Hope Springs Eternal

PLAY BALL!

Okay... I admit that I am excited that baseball season has started. The Seattle Mariners began yesterday with a win; so for now at least I rejoice over a team that is in first place and undefeated. Closer to home, my son's little league team has their first game this week too.

So, I thought I'd post here an article I wrote for the Calvin Presbyterian Church newsletter last month. Here it is...
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“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” wrote the 18th century English poet, Alexander Pope. I wonder if Pope was a baseball fan, since hope is also the indomitable springtime sentiment of those longing to hear the crack of the bat and the call to “Play ball!” It doesn’t matter which team you root for this time of year; it is a season of hope for everyone. Right now, everybody’s unbeaten. Regardless of what their record was last season, every team gets to start fresh this season. And that kind of new beginning, quite frankly, is something we all hope for.

Perhaps that’s why professional baseball’s spring training resonates with a place deep inside me. There’s something spiritual to it. When I look back over the last season of my life, with all the wins and losses, a couple of home runs, and more strikeouts than I’d like to admit, I yearn for a fresh start. Something in me cries out for a “do-over,” a chance to swing for the fences once more. Can you relate to that? Is that something you hope for?

After one of the most dismal seasons in the history of God’s people, when they were swept away by a visiting team from a true evil empire (not the Yankees but the Babylonians), the prophet Jeremiah continued to hold out that hope springs eternal. Listen to his cry:

Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”

Mercy delivered fresh to your door every morning – I like the sound of that! This is Good News: God’s love for you and for me isn’t conditioned on last season’s performance. God is powerful enough to give us a fresh start today, and God loves us enough to do it. So, like the ballplayers in Arizona and Florida this time of year, we too can begin a new season.

There’s another parallel between spring training and spiritual training that intrigues me. Spring training is a time to return to the fundamentals in preparation for the new season. Even grizzled veterans and future Hall-of-Famers go through the most basic of drills. Again and again they will practice running the bases, laying down bunts, hitting the cutoff man, or turning a double play. The goal is for these basics of the game to become routine and reflexive, a foundational part of how they’ll play the game throughout the season.

In this way, spring training is a lot like Lent. Lent consists of the forty days before Easter (not counting Sundays which commemorate the Resurrection), and traditionally been a time when Christians have heeded Jesus’ example by practicing the discipline of fasting and other forms of self-denial. In other words, Lent is a time to get back to the basics, specifically the fundamentals of our faith. During these weeks we remember that God in Christ embraced our pain and absorbed our sin and death on the Cross. We need to grasp for this truth and wrestle with its personal implications. Lent is a time for deep reflection. Acknowledge your brokenness before God. Confess your sin. Meditate upon what is means to die to yourself that you might live with Christ. And remember that as we share in His sufferings and become like Him in His death, we will also share in His glory and resurrection (Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 15:20-23; Php. 3:10-11).

If a faithfully observed Lent is like spring training, then Easter becomes opening day! On both of those days, hope fills the air with a sweet fragrance—either fresh cut grass or lilies—and the future calls us forward. For Christians, Easter morning, with the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection is the ultimate experience and celebration of hope. But like a full season of major league baseball, it is best when we prepare for it. Yes, hope springs eternal. And the name of hope is Jesus.

Did You See Him?

In yesterday's Easter message, we reflected on the two disciples who have an encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). As he did with those two on the road, I believe that Jesus still reveals himself to ordinary followers in ordinary places; still seeks us out and comes to us; still rebukes us for being slow of heart; and still reveals his true identity to us at just the right time.

But that wonderful story also makes me ask, "How often am I standing face to face with the Master and I totally miss him? How often does Jesus go unrecognized in my day-to-day life?"

By way of illustration, I shared this story:

On January 12, 2007, a seemingly ordinary thing happened in a Washington, DC metro station during the morning rush hour. A young man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a Washington Nationals baseball cap positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money and began to play. For 45 minutes he played six classical pieces. Most people didn’t even notice him.

But this was no ordinary violinist. It was violin virtuoso Joshua Bell who was there as part of an experiment put together by the Washington Post. And he was playing no ordinary violin; it was a 1713 handcrafted Stradivarius violin reportedly worth over $3 million. Three days earlier, Bell had played to a full house at Boston’s Symphony Hall, where fairly good seats went for $100. But on this day, he collected just $32.17 for his efforts. And of the 1,097 people who passed by him, only 7 stopped to listen, and just one person recognized him.

So I continue to ruminate... What would I have done? I'm quite sure I would have just walked on by. But if I and so many others can miss the presence and beautiful gift of a master violinist, how much do we miss the presence and beautiful gifts of the Master of the universe?

O Lord, "I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which You have called me, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in Your people, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe." - Ephesians 1:18 (TNIV personalized).

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If you want to see the full article from the Washington Post, click here.

