Saturday, July 27, 2019
For Political Advocacy
In the first week I argued in the negative and Joseph argued for the affirmative. This week we reverse roles and I will be arguing for.
So, let us begin with some definitions. When we say political activism, what do we mean? There is a question of degrees with this, though that comes up more in the affirmative than the negative. This degree question would ask whether it is enough to simply live our lives in support of or in opposition to a position, or would we rather need to be in support of or opposed to a viewpoint, speaking or perhaps even demonstrating to make our opinion known. Would we be willing to risk arrest, legal trouble, or loss of employment? I am arguing for the affirmative position, in favor of political activism, so these risks must be considered.
Now then, let us get to the spectrum of definitions. Merriam Webster defines activism as a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action, especially in support of or in opposition to one side of a controversial issue. This is closer to a more extreme definition suggested above, as opposed to simple passive support of a view. I will go in that direction since for most of us when we think of activism in a political sense these speaking or demonstrating actions are what come to mind.
I will be coming at this from a Christian perspective. One can be either a positive or negative activist without Christianity with a specific set of causes and results, though in that scenario there would often be focus on self, community, or country. For a Christian, whichever side of this activism debate you are on, I would argue that the causes and results are different for a Christian, with a hopeful likely focus on the Great Commandment and Commission. Additionally, considering this is for a class with a focus on philosophy and ethics from a Christian perspective, it would be absurd to make an argument without a faith component.
I am arguing in favor of political activism, coming at this from a place where we want to be agents for change. God is the one who does the real work of salvation. I however do not think that gives us the right to coast along in the comfort of salvation. Jesus died a very public death for us, paying a high price in the process. Shall we thank Him with silence?
If we consider this today it looks different than from previous generations. It used to be that political activism would take the form of street demonstrations or perhaps letter writing. These things still happen today, but in addition we also see the Internet as a tool by which tools of various forms are used, with the net result being that activism happens on this platform via these tools. This is not the only way which activism happens, but it is a common way currently. Television is still an influence though it is on the decline, as people more selectively choose what they want to watch instead of defaulting to an all you can eat cable buffet. So, if we are willing to find the places where people gather and communicate, we can be effective.
So, let us begin with some hopefully easy to see reasons to be in favor of political activism. Things that come to mind quickly would have an evangelistic or discipleship focus. Most Christians, even brand-new milk drinking Christians will have heard of the Great Commission or the idea of going to make disciples. Now, there is some debate over whether this was meant solely for the initial disciples of Jesus or His followers throughout eternity. The safe answer here is to go with the all believers choice, selecting the other should lead us to ask ourselves if we are being fearful. Even if you are a strict cessationist regarding the Spiritual gifts, it seems a copout to go with the Great Commission is not for me perspective. Questions will also come up regarding whether one can disciple a non-believer. Justification is a work of God if we believe Eph 2:8-9 but that does not mean we should not talk to people about God. We should not get to a place where we choose to not proclaim the kingdom to someone because we think they couldn’t possibly come to faith or are too lost.
Now, to bring this back to political activism, as we are talking to non-Christians about the faith, it will hopefully be very obvious to us that we will encounter opposition from non-believers, worldly people, or self-centered folks who would argue I am good, I don’t need a savior or something like that. We need to have answers for these objections, which usually involve comparing ourselves to a holy God and not to a sinful neighbor. So then, as we are having these discussions with others, we will hopefully be anticipating some common objections like these, regarding lifestyle differences between the Fruit of the Spirit filled life and the alternative.
Topics like abortion, divorce, families, and the death penalty are all very divisive. Thinking of R.C. Sproul’s book Everyone’s a Theologian, I would also argue that everyone is a philosopher. In either realm, we all have opinions. They may or may not be well formed or sound, but we all have them. So, considering this, let us consider why folks might oppose our view and see if we can find answers which do not sound like we are beating them over the head.
Jesus sent His followers out; we see this multiple times in Scripture. He prayed for them, that they would be united as the Father and the Son. So, if He sent them and prayed for them, can we see this includes us? The Calvinist reader may be thinking I do not need to evangelize, God is going to choose whom He is going to choose and that is that. I would volley back with a reply by the previously mentioned R.C. Sproul, a man with much philosophy and theology training. His reply as to why to make disciples was that Jesus commands it. He clearly is not taking the view there that there is no place for this today.
If we look at Scripture, in 2 Cor 5 we see Paul speak of ambassadorship, specifically we who are His being His representatives to the alien nation of unbelievers. If we think of this in an international way, the USA or other nations have representatives which they use to communicate with leaders of other nations; these people are typically called ambassadors. These people play a substantial role in international matters.
So, I’ve finally mentioned politics. What do you think of the idea that Jesus was at the center of a political movement? The Sanhedrin were His opponents; this opposition was not entirely religious. Part of what we see there is the leadership of Israel trying to protect the nation from someone they perceived as a threat to both the nation and their well-being. Jesus as a threat to the nation can be seen a few times in Scripture. Additionally, the Sanhedrin had a nice racket going, receiving food and money via offerings from the people. Jesus turned over tables in the temple because of it I believe. As more folks followed Jesus, what the religious leaders received had to be decreasing. They were losing power.
John 11:47-53 proclaims the below.
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. (“NASB Bible”)
So, can we see this was about much more than belief in God? It is not hard to see this as a nation battling against the Son of God. This again gives me shivers every time I read about the Jews shouting crucify Him or let His blood be on our hands. There are things worth arguing for, and for those things we ought to be willing to speak up.
Against Political Advocacy
For this first week I am arguing in the negative and Joseph is arguing for the affirmative.
So, let us begin with some definitions. When we say political activism, what do we mean? There is a question of degrees with this, though that comes up more in the affirmative than the negative. This degree question would ask whether it is enough to simply live our lives in support of a position, or would we have to be vocally supporting or demonstrating for a viewpoint, perhaps risking arrest, legal trouble, or loss of employment. I however am arguing for the negative, in opposition to political activism. There is still a question of degree it just does not seem as prominent on the negative side. Having said that, let us get to the spectrum of definitions. Merriam Webster defines activism as a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action, especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue. This is closer to the more extreme definition I defined so I will go with that.
I will be coming at this from a Christian perspective. One can be a positive or negative activist without Christianity with a specific set of causes and results, often focused on self, community, or country. For a Christian, whichever side of this you are on, I would argue that the causes and results are different for a Christian, with a likely focus on the Great Commandment. Additionally, considering this is for a class with a focus on philosophy and ethics from a Christian perspective, it would be absurd to make an argue without a faith component.
I am arguing against political activism, arguing that it is not a positive influence on the faith or life of a Christian. In summary, if we are focused on politics, we are not focused on God. The Great Commandment is hard to live out with too much focus on political activism.
If we consider this in today’s society it looks different from previous generations. It used to be that political activism would take the form of street demonstrations or perhaps letter writing. These things still happen today, but in addition we also see the Internet as a tool by which tools of various forms are used, with the net result being that activism happens on this platform via these tools. This is not the only way which activism happens, but it is a common way currently.
