#1. My sister and I went to see James Taylor in concert last night in Charlotte. It was interesting to observe the crowd. It's fun for me to be in a group of people who are in the main, older than I. I remember listening again and again to Mud Slide Slim when I was a mere slip of a girl. Clearly many in the audience were in high school or college during the Mud Slide Slim days. JT put on a really fine show and I was struck by his humility and humor. JT's looking and moving sort of like an old man (which I suppose he's becoming). It's pretty cool that JT still draws a big crowd despite his age and the fact that he's avoided the celebrity spotlight. You don't hear about his life, only his music.
#2. This probably should have been #1, but the concert was fresh in my mind... My cousin Bill preached at my church last Sunday (designated Mission Sunday). Bill founded The Open Arms Foundation in Medellin Columbia. For the last 18 years Bill and his wife Wanda have been rescuing street children. Bill gave some startling statistics:
- The USA is the third largest mission field in the world (behind China and India). That's right. Missionaries from around the world are being sent here to evangelize.
- While it was previously believed that 40% of Americans self identify as Christians and attend church regularly, a new study shows the figure to be closer to 15% - 20%.
- The growth of the Mega church has not been primarily from converts, but by the ecrection of members from other churches. So... the pews in regular churches are emptying, while the pews in mega churches are filling.
- The mega church appeals to our consumeristic tendencies. One can attend and witness a slick performance, frequently on a stage. There may be audio visual effects and professional performances. My sister attends a church in Charlotte with satellite campuses and the main pastors sermon is usually broadcast there... Did you know that 85% of Christians believe that the church exists to meet their needs?
Bill made the pretty obvious (to me) point that the church exists to serve Jesus Christ. Think of a battle ship or aircraft carrier in WWII being built and commissioned and sent off to fight, only to turn into a cruise liner... Where would be be had that happened during WWII? In order to be what it was intended to be the church must be missional. It must be continually reaching out to the lost and the marginalized.
That's all for now.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Humble Apologetics
“Authentic Christian apologetics also implies providing, in Christ-like humility and in Christ-like vulnerability, the conditions that make it possible for others to perceive and recognize Jesus as Christ the Lord.” — Kwame Bediako
I was reading the blog of a pastor (I think in Oklahoma or South Dakota or someplace like that) last night. His entry from earlier in the week asked folks to pray for the Steven Curtis Chapman family and it contained a link to a story that told of the tragic death of Chapman's youngest daughter. I followed the link and found the story - as well as some responses by readers. There were many kind notes of condolence and assurances that the Chapman family was indeed in the prayers of many. There were also many angry notes criticising the "piety", hypocrisy, and false "pie in the sky in the sweet by and by" hope of Christians.
It's kind of odd and interesting that there are people who are so angry at Christians that they would use this very sad story about a family's loss to rail against Christians, but there you have it... What I find equally interesting is that the Christians felt the need to respond to the comments, scolding the posters for their insensitivity and illogic (one of them referred to the death of children in Iraq) as though God isn't perfectly capable of defending Himself. Isn't it weird that a simple human interest story would turn into a platform to debate this kind of thing?
The thing about debate is that it's pretty pointless. Whether the subject is politics or social issues or religion (especially religion), debating is just a forum for people to espouse their views. I wonder that a single mind or heart is ever changed through a debate. Mine never would be.
Kwame Bediako hits it on the head when he says that Christian apologetics must be accompanied by Christ-like humility and vulnerability. No one needs to be hit over the head with the claims of Jesus Christ on their life. Is it even possible to deal with those claims without first apprehending the great and very personal love of Jesus?
God certainly seems to favor doing things the hard way. He is clearly aware that His children (though they should be the best and most generous lovers of all) prefer to bop people over the head to loving them... May God forgive us, and help us to me more like His Son: Matt. 12: 18- 21 "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope."
I was reading the blog of a pastor (I think in Oklahoma or South Dakota or someplace like that) last night. His entry from earlier in the week asked folks to pray for the Steven Curtis Chapman family and it contained a link to a story that told of the tragic death of Chapman's youngest daughter. I followed the link and found the story - as well as some responses by readers. There were many kind notes of condolence and assurances that the Chapman family was indeed in the prayers of many. There were also many angry notes criticising the "piety", hypocrisy, and false "pie in the sky in the sweet by and by" hope of Christians.
It's kind of odd and interesting that there are people who are so angry at Christians that they would use this very sad story about a family's loss to rail against Christians, but there you have it... What I find equally interesting is that the Christians felt the need to respond to the comments, scolding the posters for their insensitivity and illogic (one of them referred to the death of children in Iraq) as though God isn't perfectly capable of defending Himself. Isn't it weird that a simple human interest story would turn into a platform to debate this kind of thing?