Selfless Repentance?

I've been reading Dark Night of the Soul, the classic of Christian mysticism by St. John of the Cross. With my ruminations on repentance this Lent, one of John's comments stood out. At this point, he is talking about those who are what he calls "spiritual beginners" and how they (we?) become overly sad when they see themselves fall into sin. John attributes this to their thinking themselves to have been saints already. Then he adds:

"Thus they become angry and impatient with themselves, which is another imperfection. Often they beseech God, with great yearnings, that He will take from them their imperfections and faults, but they do this that they may find themselves at peace, and may not be troubled by them, rather than for God's sake; not realizing that, if He should take their imperfections from them, they would probably become prouder and more presumptuous still."

All of this sparks questions and reflections for me.

First, do I think of myself as being more saintly that I am? On one hand, I can affirm that I am already a saint in Christ. Because his holiness becomes my holiness as we are united by the Holy Spirit, I am a saint. But, on the other hand, my sanctification is far from complete. Do I, with the spiritual pride to which John of the Cross refers, think of myself as being farther along than I really am? Do I expect more holiness and less struggle with sin than I should expect at this stage?

Second, is it so bad to ask God to remove my imperfections because of a yearning for peace? I believe such a desire is God-given. It is hardwired into us. It is a desire for the peace of Shalom -- that wholeness that comes as things are as God intended. That it is good. But still, John of the Cross points to a motivation that I confess I often lack, a motivation that is deeper and more profound. Which leads to a third question...

Third, when I confess my sin... when I repent... when I yearn for God to take away my "imperfections and faults," do I do that for God's sake? If I understand John of the Cross correctly, my repentance needs to be less self-centered. The yearning to be freed and forgiven from sin should grow out of desire to love the One who first loved me. My sin is an offense to God's holiness and glory. Yet that is seldom in the forefront of my mind when I make my confessions.

I think of King David's famous confession: "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" (Ps. 51:4).

I'm going to have to keep ruminating on this!

Aslan Rescues Eustace from Himself

Recently, I was reminded me of the scene in The Chronicles of Narnia where Eustace recounts his encounter with Aslan, when Aslan frees him from being a dragon. His description captures the notion of repentance and transformation powerfully. Do you recall this part of the story?

“Then the lion said—but I don’t know if it spoke—‘You will have to let me undress you.’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.
“The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know – if you’ve ever picked the scab off a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is fun to see it coming away.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” said Edmund.
“Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off – just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt – and there it was, lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me – I didn’t like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I’d no skin on – and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became so perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again."

I have to admit that I wept some as I reread that. C.S. Lewis captures the repentance, mortification and vivification, resurrection, baptismal washing, regeneration, etc. that I long for.

Lent Thoughts

At the start of Lent, I started posting on Facebook quotes on repentence that I had been reflecting on. Eventually, I started including reflections on love and grace too. As a way to save them and perhaps include fuller texts, I figure I'll post them here too.

"He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone...You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The usual notion of what Jesus did on the cross runs something like this: people were so bad and so mean and God was so angry with them that he could not forgive them unless somebody big enough took the rap for the whole lot of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross." - Richard Foster

"We must ask whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution. And is not the reason perhaps for our countless relapses and the feebleness of our Christian obedience to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on self-forgiveness and not a real forgiveness?" - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Repentence always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself." - Oswald Chambers

"Christians find it is easier to believe that God exists than that God loves them. / In human beings, love is a quality, a high-prized virtue; in God, love is His identity." - Basil Hume / Brennan Manning

"What is your only comfort, in life and in death? That I belong—body and soul, in life and in death—not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil." - 2nd Helvetic Confession

"Batter my heart, three-personed God; for, you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new." ~ John Donne

"Beloved, true repentance is sorrow for the sin itself: it has not only a dread of the death which is the wages of sin, but of the sin which earns the wages. If you have no repentance for the sin itself, it is in vain that you should stand and tremble because of judgment to come.” - Charles Spurgeon

And So It Ends; And So It Begins...

It's been waaaay too long since I've posted. So, in a somewhat desparate effort to keep this somewhat current, I'm reprinting here an article on our Guatemala Mission trip from the May 2008 Marine View Press. Hopefully, more will be forthcoming soon!

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Our mission team is back from Guatemala, and we are praising God for a wonderful and eventful trip. As a team, we can testify that God was faithful from beginning to end. We successfully installed over 90 stoves in homes in the remote village of Yuljobe. We gave each family we worked with a Spanish children’s Bible. We gave away over 160 bags of supplies and toys to the school children. We witnessed a contextualized movie presentation of the Prodigal Son and the preaching of the Gospel to the villagers in their native language, Q’anjob’al. We enjoyed gracious hospitality, deepened relationships with one another, and new friendships with our Guatemalan sisters and brothers in Christ. And we did it all without serious illness or injury to any team member.

