extra $50 in Nov, they will take out the usual payment - $50 in December. I have no control. It is all based on the amount due. I AM FURIOUS!

I can't tell you how angry I am. Now I have to either make the payment online manually every month or write out the check. STUPID!!!

I will never use FORD CREDIT again, and will probably never buy a Ford again. I would ask that you don't use them either. Their customer service is TERRIBLE!

IF THEY CAN'T MAKE A SIMPLE TRANSACTION, HOW IN THE WORLD CAN THEY MAKE A QUALITY VEHICLE!!!!!!

Missional Church

2007-11-26T12:23:00.000-06:00

I attended at a District continuing education day with one of our denominational “leaders.” The subject for the day was “Equipping People for Missional Ministry.” When I saw the title I was immediately intrigued. The missional approach to ministry resonates with my own thinking and philosophy about being the church. I was excited. Then I saw who the presenter was. Because I knew of him from my time in Kansas City, I knew a little about him: his pastoral history, his work as a DS, and now his work as a consultant. I must confess that I was a little skeptical. What I have read and thought of the missional movement had little in concept with what I have seen of his ministry.

After spending a morning talking to us about how to make people feel at home in our churches (making sure the bathrooms are clean, sending follow-up gifts for visitors, etc), he paused to take questions. My mother tried to teach me to filter the stuff that goes from my mind to my mouth before it leaves my oft-gaping pie whole, but that morning my questions burned too hot in my mind. And so I asked him:

1) Who are the writers who really articulate the “missional church” well that we should be reading?

2) How would you differentiate between “church growth” and “missional church”?

To the first question, he responded well listing several of the key authors that are writing on the subject, letting me know that he is well read enough to talk about the subject with some degree of clarity. To the second question, however, his response felt to inadequate – even missing the whole point. His response was this: Church growth was about numbers; missional church is about motive -- Church growth was about getting people in the pews. Missional church is about getting people saved.

I cringe.

I don’t think his analysis was fair to EITHER concept, so to be fair, I pondered the question myself. Here are some of my thoughts about the issue.

1) Church Growth seeks converts; Missional Church seeks disciples –

A convert is one who has “prayed the prayer,” “prayed through,” “found Jesus,” or any number of other colloquialisms describing our response to God’s offer of grace. Now that they have prayed the prayer, they are in the club. Now their job is to get more people into the club. It is almost as if once they’re in, they’re in.

A disciple is one who walks daily with Christ. Praying “the prayer” is nice, but ultimately it is meaningless if it does not become a way of life. At a recent retreat, 4 of my teens either became saved or rededicated their life to Christ. I completely affirmed them. I told them I was proud that they were sensitive to the call of Christ and that I was proud of them for responding to the call. But I also told them that whatever happened between them and God that night had to happen every day of their life. Relationships are only healthy when they are growing. A disciple is one who walks every day in a growing relationship with God through Christ.

2) Church Growth seeks salvation of souls; Missional Church seeks healing of persons –

Church Growth seems to fragment persons into component parts: soul, mind, body, finances, etc. The church exists to save the soul of sinners. Whether a person is suffering from mental illness, addiction, cancer, poverty, or any other number of issues, their real need is salvation.

Missional Church says, yes, people need salvation, but living in the kingdom of God means we have to also work with them to find healing of their mental illness, addiction, cancer, poverty, etc. By showing compassion and solidarity with the broken in all arenas, the church is being Christ and revealing God so that they might experience full salvation in all their life.

3) Church Growth emphasized sterile, contemporary worship; Missional Church emphasizes authentic, Christian worship –

What else can we say? Those who brought us church growth brought us churches that look like any other new building. They brought us so called “worship leaders” whose credentials include plenty in the arena of vocal performance and nothing in the arena of church or sacred music. They stripped all signs of our faith: art, crosses, pulpits, altars, fonts, etc., in favor of Thomas Kincaid, projector screens, Plexiglas podiums, and nothing in the realm of sacraments. It was almost as if the goal was to trick a person into becoming a Christian. I am reminded of the proverbial frog in the kettle. “Put ‘em in boiling water and they’ll jump out…put ‘em in cold water, turn up the heat slowly, and they’ll boil.” Worship quit being worship and started being cold water…never mind lukewarm.

On the other hand, Missional Church embraces passionate and authentic, Christian worship. We see a return to the arts. We see a return to some degree of informed liturgy. We see a return to sacraments and biblical preaching. People are looking for faith that is real and true and authentic. People want to follow those who are real and true and authentic. Worship once again becomes worship.

4) Church Growth aims to get the world into church; Missional Church aims to get the church into the world –

Church Growth measured “success” by how many people came to church and how many people joined a small group. The missional church measures “faithfulness” by how many needs are met, by how many people are involved in doing the work of Christ, by how many people are partnering with God, and one to another, in his divine mission. The Church Growth church is those people who are gathered. The Missional Church is those who are gathered and sent.

+++

I certainly have a limited perspective on things, so having outlined some of my thoughts, let me ask you the question I asked that day: how would you differentiate between the Church Growth and the Missional Church approaches to church?

The Shack...by Wm. P. Young

2007-11-07T14:42:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't done a great job with posting new thoughts or with updating my book list, so I want to do both now and mention one of the better theological novels I've ever read. It is "The Shack" by William P. Young, and I found it to be excellent fictional story and excellent theological conversation.

We have all wrestled with many of the theological mysteries: love & evil, trinity & unity, Christ as human and divine, and on and on. Young provides much to consider as we meet Mack. Mack has a very complicated history, including seminary and ministry. None of that will help him as he is confronted by "The Great Sorrow." As tragedy enters Mack's life he strugles to find answers. He found more than he could have ever imagined on his visit to the shack. In his visit he encounters such characters as Papa, a large southern black woman, Sarayu, a very hippie-ish young lady, Jesus, just a good old boy, and Sophie a gracious judge.

Along the way, you will find yourself struggling along-side Mack, and as his life is transformed you just might find yourself changed too. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages. It is less than 250 pages and reads as easily as a novel, yet provokes thought as deep as the reader is willing to plunge. So jump on in, and meet Mack at The Shack.

http://www.theshackbook.com/index.html

Fabulous Quotes!

2007-10-09T09:27:00.000-05:00

"I sure hope you don't conduct your dating the way you conduct your evangelism!"

"The Gospels do not begin with the cross, they lead toward it."

"It is not the Church of God that has a mission, but rather the God of mission that has a Church."

"Tolenrance = welcoming people where they are with a view to transformation."

"We don't rest from our work, we work from our rest."

Eddie Gibbs
LEAP @ MVNU
October 9, 2008

Thoughts?

2007-09-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

I have been reflecting on my first year in full-time professional ministry. Is it what I expected? Is it what I hoped for? Yes and no. There are many things I love about my job, but I'd like to reflect on one of the things that I would like to improve: being a pastor.

At seminary there was a big push to help us articulate a philosophy of ministry. As I reflect on the first year here, I find myself reflecting on "The Shepherd of the Hills." It is an excellent novel set in the ozark hills of southern Missouri. I will not give away too much in case some of you have not read it, but it is about a man who ran away from his life in the city to find peace and rest in the hills. In the hills, the man becomes loved by all the people and becomes the shepherd of the hills.

I wonder, after this year in ministry, if being a pastor hasn't gotten in the way of me being a pastor. I find myself feeling more like the church's business manager than like the people's pastor. To me being a pastor is about prayer, preaching the word and administering the sacraments, and being a spiritual friend to the people in my parish. I have always loved this poem by Eugene Peterson:

"I want to study God’s Word long and carefully
so that when I stand before you and preach and teach I will be accurate.

I want to pray, slowly and lovingly,
so that my relation with God will be inward and honest.

And I want to be with you, often and leisurely,
so that we can recognize each other as close companions on the way of the cross
and be available for counsel and encouragement to each other."

Yet I feel consumed by meetings and finance and scheduling and organizing and administration and ...

There has to be a better way. There has to be a better way to love people than to plan meetings. There has to be a better way to walk with people than to sit behind a desk coordinating a calendar. There has to be a better way. The early church refused to let the apostles be consumed by such tasks. They designated 7 deacons to oversee the day to day work of the church so the apostles could focus on preaching, teaching, and praying. How have we come so far off the path?

And so I am left pondering, is being a pastor the biggest obstacle to being a pastor?

Thanks for the encouragment!

2007-09-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the various conversations we had. You all are such a blessing. I want to share one of the emails I received recently.

Dear Eric (from my old youth group in KC)

We had 12 teens in Sunday school Sunday. Three of them are 6th, 7th, 8th graders and we started a Junior High class Sunday with these three. We have two others who come part of the time with three other prospects we need to draw back in.

I am so excited about the growth in the last 6 months. We had a wonderful time at NYC and the kids came back closer to God and are willing to work for Him. There were some life changing decisions made during that week in our kids. We adopted a 12 year old boy and raise $25 a month to send to him for food, clothing and schooling. They are going to L.A. in July for deeper training (it is called FUEL). They are doing a 30 hour famine in February and Nick and Andy are working with REAP a local group in Raytown to help those who need food and shelter. The teens are starting to take the fifth Sunday morning service and do the whole service. We are going to the KC Rescue Mission to tour and see the ways we can contribute in their ministry, sometime this month.

I am so excited, oh I think I said that already, or well, I am EXCITED.

We have Cress and Ashley working with the Teens as vol. Youth Pastors, Cassie as a sponsor (loves to work with the kids and has a beautiful voice which helps with the singing). I am teaching the Senior High and NYI president and Joseph and Kimberly are teaching the Junior High. We are starting to work toward getting more involved with district functions such as hosting a teen quiz meet in Oct., participating in 'Eyes wide open overnight' (where we will pay $25 to sleep in a cardboard box all night in a parking lot to raise money for the homeless and see first hand how it feels to be without a bed or a home for one night).

The kids are talking about our next Work and Witness trip and they were asking if there is an opportunity for us to come up and work for you and your Church or a Church near you or your community/town?

I had better go and get back to work.
Love You both

Judy

Dry Heart, Empty Mind

2007-09-07T18:40:00.000-05:00

OK, I usually don’t write things this transparent. I usually write about my theological thoughts, but lately I haven’t had any. I have been having a tough time, and I am only sharing this because the two things that have been echoing through my head were told to me by a friend who shares much of my experience.

Let me start by introducing you to Joe. He joins many of you as my best friend from a particular place in life’s journey. Joe will be 70 in April. He is a very young 70 though. At the age of 17, Joe went to Paris to study organ. We he came home he got a degree in music before being drafted. Along the way, he also earned a MSM and a DSM.

He fell in love with the liturgy of the Methodist Book of Worship and then entered seminary, where he joined the Order of St Luke (a Methodist monastic order devoted to liturgical renewal). After several parish assignments, Joe found himself in Toronto, OH where he celebrated a weekly Eucharist with all the smells and bells, and had daily Morning Prayer services. His stay there was short, and it was also his last as a UM pastor.

Today I spent the day going with Joe to Pittsburgh. He began talking about his career in the UMC. He made two remarkable comments. The first was:

“I was just tired of not fitting in…I just wanted to feel at home, with people like me, where I was the norm. I left when I knew that would never happen in the UMC.”

The second was:

“I realized that me being there either meant me not being healthy and fulfilled, doing things the way they wanted, or them not being fulfilled, having to do things my way. Everywhere I went I tried to move them toward the liturgy, but when I left, they just were left picking up the pieces and going back to things as usual. It was better for us all if I was not there.”

Joe’s comments cut me to the heart, because those are the two things that I have been struggling with the last month or two. Will I ever feel at home? Will I ever be surrounded by a group of people like me where I can just blend in and be one of the guys? Will I have to start over at every stop? Will I always be fighting this fight? Is it worth it? What will happen when I leave? Will I do more damage than good in the long term? Would it be better for everyone if I just found a tradition where I fit in?