The thing about debate is that it's pretty pointless. Whether the subject is politics or social issues or religion (especially religion), debating is just a forum for people to espouse their views. I wonder that a single mind or heart is ever changed through a debate. Mine never would be.
Kwame Bediako hits it on the head when he says that Christian apologetics must be accompanied by Christ-like humility and vulnerability. No one needs to be hit over the head with the claims of Jesus Christ on their life. Is it even possible to deal with those claims without first apprehending the great and very personal love of Jesus?
God certainly seems to favor doing things the hard way. He is clearly aware that His children (though they should be the best and most generous lovers of all) prefer to bop people over the head to loving them... May God forgive us, and help us to me more like His Son: Matt. 12: 18- 21 "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope."
Friday, May 23, 2008
A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever
My daughter is a flautist. That is, she plays the flute.
Tonight I attended the high school orchestra concert at her school. In the spring they do a pops concert which is very enjoyable. This evening they played some John Williams and Andrew Lloyd Webber pieces (music from Hook, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera). The music was gorgeous! Isn't it amazing that certain combinations of sound can touch us deeply - into the core of our being.
As the orchestra began playing the music from Hook, I found myself praising God. Though the music was written as a movie score and not necessarily to bring glory to God, it's beautiful. When anyone composes a beautiful piece of music or paints a masterpiece, or writes a great poem or novel he or she is glorifying God.
I say this because God is the Author of beauty. Beauty resonates in our hearts because when we create it or perform it or appreciate it, we reflect His image. Praise be to God for beauty of every kind!
Tonight I attended the high school orchestra concert at her school. In the spring they do a pops concert which is very enjoyable. This evening they played some John Williams and Andrew Lloyd Webber pieces (music from Hook, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera). The music was gorgeous! Isn't it amazing that certain combinations of sound can touch us deeply - into the core of our being.
As the orchestra began playing the music from Hook, I found myself praising God. Though the music was written as a movie score and not necessarily to bring glory to God, it's beautiful. When anyone composes a beautiful piece of music or paints a masterpiece, or writes a great poem or novel he or she is glorifying God.
I say this because God is the Author of beauty. Beauty resonates in our hearts because when we create it or perform it or appreciate it, we reflect His image. Praise be to God for beauty of every kind!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Conspiracy of Love
—“Conspiracy, lovely word of forgotten origins. Conspire, inspire-with, breathe with someone, together. Conspirators: they breathe the same air. Jesus and his disciples, eating the bread and drinking the wine, breathed the same air.” — Rubem Alves
Funny how the word conspiracy has taken on the negative connotation it has, isn't it? The thing about conspirators is that they're in it (whatever it is) together. Committed. The Lord has been speaking much to me lately of community - and my need of it. We do need to breath with someone together. To breath the same air.
Wendell Berry might call this kind of community the "room of love." It seems to me that the room of love can be shared by husband and wife, brothers & sisters, parents, friends, and certainly one's children. Berry says the room of love contains the longing of all things to be together and to be at rest together. Here, he says, giving and taking are the same. TO BE CONTINUED.
Funny how the word conspiracy has taken on the negative connotation it has, isn't it? The thing about conspirators is that they're in it (whatever it is) together. Committed. The Lord has been speaking much to me lately of community - and my need of it. We do need to breath with someone together. To breath the same air.
Wendell Berry might call this kind of community the "room of love." It seems to me that the room of love can be shared by husband and wife, brothers & sisters, parents, friends, and certainly one's children. Berry says the room of love contains the longing of all things to be together and to be at rest together. Here, he says, giving and taking are the same. TO BE CONTINUED.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Membership
Sermon for Sunday, April 27
Scripture: Psalm 133 & Romans 12:1-16
There are some sayings that you hear all your life and often don’t know who’s being quoted. “How do I love thee, let me count the ways…” That’s Elizabeth Barrett Browning – and not by the way, the best line of that particular poem. Here’s another one for you: “No man is an island.” Do you know who said it?------------- It was the poet John Donne – but not in one of his poems. “No man is an island.”
These words are profoundly true, but in our age, we frequently forget them. We live in an age of extreme, almost militant individualism. I have my rights. I ‘ve got to live my life in the way I think best. I want to live my dreams. We’ve all heard sentiments like that. Maybe some of us have said them or thought them.
The statement “No man is an island” stands in sharp contrast to notions like those. How about this statement: “It is not good for man to be alone.” In the opening chapters of Genesis, we find God intentionally creating community. No man is an island. It is not good for man to be alone.