Behind all of this, we are sincerely thankful for the prayers and for the physical and financial assistance we received both from Marine View and from people around the nation who responded to our support letters. We know that we could not…we did not…do it alone. Now, after months of work and anticipation, many meetings, and lots of prayer and planning, it is difficult to believe that it is over.

And yet, the mission is not completely over.

Although we were impacted in different ways and different degrees, this mission trip caused each member of the team to evaluate his or her life in light of what we experienced. For me personally, God opened my eyes to new dimensions of poverty. But it’s not what you might expect. Having been to Guatemala previously, I had already seen firsthand the impoverished conditions in which so many people live. In this regard, this year’s trip reinforced my gratitude to God for the material blessings I enjoy but frequently take for granted—it is only by God’s grace that I have received such undeserved wealth as citizen of the U.S. The new lesson in poverty actually came not as I looked at the lives of the villagers of Yuljobe, but as I looked back from their village to our lives in the States.

We are much poorer than we realize. With our material wealth we can distract ourselves and numb ourselves, but we truly live in a relationally and spiritually impoverished world. We have difficulty seeing it because we are immersed in it, but looking in from the outside it is plain to see that we are missing a lot. In Yuljobe, there is a rich, deep, and natural sense of community—they know one another, support one another, and share life with one another. Among Guatemalan believers, there is a rich, deep, and passionate love for Christ—they worship expressively, pray regularly, and speak openly about Jesus to others. I do not mean to romanticize their lives or downplay their hardships, but the rich relationships and spirituality displayed by those we encountered in Guatemala make me yearn for more of that in Tacoma.

More than once, our mission team reflected on the Scripture, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Co. 5:20). In going, we sought to represent Christ to all those we met in Guatemala, sharing the love and truth of the Gospel with our words and our actions. In returning, we seek to bring to you the profound messages and lessons God impressed upon us while we were there. In a very real way, we are all now missionaries to our own homeland.

Saab Story's Happy Ending

Many have been asking what the latest is on my car. Without boring you with the details, the good news is that they were able to put humpty-dumpty back together again. I picked up the Saab last week, and am experiencing an automotive resurrection of sorts. So far, everything seems to be as good as new. The only two problems I found were a handle inside the trunk was put back on backwards and half the stereo speakers weren't working. A quick visit back to the body shop, and we're back to normal.

Unfortunately, my insurance company was never able to track to down the kid who hit me and his insurance. So, I'm very thankful for that uninsured motorist policy!

In all, I was without the car for 42 days... which is especially painful when you think that I'd only had it for 114 days before that!

Job 1:21

Guatemala Mission: Why Go?

The following is an article from the March 2008 Marine View Press, the newsletter of Marine View Presbyterian Church:

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This month a team of fifteen people will leave the comforts of home and normal routines and they will go to a rural village in Guatemala. As mission teams from Marine View have done for the last three years, this year’s group will invest considerable time, energy, and resources to help people they’ve never met who live in foreign culture in a remote and impoverished village almost 3,000 miles away. Why? Why do we go to Guatemala?

1) We Go for Theological Reasons:

We go to follow Christ. We are disciples or apprentices of Jesus who said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (Jn. 20:21 niv). If we profess that Jesus is Lord, then we must respond obediently when the Master says to go. Jesus also came not to be served but to serve, and he has given an example of humble, active love for us to follow (Mk. 10:45; Jn. 13:15). We go to Guatemala out of a desire to serve Christ by serving others in his name.

We go to show Christ. “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (Jas. 2:14 nlt). We go to Guatemala to show the love of Christ in both actions and words. We go to share what God has graciously given to us, not only material things but the spiritual truth that God is reconciling the Guatemalans to himself through Christ, not counting their sins against them. We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us to his beloved ones in Guatemala: “Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:19-20).

We go to know Christ. Mission is not a part-time activity of the church; it is a full-time work of God. Throughout the scriptures, we encounter a God who is on a redemptive mission in the world. Throughout the world, we may encounter a God who so loved the world that he sent his Son not to condemn but to save. We go to Guatemala to meet Jesus there among those who suffer under the weight of poverty, malnutrition, and injustice.

We go to grow in Christ. On a short-term mission trip, we see ourselves and our world in a new way. We discover the breadth of God’s love and the depth of our need. By leaving our comfort zones and all our props, we are forced to rely on God’s faithfulness and strength. When we return, we see our lives and our culture differently; we’ve been changed. We go to Guatemala so that we might become more like Christ.

2) We Go for Personal Reasons:

For some of us, we go because we want to make a difference in the world; we want to help those who are in need. For others, we go to experience a different culture; we go for the adventure. For me personally, I am going back to Guatemala because I know that there is more there that God wants me to see and experience. I recently wrote in my journal: “Going to Guatemala will once again force me from my comfort zone. I will once again be in over my head and forced to trust God. And that’s something I need to do more of. I rely too much on my own strength. I miss out on the transformative power of God often.”