Where is my place?

Where is my home?

Where am I?

Who am I?

Oops! I Thought This was Freeze Tag!

2007-08-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

It seems I've been tagged, not once, but twice (see Evan & Julia's blog for an explanation). My mistake was that I thought it was freeze tag and hence I froze my blog. Sorry for the mistake! Before getting back to blogging I must fulfill my obligations as tagged.

Eight Random Facts About Me:
8) For most of my life I preferred physical activity to reading (now I prefer to read & my waisteline concurs).
7) I once had long hair in small braids (now I have no hair).
6) My dream vacation is a tour of the historical sees of the church (oddly enough the is not a Nazarene church in the bunch).
5) I have hiked the Appalachain Trail (3 miles of it anyway).
4) Breakfast is my most liked meal (and least eaten).
3) My goal in life is to build a real church (It will feature a fountain & a dome at the intersection of the narthex and the nave)!
2) I hate chain-anythings (so I will not be tagging anyone else).
1) I am going to be a father in February!

Top Ten MOST INFULENCIAL Books (Not Favorite or best & in no particular order):
10) Robert Weber: Ancient Future Worship
9) Rob Staples: Outward Sign, Inward Grace
8) Henri Nouwen: Compassion
7) CS Lewis: Chronicles of Narnia
6) KJ Rowling: Harry Potter
5) George Weigel:Witness to Hope, the Biography of Pope John Paul II
4) Garrett Keizer: A Dresser of Sycamore Trees
3) Bill Bryson: A Walk in the Woods
2) Stanley Hauerwas: A Community of Character
1) Richard Lischer: Open Secrets

I hope you all enjoy these! Hopefully I'll have a new post for you all soon.

I want to tell you about vaction...

2007-07-17T12:37:00.000-05:00

but I need to finish what I started first...

I was watching the News Hour last night on PBS. They had a story about the Nelson-Adkins art museum in Kansas City. They recently had to expand by building a new building. If you are familiar with the Nelson-Adkins, you know that it is a very classy and classical building. There was great apprehension about how adding a new building would impact the classic architecture of the old. How can new and old blend together?

It got me thinking about the relationship between church and culture. There was a time when the church was very instrumental in cutting edge cultural issues. In nearly every field, the church was the driving force of progress. In education, the church was the provider of learning and the clergy set the standard for scholarship as the most educated. Much of the art (sculpture, mosaic, painting, pottery, etc) was commissioned and developed in the church. The church set the tone for architecture as churches were the great works of structural endurance and beauty. The very best of what was then contemporary music was produced in and for the church. The literary greats had a firm footing in the church. And many of science’s great discoveries occurred by the minds of great Christian studying astronomy, medicine, physics, etc.

Today, it seems, these things are more thought of in opposition to the church. Education is now public and the clergy is largely uneducated. “Christian music” struggles to put out quality work often simply trying to recast whatever is popular with “Christian” lyrics. Churches are void of significant art and in broad and general terms (probably too much so), the art community is “non-Christian.” One can no longer turn to church buildings if one wants to look at modern architectural acheivement. Christian literature (primarily fiction) has taken a turn from quality literature to narrow, and usually poorly written pop-theology. Somehow, Christians have gotten a bad rap as anti-science. Is there a way the church can redeem culture?

I believe there is. I think it begins by recapturing the proper idea of sacredness. For too long now, we have viewed things far too dichotomously (is that a real word?). Some things are sacred and some things are secular. I have a sacred identity as a Christian and a secular identity as an employee. This, I believe is a false dichotomy. It is an unnecessary distinction. It is a sinful sentiment. A proper idea of sacred is much more holistic, and at its heart is the concept of sanctification. All of life is sacred. All of life should be sanctified.

To be sanctified is to be set apart for a holy purpose. We who believe so strongly in a holiness theology that is rich in this idea of sanctification should understand this better than most. Unfortunately, often our hearts are the only things we let God sanctify. God desires our whole life to be sanctified. If we begin thinking of our whole life as sanctified by God, then our heart, our mind, our body, even our career must be transformed by God’s holiness and participate in it.

When all of my life proclaims who God is and proclaims the Good News of God to the world, then culture begins being redeemed. When I paint a painting, I paint one that tells the world about God. When I build a building, I build it to show the world the character of God. When I write a book, I write one that tells the story of God. When I create music, I let the world in on God’s creative spirit. When I explore the mysteries of the universe, I am helping the world to understand the mystery of God. Everything I am and everything I do participates in the redemptive work of God in the world, and thus helps Christ speak redemptively in the world.

Architecture & Purpose in the Church

2007-06-21T16:06:00.000-05:00

I was watching the News Hour last night on PBS. They had a story about the Nelson-Adkins art museum in Kansas City. They recently had to expand by building a new building. If you are familiar with the Nelson-Adkins you know that it is a very classy and classical building. There was great apprehension about how adding a new building would impact the classic architecture of the old. How can new and old blend together?

It got me thinking. I recently had an epiphany. I have been fascinated by architecture, especially church architecture for some time now. Consider, if you will, the architecture of churches fifty years ago and the architecture of today. They are really a study in contrasts. I was asking a friend recently if the contrast went deeper than just architecture.

Churches, say fifty years and older, often have a big problem in today’s church culture. There isn’t adequate space or facility for the types of ministry prevalent today. Typically, the church is a handsome brick or stone building with a large and often beautiful sanctuary. It typically has lovely stained glass windows, a powerful pulpit and an admirable altar. Most often it even has a stalagmite like steeple. There might be some classroom space in the basement.

Consider typical new construction churches. They are typically rather sterile environments. There are large and open, with very few permanent fixtures. The pulpit and altar are flimsy and easily movable. Everything is flexible. There is an abundance of foyer space, classroom space, kitchen space, office space, and the amount of multi-use space is astounding. Typically the exterior is barn-like, complete with steel roof and often steel walls. The buildings are a study in contrast.

What really strikes me is not the so much the shift in architecture that causes me to pause, but rather the shifting notion of church that I believe has motivated the architectural shift. It is quite clear that older churches were built primarily as a place where the people of God gathered to worship their God. It seems today that the church has become primarily a ministry center. The church of yesterday seems rooted and formed by their worship, and the church of today seems rooted and formed by their ministry.

I don’t think either are wrong. In fact, I think they are both necessary. It seems however that adequate attention to both has been an impossible task (especially with such limited resources). How do I create a space that captures the attributes of God (ie, holiness, eternity, creativity, beauty, mystery, awe, et al) and that tells His story, while at the same time allows for the incarnational nature of God reaching out and ministering to a world, all at the same time? Perhaps some day I shall enjoy the venture of church building!!! Until then I will have to settle for reflection and dreaming.

On Evil, and a Christian Response

2007-06-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

This morning we are beginning a 6 week journey through the book of 1 Samuel called “Could I ask you for a favor?” During this time, we will be looking at some of the stories that shaped Israel’s national identity. Each story is one of God pouring his favor lavishly and graciously in response to the virtuous lives of his people. This morning’s scripture lesson is from chapter 1, verses 1-20. 1 Samuel 1.1-20: Hear the Word of the Lord.

The author is clear. This is no once upon a time story. This is a real story with real people and happens in real time in a real place. The man’s name is Elkanah. Elkanah has two wives. One is Peninnah. She is a very good wife. She bears many children. She is quite the homemaker. The other wife is Hannah. Hannah is a very good wife too. She is picturesque and beautiful. She is the one Elkanah really and truly loves.

It hits us like a ton of bricks. “Hannah had no children.” In a time when survival meant having children, and not having children meant not surviving, having no children was a very bad thing. In a culture whose understanding of life after death did not mean an eternal life as we think of it today, but rather experience life after death through the continued existence of their name via offspring, having no children was a very bad thing. In a society where status, wealth and power were largely determined by the number of children one had, having no children was a very bad thing. And so it comes as quite a punch in the gut when we are introduced to Hannah and then are told she “had no children.” You can almost hear the reader gasp with horror as she read of the curse that weighs so heavy in the life of Hannah.

It’s bad enough that she is unable to have children. She surely has to deal with the self-inflicted mental effects and stresses that come along with such a stigma, but we also find that she has to deal with ridicule and jealousy from the other wife. Day in and day out, Hannah must endure such pain. Even when they make their yearly pilgrimage to sacrifice to YHWH the provocation does not cease. In fact, it becomes worse. It goes on like this day after day and year after year.

One year, Hannah’s pot boiled over. The irritation was just too much to handle any more. Elkanah was sensitive to Hannah’s needs and at the feast gave her a double portion because he loved her so much. But she couldn’t take it. She was so upset she couldn’t eat. Again, Elkanah affirmed his love for her. It didn’t matter to him. He loved her for who she was, not for what she could produce for him. But this still didn’t help, the torment just continued. She got up from the table and went to the temple. She stormed past Eli, the Priest, ignored all the formalities of worship and began pouring her heart out to God. And then Eli piled on too. “What are you? Drunk?” he asked. Hannah just continued sobbing, opening her heart to God. “Why?” she asked. “Why God? Why do such terrible and evil things happen? Why?”

The news this week spread through the valley like wildfire. Tragedy stuck yet again. This time it hit too close to home – right here in Toronto. It was news of a mother – a mother who now has no child. Baby Jake, a wonderful child from all accounts, is dead. His father is in jail, charged with murdering 16-month-old Jake. A broken mother weeps. Friends and family grieve. A small town community mourns. Numbness – denial – sadness – anger – outrage – confusion. They cry. They question. “Why?” they ask. “Why God? Why do such terrible and evil things happen? Why? He was a baby! He was innocent? What did he do to deserve that? What did we do to deserve that? Why did you let him be killed? Why did you take him? Why? Why? Why?”

These questions have plagued us since the beginning of time. Perhaps no other question has been more problematic than this question of theodicy. Perhaps no other question is as difficult as this question of evil. Why do people suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people? It is all just so evil. It is such a difficult question because there is no easy, or remotely adequate answer. I wish I could stand here this morning and give you a nice neat sermon, answering all of these questions with three straightforward points. I wish I could address these things in a way that you would say, “Ah, that makes since, now I won’t have to wrestle with that one any more.” However, these are just wishes. There are no easy answers. There are no simple solutions. There is no magical remedy to the problem of evil in life. Instead, I’d like to reflect, for just a moment on this problem of evil.

Evil is a consequence of free choice. Evil is the absence of God. Many of us believe that every person is free to make choices in one’s life. One is free to eat hotdogs or hamburgers. Watch sports or drama. One can choose to love God and participate in his holiness or reject God and participate in evil. If one is free to choose God, then one must also be free to reject God. Evil is the absence of God’s holiness in the world.

Evil is real, evil is personal, and no one is immune from it. In the last year a twelve-year-old little girl, Antonina and I worked with at St. Paul’s died in a house fire. Another 7 year old that we taught in Sunday School when she was three was raped by her father. And now a 16-month-old baby in our community was murdered by his father. Evil is absolutely real. The man who raped the little girl is my friend. We worked together. We studied together. We are friends. I have replayed the two years I spent with him over and over again in my mind. Did I miss something? Was he crying out for help? Could I have prevented this? How does such a good man become so evil? How? Why? Where are you God?

While the question of evil is about as clear as the Ohio River after a rainstorm, Scripture is very clear about how we are to respond in the midst of evil. We are not called to understand evil. We are not called to explain evil. We are not called to conquer evil. These things only God can do. We are called, however, to be faithful to God, even in the midst of such evil. Perhaps this sounds no easier than explaining evil, but consider Christ. He wanted out. “Take this cup from me,” he begged as he sobbed drops of blood. “Daddy! Daddy! Why have you forsaken me?” he pleaded in the agony of the cross. “But that is Christ!” Sure, then consider Job – David – Paul – consider Hannah. In the midst of such evil and such personal hardships, Hannah remained faithful.