I’ve been reading the novels of Wendell Berry lately, and they have spoken powerfully to me about community. Wendell Berry would refer to the notion of community as being a part of a “membership”. Berry writes about life in rural Kentucky in a farming community. In his stories there are moms and dads and children. They rely on one another. But the membership is bigger than that too. Families rely on the help and support of other families in the community. These folks pitch in to help on the farms of course. But it’s more than that too. They care about one another at the deepest levels. They are there for friendship. They’re there in illness and death. They celebrate together weddings and births. They support one another along all of life’s pilgrimage.
This morning’s scripture readings affirm the blessings of community. In one of the pilgrims psalms sung on the way to Jerusalem to keep festival we hear, “ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord had commanded the blessing, life forevermore!”
Now it’s not everyone’s experience that brothers dwell together in unity, is it? Lots of families are filled with sibling rivalry. I imagine lots of churches are too. Sometimes rubbing up against other people makes us uncomfortable and even angry. Community of any size: marriage, family, neighborhoods, friendships, and churches is hard (sometimes arduous) work. It requires energy and attention and forgiveness and humor. But the end result is blessing – life forevermore.
There is a priestly element in our community. In the Psalm, oil (a symbol of God’s presence – His Spirit) is pictured flowing down the beard of Aaron. This is a reference to Exodus 29 where Aaron was ordained as a priest to the people of Israel. Living together in community means seeing the oil flow over the head, down the face, through the beard, onto the shoulders of the other – and when I see that, I know that my brother, my sister is my priest. We are set apart for service to one another. We mediate to one another the mysteries of God (Peterson, p. 175).
In Romans 12 Paul uses the analogy of the body to drive home the point that we belong to one another. He urges each person to fulfill his or her own place in the membership. Whatever God has gifted you to do, you should do. Your motivation should be the benefit of the whole and you should do it in self-forgetting love. The one we serve, Paul says, is the Lord. It’s the Lord who has given us the gifts we have, and it’s the Lord who requires us to put those gifts at the disposal of our brothers and sisters – to build up the body, the membership.
No, no man is an island. Let me read to you a few more lines from John Donne’s meditation:
“The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that head which is my head too, and ingrafted into the body whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another…. No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
I’ve been pondering my memberships the last couple of weeks: I have my own little family at home where I’m the mom. I’m part of an extended family where I’m a daughter and a sister. I have friends – colleagues at work whom I count as friends, and friends outside of work. I have a church family. There are layers and layers of connection and community in my life.
How about you? What are your memberships? Who’s counting on you? Who do you count on? How are thing going in your memberships? Celebrate your communities. Is there someone who needs a phone call, a card, a visit – maybe a gift? Let these special people know how special they are to you. God has placed you in connection to certain others: to care for them – and to be cared for by them. It is in these relationships, these connections, that God has ordained blessings for you – life forevermore.
Scripture: Psalm 133 & Romans 12:1-16
There are some sayings that you hear all your life and often don’t know who’s being quoted. “How do I love thee, let me count the ways…” That’s Elizabeth Barrett Browning – and not by the way, the best line of that particular poem. Here’s another one for you: “No man is an island.” Do you know who said it?------------- It was the poet John Donne – but not in one of his poems. “No man is an island.”
These words are profoundly true, but in our age, we frequently forget them. We live in an age of extreme, almost militant individualism. I have my rights. I ‘ve got to live my life in the way I think best. I want to live my dreams. We’ve all heard sentiments like that. Maybe some of us have said them or thought them.
The statement “No man is an island” stands in sharp contrast to notions like those. How about this statement: “It is not good for man to be alone.” In the opening chapters of Genesis, we find God intentionally creating community. No man is an island. It is not good for man to be alone.
I’ve been reading the novels of Wendell Berry lately, and they have spoken powerfully to me about community. Wendell Berry would refer to the notion of community as being a part of a “membership”. Berry writes about life in rural Kentucky in a farming community. In his stories there are moms and dads and children. They rely on one another. But the membership is bigger than that too. Families rely on the help and support of other families in the community. These folks pitch in to help on the farms of course. But it’s more than that too. They care about one another at the deepest levels. They are there for friendship. They’re there in illness and death. They celebrate together weddings and births. They support one another along all of life’s pilgrimage.
This morning’s scripture readings affirm the blessings of community. In one of the pilgrims psalms sung on the way to Jerusalem to keep festival we hear, “ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord had commanded the blessing, life forevermore!”