3) We Go for Practical Reasons:

The need in the Yuljobe, Guatemala is very real. For centuries, indigenous Maya living in this remote area have cooked their meals using an indoor fire pit located on the house floor called a “three-stone fire.” These open-flame wood-burning fires have caused burns from the flames, respiratory illnesses from the smoke, and deforestation from the inefficient burning of the firewood.

In an effort not only to improve the health conditions and quality of life of the villagers, but also to show tangibly the love of Christ, the 15-member mission team will be working alongside Guatemalan families to install dozens of cast concrete “ONIL” stoves.

You Are Needed Too!

Marine View will be purchasing and installing 90 stoves. The cost per stove is $140.00. In addition, the HFPF staff will conduct critical follow-up with our stove installations, traveling to Yuljobe each month for a six-month period to make sure everyone has adjusted to a new way of cooking and that the units are working properly. The benefit of this effort is that HFPF has a 97% success rate with the installations.

You can participate in this mission both financially and prayerfully. First, use the donation cards found in the pew racks in the sanctuary to make a contribution toward the purchase of the stoves for Yuljobe and the team members’ expenses. Because of the increased size of this year’s project and team, we need to raise approximately $21,000. To this end, the Outreach Team will be designating funds from this year’s One Great Hour of Sharing offering toward the Guatemala mission. Second, please commit to pray regularly and specifically for the team members and the villagers they serve before, during, and after the trip. Prayer guides will be available at the Information Counter.

On behalf of Marine View’s 2008 Guatemala Mission Team, thank you for your support and partnership in ministry!

Choosing My Religion

Question of the Day: Who gets to choose your religion?

Two very different news stories this week have raised the question about who decides what religion a person might be. One I read in the Tacoma News Tribune (01-29-08)--a story about a prison chaplain who is struggling with fallout from a new regulation that allows inmates to be a part of more than one religion. Under the new rules, to select a religious preference, all an inmate has to do is fill out a form. Further, they can change their religion once every six months.

The second story involves an Egyptian man named Muhammad Hegazy, a Muslim convert to Christianity who is requesting that the Egyptian government officially change his religious affiliation. According to the ruling of an Egyptian judge, "He can believe whatever he wants in his heart, but on paper he can't convert."

So, is one's religion really just a matter of filling out the right paperwork and having it approved? And the deeper questions: Who decides what religion an individual truly is? Can a person "self-convert," or must a person be received by the religious community of which he or she seeks to become a part?

As Americans, we are heavily biased toward the individual. We have been trained by our culture to believe that the individual is the center of authority and decision-making power: I decide what to buy; I decide what I want to be when I grow up; I decide who to vote for; I decide what church to attend; I decide what is true for me. But such a perspective is somewhat unique in history.

Even looking across the history of Jesus' followers and the Church, we see that there has always been a place for the community in conversion. In the book of Acts, an individual's conversion or coming to Christ would often be attested to by others who were already a part of the early Christian community (e.g., Saul by Ananias; Cornelius by Peter; Samarians by Peter & John). In addition, acts such as baptism and the laying on of hands accompanied the individual's conversion and reception into the faith community. These acts would be formalized over the years so that becoming a Christian included not only a public confession of faith in Christ, but also a period of training or catechism and the sacrament of baptism. The value of the community is sorely missing in much of American Protestantism.

And as much as we must wrestle with the role we play and the role the community of faith plays in our choosing our religion, we must also look ultimately to God. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (Jn. 6:44). Paul the Apostle likewise understood that it is God who chooses us long before we might choose God, writing that God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world and decided in advance to adopt us as his children (Eph. 1:3-5).

So, how do you understand your conversion? If you are a Christian, how did you get there? What did you do? What did the Christian community do? What did God do?

Michael Vick's Redemption

God continues to give me opportunities to learn patience through waiting. My computer that I have used for blogging got infected by a virus a few weeks back. I couldn't get it off. The computer techs couldn't get it off. So, they wiped everything off the machine, and I've had to start over with reloading everything back on. As my father-in-law might say, "That sucketh great wind!" Anyway, all that to say that I haven't been writing here for almost a month, but I hope to get back at it more regularly. A quick thought for today...

You've probably seen the news stories on Michael Vick, the former NFL quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons. Vick was convicted in federal court for charges related to dog fighting and sent to prison. In one of the countless articles on the fallen football star, I came across the following quote attributed to Vick as he was preparing to face his jail sentence: "Through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God....I will redeem myself. I have to."

With all due respect, Michael, if you have to redeem yourself, then you haven't found Jesus!