I’d like to suggest three things that allowed Hannah to remain faithful. The first is her endurance. We see in the story that she endures Peninnah’s incessant ridicule, irritation and provocation. She endures it year after year. There is no telling how long this went on. In the midst of such evil situations in life, we have no answers. There seems to be no end. There seems to be no timetable for withdraw. It seems that the evil and the suffering go on forever. Paul exhorts us to endure such hardship as discipline. The old saying is “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” So it is with evil and our faith.

Paul goes so far as to encourage us to endure, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Hannah is able to endure Peninnah’s harshness because of Elkanah’s undying love for her. A double portion of the feast, and unconditional love because of who she was spurred her on to endure. We can endure evil because we have hope. We have hope because of God’s great love that has been poured out to us.

Second, Hannah’s faithfulness in the face of evil is made possible by her continuing worship. Year after year, she endured hardship yet remained faithful. Year after year, she journeyed to Shiloh to worship the Lord. Worship is simply our focused attention and our intentional adoration of the Triune God who created us, who redeemed us, and who calls us to share in his holiness. The way we approach life is a matter of perspective. My truck seems large. Next to a semi, however, it seems not so big. Next to a train, a semi seems small, and next to the barges that plow up and down the river the train even seems small. So too, the evil in the world looms so large. When we see it next to the greatness of God, however, our present suffering tends to fade.

Worship, too, is an activity of the community. True worship is when the community of faith gathers to adore God. We never worship alone. Paul encourages us to never cease meeting together as many have done. Why? Because faithfulness requires the community of the faithful. None of us can walk through the valley of the shadow of death faithfully on our own. In the community, our pain is shared and our faith is strengthened. When we cannot continue our brothers and sisters can carry our load. Evil can be endured faithfully, but only when live is lived in worshipfully adoring God together with the entire communion of the saints.

Finally, faithfulness in the face of evil requires the utmost open and honest prayer before God our Father. Hannah got up from the table and went to the temple. She knelt before YHWH, opening her heart and sharing her pain. Eli thought she was drunk because such behavior was just not proper. A woman should not have gone where she went. Prayer was not silent, it was aloud. People didn’t just go to God, they went to the priest. There are rituals and forms that must be followed. Hannah wasn’t concerned with any of that. She simply bowed her life at the feet or her Father and emptied herself in his lap.

There is no shame in questioning God. How many of the psalms question God? How often do we hear David asking where God is, or when God is planning to deliver on his promises? Job is most famous. He questioned God constantly, but the key is he never cursed God. God desires to know us. To know us requires us to be open and honest. Only when we are open and honest, sharing with God our heart: our hurts, our questions, and our anger, is there room in our heart for his favor to be poured. Only after Hannah was able to open up in prayer to God was she able to leave uplifted and encouraged. “She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was no longer sad.”

Faithfulness in the face of evil, by endurance, worship and prayer opens the door for God to favor us in the midst of evil. Eventually, Hannah did conceive a son and she named him Samuel. We don’t know how much time elapsed between her prayer and God’s answer, but by God’s grace the darkest of nights was transformed into the brightest of mornings. In so doing, God showed the world he pours out his favor upon those who remain faithful. To the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

2007-06-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting conversation this past week at District Assembly. One of my friends told me he baptized 8 people this past year, but the report published in the Journal only has him listed for 6. He inquired about the discrepancy and was told the publish statistics do not include infant baptism. When questioned that he was told he was lucky to be able to baptize infants at all.

So this got me digging. The Annual Pastor’s Report ask for three things. (1) “Christian Baptisms (not infants)” (2) “Infant Baptisms” (3) “Infant Dedications.” So, we do differentiate between infant baptism and dedication, but we also do not consider infant baptisms to be “Christian” baptisms. Is this a fair reading?

Have you run into this problem? Why would the district journals not include infant baptisms in the number of baptisms preformed? Is there a way to get the infant baptisms to count without false reporting? Perhaps one of you could help me out.

eef
home office
1st Sunday After Pentecost, 2007

On the Eve of Holy Orders

2007-05-30T22:44:00.002-05:00

It is the now the Eve of my ordination. I must confess that I am no closer to understanding this mystery of faith than I was a few weeks ago. I really appreciate all the help and dialogue you all have contributed either here or elsewhere. So tonight, rather than getting bogged down in the theological quagmire of sacramental life and mysteries I want to spend a few moments sharing my reflections on the occasion of my ordination...The Feast of the Visitation.

The event is related in Luke 1:39-57 and is celebrated each year on the 31st of May. As the story goes, Mary fled her home to visit her cousin Elizabeth. The moment their eyes met, Elizabeth (and even John within her) recognized that they were in the presence of Christ. Much of tradition focuses on the effect of this encounter on the yet unborn John, who would be the Baptizer. Since it happens, however, that I will be ordained on this Holy-day, I want to reflect the story in a bit of a different light.

Mary was presently bearing Christ to the world. When she came into Elizabeth's presence, Elizabeth's unborn Baby jumped for joy because they were in the presence of Christ. Though they could not see the person of the Christ, they saw his divine presence as Mary bore him in their midst. I don't really understand this thing we call ordination. Perhaps that is why it is often understood in the category of Holy Mysteries.

My prayer as I approach ordination is simple. May Christ be born in me this day. May the world see in me not Eric but Christ. May I be a faithful witness of the Christ who grows in me. And may God truly and really mediate His grace through me that the world might recognize Him and leap for joy. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

eef
Comfort Inn - room 120, Canton, OH
The Visitation of Mary, Anno Domini 2007

Pentost: Out of the Upper Room and Onto the Portico of Public Proclamation

2007-05-30T06:49:00.000-05:00

The setting for this morning’s celebration is the city of Jerusalem. As history unfolded, the people of Israel had been dispersed throughout the known world. On this particular day, Jews from all origins were reunited to celebrate the Feast of Weeks. It was a major Feast celebrating the harvest, and offering the first fruits of that harvest in worship to God. It came every year like clockwork…fifty days after Passover.

The noise was loud. It was full of energy and emotion, but it was just unintelligible. You see, the streets were filled with Jews from every nation. Each group was speaking their own native language, but one group of Jews was above the fray. They were holed up in the upper room. They had been there for some time now. It has been over a week since Christ ascended and instructed them to wait. Their waiting was filled with expectant prayer. Life was devoted to prayer. It is in the context of this bustling and feasting city that we hear the story of Pentecost in Luke’s words from Acts 2:1-21. Hear the Word of the Lord.

When we talk of Christmas and of Easter, nearly everyone understands the importance of those events. But when we begin talking about Pentecost, the reason for our celebration is not so clear. Sure, most of us could say the reason we celebrate Pentecost is that it was then that God gave us the gift of His Holy Spirit. Why celebrate that? What is so important about having the Holy Spirit? At Christmas, Good Friday and Easter we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ by which we have eternal life. Why celebrate Pentecost?

There are two primary responses to this question. The first, and more historical response we will call the “ecclesial” response. Ecclesial is just a form of the word ecclesia, which means the church. The ecclesial response then answers the Pentecost question in terms of the Church. Those who answer this way look at Pentecost as the Birthday of the Church. When God poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples in the upper room, he was taking a bunch of flesh and blood and breathing life into it and creating the Church. This is an analogy to creation when God took the clay of the earth and breathed his Holy Spirit upon it and gave life to humanity. One church I attended adopted this approach. Every year Pentecost was a real birthday party. We all wore red. We had balloons. We took a family portrait. We had a family dinner. The ecclesial response celebrates Pentecost as the Birthday of the Church.

The second common answer we will call the “Pentecostal” response. The Pentecostal response is very individualistic. Pentecost is understood as the first time God gave his Holy Spirit to individuals. The Holy Spirit brought various gifts or benefits for individuals. Typically, when we think of Pentecostal today, we think of speaking in tongues. Each person has a personal Pentecost at which she is given the gift of tongues. While we do not affirm the gift of tongues, most Nazarenes would answer the Pentecost question with this Pentecostal answer. The official name of our Church used to be The Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. Pentecostal was understood as that event in the life of the believer when God poured out His Holy Spirit upon a person and she received the gift of Entire Sanctification. Only when Pentecostal came to me tongues did we change our name. The Pentecostal answer, then celebrates Pentecost as the first of many Pentecosts to come in the life of a believer.

While each of these explanations, the ecclesial and the Pentecostal, have helpful points, both are incomplete and problematic. Regarding Pentecost as the Birthday of the Church, one writer comments, “I disagree. I sense that the church was born on Good Friday when Jesus … asked the Father to forgive us, and a few bewildered, broken-hearted women and men wandered off wondering how they were going to live with that.” Was Pentecost really the Birthday of the Church, or was it something more like a rite of passage? The disciples were already called out. They were already gathered together. They were already living lives committed to Christ in worship and prayer.

Regarding the personal Pentecost, it tends to put Christ on the back burner. Everyone seeks to acquire this “gift” for themselves. It is as getting that gift, whatever it is, is all that matters. In many of the modern expressions of Pentecostalism, the gift is some sort of personal test of holiness. A person cannot really be holy if they do not show the gift. The problem is simply that this understanding tends toward idolatry. We want to obtain some thing. We dedicate our lives to obtaining some thing or some experience. The Christian should seek nothing other than Christ. We worship and seek only Christ. We desire the giver, not the gift.

Even more problematic though, is the fact that both of these approaches are attempts to control and contain – to tame – an otherwise wild and unpredictable event in the life of the church. One commentator suggests, “Both approaches seek to move Pentecost off the streets of Jerusalem and back indoors where things are safe and secure. Out in the open, people will ask questions, jeer and demand an explanation. Peter will give the first of several speeches necessitated by the Spirits unruly conduct. Surely everyone will be happier if we can only pack the Spirit’s roar and fire and outrageous speech neatly in a box, bringing them out at our convenience and for our own purposes.”

I want to propose a third option. That option is the “Missional” option. It takes into account both the ecclesial option and the Pentecostal option, but it puts both into proper perspective. At Pentecost, God sends His Spirit upon the church and sends His church out into the world. Up until this point, life in the church revolved around a tight schedule of daily prayer and worship. Up until this point, life in the church was lived together in the upper room. At Pentecost, God’s Spirit anoints the church and pushes it out of the upper room and onto the portico of public proclamation. Pentecost then is not so much the birthday of the Church as it is the church’s “coming out party.”

I remember watching intently as the events unfolded. John Paul II had died. The world’s eyes were turned toward Rome to see what was to come. Every minute between classes was spent in the lounge watching as the crowds we gathered in anticipation. Then there was white smoke! The crowds grew excited. A wave of electricity could be felt in the atmosphere. Then it happened, a spokesman came out, through the curtain and announced to the world, “We have a Pope.” Then the curtain opened and Benedict stepped out onto his balcony.

I envision Pentecost as a similar scene. The people were bustling about in the streets. Instead of white smoke, there was wind and fire. The crowd was electric. Then Peter, pushed by the Spirit, left the comfort and security of the upper room and emerged through the curtain and onto the balcony. He began preaching the Good News of Christ. Life in the church was once characterized by worship and prayer. To worship and prayer, the Holy Spirit now adds mission.

We see this quite clearly as we finish reading the story. Because of Peter’s public proclamation, three thousand were added. The people had gathered to celebrate the feast of the harvest, and it turned out to be a harvest like none had ever seen. Those who believed did not retreat into the upper room; they joined in with the mission. They committed themselves to life together, in worship, but Acts is really the story of the church in mission. At Pentecost, the church becomes fully immersed in, and fully empowered for, the mission of God.