Let us begin with an idea which should be very easy to see; political activism is a distraction. If we are focused on activism this takes our hearts and minds away from God. Instead of living out the Great Commandment, we will be thinking about the other person; specifically, can we change the opinion of the other(s) and if so how. We can get really focused on dialogue with others with opinion swaying goals in mind, political evangelism if you will, as opposed to Biblical evangelism or discipleship. We can be spending hours staring at our phones or computers, interfacing via social media or email, again with goals of changing opinions in mind. Especially in these electronic device based realms, we can get very focused on what we want to see and hear, approaching this like a think tank in a way, so that we spend time responding to others whom we either agree with or wish to argue or debate with. Again, the end goal here is one of opinion change, as opposed to discipleship.
The above homogenous perspective leads us to the next reason to oppose political activism; it can cause us to only interface with people who think like us. I was a fairly heavy Twitter user in the past. My current job limits my usage of it, but here is one of the best ways to argue from this perspective. With Twitter as well as other social media platforms we can very easily see this in action. Folks who are politically active on these platforms often have friends lists full of people who think in a very similar way. President Trump is a very polarizing figure, though certainly not the only one. People will do all sorts of things to find more followers who either support or oppose him, depending on the agent’s perspective. So, there are at least two issues with this. One is that we cannot be stretched from a philosophical perspective if we only interact with others who think like us. The other is that the above audience limitation is going to result in us being less able to evangelize, meet, or dialogue with others who do not think like us, since we will simply not have as much opportunity to dialogue with those who think differently.
Political activism may cause a potential future believer to not listen. Many folks I know who are passionately in favor of an issue typically know their side well. This can show up in at least two different ways. In one scenario, folks simply decide to not listen because they believe the person speaking or communicating is so different or wrong in their belief that the listener decides the speaker or argument is not worth listening to. Another way this shows up is that the speaker wears out the listener. We can be such strong advocates for a topic that we wear people out, to the point where the person hearing is unwilling to actually engage in active listening, in a sense living down to the stereotype of the young child with their fingers in their ears unwilling to listen. A former pastor of mine referred to this as not taking care of the soil.
Focusing on the above-mentioned difference between hearing and listening, political activism can cause both us and others, to hear but not listen. Let us examine the difference. In the hearing case, we can tell what words are being said by the speaker or writer. We may know what is being spoken but are not really processing or taking in the information. Conversely, in the listening case, the hearer is more involved, not only receiving the words, but taking them in, mentally processing what they are hearing. Likely next steps for this include thinking about the probable truth or falsehood of what is being spoken, why the speaker believes what they are proclaiming, and/or why he or she is proclaiming it. When Scripture tells us he who has ears let him hear I believe it is referring to this latter type of input.
So then, how do we put this all together? One answer to this is self, taking the form of pride or idolatry. In all of the above scenarios, people are making choices focused on self, comfort, people, or argumentation, as opposed to thinking in a Great Commandment or Great Commission way. It is easier to hear what we want to hear, think what we want to think, and do what we want to do, than it is to listen, think, and do as He commands us. The question is, will we. I have heard it said that sin is remaining in our lives in places we are not willing to cede control to God; this idea seems very true here.
So, let us begin with some definitions. When we say political activism, what do we mean? There is a question of degrees with this, though that comes up more in the affirmative than the negative. This degree question would ask whether it is enough to simply live our lives in support of a position, or would we have to be vocally supporting or demonstrating for a viewpoint, perhaps risking arrest, legal trouble, or loss of employment. I however am arguing for the negative, in opposition to political activism. There is still a question of degree it just does not seem as prominent on the negative side. Having said that, let us get to the spectrum of definitions. Merriam Webster defines activism as a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action, especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue. This is closer to the more extreme definition I defined so I will go with that.
I will be coming at this from a Christian perspective. One can be a positive or negative activist without Christianity with a specific set of causes and results, often focused on self, community, or country. For a Christian, whichever side of this you are on, I would argue that the causes and results are different for a Christian, with a likely focus on the Great Commandment. Additionally, considering this is for a class with a focus on philosophy and ethics from a Christian perspective, it would be absurd to make an argue without a faith component.
I am arguing against political activism, arguing that it is not a positive influence on the faith or life of a Christian. In summary, if we are focused on politics, we are not focused on God. The Great Commandment is hard to live out with too much focus on political activism.
If we consider this in today’s society it looks different from previous generations. It used to be that political activism would take the form of street demonstrations or perhaps letter writing. These things still happen today, but in addition we also see the Internet as a tool by which tools of various forms are used, with the net result being that activism happens on this platform via these tools. This is not the only way which activism happens, but it is a common way currently.
Let us begin with an idea which should be very easy to see; political activism is a distraction. If we are focused on activism this takes our hearts and minds away from God. Instead of living out the Great Commandment, we will be thinking about the other person; specifically, can we change the opinion of the other(s) and if so how. We can get really focused on dialogue with others with opinion swaying goals in mind, political evangelism if you will, as opposed to Biblical evangelism or discipleship. We can be spending hours staring at our phones or computers, interfacing via social media or email, again with goals of changing opinions in mind. Especially in these electronic device based realms, we can get very focused on what we want to see and hear, approaching this like a think tank in a way, so that we spend time responding to others whom we either agree with or wish to argue or debate with. Again, the end goal here is one of opinion change, as opposed to discipleship.
The above homogenous perspective leads us to the next reason to oppose political activism; it can cause us to only interface with people who think like us. I was a fairly heavy Twitter user in the past. My current job limits my usage of it, but here is one of the best ways to argue from this perspective. With Twitter as well as other social media platforms we can very easily see this in action. Folks who are politically active on these platforms often have friends lists full of people who think in a very similar way. President Trump is a very polarizing figure, though certainly not the only one. People will do all sorts of things to find more followers who either support or oppose him, depending on the agent’s perspective. So, there are at least two issues with this. One is that we cannot be stretched from a philosophical perspective if we only interact with others who think like us. The other is that the above audience limitation is going to result in us being less able to evangelize, meet, or dialogue with others who do not think like us, since we will simply not have as much opportunity to dialogue with those who think differently.
Political activism may cause a potential future believer to not listen. Many folks I know who are passionately in favor of an issue typically know their side well. This can show up in at least two different ways. In one scenario, folks simply decide to not listen because they believe the person speaking or communicating is so different or wrong in their belief that the listener decides the speaker or argument is not worth listening to. Another way this shows up is that the speaker wears out the listener. We can be such strong advocates for a topic that we wear people out, to the point where the person hearing is unwilling to actually engage in active listening, in a sense living down to the stereotype of the young child with their fingers in their ears unwilling to listen. A former pastor of mine referred to this as not taking care of the soil.
Focusing on the above-mentioned difference between hearing and listening, political activism can cause both us and others, to hear but not listen. Let us examine the difference. In the hearing case, we can tell what words are being said by the speaker or writer. We may know what is being spoken but are not really processing or taking in the information. Conversely, in the listening case, the hearer is more involved, not only receiving the words, but taking them in, mentally processing what they are hearing. Likely next steps for this include thinking about the probable truth or falsehood of what is being spoken, why the speaker believes what they are proclaiming, and/or why he or she is proclaiming it. When Scripture tells us he who has ears let him hear I believe it is referring to this latter type of input.