I truly hope that Michael Vick turns his life over to God and asks for forgiveness. But the reason he needs to do so is precisely because he can't redeem himself. Jesus came to live, die, and rise again because redemption is out of our reach. Even the word "redemption" implies the need for another outside ourselves to be intimately involved. To "redeem" means to "buy back" or to "free from a lien." We can't buy ourselves back from our enslavement to sin. The price is too high, even on an NFL superstar's salary. Futher, redemption always involves an exchange of some sort. When I was a kid, I remember redeeming Coke bottles for cash. But in case of our own redemption, Christ takes on our death and gives us his life in return. The Apostle Peter wrote: "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Pe. 1:18-19 TNIV).

Hopefully, the Spirit of God will lead Michael Vick to a place where he can say, "I will not redeem myself. I don't have to. Jesus Christ has redeemed me by His power and grace."

Crash Course in Waiting (aka "A Saab Story")

There's a bitter irony in preaching and writing on the "spiritual discipline" of waiting, and then having God throw you a curve to see if you really mean what you say.

For many years, I have been yearning to get a new car. I was tired of the old, gutless Escort I had been driving. I wanted something new. I wanted something fun. I wanted an adult car! After a lot of waiting and saving and researching and dreaming, this September we bought a Saab 9-3. I loved it! 210hp of turbocharged excitement turning on rails as you work through the 6-speed manual transmission. Suddenly, even going to the store to get milk was enjoyable. At least for 3 months, 12 days, and 2,777 miles...

Last Thursday (12/27), Kristi and I were returning from a stop at the Tacoma Mall before going to dinner. It was dark and raining, and the northbound traffic on I-5 was at a crawl. Fortunately (so we thought), the new long exit ramp to I-705 was moving along a good pace. Unfortunately, people getting stuck on I-5 started darting over into the exit lanes. The young man driving with his father in his dad's Volvo wagon in front of me suddenly stomped on his brakes. My Saab responded with agility as as I quickly began to stop behind him. (You know you're in control and going to stop in time when your wife doesn't reach for the dash!) BUT... the young man and his date in the Jeep Cherokee behind us wasn't as quick on the brakes. He smashed into us and forced us into the Volvo in front of us. When you're the middle car, there's just no where for all that kinetic energy to go. Bang! CRASH! In an instant, it was over.

As Kristi put it, there's good news, bad news, and sad news. The good news: Everybody involved was okay; there were no injuries. The bad news: our date was ruined and we missed dinner. The sad news: the Saab is toast!




And so the waiting begins again. This time, it's waiting on insurance companies to do their thing. Waiting to see if the car can be fixed or if they will total it out. More waiting...

In the meantime, I'm trying to remember how much I need to be thankful for. No one was hurt. The kids weren't with us. The State Patrol responded quickly and did a great job of handling things. The kid who hit us admitted responsibility. The tow truck got there fairly quick. We had great friends taking care of our kids, and who came to pick us up (Thanks, Doug and Betsy!). And more.

I'm also realizing again just how much of waiting involves a sense of being out of control. Actively waiting means actively trusting that my Heavenly Father is in control. It also means remembering that everything is a gift from God, and I need to hold all that God has given with an open hand.

Lord God, thank you for the way you continue to provide and protect. Heavenly Father, you are the giver of every good and perfect gift. Help me to receive all that you give with open hands and to never take for granted your generosity and grace. And thank you for the things that matter most: family, friends, and fellowship with you.

Random Ruminations on Christmas

Christmas is over for another year. Nothing left but the recycling and "Thank you" notes. Time to look back and ruminate a little on Christmas 2007...

1. Should we celebrate Christmas? A story in the Tacoma News Tribune recently looked at American Christians who reject the celebration of Christmas on religious grounds (http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/religion/story/228703.html). Those quoted contend that the holiday was largely ignored until the late 19th century because of "the lack of biblical sanction for Dec. 25 as the date of Jesus' birth." Readers are reminded that many of the elements of our Christmas celebrations (e.g., decorating trees) have origins in paganism and celebrations of the winter solstice. Clyde Kilough, president of the United Church of God, is quoted as saying,"The theological question is quite simple: Is it acceptable to God for humans to choose to worship him by adopting paganism's most popular celebrations and calling them Christian?" To a great extent, I believe the answer is "Yes." Let's remember that God is in the business of redeeming the profane. God doesn't create holy people and sacred practices ex nihilo; God instead starts with sinful people and practices, and then he transforms them in Christ.
   
   In addition, from the earliest days, Christian communities have had to wrestle with how the radical freedom found in Christ pertains to the cultic worship practices of both Jews and Gentiles, with the bulk of New Testament teaching focusing on a) not judging others, either positively or negatively, for their practices, b) not forcing others to follow the old rules, and c) not allowing one's own freedom in Christ to become a stumbling block for others (e.g, Rom. 14:1-4; 1 Cor. 8:1-13; Gal. 4:9-11; Col. 2:13-23). This challenge is nothing new.
   