This weekend, we also celebrate another holiday, Memorial Day. It is a day for celebrating those who are serving and have served our country in the Armed Forces. Why do we celebrate these people as heroes? Is it because they spend so much time in the safety of their bases, fixing equipping, and doing drills, and taking target practice? No. These people are celebrated as heroes because they refuse to hide within their safety perimeter when they are called to mission. We celebrate them because they are willing to risk everything for the mission they are given. Why are they willing to make such a sacrifice? Because they love so greatly the country that gives them their mission.
In a very popular song, Toby Keith sang of the American Soldier. He sang,

And I will always do my duty no matter what the price
I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh and I don’t want to die for you, but if dyin’s asked of me
I’ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don’t come free.

To those of you who are serving, or who have served, we give you deep and heartfelt thanks and honor. We thank you for your service. We thank you for your courage. We thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Toby Keith sang those words about the American Soldier in the wake of 9/11. If anyone looked at us today, could the same words be sung about God’s Church in the wake of Pentecost?

And I will always do my duty no matter what the price
I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh and I don’t want to die for you, but if dyin’s asked of me
I’ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don’t come free.

Think about the time we spend together each week. Think about this summer. How much of our time is aimed at us? At getting us fat in our faith? How much of our time is spent in the upper room? Now, think about the time we spend together each week. Think about this summer. How much of our time is spent reaching out to our friends? Building bridges to our neighbors? How much of the time we spend together each week is spent with Peter and with the post-Pentecost church on the portico of public proclamation?

Pentecost pushes us out of these four walls and into the streets. Pentecost tells us being the church can no longer mean holing up inside the upper room, or the sanctuary, or the comfortable community of the faithful. Rather being the church means getting outside of our walls. Taking the good news of life in Christ…freedom in Christ to the world.

Will we always to our duty…our mission…no matter what the price? Have we counted up the cost? Do we know the sacrifice? Are we fully aware of what the mission of God requires, and are we willing to bear His cross with honor, so that the world might know freedom in Him?

This Pentecost, I want to challenge each and every one of you to commit to finding a way to use some of the time we spend together every week on the portico of public proclamation. How is our time going to be used to build relationships with non-believers? How is our time going to be used to build bridges to the world? Pentecost lays down the mission. It is not an easy one. It will require sacrifice. But it is our mission. It is a mission we must accept because we love the one sending us. But God who sends us, never sends us alone or unprepared. God who sends us – God who sends his church into the world – has already sent his Son. Now at Pentecost He has sent us His Holy Spirit, that we might be empowered for the mission we must embrace: to the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Ordination: The Ontological Question

2007-05-13T21:11:00.000-05:00

Dennis M Campbell, in “The Yoke of Obedience: The Meaning of Ordination in Methodism,” writes, “The lack of attention to ordination was made clear to me once when, as a member of the Board of Ordained Ministry, I asked a candidate for Elder’s Orders to explain theologically what would happen in the ordination service when the bishop placed hands on the ordinand’s head. They young man was unable to answer the question, except to say that he would then have the credentials to be a minister. I asked him why we didn’t just mail the certificate of credentials and save the annual conference the expense and time of an ordination service? He could not give a good reason. He is not alone. I realized then that many students never deal specifically with the theology of ordination…(9-10).

I could be that candidate…I am that candidate…which is exactly why I have made it my top priority to understand this culminating event in my last couple of weeks before ordination. Classically, this discussion happens within the realm of sacraments, and although Protestants dismiss it from the litany of sacraments, its dismissal is solely due to its lack of dominical institution, i.e. it was not commanded by Christ. In all other respects, it shares the nature of the sacraments.

It is an outward sign of an inward grace. It is a means of the grace it signifies. It has a physical sign, the laying on of hands. It has a specific Trinitarian formula, “Therefore, Father, through Jesus Christ your Son, give your Holy Spirit to N.; fill him with grace and power, and make him a priest in your Church” (or something to that effect depending on the polity of the denomination in question). These things remain largely unchallenged.

The biggest, and most contentious, question lies in the nature of the ordinand. Classical sacramental theology also includes the element of “ontological” (real and substantial) change. The bread and wine become for us the body and blood of Jesus. In the waters of baptism, the candidate experiences a “new birth” as a “new creation.” In a marriage two become one. The question then becomes, what is the ontological (what is the real change) that happens to the ordinand when hands are laid upon her and she is consecrated to God as a priest/elder in the church?

This is the question at the very heart of the questions I’ve been asking about ordination. This is the question with which I still struggle and to which I have not yet found an adequate answer. So as I continue my quest toward ordination, I want to ask you all:

1) Do you believe this “ontological” change component to be necessary to a sacrament?
2) If so, why is this important? If not, what is the point of the sacrament?
3) What is the ontological change that happens in & to the ordinand?

I will have my answer for you all before my ordination. Perhaps your thoughts can help this struggling candidate. Thank you all for your prayer and support during this long phase of my preparation. May the peace of Christ be with you all.

eef
Home Office
6th Sunday of Easter, Anno Domini 2007

Definitions

2007-05-04T06:59:00.000-05:00

OK...Evan wants an update, so here it is. I will update the church one next week and mine with a real post. For now, however, I am working on short, succinct & powerful definitions for the following terms: worship, outreach, discipleship. Here is what I've come up with so far.

WORSHIP: focussed adoration of God.

OUTREACH: earning the right to speak the truth about God's mighty acts into the lives of our friends and neighbors.

DISCIPLESHIP: people spurring one another on toward Christian maturity.

What do you think? What problems do you see with these? What should I change? What should I add?

Good Friday Sermon: the com-passion of the christ (Heb 4:14-5:9)

2007-04-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

The category is: Famous Lines
I say, “A Few Good Men.”
You say, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth?”
I say, “Romeo and Juliet.”
You say, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”
I say, “Good Friday.”
You say, “My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?”

Every great drama has a keynote line. A line that is burned into our memories. A line that is pivotal in the unfolding of the story. From the heights of his pain on the cross, the tattered Christ quotes the psalmist. In his moment of greatest suffering, our broken Christ cries out to the Father. It is a question we often ask in our moment of greatest suffering. But today, Good Friday, above all other days is not a day about our suffering. It is about the suffering, or the Passion, of Christ. And while Christ may probe the depths of his abandonment, on this day we probe the depths of Good Friday mystery. Christ cried out, “My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?” We cry out, “Our God. Our God. Why have you come so close to us?”

Today’s Epistle lesson is from the Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-5:10. Hear the Word of the Lord.

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews gives us a helpful hint in embracing the mystery of Good Friday. To guide our thinking about the suffering of Christ, Christ is shown to be our great high-priest. He is a priest who is called by God. He is one who is set apart for his priestly work. He is one who works patiently and gently with us who have gone astray and who have become wayward. He is one who offers up prayers on our behalf. He is a priest who offers sacrifices, and is in fact sacrificed on our behalf. But he is not one who goes about his work as an outsider, or a foreigner. No he goes about his work as one who is able, because of his suffering, to be sympathetic.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses…” Sympathy become a central concept in this high-priestly identity of Jesus. It must be a central concept in our Good Friday celebration. We are keenly aware of Christ’s suffering. We are keenly aware of his passion. But the author of Hebrews challenges us to move beyond just the passion of Christ, and to embrace the com-passion of Christ. Sympathy – compassion – to suffer with. Our God. Our God. Why have you come so close to us?

I really had no idea about sympathy, or compassion, or suffering with – no idea of what this really meant until I spent a long evening with my uncle. He is now deceased, but before he died, I got to spend an evening with him that was really more like a punch in the gut.

It was Thanksgiving. The whole family had been together at my aunt’s (my mom’s sister) house. David (my mom’s brother) had ridden with us. He did so out of necessity. After a life of abusing alcohol, it had began abusing him. His wife left him. She got the house and my cousins. She sold the house and moved with the boys to Missouri. David had been living alone in a trailer, but being alone was the last thing he needed. He began drinking more. He was on the verge of loosing his job too. They suspended him and sent him to residential rehab. For a month he was in rehab, but the night he got out he went back to the bars. On his way home, a child ran out in front of his truck. He wasn’t sited as it was “an accident.” But that wasn’t the last accident he had. He got two DUI’s before finally totaling his truck. He moved in with my mom. Alcohol had taken his wife, his kids, his house, and his truck. He was left with nothing.

When we got back home after Thanksgiving, he decided he needed a smoke. He didn’t have any so he was going to walk to the store. I offered to drive him, suspecting it wasn’t really cigarettes he was going after. After he had not returned home in a reasonable amount of time, I went looking for him. Sure enough, he was sitting at a bar. I sat down beside him, and he began telling me stories. His pain was so deep, and yet he seemed so numb. We had just been together as a family, and yet he felt so alone. I had no idea how bad he must have hurt, but just being with him, entering his pain, began to make my heart break. Sympathy – Compassion – To suffer with.

In his obedience to the Father, Christ took up his Cross. It is a cross of suffering and a cross of suffering with. It is a cross of passion and a cross of compassion. Our high-priest is not one who is above the fray of the mess of humanity. Our high-priest is not one who is immune from the pains of this world. Our high-priest is not one who is unaffected by the consequences of sin in a fallen and broken world. Our’s is a high-priest who in every respect has been tested as we are…who in every respect has suffered as we suffer…who in every respect entered into the fallen world and lives of mortals. For Christ it was a cross of utter abandonment. For us it is a cross of perfect presence.

As we gaze on the cross, we are reminded of the suffering of our Lord. Yet the essence of Good Friday is not mere suffering, but is presence, is solidarity. In his suffering Christ was most fully with us. Christ was most fully one of us. In his suffering he was most perfectly present with us in our broken existence. We are still left, however, with the question: Our God. Our God. Why have you come so close to us?

Why do we celebrate the suffering of our Lord? The author our text gives us a few hints about the importance of Good Friday. Why has God drawn so close to us? So that we can hold fast to the confession of our faith. We confess not some idea, or some ideal, or some philosophy. We confess a person. We confess one who is fully God and fully human. We confess one who was God, yet did not count his equality with God as something to be held onto, but rather he emptied himself and took the form of a slave. He was born as a human being. He humbled himself even to the point of death on a cross. Because we confess Christ, who sympathizes with us, who is compassionate toward us, who on the cross bore our suffering and suffered with us, we can confidently hold on to the faith, the God, that we confess.

Why has God drawn so close to us? So that we can approach the throne of grace with boldness and find mercy and grace in time of need. We need not be intimidated by God. We need not fear going before God. We need not worry about crying out to God for mercy. The Christ we confess understands the need for mercy and grace. In the garden of Gethsemane he prayed so fervently for the cup of suffering to be taken from him that he sweated drops of blood. On the cross he cried out in utter despair and abandonment. We do not confess a Christ who is immune from our suffering, but one who is present with us in our suffering and identifies with our cries for mercy and grace.

Why has our God drawn so near to us? So that we can draw near to him. May this Good Friday, be for you all a time of reflection on the Holy Cross of Christ: His passion and his com-passion. And may your reflection lead you to draw nearer to the God who would rather suffer and die than to live without you. To the Glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

What is ordination?

2007-04-05T07:19:00.000-05:00

I suppose I owe it to you all to answer my own question. “What is ordination?” This is especially poignant in light of recent events by which I will be ordained on May 31. For those of you who follow the church-year, that is a significant date. It is the Feast of the Visitation. It is on that day that the church celebrates Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth sees the importance of Mary’s report. At the sound of Mary’s voice, Elizabeth felt a fetal John, who would baptize with water in preparation for the coming of the Lord yet was still himself immersed in the waters of the womb, leap for joy! She proclaimed to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb…blessed [are you] who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken [to you] by the Lord.” Mary and Elizabeth both stand as supreme examples of faith, and what the Lord can do in and through those who believe God’s Word. But I digress.