So then, how do we put this all together? One answer to this is self, taking the form of pride or idolatry. In all of the above scenarios, people are making choices focused on self, comfort, people, or argumentation, as opposed to thinking in a Great Commandment or Great Commission way. It is easier to hear what we want to hear, think what we want to think, and do what we want to do, than it is to listen, think, and do as He commands us. The question is, will we. I have heard it said that sin is remaining in our lives in places we are not willing to cede control to God; this idea seems very true here.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
First Sermon
I am going to deliver my first sermon in a few weeks, on June 7, 2015. I will be covering Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
I am looking forward to this, speaking about the importance of this to both Jews and Christians. I really want to speak about the connection of Christianity to OT Judaism, since we so often neglect the Old Testament, even though Jesus is the fulfillment of that.The importance of the Trinity in here, how do we love God and what does that mean, as well as loving others and the connection to loving others and the Ten Commandments. The challenge will of course presenting this in a non legalistic way, I intend to address that directly by presenting all of this in a loving thankfulness kind of way and presenting he who loves Me will obey My commandments as a centerpiece.
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You
shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when
you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down
and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
I am looking forward to this, speaking about the importance of this to both Jews and Christians. I really want to speak about the connection of Christianity to OT Judaism, since we so often neglect the Old Testament, even though Jesus is the fulfillment of that.The importance of the Trinity in here, how do we love God and what does that mean, as well as loving others and the connection to loving others and the Ten Commandments. The challenge will of course presenting this in a non legalistic way, I intend to address that directly by presenting all of this in a loving thankfulness kind of way and presenting he who loves Me will obey My commandments as a centerpiece.
New Ministry Things
After working as a helper for several years at the church I attend I eventually got to a place where I am able to become a licensed minister. I will be receiving this license in a couple weeks and I ask for your prayers, for me to fulfill his will in this. I am not sure if I am called to be a Senior Pastor or to be a staff pastor doing other things. I am still trying to figure this out.
I enjoy talking theology with people as well as church history and a bit of textual criticism.
I enjoy talking theology with people as well as church history and a bit of textual criticism.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
A Protestant at a Catholic Abbey
For my spiritual retreat I went to a Catholic abbey in
Oceanside, California called the Prince of Peace Abbey on Saturday August 30th.
I went there not really sure what to expect, but was immensely blessed by the
experience.
I got there about 10AM and, after being impressed quite
quickly with the quiet there, had an initial discussion with a receptionist who
gave me the lay of the land so to speak. It was a smaller abbey so there wasn’t
too much to see but that was good.
I started by going to a library they have there. Though
there was enough light there to read, it was dimly lit and quiet also. In my first visit there I just spent about a
half hour looking around and thinking about what I was seeing. Many of the books in the library were donated
and some of them were for sale. I bought a couple things there including a book
on the Didache, one of the earliest catechetical works of the Christian church.
I then went to a Catholic Mass, steering clear of things I
do not agree with. There were several interesting things that came out of that.
Common practices in Catholic churches include kneeling and bowing. This was the
first of several why moments of reflection I had there. If someone bows out of
habit that has the potential of being legalistically problematic, while genuine
reverence is of course a good thing. The Gospel reading there was the Talents
Parable in Matthew 25:14-30. The priest spoke of the depth of this parable and
how each time we read it we get a little more. Do we realize we are given things
by Him to be used for His glory? Looking at the way the three people handled
the talents, a question to ask is will we take risks for Him? Did the one
talent guy commit a sin of omission? He mentioned the song "It is better to have
lost at love than never to have loved at all." Let us think about that from a
Christian context. Do we love Him, really? He spoke of Jesus giving us the
church; I need to think about that one carefully. I believe we as members of
the body of believers in Jesus past, present, and future are the church, so a
question to ask is is the church for us or for God the Father? He spoke of come
share in your Master’s joy, implying Lordship. In a non-spiritual way, I was
amazed that with about sixty people there they actually distributed Communion wine
in a shared cup. I of course went up with my arms crossed.
I then walked the Stations of the Cross there; it was a
large circle outside that was about a half mile around. I have done this a few
times as a Protestant. The key reason I do this is because I am reminded of the
sacrifice given by Christ, for me, for us. My sin put Him there, and Christ, the
God-man, suffered immensely in a physical sense. The price was enormous. Do we
comprehend that? I was reminded of the carry your cross Bible reference and
could not help but ask myself rhetorically if I would be willing and able to do
that?
After walking that loop and praying some more after I was
done, I went to burial grounds there for monks who were buried there. While I am not Catholic, I gave thanks to God
for men of extraordinary faith. When I encounter past Catholics or other
Christians via history, I am always thankful for them.
By this time I had been there about three hours. I then went
back to the library for some more reading, prayer, and spiritual reflection. I
read a couple chapters of Eugene Peterson’s book Eat This Book. This book
starts out with a reference to the Hebrew word Hagah, which is what meditate in
Psalm 1 is the translation for. However, that word has other usage instances
that imply a much higher level of immersion and connectedness with that is
being “eaten.” Revelation, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah all have references to eating
a book, to better connect with it, so it can become part of us. He used an
example with a dog gnawing a bone slowly over some time as a way to demonstrate
it. If scripture is holy, it must be read that way as well. What can get in the
way of this sometimes is viewing ourselves as sovereign. We are not the
authority, God is.
When we speak or hear of being spiritual, the world’s view
of that can give it a negative connotation. I usually think of non-Christian
mystic types when the word spiritual is mentioned. The Bible should be the text
by which we live our lives. The world has an interest in souls but not in
scripture; shouldn’t there be both? Do we have both? The word Bible comes from
biblion, implying plot, meaning, and purpose. Do we really want to read the
Bible as only a historical work? Sadly many nonbelievers do that; do we as believers? Is it a
stretch to say that the entire book has a purpose of changing us, to make us
more like Him?
I then went to pray for about a half hour, focusing on how I
was being changed by this, and asking God for more of it.
They of course had a store there that I took a quick browse
through before leaving, looking at some Ignatius Press books and many different
Bibles.
In summary I spent about five hours there and would say that
quiet, solitude, peace, and retreat cannot be fully appreciated until they are
experienced. I intend to do this on a somewhat regular basis; I was tremendously
encouraged by the experience.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
2014 Missions Trip to South Africa
I just got back from a missions trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. I wanted to write about it some before too much time went by.
We left on Tuesday Jan. 14th from Los Angeles, and the first stop was in London. I had never been there before, so getting a quick view of the city via the tube was something I enjoyed. We mostly rode the Piccadilly line, winding up walking around near Westminster Abbey and Big Ben before getting back on the tube to go back to Heathrow and subsequently South Africa. It took till mid Thursday for us to get to South Africa. I need to actually go back so I can go in to the roughly 1000 year old Abbey.