Now it’s not everyone’s experience that brothers dwell together in unity, is it? Lots of families are filled with sibling rivalry. I imagine lots of churches are too. Sometimes rubbing up against other people makes us uncomfortable and even angry. Community of any size: marriage, family, neighborhoods, friendships, and churches is hard (sometimes arduous) work. It requires energy and attention and forgiveness and humor. But the end result is blessing – life forevermore.
There is a priestly element in our community. In the Psalm, oil (a symbol of God’s presence – His Spirit) is pictured flowing down the beard of Aaron. This is a reference to Exodus 29 where Aaron was ordained as a priest to the people of Israel. Living together in community means seeing the oil flow over the head, down the face, through the beard, onto the shoulders of the other – and when I see that, I know that my brother, my sister is my priest. We are set apart for service to one another. We mediate to one another the mysteries of God (Peterson, p. 175).
In Romans 12 Paul uses the analogy of the body to drive home the point that we belong to one another. He urges each person to fulfill his or her own place in the membership. Whatever God has gifted you to do, you should do. Your motivation should be the benefit of the whole and you should do it in self-forgetting love. The one we serve, Paul says, is the Lord. It’s the Lord who has given us the gifts we have, and it’s the Lord who requires us to put those gifts at the disposal of our brothers and sisters – to build up the body, the membership.
No, no man is an island. Let me read to you a few more lines from John Donne’s meditation:
“The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that head which is my head too, and ingrafted into the body whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another…. No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
I’ve been pondering my memberships the last couple of weeks: I have my own little family at home where I’m the mom. I’m part of an extended family where I’m a daughter and a sister. I have friends – colleagues at work whom I count as friends, and friends outside of work. I have a church family. There are layers and layers of connection and community in my life.
How about you? What are your memberships? Who’s counting on you? Who do you count on? How are thing going in your memberships? Celebrate your communities. Is there someone who needs a phone call, a card, a visit – maybe a gift? Let these special people know how special they are to you. God has placed you in connection to certain others: to care for them – and to be cared for by them. It is in these relationships, these connections, that God has ordained blessings for you – life forevermore.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Is It Microwavable?
I admit that I'm part of the microwave generation. I don't typically cook in the microwave (in fact mine is broken right now), but they are handy for heating things up quickly - and in a pinch, you can, if you choose, cook your dinner in one.
It's not just microwaves, though. My generation is accustomed to fast food, jiffy lubes, quick drying fingernail polish, etc. We want it and we want it as quickly as possible.
Now that I'm getting older, all kinds of things are happening that I'd like to have a quick fix for. My children (both in their teens) are more challenging than ever to raise. They're faced with situations and decisions that I'd like to be able to make quickly for them. Sometimes I can - and do. But other times I have to wait to see what'll happen. I hate that.
My mom is getting older. Her health isn't the best, and my siblings and I have had to deal with the fact that she isn't going to be around forever. We've had wait for her to make decisions that we'd rather make for her (I guess turn about's fair play...).
My ex-husband is dying of cancer. So far it's been an excruciating two year battle for him and his new wife. My kids have a lot ahead of them to deal with. Grief that I can only imagine as both of my parents are still alive. I'd like the fast food version of grief for them. I'd like them to process all of this quickly - for the pain to be over soon. But it doesn't work that way.
My brother in law has lost three of the four people who were most responsible for his up-bringing and stability in the last six or nine months. On top of that, he just found out that he probably has Parkinson's Disease. On top of that, he's still processing the break-up of his first family (my sister's his second wife). It's a lot to deal with. Can't a guy catch a break?! It's a bunch of stuff that you want to just get through, so that you can move on, feel joy again.
I'm pretty sure that all these experiences are common occurrences in the lives of folks in their mid forties. Your parents are aging, you're aging yourself, your kids are growing. Life gets more complicated. I wonder if the generations before the microwave generation dealt with this stuff more realistically? I wonder if they knew intuitively that there's no getting over or around or above it? Did they know they had to go through and that their issues were not "microwavable?"
I've spent the last couple of years wishing that there was an easier way. There's not. Sometimes you have to be willing to sit silently in the dust and ashes and wait. Sometimes you have to slog your way through to the end. That's the way life is. If you want to live well, if you want to live faithfully and meaningfully, you have to be willing to walk slowly through the times of your life - all of them. Thankfully you don't have to do it by yourself. God's in it with you. Your family and friends are all fellow pilgrims - all on a similar journey. We can share together the fellowship of travelers along pleasant paths and arduous ones. Thanks be to God!
It's not just microwaves, though. My generation is accustomed to fast food, jiffy lubes, quick drying fingernail polish, etc. We want it and we want it as quickly as possible.