I asked a couple of weeks ago what you all thought ordination was, so I would like to respond to my own inquiry. It is a long and somewhat murky answer, so I will try to be as brief and transparent as possible. It must begin with a note about sacraments. It is often said that a sacrament is “an outward sign of an inward grace.” That is true, and the one who proposed this definition concluded it with, “and a means by which we receive the same.” Therefore, a sacrament is a sign of the work God has done in us, but it is also the vehicle by which God does said work in us.

There are other qualifications as well. For one (and all are in agreement here), it must be a physical or material sign. That is, it must be tangible. One cannot claim to partake of Holy Communion without bread and wine. One cannot claim to have been baptized without water. So now we have an outward (and physically tangible) sign of an inward grace and a means by which we receive the same.

It is at this last point that we begin to be bogged down. A sacrament must be instituted. It must be commanded. For most of history, there have been seven sacraments, but since the Reformation, there have been only two (in the Reformation churches). This issue of institution is where the conflict arises. The Protestant churches say a sacrament must have dominical institution, or must be instituted (commanded) by Christ explicitly in the Gospels. That leaves two: Baptism and Eucharist. The Catholic/Orthodox churches say Christ can institute the sacraments through His church. They include seven.

Ordination is one of those five that are counted as a sacrament by the historic churches, but not by the Reformation churches. Also included in that five are marriage, anointing, reconciliation (accountability) and confirmation. All of these are usually still highly respected in most churches, regardless of heritage, if not as sacraments, then at least as sacramental (like a sacrament, or having the essential character as a sacrament).

In order to understand ordination, we must understand its sacramental character. This is not just an administrative task – it is not just graduating from trade school – it is an outward sign of an inward grace and a means by which (those who receive it) receive the same.

To understand that grace we must look at those outward and physically tangible signs that accompany it. Many churches have three orders of ordination: the deacon, the elder (or presbyter, or priest – all the same basic New Testament concept) and the bishop. The sign for the deacon is a dalmatic and a Bible. The dalmatic is a garment worn with very wide sleeves symbolizing the towel Christ used to wash his disciples’ feet.

The sign for an elder is a stole, and a chalice and paten. The stole is a long strip of cloth worn around the neck and hanging down in front. It symbolizes the yoke of Christ and being yoked to Christ and to His church. The chalice and paten are the service wear for the Eucharist – a plate for bread and a cup for wine.

The sign for the Bishop is a ring and a crozier (staff). The ring symbolizes the marriage between Christ and the church, His bride (whom the bishop represents). The staff is that of a shepherd. As such, he is one responsible for shepherding the flock.

That summarized, we have only two orders: the deacon and the elder. The deacon symbolism remains the same as the deacon listed above: one who is a servant in the church, following faithfully the witness of Christ in the Gospels. The deacon is not a pastor and does not preach or officiate the sacraments. Understanding the deacon is thus fairly straightforward.

The elder is a little tougher. One cannot be an elder without being a deacon. Though we do not practice it as such, the theology remains the same. Thus, when we ordain an elder, that person is also ordained (at least sacramentally) as a deacon. And since we do not have bishops (we do have District Superintendents, but that is an office within the order of elders), the elder also assumes the duties and symbols of the bishop’s ministry as well. Thus to be ordained an elder is to be a servant, a faithful witness to the Gospel of Christ, forever yoked to Christ and His church, to be a faithful administrator of the sacraments, to stand as the church maintaining the church’s faithfulness to her groom, and to be a shepherd, tenderly loving and caring for the flock.

Perhaps I will reflect more in the days to come about the orders I am to receive, but for now I hope that this has been helpful in understanding the sacramental act of ordination.

Holy Week Blessings,
Eric
Home Office
Maundy Thursday, 2007

Which of these things?

2007-03-28T09:58:00.000-05:00

An old Sesame Street song, I think, goes like this:

Which of these things is not like the others, which of these things does not belong...

You try and see what you can come up with. Here is the list:

Sunday - Palm Sunday
Monday - Ministerial Credentials Meeting
Wednesday - No services due to Holy Week observance
Thursday - Passover Seder
Friday - Good Friday Service
Saturday - Prayer vigil with Baptismal Candidates
Sunday - Sunrise Baptisms, Breakfast, Easter Celebration

Now which of these does not belong?

This is my schedule next week!

I really should be working on sermons and Wednesday night lessons, but I am so annoyed I just can't. Here I thought we were a Church. Here I thought we were Christian. Yet I realized today that our "church" has put credentials meetings in the middle of Holy Week! I have very significant preparations to make for each of the services listed above. Not to mention driving to somewhere to get a portable baptistry, set it up etc. I will have 3 sermons to write instead of 1, and I still have to take time to spend all day Monday in meetings!

My frustration was only compounded when I was venting to a friend and he told me that M7 caused him to be away from his church on Ash Wednesday. Does is not ever dawn on anyone that Christian holydays are significant? Does it not ever dawn on anyone that Christian holydays are important? Would we dare schedule meetings on the 4th of July weekend, or Memorial Day weekend, or Thanksgiving weekend. No way...and those are in no way significant Christian days.

I thought about moving Easter so it could be more conviently placed, but something about that doesn't seem right. Perhaps next year, the people who put together the Christian calendar should check with the Church of the Nazarene so they don't conflict with our meetings.

My head is going to self destruct in 10...9...8...7...

OK...I'm done now!

Ordination: what is it?

2007-03-14T14:16:00.000-05:00

What is it?

Why do it?

You tell me!

THE I-80 DEMOLTION DERBY!

2007-03-05T09:20:00.000-06:00

"What a rotten day, this turned out to be." These words, from the great George Strait, were origininally sung about a cowboys wife leaving him (who'd have ever dreamed a country song could be about such things!), but aptly sums up my weekend. My rotten day started Friday night. I was feeling a little under the weather but not too bad. Then I was woke up by my cell phone ringing. It was Evan! and I was curled up under three blankets, shiver, sweating profusely, and am I affraid incoherent.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling a better so I worked on my sermon and then on my boat. I went to the store to get bearings, oil seals, grease and other such things, but on my way home I felt my body's gas gauge go from F to E in a matter of minutes. By the time I got home I was an aching, shaking mess. The rest of the day was spent curled up on the couch as my temperature rose steadily until it peaked at 102.6 just before betime. As my temperature rose, so did the pain in my throat. Now I know how those sword swallowers must feel after having an off night! Somewhere during the day I realized I would be able to preach Sunday morning, so I made arangements for a sub to preach. Did I mention that all the while Antonina was in Cleveland? So on top of fever, diziness, cold sweats, swallowing razors, and a real good start on dehydration, I took the dog out every 3-4 hours. Then I went to bed.

I was again awakened by my cell phone. It was the substitute preacher. His wife grew ill during the night and he could not come. I looked at the clock. It said 7:02. Service starts at 9:00. I called in a favor and got my friend Bill to preach. He is a Methodist pastor here in town, but his service doesn't start until 11:00. I suppose some day, I'll get to do a double header. The phone rang again. This time it was Antonina. She was on her way home from Cleveland, driving across I-80 when a snowstorm blew up. She tried to change lanes from a snowy and slick lane, into a clearer lane. The next thing she knew she was into the guard rail. She is fine, but the car needs some work. By 9:30, I am on the road, fever, sore throat and all for the 100 mile drive to pick her up. The rest of the day was uneventful, but as we were going to bed we watched the news. It said there were over 30 accidents reported on I-80 that day, many much worse off than we are.

It is now Monday morning and I have much to do. I just keep thanking God that Antonina is OK and that she loves me enough to brave a winter storm to get home to her sick husband. Thanks God. Thanks Antonina...you are the best. I love you too!

ENOUGH WITH THE THEOLOGIZING!

2007-02-27T16:09:00.000-06:00

I just got my boat. It's party time!

1997 Lund 17' bass boat
1998 Johnson 9.9
Fish Finder
Trolling motor
am/fm/cassette
nice livewell & tons of storage
4 seats
trailer
tauneau cover

I'm jazzed. It needs a little work (water pump) and a good cleaning and it is good to go!

A Missional Church

2007-02-20T18:13:00.000-06:00

Missional has really become too much of a buzzword to carry the weight it deserves. Be that as it may, it is a very keep concept in the foundation of a Great Commission Ecclesiology. What does missional mean?

Missional captures the "missionary" spirit. It embodies the idea of the church going into the world. Many seem to be of the opinion that the church is like the field of dreams. If we open the doors, people will come. However, this fails miserably. Since the beginning of time the missio dei (mission of God) has been fundamentally rooted in going. The call of Israel was a call to be a people of God to the nations. The story of Christ is deeply rooted in the incarnation...Christ going from his heavenly throne to take up his cross.

If we are to be the church Christ ordained, then we must have the same attitude as Christ...being missional...going out of the doors and into the world. Denominationally we have really embodied this. How does your church do locally? Do you do as much going as you do asking people to come? The great commision church does not compell us to invite people to church, it compells us to go to the people.

I am so glad to be a church that takes seriously this call to going...this call to be missional. And speaking of going, that is what I must do. Talk to you all later.

A Great Commission Church

2007-02-08T15:45:00.000-06:00

I was talking to a parishoner Sunday and he commented that we need to be more of a Great Commission Church. By that he meant a church that goes into the world. As I have thought about his comments I think that as a whole we are a great commission church, but it is about much more than just going. Let's break it down a little:

Go into the world - We are a missional church.
Making disciples - We are a evangelistic church.
of all nations - We are a global church.
baptising them - We are a sacramental church.
in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit - We are an orthodox church.
teaching them to obey everything I taught you - We are a holiness church.

Over the next few weeks, I'll unpack that a little, and we can all be grateful to be a part of a Great Commission Church!

ICE FISHING!

2007-02-05T13:37:00.000-06:00

Well, I joined the dummy and the bonehead this morning in my first ice fishing trip. I went with Chuck to Highlandtown Lake. It had 7" of ice on it and the temperature was fewer degrees than inches of ice. We sat huddled in a little tent dangling microscopic jigs in 15 feet of water. Even my 4 layers plus coveralls, three pairs of socks and big winter boots could not keep me warm. I probably will never go again if it is as cold as it was this morning, but I can definately see how it could be great fun on a lake where you could catch pike or walleye. A little bigger tent with room for four and you could have a ball all day long with nothing but a 2 ft. rod and a few good friends. I'm definately looking forward to my next trip. Go give it a try...but be safe!

Sanctification

2007-01-17T15:06:00.000-06:00

Sorry I don't have time for an original thought this week. Here is an interesting excerpt I read last week. Hope you all enjoy!

One of the reasons that God’s “justification” is often misunderstood is that it is separated too widely from “sanctification.” The latter is also a term that many want to throw out as meaningless jargon, and the word has been further corrupted by the exaggerated piety of sanctimonious people, who pretend to a holiness that no one except Jesus could possibly live.

The greatest distortion of sanctification occurs when we start to think that we accomplish it ourselves – that we can fix ourselves, get rid of our tendency to sin, make ourselves more holy, attain perfection. Of course it is true that holiness is nourished by our participation in the practices of the faith, but it is GOD’S WORK through those practices that enable us more to act like the saints that we are by virtue of God’s justification of us. The same God who forgives our sins also sets us free from their controlling power.

Holiness is not abstract. IT is the story of God’s multifaceted interventions in the world.

Another, more subtle, corruption of sanctification arises when one’s piety is not rooted in the dialectical combination of truth and love. This can be seen in the warped “holiness” of those who insist on God’s commands as the basis for moral deliberations, but do so without love for their opponents. On the opposite side are those who emphasize love, but lose the truth of the Scriptures.

Jesus demonstrated true holiness when He said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. God your way, and from now on do not sin again” (John 8:11). He did not dismiss the actuality of sin (in which she might have been and unwilling participant), but forgives her in love and by grace sets her free for fresh obedience.