When we arrived there we got picked up our missionary contact, Cheri Kommel, and some of her associates. My first peek into South African culture came on the drive out of the airport, when we discussed the post Mandela transition, and how many folks didn't have bread to eat. We made our way to the Nazarene Theological College Johannesburg campus, while also doing work at the neighboring Good News Convention Centre. The trip was a Nazarene Work and Witness trip. For the work piece of it, we went there primarily to work on technological things, such as improving the wireless LAN setup there so wifi could be used more around the campus. We used some Ubiquiti networks devices that covered the desired area nicely. We however had numerous technical challenges along the way, resulting in us not completing all of the desired work. This was my first missions trip, and from what I have heard that is a somewhat common occurrence. With another day we could have finished it up, but we got close enough that I would call the work portion of it a modest success. These challenges were shaping experiences it turned out I think we would all agree.
Of course, the real joy of this trip comes in the Christian aspect of this. Because of the above challenges, tensions were at some times high. I believe we grew as a result of them. No matter how hard you try, when you go halfway around the world to do some work like this, there will be some pieces of information that will not be communicated to you. For example, two members of the team went to Thulamahashe. We were told there wasn't wifi at the church we were going to. When the team completed the 6 hour drive to get there, replacing a flat tire on the way, they observed they had wifi, but that it didn't cover all the area that they wanted covered, and that there weren't power or LAN connections at all of the desired locations. Consequently, the work was left incomplete; we will be providing them instructions so they can finish it.
While that was going on, work was getting going at the main campus as well. We ran into hurdles because of lack of knowledge regarding their network and inability to get the hardware we needed. At times, the tension from this inability to complete things was really heavy over all of us. However, mixed in with all of this were several excellent moments of Christian ministry discussion. We spent a lot of time with Cheri, mentioned above, as well as a man named Lloyd Solomons, a pastor who is heavily involved in Nazarene Youth International in South Africa. Two members of the team rode as Lloyd made the above 6 hour each way drive, and to hear the team member's descriptions, they exchanged testimony stories along the way. The members of the team were really moved by this.
I also had excellent conversations with Lloyd, including some regarding South African youth and how when children are growing up they are thinking about what they want to be and gangster is not being considered at that point, yet due to life circumstances or sometimes poor choices, that is where some people end up. We also had excellent chats regarding other ministry topics like what should we be doing when pastors fail or members backslide.
I also spent parts of couple days at the Africa Regional Nazarene office. They needed some tech assistance and we provided that to them. The excellent conversations I had with them while working there will stick with me for awhile; they are really devoted to the service piece of Christianity. This, while not the entire Gospel, is an essential piece, and is one way to help tell if we really are new creations in Him. Jesus showed Himself to be the ultimate servant.
In the section of South Africa that we were in, it was different from the USA, but not so different that we couldn't cope. Food tasted slightly different and so did bottled drinks. The food was mostly recognizable, so that made it easier to deal with, though we did bring some food with us just incase. We ate a lot of sandwiches while we were there trying to keep it simple, eating a couple meals outside the facility as well. We did spend a couple days out on safari at Pilanesburg, having an encounter with a bull elephant that made our van's driver use reverse to keep us a safe distance away.
What I really came away with primarily was a vast difference in the everyday existence of South Africans vs. USA residents, as well as consciously examining all that I am doing now that I am back home. When I first got home, this was especially evident. I recall sitting down to watch a little TV and do some tech things the day after I got home and thought, this seems a little out of place in comparison to the last couple weeks. I was in a sense convicted when comparing these activities to those I saw while there. The Regional office time was also tremendously impactful to me; encountering technical folks who were also using their skills for His kingdom was most motivating.
We left on Tuesday Jan. 14th from Los Angeles, and the first stop was in London. I had never been there before, so getting a quick view of the city via the tube was something I enjoyed. We mostly rode the Piccadilly line, winding up walking around near Westminster Abbey and Big Ben before getting back on the tube to go back to Heathrow and subsequently South Africa. It took till mid Thursday for us to get to South Africa. I need to actually go back so I can go in to the roughly 1000 year old Abbey.
When we arrived there we got picked up our missionary contact, Cheri Kommel, and some of her associates. My first peek into South African culture came on the drive out of the airport, when we discussed the post Mandela transition, and how many folks didn't have bread to eat. We made our way to the Nazarene Theological College Johannesburg campus, while also doing work at the neighboring Good News Convention Centre. The trip was a Nazarene Work and Witness trip. For the work piece of it, we went there primarily to work on technological things, such as improving the wireless LAN setup there so wifi could be used more around the campus. We used some Ubiquiti networks devices that covered the desired area nicely. We however had numerous technical challenges along the way, resulting in us not completing all of the desired work. This was my first missions trip, and from what I have heard that is a somewhat common occurrence. With another day we could have finished it up, but we got close enough that I would call the work portion of it a modest success. These challenges were shaping experiences it turned out I think we would all agree.
Of course, the real joy of this trip comes in the Christian aspect of this. Because of the above challenges, tensions were at some times high. I believe we grew as a result of them. No matter how hard you try, when you go halfway around the world to do some work like this, there will be some pieces of information that will not be communicated to you. For example, two members of the team went to Thulamahashe. We were told there wasn't wifi at the church we were going to. When the team completed the 6 hour drive to get there, replacing a flat tire on the way, they observed they had wifi, but that it didn't cover all the area that they wanted covered, and that there weren't power or LAN connections at all of the desired locations. Consequently, the work was left incomplete; we will be providing them instructions so they can finish it.
While that was going on, work was getting going at the main campus as well. We ran into hurdles because of lack of knowledge regarding their network and inability to get the hardware we needed. At times, the tension from this inability to complete things was really heavy over all of us. However, mixed in with all of this were several excellent moments of Christian ministry discussion. We spent a lot of time with Cheri, mentioned above, as well as a man named Lloyd Solomons, a pastor who is heavily involved in Nazarene Youth International in South Africa. Two members of the team rode as Lloyd made the above 6 hour each way drive, and to hear the team member's descriptions, they exchanged testimony stories along the way. The members of the team were really moved by this.
I also had excellent conversations with Lloyd, including some regarding South African youth and how when children are growing up they are thinking about what they want to be and gangster is not being considered at that point, yet due to life circumstances or sometimes poor choices, that is where some people end up. We also had excellent chats regarding other ministry topics like what should we be doing when pastors fail or members backslide.
I also spent parts of couple days at the Africa Regional Nazarene office. They needed some tech assistance and we provided that to them. The excellent conversations I had with them while working there will stick with me for awhile; they are really devoted to the service piece of Christianity. This, while not the entire Gospel, is an essential piece, and is one way to help tell if we really are new creations in Him. Jesus showed Himself to be the ultimate servant.
In the section of South Africa that we were in, it was different from the USA, but not so different that we couldn't cope. Food tasted slightly different and so did bottled drinks. The food was mostly recognizable, so that made it easier to deal with, though we did bring some food with us just incase. We ate a lot of sandwiches while we were there trying to keep it simple, eating a couple meals outside the facility as well. We did spend a couple days out on safari at Pilanesburg, having an encounter with a bull elephant that made our van's driver use reverse to keep us a safe distance away.