Now that I'm getting older, all kinds of things are happening that I'd like to have a quick fix for. My children (both in their teens) are more challenging than ever to raise. They're faced with situations and decisions that I'd like to be able to make quickly for them. Sometimes I can - and do. But other times I have to wait to see what'll happen. I hate that.
My mom is getting older. Her health isn't the best, and my siblings and I have had to deal with the fact that she isn't going to be around forever. We've had wait for her to make decisions that we'd rather make for her (I guess turn about's fair play...).
My ex-husband is dying of cancer. So far it's been an excruciating two year battle for him and his new wife. My kids have a lot ahead of them to deal with. Grief that I can only imagine as both of my parents are still alive. I'd like the fast food version of grief for them. I'd like them to process all of this quickly - for the pain to be over soon. But it doesn't work that way.
My brother in law has lost three of the four people who were most responsible for his up-bringing and stability in the last six or nine months. On top of that, he just found out that he probably has Parkinson's Disease. On top of that, he's still processing the break-up of his first family (my sister's his second wife). It's a lot to deal with. Can't a guy catch a break?! It's a bunch of stuff that you want to just get through, so that you can move on, feel joy again.
I'm pretty sure that all these experiences are common occurrences in the lives of folks in their mid forties. Your parents are aging, you're aging yourself, your kids are growing. Life gets more complicated. I wonder if the generations before the microwave generation dealt with this stuff more realistically? I wonder if they knew intuitively that there's no getting over or around or above it? Did they know they had to go through and that their issues were not "microwavable?"
I've spent the last couple of years wishing that there was an easier way. There's not. Sometimes you have to be willing to sit silently in the dust and ashes and wait. Sometimes you have to slog your way through to the end. That's the way life is. If you want to live well, if you want to live faithfully and meaningfully, you have to be willing to walk slowly through the times of your life - all of them. Thankfully you don't have to do it by yourself. God's in it with you. Your family and friends are all fellow pilgrims - all on a similar journey. We can share together the fellowship of travelers along pleasant paths and arduous ones. Thanks be to God!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Your Vision Is So Clear You Don't See What Is Not
I was talking to my teenage daughter and her friend the other day about perception. We were discussing a young man of their acquaintance who never doubts his own perceptions. It never enters his mind that he may be mistaken. It's a common mistake for gobs of people - especially young ones - believing that one understands what is going on and the reasons behind circumstances.
Most of us who've been around the block a few times see the error of that belief when we look at young people. Because we've been there, we know that what they think is the end of the world really isn't, or what they think is supremely important will be forgotten tomorrow, or what is of no account is really critically important...
I told my daughter and her friend that at 45 I know that my perceptions are colored by my brokenness and my education and my life experiences. I told them that I know that I still perceive things wrongly. And it's true. On one level I am fully aware of the fact that I have many mis-perceptions... On another level, however, I continually live bound my own mis-perceptions.
How do I know when it's happening? When what I perceive doesn't jive with what I'm told is true in the Scriptures. When your default is performanced based, or feeling judged (rather than loved) by God or whatever... and you assent that your feeling is correct rather than what God tells you is true... then you know it's happening. I can live this way for a while without even being aware of it - only acutely aware that I'm not living abundantly.
The antidote to this poison is the reality check of what the Scriptures have to say to me. It's pretty easy for me to preach to my kids about what's true or preach to a congregation of Presbyterians about what's true. The bottom line is that sometimes I need to get back in touch with what is true myself. That's about it. I haven't had a lot to say in the last month because I've been in this place - the place of mis-perceptions. Thanks be to God for reality checks!
Most of us who've been around the block a few times see the error of that belief when we look at young people. Because we've been there, we know that what they think is the end of the world really isn't, or what they think is supremely important will be forgotten tomorrow, or what is of no account is really critically important...
I told my daughter and her friend that at 45 I know that my perceptions are colored by my brokenness and my education and my life experiences. I told them that I know that I still perceive things wrongly. And it's true. On one level I am fully aware of the fact that I have many mis-perceptions... On another level, however, I continually live bound my own mis-perceptions.
How do I know when it's happening? When what I perceive doesn't jive with what I'm told is true in the Scriptures. When your default is performanced based, or feeling judged (rather than loved) by God or whatever... and you assent that your feeling is correct rather than what God tells you is true... then you know it's happening. I can live this way for a while without even being aware of it - only acutely aware that I'm not living abundantly.
The antidote to this poison is the reality check of what the Scriptures have to say to me. It's pretty easy for me to preach to my kids about what's true or preach to a congregation of Presbyterians about what's true. The bottom line is that sometimes I need to get back in touch with what is true myself. That's about it. I haven't had a lot to say in the last month because I've been in this place - the place of mis-perceptions. Thanks be to God for reality checks!
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