In the past I have thought about justification and sanctification primarily as a first and second step in God’s work for and in us. Now, I see them more as two sides of the same coin, which landed first on the justification side as Christ accomplished the sacrifice of atonement that forgives us. Thereafter, the coin keeps spinning as the two actions of God continually reinforce each other. We can’t be open to God’s renewing, sanctifying work within us if we don’t know clearly that we are forgiven, but when we fail and think, say, or do things contrary to God’s best way, the opulence of triune forgiveness widens us to receive more of God’s sanctifying work.

That is one of the reasons I love Sunday morning worship so much. Sometimes I have trouble forgiving myself and digging out of the guilt I feel because I’m not the kind and gracious person I’d like to be. Then, in worship, when I hear the pastor or priest announce to me the entire forgiveness of all my sin, it tastes so good that it makes me hungry for holiness. And the texts, sermon, music and liturgy, liturgical symbols and sacraments, and community keep teaching me about a God who wants to – and will! – work it in me. What a feast!

Dawn, Marva. Talking the Walk: Letting Christian Language Live Again (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005), 179-180.

"my husband beat the $h!+ out of me!"

2007-01-08T10:52:00.000-06:00

Last night after our New Year's Covenant Service I was talking with a couple of lady's. A girl, no older than Antonina, came walking up the middle isle and asked if she could use our phone. I took her to the phone. She seemed upset. I asked if she was OK and she replied, "no. I'm not OK. My husband just beat the $h!+ out of me." I talked with her for a little bit and she didn't want to talk to the police. Then one of the lady's told me that the husband was outside. When I came out of the room the phone was in. The husband was walking up the isle with their 3 kids. I made him wait outside and I called the cops. Then we talked. In the end, the kids got taken to children's services and the police took the girl so that they would have some time apart and then so she could go home and get the $h!+ beat out of her again.

Through the whole thing, she insisted on her love for him and his love for her. He wanted to be very consoling and huggy. It almost made me sick.

I began thinking about what it really means to be married. As I thought I was reminded of something I'd written comparing explaining salvation based on the metaphor of marriage. So I thought I'd post it here:

“I believe in one baptism for the remission of sins.”

This confession, found in the Nicene Creed, is part of our (Nazarene) confession of faith. Further we subscribe to Wesley’s popular definition of a sacrament as “an outward sign of an inward grace…” but we usually forget to include the second half of the definition, “…and a means of grace by which we receive the same.”

So why am I bringing all this up? Because our soteriology (theology of salvation) seems to contradict this foundational confession of faith. How do we reconcile our evangelical emphasis of salvation by faith alone, which excludes baptism as efficacious in salvation, and the creedal bconfession that our baptism is “for the remission of sins”?

The key is in Wesley’s definition: “An outward sign of an inward grace” (faith alone) and “a means of grace by which we receive the same” (baptismal regeneration). Salvation is both by faith and by sacrament. How can this be?

Dr. Rob Staples, in Outward Sign, Inward Grace, directs our thoughts to marriage. He poses the question of what makes a couple married. Is it the love and commitment they share or the ceremony and ritual in which they participate that makes them married? The answer is a real marriage requires both internal and external commitment. The couple who shares love and commitment, but has not participated in the wedding ceremony is not married. Nor is the couple who has been through the ceremony yet lacks love and commitment truly married. Therefore, it is not an either or proposition, but a both and proposition.

I would suggest that we must take the metaphor further. Marriage requires both love and ritual, as noted above, but it must also be consummated sexually. A real marital relationship is one in which the love and ritual is consummated repeatedly and regularly. If any one of these components is lacking there really is no marriage at all.

So now we must bring the metaphor home to relate it to our theology of salvation. Salvation requires relationship, ritual and consummation – love, baptism, and communion. To fail to give adequate attention to any of these components is to fail to give our salvation the serious consideration it deserves.

Where's the Bears?

2006-12-29T09:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was watching the news and one particular story caught my attention. The powers that be are thinking of adding Polar Bears to the list of “threatened species.” If it happens, it would be a first. Why? Because the decline of the polar bears is not due to disease, or over hunting, but rather to habitat loss. In and of itself, loss of habitat is not unique. What is unique is the cause. Typically, loss of habitat is attributed to deforestation or urban sprawl. The Polar Bears are loosing their habitat because of global warming. That’s right! Because of greenhouse gases produced by each of us who drive, not only are the polar ice caps diminishing, but so too is the population of the polar bears.

This is a first, according to the story, but what I wonder is how the federal government will respond. In a normal case of habitat loss, construction must stop. They are quite strict about protecting the habitat of threatened and endangered species. But will those same stringent regulations be applied to greenhouse gas? My guess is no. There is scarcely any sign that the fed is willing to take measures to regulate the emissions of these gasses. Recently, they have balked at the suggestion that the EPA is responsible to monitor carbon monoxide (or maybe dioxide…I can’t remember which it is). Now lawsuits are being brought to force them to regulate these gasses and they are fighting tooth and nail. It will be quite interesting to watch this whole thing unfold.

I am more concerned, however, about my responsibility. I am more concerned about the church’s responsibility. In the creation story there are many questions and uncertainties. Humanity’s responsibility to creation is not one of them.

“God blessed [man and woman], and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

This story is the story of stewardship. It is the root of every teaching about stewardship. We, man and woman, have been given all of creation for which we must care and over which we must rule. We stand on this terrestrial ball as God’s representatives and must, therefore, rule over His creation with all of His love and care. This ruling is not an opportunity for exploitation for our own good, but rather an exercise in divine love and care. We are responsible for the polar bears!

I am not sure what this means for us. Many environmental extremists would suggest we must all cease driving our cars immediately. I hardly think that is a realistic option. Little can be changed overnight. But Martin Luther King Jr spoke of the trajectory of humanity as being long but positive. In the short term our targets are impossible, but in the long term they are quite achievable. So what can we do to rule over creation as God would rule? Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Walk or bicycle whenever possible. It will help save the polar bears’ lives and it might just improve yours too.

2. Carpool whenever possible. What a better opportunity to show the love and hospitality of Christ than a 30 minute ride with a captive audience!

3. There are a ton of new hybrids and fuel-efficient cars coming onto the market. Take a look at them.

4. Where possible, support public transportation. We should, as a country, make it a goal to have viable public transportation in every major city, and we should incentivize its use.

5. Alternative fuels must be explored. The future is not in fossil fuels. Despite what the big oil producers (including the Fed) says, there are realistic and reliable options out there right now. Push for these to replace fossil fuel.

6. Please feel free to add your ideas here!

A Christmas Letter From Jesus

2006-12-22T09:09:00.000-06:00

I heard this the other day, and thought it was interesting. Thought I'd share it with you.

Dear Children:

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival, although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of your tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary--especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember.

I LOVE YOU,
JESUS

The Week of Peace...the week of fracture

2006-12-18T19:05:00.001-06:00

I am just fuming! I spent my day preparing one of two sermons I will preach on Sunday. The first is from Micah 5. It’s context is the Fourth Sunday of Advent – The Sunday of Peace. Peace = Shalom. Shalom is a very broad Hebrew concept. It includes non-violence, but it includes the much broader understandings of wholeness and unity. So on this Sunday when we look forward to the Kingdom ethic of peace – ie unity – and commit ourselves to work doggedly to bring peace to our world, I tune in to The News Hour with Jim Leher and find this story,

“Schism:

A reporter discusses why seven Episcopal parishes in Virginia decided to leave the Episcopal Church and form a rival denomination in the United States.”

This just makes me puke! We are the CHURCH who stands as the presence of God’s kingdom in God’s world. And yet we continue to fracture ourself rather than healing our fractures. Will we ever learn? None of the great reformers ever wanted more than a reformation of the CHURCH. And yet we ended up with thousands of denominations rather than a CHURCH. Luther? A Roman Catholic priest seeking to reform the Church. Now we have the Lutheran Church and its splinters. Wesley? An Anglican who sought only revival in the Church of England and now we have the Methodist Church and all her offspring.

Will we never figure out that peace (unity) can never be made by violence (fracture)? There is a clinical word for people who intentionally break their own body. We lock them up for their own safety because it is simply crazy to break one’s own body. Yet it is somehow OK for us to break the body of Christ? Those who break off do so in with the dillusional grandure of being holier than thou. They split as a reaction to some great “evil” or “sin” in the church. Does it ever dawn on them that there just might not be anything more evil or sinful than breaking the unity of the Church?

How do we preach to the world a message of hope and love, peace and joy when we cannot ever practice those things within our own family?

Well, here’s to a peaceful Christmas. I’ll leave you all with the words Nick reminded me of from the amazing Longfellow:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I tho’t how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th’unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head.
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till, ringing, singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day –
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

The week of love...stream of consciousness ramblings from the second week of advent

2006-12-15T09:11:00.000-06:00

Many of you got the email I sent about the family from St. Paul's. Cody, Travis, Keegan, and Kelli were friends. Their grandmother brought them to church, often making the long drive just so they could go to church. Antonina taught them in Sunday School and Sharon helped me with the youth group for a little while. Kelli died. She was just a kid. She was trapped in a house fire that the boys got out of. But Kelli didn't make it. Sharron, Bob, Larry, Emily, Cody, Travis, Keegan. We mourn with you.

How do we deal with this kind of thing especially at this time of the year?

I was visiting Tilly, a 90 year old shut in from our church. Her son is a business prof. at Ashland and was a superb basketball player at WVU. I asked her if she had any grandkids. She said "No, and I'm glad I don't." I inquired at this seemingly strange assertion and she told me, "when I look at the world and what those kids would have to go through, I think I'd rather not have them go through it."

I reflected with her about the love of God the Father who knew what the world would put the Son through. Knowing what must come, God became one of us anyway. The incarnation is incredible in itself, but in light of the cross it is so much more incredible. What love the Father has lavished upon us!

This weeks lectionary texts included Malachi's imagery of purity as a refiner's fire and a launderer's soap. We think alot about the imagery of refiner's fires. There are two men at my church who retired from steel mills where they worked in a blast furnace. The purifying work of Christ is powerful and dangerous. But it is also loving. A launderer's soap is gentle and soft. It is intimate and close. It evokes images of a mother who works endlessly trying to get every spot out of a child's grass stained jeans. Christ's coming brings about our purity, if only we will follow John into the waters of repentance. His purity is powerful, but it is always loving!

Peace be with you all this Advent season. May Christ bring purity into your life.

The Week of Hope…stream of consciousness ramblings from the first week of advent

2006-12-07T10:21:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn’t noticed, Thanksgiving has passed. Which means of course that Christmas is here. Well, that’s what secular culture and most evangelicals tell us. However, Christmas Day is not until the 25th. True, Christmas is a season, not just a day, but it is the season initiated on the 25th and lasting for 12 days. From December 25 until January 6, we celebrate the birth of Christ.

The coming of Christ certainly means that there is much preparation to be made. And that is where Advent comes in. For the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we celebrate Advent. As a child I had no notion of Advent. I knew that we couldn’t prepare for Christmas until December 3rd (because Adam’s birthday is December 2nd). I also knew that Christmas was coming because hanging on the back of the front door was a long strip of red felt with many pieces of candy tied carefully by small lengths of green yarn. Each day we got to have a piece of candy. On Christmas morning, we ate our final Tootsie Roll and knew that Christ had come. I didn’t realize it, but we were celebrating Advent.

Perhaps our children have a much better grasp on Advent than we do. They just can’t wait for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, they can’t sleep. We all remember waking Mom and Dad at some obscene hour on Christmas morning, and all of us without children have vowed to ourselves to lay down the law and lock our kids into their rooms that one night each year so we can get some sleep.

So how do we celebrate Advent? It is a question I struggle to answer. One easy criticism is that we sing Christmas songs way too early. We never sing “Up from the grave He arose” until Sunrise Service. To do otherwise would offend our sensibilities. But it is quite OK to sing “Joy to the world the Lord is come” before Christmas? Perhaps part of the problem is that for the 12 days of Christmas (including 2 Sundays) there are 28 songs in the hymnal, but for the four weeks of Advent (including 4 Sundays) there are only 5. How do you all differentiate between Advent and Christmas in your churches?