What I really came away with primarily was a vast difference in the everyday existence of South Africans vs. USA residents, as well as consciously examining all that I am doing now that I am back home. When I first got home, this was especially evident. I recall sitting down to watch a little TV and do some tech things the day after I got home and thought, this seems a little out of place in comparison to the last couple weeks. I was in a sense convicted when comparing these activities to those I saw while there. The Regional office time was also tremendously impactful to me; encountering technical folks who were also using their skills for His kingdom was most motivating.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Wesleyan Thoughts on the Westminster Confession of Faith
Although I primarily attend a Nazarene church, which has essentially Wesleyan theology, I often think about and/or look at other branches of Christianity, for the purpose of seeing what I can learn from them. Just because I am not a Calvinist does not mean I reject everything opined by a Calvinist. So, with that thought, here goes. I am going to examine the Westminster Confession of Faith to see what I strongly agree or disagree with.
So then, let us examine chapter 1. The first paragraph addresses the difference between general and special revelation. The heavens declare the glory of God, but that is not enough to teach us about Christ's salvific work. God has revealed Himself to us in a multitude of ways to select folks in the Old and New Testaments.
So then, let us examine chapter 1. The first paragraph addresses the difference between general and special revelation. The heavens declare the glory of God, but that is not enough to teach us about Christ's salvific work. God has revealed Himself to us in a multitude of ways to select folks in the Old and New Testaments.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
My Gallup Strengths Finder Results
In early 2011 I purchased a Tom Rath book and took its included Gallup Strengths Finder test as seen here. I haven't really thought about the results for awhile, but they recently came to mind as a result of me re-evaluating my SHAPE, both spiritually and otherwise. For those that don't know, by SHAPE I mean the following, as heard from Rick Warren.
Spiritual Gifts
Heart
Abilities
Personality
Experience
Here are my top 5 strengths. I am re-thinking what these mean for me.
Now the question is, what do I do with these. I am re-evaluating them now.
Spiritual Gifts
Heart
Abilities
Personality
Experience
Here are my top 5 strengths. I am re-thinking what these mean for me.
Learner
People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a
great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In
particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome,
excites them.
Connectedness
People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme
have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are
few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.
Input
People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a
craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all
kinds of information.
Analytical
People who are especially talented in the Analytical theme search
for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all
the factors that might affect a situation.
Intellection
People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are
characterized by their intellectual activity. They are
introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.Now the question is, what do I do with these. I am re-evaluating them now.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2013 Ideas
In the past I have not proceeded with tremendous deliberateness or planning with regard to my Christian walk. I have often decided to read and study certain things based on what seemed interesting in the short term, and taken teaching opportunities that came up as a result. As a result of interaction with some Christian leaders I know, including Alan Stoddard, I have decided to put a little more planning into this.
I am not licensed or ordained in a Christian church, but I believe this is a long term goal I will pursue. Consequently, although this is not something I will achieve in 2013, other short term goals I work on from a faith perspective should I believe help with discernment and hopefully achievement of this long term goal.
In the short term, things I want to focus on include the following things.
- I am married, so I am by default my wife's pastor. I need to ensure her spiritual growth. We will be working on studying the Bible together. We are very different people in terms of study methodologies, so this will be a challenge for both of us. I normally use Logos with a stack of Bibles, commentaries, and somewhat academic books. We will likely be doing the chapter study method from Rick Warren's Bible study methods book.
- I am fairly often given what I would call substitute teaching opportunities at the church I attend. I also lead and sometimes participate in #bodylife chats on Twitter. Consequently, I need to be sure I continue to learn to be able to do that. I am fairly motivated to dig into interesting things on my own without much external prodding, so this should be pretty easy. I have been called a digger; I love a tough question. Even though there are some things about God I believe we cannot know, looking at these tough questions draws us closer to Him.
- Prayer is very important to me; and corporate prayer I believe is something that is sorely missing from Christian corporate worship today. I intend to do all I can to encourage that in many ways, including talking about it more on #bodylife chats, and working to lead more of it at the church I attend. I would love for believers I interact with to want to go to prayer first as opposed to waiting till we are flat on our backs, out of breath and or options.
- I want to do all I can to encourage people to generally talk about faith. If we disagree so be it, but let us at least have the conversation, so that we can know why we disagree, and so that we can each ponder our correctness. Let us be able to be ready to make our defense to anyone who demands from us an accounting for the hope that lives in us.
- I do a decent quantity of reading, studying and interacting with people regarding Christian faith. I have not recorded much of that, aside from some personal notes. I will want to record more of what is hopefully beneficial for others in this blog.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Faith Bio
When I was a child I was into music in a big way. Friends that I had back then whom I now tell that I play bass guitar are not at all surprised. From those years, the other interesting part of the story is that I was Roman Catholic, from birth until I was about 16, and was also an altar boy during much of that time. That part of my life was very influential I believe in terms of shaping my view of God. A key question I recall having back then was how God could have both no beginning and no end. I remember thinking at the time that the idea of anything without beginning or end was illogical.
While Purpose Driven Life was a very popular book, Barnes and Noble had it on display. I came across one of these displays and read some of it in the store, not realizing until I picked it up that it was a Christian book. Reading the first couple chapters in the store really struck me strongly. I suspect that this book had that impact on several people. After reading some of it I was ready to go to a different church for a weekday study of the book while continuing to attend the usual church on Sunday; several churches were doing that back then. After talking with my pastor at the time about this, I was given the opportunity to lead a group read and study of that book and really enjoyed it. This was my first Christian teaching opportunity.
After a few years of not taking faith too seriously I had a few experiences that helped bring me back to being a disciple.
My mother in law has been a Nazarene for several years. I had been to church with her a couple times in her hometown with my wife; during one of those trips she had us meet with an evangelist. When she came to visit my wife and I in California in about 2004 she asked me to find a Nazarene church for us to go to. I found one by looking online for the closest one to where we lived. After my wife, mother in law and myself went there for two Sundays, my wife and I continued to go there afterwards. When I was a child, a teenager, I had not really studied the differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs; studying these and the worship style differences are the biggest issues I dealt with early on.
My mother in law has been a Nazarene for several years. I had been to church with her a couple times in her hometown with my wife; during one of those trips she had us meet with an evangelist. When she came to visit my wife and I in California in about 2004 she asked me to find a Nazarene church for us to go to. I found one by looking online for the closest one to where we lived. After my wife, mother in law and myself went there for two Sundays, my wife and I continued to go there afterwards. When I was a child, a teenager, I had not really studied the differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs; studying these and the worship style differences are the biggest issues I dealt with early on.
I had a coworker from 2000-2003 that did the same job as I did in a neighboring city. At one point I went to his office to meet him for a purpose I don't recall. What I do remember is getting into his car and some Christian music or talk started playing on the radio. He quickly went to turn it down, but I had already recognized it as Christian and told him to leave it on and it wasn't a big deal. We started talking Christianity and eventually worked our way to my illogical query above. We had a chat that went something like this. He asked me, you believe God made everything, right? I responded yes; I don't accept the something from nothing atheist position. He then responded with something like this; well if you believe that do you think God exists outside of space and time as we understand it? This friend is a pretty smart guy and we had already had some physics chats, and I had also studied some physics in college an an engineering student, so this wasn't a totally implausible idea to me. After additional study on the attributes of God, I really discovered this is one of the things that makes Him God. Some have argued that for God to really be omnipresent He would need to exist in many more than the usual 3 dimensions of space and one of time (x, y, z, t) that we normally think of.