   More importantly, I think there are important theological reasons for keeping a regular celebration of Christmas in American Christianity. The Incarnation is severely overlooked in protestant theology. In many ways, it is seen as means to an end--Jesus had to be born so that he could die. We hear this in sermons and songs every December. I certainly don't want to deny the central importance of Christ's death and resurrection. But the coming of God in Christ, the Word becoming flesh, has vital significance in itself. Evangelical Protestants speak often of humanity's sin incurring God's wrath and requiring a penalty of death. We sometimes add that sin separates us from God. But we often fail to account for the natural separation between divinity and humanity. There is an ontological divide as well as a sin divide. Combine the two and clearly our humanity may not have unmediated or self-initiated communion with God. So Christ becomes the mediator between holy God and sinful humanity by taking on human flesh and becoming one of us. Unless the Son of God had taken on our humanity we could have no hope of becoming united with him because there would be no point of common contact. But because his flesh is our flesh, we may be united to him and subsequently receive the benefits of his Cross. This incredible Christmas journey of the Son of God from heaven to earth is worth celebrating just as his Easter journey from the Cross to the empty tomb.
   
   
2. Waiting for Christmas. Last Sunday I preached on the theme of waiting, drawing upon the stories of Simeon and Anna in Luke 2 and how they had lived for decades intently and intentionally waiting for the coming of Christ. I believe that in big ways and small ways, all of us our waiting for God to show up in our lives and do something, although that something will be different for all of us. At one point, I sought to expound on the ways in which God uses waiting, that God intentionally makes us wait, as a means for shaping our character and for deepening our faith and trust in him.
   
   In discussing the theme with my (brilliant) wife afterward, she made the great observation that we often lose out on those benefits because we cheat. Like a kid who can't wait for the go-ahead from the parents to start opening the Christmas presents, we take shortcuts and try to get what we want right now. People have always had trouble waiting on God. Unlike Simeon and Anna, how many people living before the first Christmas couldn't wait for the true Messiah? How many settled for less and followed the posers who came claiming the title? How many gave up hope for God to show up and make good on his promise, and they decided to take matters into their own hands and rely on their own strength? How often do I do the same?
   
   When I think of areas in my life where I'm waiting on God, I usually fall to one of two temptations that keep me from waiting actively. Sometimes I take matters into my own hands. I remain active, but now I try to make things happen myself. Other times, I become resigned. I'm waiting, but not actively. It's the life-posture of "Whatever."
   
   Christmas, or more accurately Advent, has been a good reminder this year of the need to wait actively upon the Lord. It's a reminder and a lesson I hope to carry into 2008.
   
   

Becoming a Christian, Part 4

Q. 30. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.
Q. 32. What benefits do they that are effectually called partake of in this life?
A. They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the several benefits which, in this life, accompany or flow from them.

- The Westminster Shorter Catechism

The quote above from a catechism from the mid-17th century reveals a view of "becoming a Christian" significantly different from the transactional models prevalent today. First, the emphasis is on what God is doing (not just what God has done) when a person becomes a Christian. Transactional models tend to emphasize what we do. Second, the catechism speaks of benefits in this life--becoming a Christian doesn't just leave us with "sin management" but includes the transformation of life as we live it now. Transactional models, on the other hand, tend to emphasize only eternal benefits experienced after death (hence the old evangelistic conversation starter question: "If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?").

To be fair, many of those who hold to a more transactional view of salvation, many who see "becoming a Christian" almost exclusively as an event rather than a process, nonetheless will include some teaching on the need to for the new Christian to grow or mature. Regrettably, those that do exhibit a desire to see people grow in Christ have outlined that growth as a linear and even formulaic process.

One of the most popular models currently (and one to which my congregation has subscribed) is the Purpose-Driven model popularized by Rick Warren and Saddleback Church. According to Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life, God created each person to fulfill five purposes: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry (service), and outreach (mission). Moreover, the expectation is that those who become Christians will work through each purpose in order and that only Christians can engage in these sequential steps. One starts as a part of the "community" of people who can attend worship, but since Warren teaches that only Christians can actually worship God, these people obviously cannot progress further until they "become Christians." From there, one can move toward the inner circles of the "crowd," "congregation," "committed," and finally the "core."

But this assumes (falsely, I believe) that genuine worship, or fellowship, or service, or whatever else, can only be done by those who are Christians. Yet, because God designed all people to be worshipers, everybody is worship something... usually multiple things! I don't believe it is accurate to say that the person who has not "become a Christian" through the transaction of "saying the prayer" or "crossing the line of faith" cannot truly worship God. Their worship of God may be incomplete or divided because their knowledge of God is incomplete and their hearts are still divided. But that's true for all of us! Likewise, those who are at various places in their spiritual journey--from pagan to puritan to priest--seek meaningful relationships with others (e.g., fellowship) and seek to do good for others (e.g., ministry and outreach).