Another difficulty is that we think the Holy Days are a time to spend less time at church rather than more. For the first time in recent years (since I am now a pastor), I understand that feeling. However, I despise the fact that I would rather not have a Christmas morning service. What kind of Christian am I? I wake to the church bells starting morning Mass at the Catholic church next door every morning at 7:30am. The other RCC in town has a Mass every morning at 6:30am. And we complain about too much church at Christmas time? Last year there was a huge debate about whether churches would have worship on Christmas day because it was a Sunday. This year I have actually heard people debating whether or not they should cancel Christmas Eve service. In one breath church leaders discuss canceling a Christmas Eve service so people can stay home, and in the next breath they complain about Christmas being taken over by corporate greed. It was not taken over – it was given over!

But Advent is a season for hope. Despite our inadequacies. Despite our faults. Despite our failures. No matter how badly we botch our preparations, Christ still comes. He came that Holy Night in Bethlehem and he comes daily to be born anew in us every day. Our hope is Christ. And nothing we can do, or fail to do, can keep him from coming to us. And so we pray: Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Hear Ye ... Hear Ye ...

2006-12-04T12:03:00.000-06:00

From this date hence, sermons will not be posted here. They will be posted at torontonaz.blogspot.com (see link at the right). I will try to continue my ramblings and begin doing the around town pics again. And may God Bess Ye Merry Gentlepersons!

PS If you can think of any appropriate links for the church page, let me know.

THE LEGEND OF PEARLY WHITE

2006-11-29T09:06:00.000-06:00

“I sure am glad I bought this new safety harness,” I thought to myself as I dangled 10 feet up a tree. It was opening morning of Ohio’s gun portion of deer season, and I should have known how the day would end by the way it began.

I made my way to the tree where I hung my tree-stand just two days before, hoping I could find my way through the pitch black of the predawn hours. I found the tree with no problems. I hopped up onto my climbing tree stand and began to shimmy up the tree. The next thing I knew, my feet slipped out of the bottom half of my stand as it tumbled back down the tree, coming to rest just a couple feet out of the reach of my desperately stretching toes.

I looked down and realized I was hanging ten feet off the ground, with half of a tree stand and not strapped into my tree. I couldn’t reach my stand and I was too high to jump. How would I get out of this mess? Arms burning, I pulled myself up onto the upper half of my stand and balanced myself in the web seat. I strapped into my new full body safety harness and lowered myself as far as the crotch squeezing straps would allow. My foot finally found its target. I finished my ascent, settled in and breathed a little easier – until about six hours later.

As the sun began its downward journey, Wayne and I decided to hunt the wood lines in hopes that the deer would be moving back out into the fields. He went one way and I went the other. A barrage of gunfire rang out. I quickly hunkered in the tall grass as a large herd of does and a couple small bucks crossed the power line clearing and back into the woods. As I started to get up, another deer caught my eye. A nice 8-point.

The woods were only about 500 yards wide before the next clearing. If I could get to the clearing first, I might get a shot. I made my way through the woods and nestled down beside a lone oak on the hillside. I watched, as just a couple minutes later, part of the herd came out and walked by. It would be a long shot, but makeable. I waited. After the does cleared, my buck came out. He took a different patch. I watched in my binoculars, but I had to let him go.

There was an hour and a half of daylight left, and I knew I was in a high-traffic area. A large rosebush rose above the grass and would get me within 50 yards of any other deer that came out of the woods, so I moved. I sat there watching the woods. As time passed I began to be really pleased with myself. It was the first time I’d really hunted. Usually I waited for deer to come to me. This time I took the hunt to the deer. Even if I saw nothing else, it was a great day.

As I sat there gloating, I was startled by rustling in the grass. I turned and looked. It was the biggest buck I’ve ever seen. His rack was at least 12 points. Very high…very wide…and very white – like two teeth growing out the top of his head. He was standing less than 50 yards away, pawing at the ground and bucking as if putting on a show for me. It stopped. As he turned and looked to his left, I raised my gun. I clicked on my red-dot and clicked off my safety. I tried to sit still, but I was shaking too badly. He turned again and looked right through me. He started walking straight at me. All I could see was a narrow chest, thick neck, small head, and giant pearly white antlers. I sat there trying to breath deep, but he was coming right at me. At twenty yards, I decided he was close enough. I squeezed the trigger. He jumped four feet in the air. I pumped another shot as he ran off to be hunted another day.

I looked for blood or hair like a small kid foolishly thinks he’ll really find the pirate’s treasure. I slung my shotgun over my shoulder and walked back to tell Wayne I’d missed the buck of my lifetime. He tried to reassure me, but the only reassurance I found was knowing that one wiser and more experienced than myself came out on top. He will be there another day, and so will I.

THE PULPIT: giving his gifts so his work can be done

2006-11-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

The last three weeks, we have been looking at the great why question. We believe the why question is answered for us in four words: bow, share, grow, give. Last week we looked at the metaphor of the church as the volunteer fire department. They have a purpose, a mission and training. Their purpose is to protect people and property in the City of Toronto from loss due to fire. Their mission is putting out and preventing fires. And they must be trained to carry out their mission and fulfill their purpose.

Likewise, the church has a purpose, mission and training. Our purpose is worship: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father. Worship is all about God and God’s story. We gather together, we hear the Word of God, we respond to the Word, and we are sent into the world in mission. Our mission is outreach: sharing salvation from the cross of the Son. We care for and meet the needs of the bodies and souls of our neighbors. Our training is discipleship: growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Discipleship is a Spirit-led community that equips, encourages and empowers worshippers to be whole and holy persons.

Let’s say those three phrases together, again they are bowing our lives at the feet of the Father, sharing salvation from the cross of the Son, growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Let’s say those three together.

However, our metaphor is missing a piece. How are the firefighters to put out the fires? They have tools! But how do they get those tools? This morning we will be again be turning to the early church as an example of our church. Hear the Word of the Lord from Acts chapter 2.

READ ACTS 2:41-47

There once was a great king. As the king was preparing for a great journey, he called his most trusted servants to his throne room. He told them of the great adventure he would be undertaking in the very near future. They were stunned. “Who,” they asked, “will look over your kingdom while you are off on such an adventure?”

“Well,” he responded, “I am glad you asked. Really, that is exactly why I have called you here tonight. While I am gone, you will be in charge.” He divided his resources among them so that they each had ample resources to care for the kingdom. Then he left. The two stewards stood there pinching themselves, wondering if it had all been a crazy dream.

The first began chomping at the bit. She could not wait to start implementing some of the plans she had always made. She was a dreamer and her dreams were titanic. She left immediately with a spring in her step. She went to her half of the kingdom and began working. She had roads built and invested in many small businesses. She brought in experts to help the people learn better ways to farm. Since the sky was the limit, she aimed for the stars.

The second was far less decisive. He was very conservative. He was not a risk taker. He knew much could be done, but was afraid he might fail and squander the Kings great kingdom. So quietly, the second steward went to his half of the kingdom. He noted how it looked so he could make sure that when the king returned he found everything just as he had left it. He kept up on all the maintenance, made sure things didn't become too run down, and did a great job protecting the king’s valuable resources.

One early morning, the two stewards were again summoned to the king’s throne room. The king asked them how things went while he was away. The second steward spoke first. “I think you will find things exactly as you left them.” He gave back to the king the same resources he himself had been given some time ago. The king thought for a moment and replied, “Thank you for your service, you can go now.”

Then he turned to the second steward. “And how are things on your half of the kingdom,” he asked. She simply gave a whistle and two servants entered the throne room carrying ten times the resources the steward had been given. The king’s jaw hit the floor. “Where did all this come from?” he asked her. “Well, your majesty, I took what you gave and put it to use. We built roads and industry, agriculture and trade.”

“Very well done,” the king said as his smile beamed from ear to ear. “You will continue to oversee your half of the kingdom…and you will begin overseeing the other half!”

Last week we looked at the church as a volunteer fire department. This week I’d like to shift gears a bit and look at the church as a common clover. Clovers are fairly simple with just three leaves, and are yet very profound. St. Patrick made them famous as an illustration of God’s three-in-one nature. I think they serve us as a very good image of the church. The clover has three leaves, the church has three ministries: worship, outreach and discipleship. Our text is found in 1 Peter 4. Stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. 1 Peter 4:7-11. Hear the word of the Lord.

READ 1 PETER 4:7-11

Clovers are simple and beautiful, but they are not that way magically. They become three leaves…they become beautiful. They get that way through a life nourished by the nutrients in the ground. They become clovers by the sustaining resources of the ground. And how do those nutrients and resources get to the clover? They get to the leaves, through the stem. We can’t just show up and expect worship or outreach or discipleship to happen any more than we expect the three-leafed clover to just float around. Worship, outreach and discipleship don’t just exist. They happen only by the resources God gives. God doesn’t just pour his resources into worship and outreach and discipleship, God pours his resources into people. We are the roots that receive God’s many blessings and stewardship is the stem by which we give His gifts for His use. God’s resources are only used for ministry when we practice good stewardship. The church is only the church when we are giving His gifts so His work can be done. Again, giving His gifts so His work can be done. Say that with me three times: giving His gifts so His work can be done, giving His gifts so His work can be done, giving His gifts so His work can be done.

The first thing we notice about stewardship is the source. Every gift has a giver. Peter talks specifically about God’s words and God’s strength. Abram was not just somehow made great; rather God made him great. God is the source and owner of all things. The second thing we notice about stewardship is the receiver. Every gift is given to someone. Peter notes gifts given to each of [us]. In Genesis, God was not randomly blessing, but rather God blessed Abram. This concept of giver and receiver is the primary foundation of any biblical understanding of stewardship. Nothing we have is ours. Everything we have is God’s. I have been asked, more than once since coming here, about tithing. How much should we give? Should we give 10% before taxes or after taxes? Can we give more than 10%? The problem with such a question is that it assumes we are giving away our money. We are not giving our money; we are giving God’s money. The question we should be asking is, “God, how much of your money do you need?” We should not be trying to find out how to give as little as possible while still meeting some kind of standard, but rather we should be working hard to figure out how we can give as much as possible. It is ALL God’s. Stewardship begins with a thorough understanding that EVERYTHING is God’s and NOTHING is ours.

The third thing we notice is the gift itself. So often we hear the word stewardship and think to ourselves, “Here he goes again. Why does the preacher have to always go meddling in my money?” Stewardship is about money, but it is not only about money. It is about gifts. It is about blessings. It is about resources. Peter specifies only, “whatever gift each of you has received.” Abrams blessing is not specified. Only that he would be made great. Other places we find lists of gifts, but none are exhaustive. None is a complete list of gifts. Gifts are many and we each have a unique set of gifts.

Two of my roommates in college were business majors and I learned much from them. I recently was talking to one of them about this very issue. It was mentioned that in business there are many types of resources: capital resources, or money; real resources, or property; and human resources, or people. They also deal with time resources. For a business to do good business they have to manage all of these resources well. They have to use the money wisely. They have to put their properties to wise use. They have to have the right people doing what they are best suited for. They have limited time and it has to be used efficiently. The church can learn much from this view of stewardship. We have a set amount of time, property, money and people. Good stewardship asks how we can best use what we have been given. We must find our niche. We must determine what our gifts are and be the best at what we can be good at. Stewardship certainly includes money, but it is really all encompassing. ALL we have is a gift, a blessing with which God has entrusted us.

The last thing we notice is why the gift is given. If ALL we have is a gift, and it is a gift entrusted to us, then why was it entrusted to us? How should we respond to being entrusted with so many of God’s resources? We respond by giving – giving His gifts so His work can be done. ALL we have is a gift, a blessing with which God has entrusted us for the building of God’s kingdom.