While Purpose Driven Life was a very popular book, Barnes and Noble had it on display. I came across one of these displays and read some of it in the store, not realizing until I picked it up that it was a Christian book. Reading the first couple chapters in the store really struck me strongly. I suspect that this book had that impact on several people. After reading some of it I was ready to go to a different church for a weekday study of the book while continuing to attend the usual church on Sunday; several churches were doing that back then. After talking with my pastor at the time about this, I was given the opportunity to lead a group read and study of that book and really enjoyed it. This was my first Christian teaching opportunity.
I enjoy interacting with people of various faith backgrounds; I am willing to have at least an initial conversation regarding faith with pretty much anyone. This has led me to encounter people of widely varying faith backgrounds. I also over the course of my life have gotten to know many Orthodox and Messianic Jews, so this also has added to my ability to speak to folks of many backgrounds.
At this point, most of the ministry work I do takes on the form of either music ministry at the church I attend, or acting as a small group leader, either in person or online. My Twitter participation is largely focused on Christian faith talk. At the church I attend, Mount Carmel Church of the Nazarene, in Rancho Penasquitos, California, which has this website, I recently obtained a district license after having been a locally licensed minister for two years.
At this point, most of the ministry work I do takes on the form of either music ministry at the church I attend, or acting as a small group leader, either in person or online. My Twitter participation is largely focused on Christian faith talk. At the church I attend, Mount Carmel Church of the Nazarene, in Rancho Penasquitos, California, which has this website, I recently obtained a district license after having been a locally licensed minister for two years.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thoughts on Against Calvinism by Roger E. Olson
I have read the introductory pieces and first chapter of this book so far. Here are some initial thoughts.
He is largely writing this to address the young, restless, and reformed crowd. He believes some of their thoughts regarding God's absolute control and creation of all things, including evil, is problematic. Since God cannot stand to be in the presence of sin, I would happen to agree. This is why we need Christ after all.
I have been researching the Calvinist vs. Arminian perspective for a little while now. This is not the first time that I have heard that Calvinism may not be properly summed up via the TULIP acronym. I have been thinking of reading the Canons of Dordt; I believe I will need to do that to more properly understand the keys of the Reformed faith.
When the author discusses freewill, he seems to be mentioning examples like Hitler and the Holocaust. I don't for a moment think that that horrifying sequence of events is from God.
It seems like the author so far is not clearly separating justification vs. sanctification. I believe most but likely not all would agree that there is a level of freewill involved in decisions that we make that are likely to impact sanctification, rewards, or eternal treasures in Heaven. However, what about freewill in the saving act? I await reading more of the author's opinion there.
Moving on to chapter 2, we now get to the first key. With any substantial debate, there is always the question of definition. What does it mean to be reformed? Many would argue that the TULIP acronym is the key. The author points to some older confessions as the basis including the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic and Westminster Confessions. These in addition to the above Canons of Dordt are the basis for this branch of the Christian faith according to the author.
He is largely writing this to address the young, restless, and reformed crowd. He believes some of their thoughts regarding God's absolute control and creation of all things, including evil, is problematic. Since God cannot stand to be in the presence of sin, I would happen to agree. This is why we need Christ after all.
I have been researching the Calvinist vs. Arminian perspective for a little while now. This is not the first time that I have heard that Calvinism may not be properly summed up via the TULIP acronym. I have been thinking of reading the Canons of Dordt; I believe I will need to do that to more properly understand the keys of the Reformed faith.
When the author discusses freewill, he seems to be mentioning examples like Hitler and the Holocaust. I don't for a moment think that that horrifying sequence of events is from God.
It seems like the author so far is not clearly separating justification vs. sanctification. I believe most but likely not all would agree that there is a level of freewill involved in decisions that we make that are likely to impact sanctification, rewards, or eternal treasures in Heaven. However, what about freewill in the saving act? I await reading more of the author's opinion there.
Moving on to chapter 2, we now get to the first key. With any substantial debate, there is always the question of definition. What does it mean to be reformed? Many would argue that the TULIP acronym is the key. The author points to some older confessions as the basis including the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic and Westminster Confessions. These in addition to the above Canons of Dordt are the basis for this branch of the Christian faith according to the author.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Why I Hate Religion Videos
There is a video going viral now on Youtube regarding religion. Some portions I agreed with, and some I didn't. Several friends pointed it out to me, the first of which is a D.Min. student and former pastor of mine. A Messianic Jewish Rabbi friend asked me what I thought, so here we go. I was also reminded of this Mark Driscoll video I saw previously. Many of these thoughts really could be a chapter in a book, hmm..
Jesus is greater than religion is more or less true, depending on how you define religion. What is religion? To me I view it as a belief system based on God's special revelation to us via the Bible. I think what both of these people are objecting to is a set of rules to live by.
Did He come to abolish religion? Once again I think there is a religion definition problem here. He and many of His followers were Jews. He came to fulfill The Law.
I do realize folks who label themselves as Conservative Christians sometimes do both groups a disservice. If we spout beliefs with hostility or angst, that is incorrect. We are called to be His ambassadors; we need to do that.
We all have planks in our eyes, sins and problems that we struggle with; we need to not be looking down our noses at others.
Religions have started wars because people have taken the task of conversion entirely too far. I would say that people who call themselves Christians that have done this are not adhering to the teachings of Christ, and might need to question their faith. That is God's job, not mine.
Why does religion build huge churches? Especially since I am an Ex-Catholic, I will confess this is a tougher question. In part I would say folks have obeyed the idea of giving greatly to God for the sake of an excellent location for a worship service. They likely missed out on what we would call a Christ centered life in today's language, being too focused on the facility and Sunday service. By now I am hearing the Organic/Missional/Frank Viola/Brian McLaren message pretty clearly in this video.
Why are the poor not being fed? They are by some community organizations, at least here in San Diego, though hunger is still a problem. There is a relevant Bible story about helping the poor or disadvantaged. We should contemplate this story and the poor.
We can't be looking down at the single Moms. I grew up in a household like that; those Moms are putting in serious work. They may or may not have have sinned to get in that situation. We don't know all the facts. I think all we should do is present God's Word to them in a kind way and let God work on them.
Regarding the way we act when we are believers, I think we would all agree there are always some things we don't want the world to know, that only our closest friends should. If we get to a point where we are taking the false facade too far, we can wind up like the Pharisees. Are our hearts circumcised as we see in Romans 2? Our lives should be visibly different as believers. I would personally hope that as we grow closer to God we would sin less, though I know perfection in a sinless sense is only attainable by God.
God has done great things with people who have sinned in very big ways. Repent and believe is the basis of the Gospel; we need to do that. Once we realize what He has done and can do for us eternally, we should be overflowing with joy.
Christ did come for the sick, we need to be sure to not exclude them from our assemblies of believers if they are moved by God to investigate and perhaps come closer to Christ.
Once we realize it is all from Him our faith is from Him and not our actions, that is a very freeing experience.
We need to be careful of disregarding rules; there are some things we are told to do or not do in The Bible. If you aren't sure, research it or ask around among your believing friends. Once again I think there is the issue of what kind of ambassador are we being. Sanctification and rewards also come into play here. Do we want treasures in heaven?