What if instead of this linear approach, we adapted the model to have overlapping circles rather than concentric circles? One can maintain the idea that all five purposes are important, but now we move to a less linear and more holistic approach. Moreover, people can be invited into a deeper realization of life in Christ from any point rather than assuming that worship is always the beginning. For example, the person who is seeking wholeness in their heart, mind, and soul can be helped to see that this is really part of God's design that we be like Christ (e.g., discipleship). Or those who are already doing good things in the world apart from acknowledging Christ, such as serving in a food kitchen or giving to AIDS relief, can grow in union with Christ so that they see and act on this as part of the spread of God's kingdom (e.g., outreach). This approach can also move us from a more attractional approach to evangelism ("come to us") to a more missional approach where we can join with the work the Spirit is doing in a person's life wherever they are at.

We can modify this further by recognizing that the our approach to "ministry" can be self-serving. According to the purpose-driven model, each Christian should have a 'ministry in the church' and a 'mission in the world.' Isn't this a bit of a false distinction? Churches today with their big buildings and multiple on-site programs have great need for people to volunteer to serve the church. But where do we get the idea that serving the church is the thing to do? Serving the people is a good thing, but that is covered under the idea of "fellowship." Serving the church--the organization or the institution--helps to "grow the church." But, again, where do we get the idea that that is part of God's agenda for the world? The church is not an end unto itself. The church is meant to follow the lead of her Lord who came not be served but to serve. The church is a means to end, namely the furthering of the kingdom of God in the world. Consequently, the purpose of "ministry" can easily be subsumed under "fellowship" and "outreach.

Moreover, we can see some parallels with with the three benefits of our effectual call mentioned in the catechism and the three sets of New Testament metaphors mentioned in the previous post. Although the correspondence is far from exact, the purpose of "worship" can be reinterpreted to include all of our life in Communion with God, that which flows out of our justification. "Fellowship" can be understood as our life in Community with others, that which flows from our adoption. And "discipleship" can be viewed as the transformation of the Character within us, that which results from our sanctification. All of this happens within the world we are called to serve.

At this point, I'm realizing that we've strayed some from the original idea of what "becoming a Christian" means. I suppose most of this rumination revolves around ways to envision our "becoming a Christian" as a journey rather than a transaction, as a process rather than an event. It must include an essential effect on this life and not focus only on the life to come. And it needs to be open to mystery and the unknown as we are united with Christ. So, perhaps we can keep the old idea of a "bridge" diagram for "becoming a Christian," but have it look something like this...

Comments anyone?

Becoming a Christian, Part 3

"When we examine the broad spectrum of Christian proclamation and practice, we see that the only thing made essential on the right wing of theology is forgiveness of the individual's sins. On the left it is remove of social or structural evils. The current gospel then becomes a 'gospel of sin management.' Transformation of life and character is no part of the redemptive message. Moment-to-moment human reality in its depths is not the arena of faith and eternal living." - Dallas Willard

What is our theology of salvation? What do we believe salvation really is? Consider the aforementioned bridge analogy popularized in the 4 Spiritual Laws evangelistic presentations (see Part 1). Here the problem of sin is that it separates us from God. The solution to the problem is God bridging the gap through Christ and the cross. We receive salvation, then, by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, which is done by following the suggested prayer formula.

While I don't disagree that sin separates us from God or that Christ can be viewed metaphorically as the bridge between God and humanity, this presentation of salvation seems to be one-dimensional as well as truncated or incomplete. Consider some of the New Testament metaphors for the saving work of God in Christ. Similar to the bridge analogy, some deal directly with our relationship with God: In Christ we are 'reconciled' (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18-19), 'forgiven' (Mt. 26:28; 1 Jn. 1:9), 'redeemed' (Gal. 3:13), 'ransomed" (Eph. 1:7, 14), and 'freed' (Rom. 6:18). Some salvation metaphors deal with the transformation of our life and character: In Christ we are 'born again" (1 Pe. 1:3), 'purified' (Jn. 17:19; Eph. 5:26), 'made alive' (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13), and made 'new creations' (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). Similarly and related to these, still other metaphors deal with our relationships with others: In Christ with others we receive 'adoption' (Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:5), become 'children of God' (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:17) and a part of 'Christ's body' (1 Cor. 12:13) in which we have 'fellowship' with one another (1 Jn. 1:3, 7). And this list is by no means exhaustive!

Is there a way to capture some of these ideas in presenting the Gospel to others? Something to ruminate on next time.