Peter shows us that good stewards us their gifts to serve one another. Good stewards give God’s gifts back to others so that God may be glorified. Abram was promised a blessing. He was promised greatness. But he was not promised a blessing of greatness so Abram could be great, but that others, through Abram might also be great. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing to others.” We see this concept lived out in the early church. “All were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” They all held all things in common. All their gifts were used as needed for the work of Christ.

While we have all these teachings and examples, this idea goes beyond teachings and examples to the very person of Christ the King! Christ is our King. Christ is a benevolent and gracious king putting all his gifts, blessings, and resources to use meeting the needs of the people of his kingdom. This is seen most clearly in His death. The most precious gift Christ has given is his very life. He did not hoard even his life. He gave it for our benefit. Stewardship is rooted in the very nature of Christ. It is understanding neither I nor my gifts are my own. They are God’s – for God to use as God sees fit. Stewardship is the stem of the clover that moves the necessary nutrients from the roots that receive them to the leaves that grow. Stewardship is giving His gifts so His work can be done. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: what i'm thankful for

2006-11-22T13:32:00.000-06:00

Ah, I just got finished cleaning the house, doing laundry, and cooking a turkey. The yearly ritual has begun. Cookie dough, pumpkin pie, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey...all the ingredients necessary for a weekend binge resulting in too much food, too much napping, and too much weight gain. Before I become too distracted by the pure sinfulness of my gluttony, I should at least attempt a valient rationalization. It might not make my behavior right, but at least I will feel better about it.

So why all this frivolity? It is Thanksgiving! Which means I am obliged to tell you what I'm thankful for. I thought I'd get it out of the way now because we all know that the party can start once the thanks have been said. Man law? Man law! This year, I am thankful for - drumroll please - FICTION! Now ordinarily I would have given the standards: family, wife, dog, health, world peace, etc., but this year I have made a great new friend. My new friend is fiction. Not fictional, but fiction. You know, the genre.

Fiction is new to me. My analytical mind usually prefers history, or theology. There is nothing better than a little philosophy or ethics to get my mind working overtime. But here recently my mind has been working plenty hard, and I wanted a friend to help me get away. A friend that would disenage my mind and engage my imagination and my emotions. There is nothing better than good fiction to free the mind and to help me wade through weekly sermon writing.

So here's to fiction, man's best friend - well...right after his dog anyway - and to you Little Pete, Camerlengo, Buckbeak and the many great friends I've met. May this year be one full of space adventures, time travels, mystery monsters, and sinister plots...all in the safety of my EZ chair. Well there you have it. I have said my two cents ... now pass the gravy!

PS If any of you want to refer me to some good fiction I'd be abliged. I just finished the Harry Potter series my youth group got me reading, so I am look for something to fill Harry's place. If you have some favorites, please pass them along.

FYI

2006-11-20T09:26:00.000-06:00

Just in case you've noticed, I haven't been including the text in the sermons. I will be putting a link to BibleGateway up soon. You can click it and look up the text. That easy!

THE PULPIT: growing in grace by the power of the spirit

2006-11-20T09:24:00.000-06:00

The last couple of weeks, we have been looking at the great why question. We believe the why question is answered for us in four words: bow, share, grow, give. The first week we saw that the purpose of the Church is to worship God. Worship is the defining characteristic that makes us more than another ministry group. We are the church because we gather together to worship God. In finding the purpose of the church’s existence, we also found the meaning of human existence.

We found that worship has God alone as the content, follows the structure of gathering together, revelation, response and sending out in mission. Worship is done in a willing posture of submission, bowing our lives at the feet of the Father.

Worship calls us into ministry. If worship is our purpose, then outreach is our mission. We are called into the world to proclaim, “This is God’s year to act in your life.” We are to be the means by which Christ preaches good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed. Our outreach must seek to meet the needs of the bodies and souls of our neighbors. In meeting their needs, we are sharing salvation from the cross of the Son.

When we put together the first two weeks we find ourselves: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father; sharing salvation from the cross of the Son. Say those two phrases with me: bowing our lives at the feet of the Father; sharing salvation from the cross of the Son.

This morning we will be again be turning to the early church as an example of our church. Hear the Word of the Lord from Acts chapter 2.

READ ACTS 2:41-47

Growing up in the church, I remember a time when people actually came to church on Sunday just for the Sunday School. People would come for class and then either linger while discussing some aspect of life or lesson so long that they were late for worship or even missed it completely. Some would even come and then leave after Sunday School ignoring worship all together. I remember when Sunday School was the place to be! Sadly, over the last decade, it seems that Sunday School has almost become a footnote in many congregations, and I have often wondered why.

As I have observed churches, I have found the issue is not really about Sunday School, but about discipleship. The question is how well we disciple one another. Our tradition teaches us there is more to our faith than a one-time decision. We must go on from salvation to sanctification, and yet we must never settle for where we are because where we are is never where we need to be. Christianity is not about a destination, but it is about the journey. We must always be growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Discipleship is our ministry to one another making sure that we are all growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Say that phrase with me three times – again, the phrase is: growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Together now, three times: growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Growing in grace by the power of the Spirit. Growing in grace by the power of the Spirit.

This morning’s text is from the second chapter of Luke’s gospel. Luke 2:41-52. Stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. Luke 2:41. Hear the Word of the Lord: READ LUKE 2:41-52.

“And Jesus grew up, not only in body, but also in wisdom, and in God, and in others.” I am always reminded of my Caravan days when I hear this verse. We had the four different colored candles that stood for the four ways Jesus grew: mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. He grew up as a healthy and whole person.

As I reflect on the dilemma of Sunday School, I am convinced the failure of Sunday Schools is directly related to the limiting of discipleship to a mental learning of information. Students come in sit at their table and learn the lesson. Then they go home and come back again next week for more information.

However, there is another side to the Sunday School coin. Many discipleship programs thrive. I believe they thrive precisely because they are not about in-formation, but rather about life-formation. Successful discipleship encompasses the whole person. In an effort to make discipleship life-formational, successful discipleship looks beyond the peripheral questions like when and where, to the heart of the matter: why, who, and how.

Why? Why is discipleship important? Why is life-formation important? We have established worship as the purpose of the Church, and outreach as the mission of the church. Where then does discipleship fit into the puzzle? Discipleship is our training. Any group can have a purpose. Imagine if the volunteer fire department existed for a purpose: that purpose is to protect the lives and properties of the people of Toronto from devastation and loss due to fire. That purpose is perfectly admirable, but what if there were never any fires? They exist with a purpose, but that really doesn’t do anyone any good does it?

Now imagine they have a purpose and there are fires. Now not only do they have a purpose, but they have a mission. Not only do they have both, but also their purpose calls them into their mission. They cannot exist for their purpose of protecting from fires without having the mission of fighting and preventing fires. We see then purpose and mission working together. Now imagine if your house was on fire and they responded to their call to mission and they did it with the admirable purpose of saving you from loss, but they had no idea what to do when they arrived because they had no training. What good are a great purpose and a brave mission, if no one is equipped to be a firefighter?

I’ve been around our public servants enough to know that training is not a one-time thing. You are not certified and that’s it. Training is continual. Good training also includes discipline, accountability and debriefing. It helps prepare us, but it also helps us deal with the stress of doing the mission. Purpose, mission and training must work together if any are to be of value. The writer of Hebrews tells us tells of drawing near to God and to one another that we may be prepared, that we spur each other toward love and good deeds, that we might encourage one another, that we might endure. This is why we must be disciples: to be prepared, to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, to encourage one another, to endure.

Who? Who is discipleship for? Who should be involved in discipleship? I mentioned remembering a time when Sunday School was more highly attended than worship. Today it seems quite the opposite. People come for worship and then go home. There should not be a disparity between those who attend worship and those who enter into discipleship. They work together and all who call themselves worshipper should also call themselves disciples.

As we return to the story of the early church, we find that Christian life – discipleship – is for all who believe. The story begins with 3,000 who are the fruit of mission. They find their life’s purpose in worshipping God and enter into Christian living, or a life of discipleship. The great commission teaches us to make disciples of all nations, and that those who join the church through worship should be taught to obey all Christ has taught – to enter a life of discipleship. Additionally, the reading from Hebrews encourages us to all be in the habit of meeting together regularly for discipleship. The writer goes so far as to call out those who fail to meet together regularly! Discipleship is the expectation for all whose lives are lived in worship to God, just as all whose lives are lived in worship to God have the mission of outreach.

How? How are we discipled? How do we grow into healthy, well-rounded Christians? If the Christian life can be summed up in the idea of serving, then worship is serving God; outreaching is serving our neighbor: the poor, the oppressed, the captive; and discipleship is serving our brothers and sisters in Christ. In worship, we submit our lives to God; in outreach, we submit our lives to our neighbors; and in discipleship, we submit our lives to one another. Discipleship is all about growing in grace.

Growth in grace only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we survey the landscape of Biblical writings and Christian history we find a number of roles the Holy Spirit plays: breathe, conceiver of life, empowerer, guide, intercessor, equipper, convictor, comforter, refiner, sanctifier. These things are all related directly to growth. By the spirit we have the breathe of God that gives us life. We have the power to grow and live as disciples. We are guided through a life of growth. We are prayed for as we grow. We are equipped for a life of growth. We are convicted and held accountable when we stray. We are comforted in our grief. We are refined, purified and sanctified. Discipleship is growing in grace by the power of the Spirit.

We also see that we do not live a Christian life alone. A life of discipleship is only possible in a life of community or fellowship. Even God exists in the community and fellowship of the Holy Trinity. Christ, when he lived among us, surrounded himself with a community of believers. Discipleship only happens when it is a Spirit led community of believers.

A Spirit led community is not bound by time or place. It is a way of life. It is a way of living that produces healthy, well-rounded, whole and holy disciples. Sunday School, I believe, fails when it becomes a class instead of a community. In a class, there is one teacher and many learners. In a community, all are teachers and all are learners. None of us has arrived. Our teens have sweatshirts that say, “please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet.” Perhaps they are wise beyond their years. Who of us is God finished with? Who of us does not have something yet to learn? Who of us does not have something to offer to a brother or a sister? There are not teachers and students but only disciples.

In a class, there is a beginning and an end. A community never ends. It may grow – it may change, but it never ends. I am a son and a brother. I don’t get together with my parents or brother nearly as often as I should. I don’t see them as often as I’d like. Sometimes we go months without seeing each other. Sometimes it seems like forever between our times together, but they know no matter what, if any of them needs me, I will be there. In a community, we do not start and stop being the community when the bell rings, but rather there are no bells, and we never stop being community. We are always there. We always live for one another. Community has no end.

In a class, the focus is on learning. In a community, the focus is on living. We’ve all been in school. We all sit through lessons and lectures. However, community is not about sitting, but rather about active participation. It is about walking together through life. Sometimes that means we have lessons to learn. It is vitally important that we have a solid understanding of our faith and our scripture. It is equally important, however, that in community there are times when we have to put our minds aside. There are times when we must be the role of guide, or convictor, or comforter, or intercessor.

We all need to be a part of a community of disciples, who know us most intimately, that can call us onto the carpet when we are veering off course. We all need people in our life to encourage us when we are depressed. We all need people in our life to comfort us when we mourn. That we can confess to when we fail, that can pray for us when we just can’t pray any more, that will provide for us when food and money run out. We all need a community where we can laugh and play and have fun together. Discipleship is about life…all of it. Jesus grew not only physically but also in wisdom and in favor with God and with others. If we are to produce healthy disciples then we must create communities, led by the Holy Spirit, where we can follow Christ in being whole and in being holy, and where we can find soil fertile for growing in grace by the power of the Spirit, to the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.