I suspect the video is right, that many of us would not let Jesus in, or we would at least look down at Him tremendously, if he showed up with 1st Century appearance and odor? He is also very right regarding Jesus not supporting self righteousness. Once again, modifying our focus off of ourselves and onto Him is what we should do, and this really should be a pretty fundamental Christian teaching.
While religion is a man-made system, assuming we have proper Biblical texts to go by, this man-made system should be based on God given ideas. Do we screw up, absolutely. Repent.
Religion is an infection if you miss out on the self righteousness lesson above, and become too much about either the system or the institution, and not enough about Him.
Slave is a word with substantial negative connotation in the USA. However, we were bought at a price. The Greek word doulos is best translated as slave; we often see servant instead because of these negative connotations.
Jesus does make us see; He is the light as John 1 so clearly states to us. Does a religious institution make us blind to Him. I would argue that may or may not be true depending on the group you assemble with.
I believe that both God searching for man AND man searching for God can occur. Ideally, as we grow in faith, we continue to search to know more and more of His truth. The last 50 seconds or so is excellent, until the very end when hatred for religion is repeated.
Jesus is greater than religion is more or less true, depending on how you define religion. What is religion? To me I view it as a belief system based on God's special revelation to us via the Bible. I think what both of these people are objecting to is a set of rules to live by.
Did He come to abolish religion? Once again I think there is a religion definition problem here. He and many of His followers were Jews. He came to fulfill The Law.
I do realize folks who label themselves as Conservative Christians sometimes do both groups a disservice. If we spout beliefs with hostility or angst, that is incorrect. We are called to be His ambassadors; we need to do that.
We all have planks in our eyes, sins and problems that we struggle with; we need to not be looking down our noses at others.
Religions have started wars because people have taken the task of conversion entirely too far. I would say that people who call themselves Christians that have done this are not adhering to the teachings of Christ, and might need to question their faith. That is God's job, not mine.
Why does religion build huge churches? Especially since I am an Ex-Catholic, I will confess this is a tougher question. In part I would say folks have obeyed the idea of giving greatly to God for the sake of an excellent location for a worship service. They likely missed out on what we would call a Christ centered life in today's language, being too focused on the facility and Sunday service. By now I am hearing the Organic/Missional/Frank Viola/Brian McLaren message pretty clearly in this video.
Why are the poor not being fed? They are by some community organizations, at least here in San Diego, though hunger is still a problem. There is a relevant Bible story about helping the poor or disadvantaged. We should contemplate this story and the poor.
We can't be looking down at the single Moms. I grew up in a household like that; those Moms are putting in serious work. They may or may not have have sinned to get in that situation. We don't know all the facts. I think all we should do is present God's Word to them in a kind way and let God work on them.
Regarding the way we act when we are believers, I think we would all agree there are always some things we don't want the world to know, that only our closest friends should. If we get to a point where we are taking the false facade too far, we can wind up like the Pharisees. Are our hearts circumcised as we see in Romans 2? Our lives should be visibly different as believers. I would personally hope that as we grow closer to God we would sin less, though I know perfection in a sinless sense is only attainable by God.
God has done great things with people who have sinned in very big ways. Repent and believe is the basis of the Gospel; we need to do that. Once we realize what He has done and can do for us eternally, we should be overflowing with joy.
Christ did come for the sick, we need to be sure to not exclude them from our assemblies of believers if they are moved by God to investigate and perhaps come closer to Christ.
Once we realize it is all from Him our faith is from Him and not our actions, that is a very freeing experience.
We need to be careful of disregarding rules; there are some things we are told to do or not do in The Bible. If you aren't sure, research it or ask around among your believing friends. Once again I think there is the issue of what kind of ambassador are we being. Sanctification and rewards also come into play here. Do we want treasures in heaven?
I suspect the video is right, that many of us would not let Jesus in, or we would at least look down at Him tremendously, if he showed up with 1st Century appearance and odor? He is also very right regarding Jesus not supporting self righteousness. Once again, modifying our focus off of ourselves and onto Him is what we should do, and this really should be a pretty fundamental Christian teaching.
While religion is a man-made system, assuming we have proper Biblical texts to go by, this man-made system should be based on God given ideas. Do we screw up, absolutely. Repent.
Religion is an infection if you miss out on the self righteousness lesson above, and become too much about either the system or the institution, and not enough about Him.
Slave is a word with substantial negative connotation in the USA. However, we were bought at a price. The Greek word doulos is best translated as slave; we often see servant instead because of these negative connotations.
Jesus does make us see; He is the light as John 1 so clearly states to us. Does a religious institution make us blind to Him. I would argue that may or may not be true depending on the group you assemble with.
I believe that both God searching for man AND man searching for God can occur. Ideally, as we grow in faith, we continue to search to know more and more of His truth. The last 50 seconds or so is excellent, until the very end when hatred for religion is repeated.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
BelieverTalk faith chat with a friend
I have a friend Kevin who I met several years ago in college. We have tried over the years to keep in touch, sometimes doing a better job of it than others. We have met up a few times over the last year and our discussions regarding Christian faith have been good. Generally, he is left of center and I am off to the right. After meeting and talking a few times, Kevin had the idea of recording some discussions. I don't want to speak for him, but my hope is that we encourage discussion among the faithful.
With all of that said, here is a link to the show.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Lent for a former Roman Catholic who is now Protestant
For many Protestants, Lent is something that is associated with Catholicism. As a former member of the Roman Catholic faith, this has been something that I have spent some time thinking about. Most Protestants wouldn't consider going to an Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or Stations of the Cross service; I believe that is to our detriment. I believe it should be that these events are all celebrated in a looking forward to resurrection kind of way. These other days paint a more complete picture for us of what the Lenten Season should mean, as we hopefully prepare ourselves spiritually for celebration of Christ's overcoming spiritual death.
I am interested if any of you have made commitments to give anything up for Lent, or make changes in another way, and if so how is that going for you? For me, I got a nudge to listen to The Bible audio style in my car. As I have listened to this over the last couple weeks, I believe it definitely has brought me closer to Him. Hearing Pilate and his wife and their thoughts as recorded in the Gospels, or the people asking for the release of Barabbas stood out to me the most this time around. "The people said His blood shall be on us and on our children!" is an absolutely horrifying statement.
I am interested if any of you have made commitments to give anything up for Lent, or make changes in another way, and if so how is that going for you? For me, I got a nudge to listen to The Bible audio style in my car. As I have listened to this over the last couple weeks, I believe it definitely has brought me closer to Him. Hearing Pilate and his wife and their thoughts as recorded in the Gospels, or the people asking for the release of Barabbas stood out to me the most this time around. "The people said His blood shall be on us and on our children!" is an absolutely horrifying statement.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Impact of Online Friends
I sometimes wonder about the effectiveness of online ministry, the impact of online friends who we never meet in person. I recently had an experience with this I feel compelled to share at this point.
A few years back, while cruising through MySpace, I discovered that it was used for a lot more than merely meeting people and as a path for musicians to increase their fan base. I saw there were Christians there who were blogging, participating in forums, and generally trying to discuss faith with others. Pretty early on after finding this out, I met someone named Amy. Initially we just exchanged faith posts and small talk; I discovered pretty quickly she was much more Reformed than I:) A few things about her stand out to me. I am a former Catholic, so that was perhaps part of it.