Becoming a Christian, Part 2

"The moment of decision or the decision of faith must be understood not simply as one decision but as a life decision. The experience of salvation is not merely one specific experience in the life of the Christian; rather, it consists in an abiding with Christ that is strengthened and deepened through life. Faith entails not simply the acceptance of Christ but daily repentance and obedience....It is not a single experience of conversion but a life of conversion that is decisive for our salvation." - Donald Bloesch

Perhaps the reason why I react negatively to the purely transactional models of "becoming a Christian" is rooted in my own experience as a child and adolescent. Numerous times I heard a preacher or speaker give the invitation to "ask Jesus into your heart," and numerous times I responded. Unfortunately, I also believed that once I asked Jesus "in" He was free to leave and head "out" whenever He wanted, most likely in response to my unfaithfulness (which was common), and without any need to give 2 weeks notice. Consequently, I prayed the "sinner's prayer" and "received Christ" repeatedly, unsure if it had worked the last time I had completed the transaction. (This is why I hate the question, "When did you become a Christian?"--I still don't have a good answer! Perhaps it's also why I'm still unsettled by Jesus' question, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I say?" But I'll save that for another post!)

The end result was feeling like this salvation I'd received was incomplete. If the sweet-sounding amazing grace had saved me, why did I still feel like a wretch? I've heard similar stories from enough other people that I don't think this result is uncommon. Some feel like their salvation prayer was a one-hit wonder -- that one might have worked wonders, but the rest now seem to fall flat. Others find themselves stuck in habitual patterns of sin that they can't seem to break. And regrettably, the Church seems to provide little or no real help. After all, we're the ones who've set up these unmet expectations that once you "become a Christian" the important work is done.

I've written elsewhere: "Intentionally communicated or not, the message heard by many churchgoers today is one of 'instant salvation' or 'instant Christianity,' a message that is attractive to Americans who are preconditioned to instant gratification by our rapid cultural changes, our ever-increasing technological innovations, and our furious pace of life. We have become accustomed to time-saving techniques, shortcuts, and quick fixes, and the church's message has accommodated our short attention spans."

The result is numerous people actively seeking to be 'a Christian,' at least as it has been presented to them, but they're feeling like something is missing. Even more have heard and perhaps responded to this view of becoming a Christian, and are now doing little to actively follow Christ. Leadership Journal posted results of a survey which indicated that 81% of Americans that identified themselves as "Christian" could not meet their standard of "Active Christian." (See http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/004/1.19.html.) I can't help but wonder if this is because we're not helping people embrace full-life discipleship with Jesus. Are we essentially just making church-members instead of disciples? They've passed the initiation rite to join the club, but now that they're in...

This all seems to beg a question or two: What's our underlying theology of salvation? What do we believe salvation really is? We'll have to wrestle with that next.

Becoming a Christian, Part 1

Is conversion an event? Is salvation a transaction? Is becoming a Christian really a matter of making a decision or saying a prayer? Is it "crossing the line of faith," "asking Jesus into our hearts," or "accepting Jesus as my personal savior and Lord"?

Our church is currently doing a series on Sunday mornings with the "Becoming a Contagious Christian" material put out by Willow Creek and Zondervan (http://www.contagiouschristian.com/). I had the chance to go through this material with the author in the mid-90's when it first came out. I've also taught the curriculum as an adult class. I value it's emphasis on learning to share about Jesus in a style that is natural for you rather than giving a formula or cookie-cutter approach. BUT... there just has to be a but... I'm increasingly unsatisfied and even troubled by the way we're told to present "the gospel" and invite people to "become Christians."

The so-called "four spiritual laws" and the accompanying bridge analogy are the recommended means for calling people to respond to Christ. (See http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp and http://www.godlovestheworld.com/) All analogies break down, and this one does too in some significant ways (e.g., it keeps sin as something separate from us rather than a part of us; it has no mention of community). But my biggest issue with it is that it implies that once you have followed the steps and prayed the prayer to "receive Christ," then you're done.

I'm reminded of this great quote by A.W. Tozer:

"The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith many now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be 'received' without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is saved,' but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little." - A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Tozer wrote that 60 years ago! Things haven't changed in many ways.

In the next couple posts I want to wrestle with some of the possible results of this approach to evangelism. Are we, as Tozer says, too easily satisfied and content with too little? I also want to explore some of the theology behind all this. What is it that we believe about what is means to be saved? And hopefully, somewhere along the line, some alternatives might emerge.

Live... without a net!

So here it goes... After reading others' blogs for several years, I've decided to give it try. Why? Because I've got more random thoughts bouncing around in my head than I know what to do with! Hopefully this will give me a place to record and process stuff I'm thinking and reading and generally musing on. And hopefully it will also give a forum for dialoguing with others who want to wrestle with the same kind of stuff.

Welcome to Ruminations and Regurgitations!