She was staunchly pro-life; I recall seeing her affiliated with the people who put red tape across their mouths, writing LIFE in large letters along the tape. She was always involved in prayerful demonstrations at abortion clinics. As I got to know her better and started to realize the difficulties presented to her, this was even more impressive.
I recall at least one year where during Lent she would abstain from all social networking. Once again, as an ex Catholic, this was really food for contemplation for me. Do we need to perform a Lenten fast from something that is important to us? I would argue no. However, if that allows you to become closer to God as a result, by all means, go right ahead.
I recall also a time where she posted online, looking for a large print King James Bible with a soft cover for someone she knew in a jail or prison. I happened to have just such a Bible that wasn't getting much use, so I offered to send it to an address she gave me.
This girl was radically obedient to God; she really was an example in that way. I believe there are many others out there like myself that she inspired. Almost 2 months ago, I happened to see on Facebook the day that it happened that she had passed. I was bummed; I did not know that she was THAT ill. The thought I have regarding this whole thing is this. When you meet people online, although this is usually not as good as an in person relationship, do not underestimate the impact you may have. It may be an inconsequential exchange of pleasantries, or it may also be something leading to an inmate coming closer to God. We do not know His plans, only He does.
A few years back, while cruising through MySpace, I discovered that it was used for a lot more than merely meeting people and as a path for musicians to increase their fan base. I saw there were Christians there who were blogging, participating in forums, and generally trying to discuss faith with others. Pretty early on after finding this out, I met someone named Amy. Initially we just exchanged faith posts and small talk; I discovered pretty quickly she was much more Reformed than I:) A few things about her stand out to me. I am a former Catholic, so that was perhaps part of it.
She was staunchly pro-life; I recall seeing her affiliated with the people who put red tape across their mouths, writing LIFE in large letters along the tape. She was always involved in prayerful demonstrations at abortion clinics. As I got to know her better and started to realize the difficulties presented to her, this was even more impressive.
I recall at least one year where during Lent she would abstain from all social networking. Once again, as an ex Catholic, this was really food for contemplation for me. Do we need to perform a Lenten fast from something that is important to us? I would argue no. However, if that allows you to become closer to God as a result, by all means, go right ahead.
I recall also a time where she posted online, looking for a large print King James Bible with a soft cover for someone she knew in a jail or prison. I happened to have just such a Bible that wasn't getting much use, so I offered to send it to an address she gave me.
This girl was radically obedient to God; she really was an example in that way. I believe there are many others out there like myself that she inspired. Almost 2 months ago, I happened to see on Facebook the day that it happened that she had passed. I was bummed; I did not know that she was THAT ill. The thought I have regarding this whole thing is this. When you meet people online, although this is usually not as good as an in person relationship, do not underestimate the impact you may have. It may be an inconsequential exchange of pleasantries, or it may also be something leading to an inmate coming closer to God. We do not know His plans, only He does.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thoughts on church
Regarding what some people believe is wrong with the Christian Church, here are a few thoughts I have had or things I have observed.
We have gotten too into the show, the emotional intensity, the what can church do for me mindset. We have forgotten what Lordship means, the importance of real exegetical teaching, and the real reason we should be there, to worship.
I believe we are all sinners. Those of us who are truly saved, because of our changed hearts, will be less likely to sin, but I do not believe it ever goes away in totality. Now then, what is the impact of this? Those who are in church leadership positions are not exempt from the above. So, when a church leader screws up, what are the consequences? At the minimum, he or she will be less credible, less likely to be followed. Leaders should be and often are held to a higher standard according to 1st Timothy, but they are not perfect. We are all ambassadors for Him; I am reminded of a DC Talk song where it talks in an opening monologue about us affirming our faith with our lips but denying it with our lifestyle.
There is also another trend that is occurring now that is not new; people are moving in an attempt to return to what they perceive as the 1st century church. Some who are opposed to organizational structure, in churches or otherwise, are drawn to this movement by this perceived lack of organization. There are risks however, to me these exist primarily in the realm of lack of accountability. Even if there are no pastors in this methodology, leaders will still emerge, they always do. What is to prevent these leaders from teaching false doctrines, as we see so often mentioned in New Testament letters. For me, the risk of a cult type group emerging is worth mentioning. Additionally, to go too far down this road is to risk discrediting the Biblical mentions of the gifts of shepherding and teaching.
Some of us see verses about breaking bread house to house and think that was their worship, without noticing or thinking about the Hebrews 10 and Colossians 3 ordered assemblies in synagogues. We are told to assemble, to teach, to admonish, to sing, and to encourage one another, among other things. Are we doing that? We need to seriously ask what our assemblies are about. If the experienced believers amongst us are going to help the milk drinkers become meat eaters, we really need to look at that. A new believer needs different teaching than an experienced believer. This can happen in a couple different ways. The experienced believer, if they have the teaching gift, can and should teach the new believer.
Regarding our roles in church, I really believe a change of mindset is necessary. We cannot continue to act in a way that is self-serving as opposed to focused on God. We in the USA are far too comfortable with church hopping, treating it like a consumer experience. I don't think people should leave a church for many reasons; perhaps the most valid is preaching that is not Biblically correct. Aside from that, if a church needs work, those with the proper gifts in the congregation should be stepping up to have at it.
Atheism is also an area where those that have that religious belief are more vocal than before. If you just stopped in disbelief at the apparent contradiction in the previous sentence, read on please. I would argue that, although atheism is by definition lack of belief in a God, it is a religion. There is a something from nothing creation story that requires much more faith than intelligent design. The idea of entropy, which is an order becomes disorder line of thinking, is counter to those who believe in biological evolution.
I will stop there to limit length for now.
We have gotten too into the show, the emotional intensity, the what can church do for me mindset. We have forgotten what Lordship means, the importance of real exegetical teaching, and the real reason we should be there, to worship.
I believe we are all sinners. Those of us who are truly saved, because of our changed hearts, will be less likely to sin, but I do not believe it ever goes away in totality. Now then, what is the impact of this? Those who are in church leadership positions are not exempt from the above. So, when a church leader screws up, what are the consequences? At the minimum, he or she will be less credible, less likely to be followed. Leaders should be and often are held to a higher standard according to 1st Timothy, but they are not perfect. We are all ambassadors for Him; I am reminded of a DC Talk song where it talks in an opening monologue about us affirming our faith with our lips but denying it with our lifestyle.
There is also another trend that is occurring now that is not new; people are moving in an attempt to return to what they perceive as the 1st century church. Some who are opposed to organizational structure, in churches or otherwise, are drawn to this movement by this perceived lack of organization. There are risks however, to me these exist primarily in the realm of lack of accountability. Even if there are no pastors in this methodology, leaders will still emerge, they always do. What is to prevent these leaders from teaching false doctrines, as we see so often mentioned in New Testament letters. For me, the risk of a cult type group emerging is worth mentioning. Additionally, to go too far down this road is to risk discrediting the Biblical mentions of the gifts of shepherding and teaching.
Some of us see verses about breaking bread house to house and think that was their worship, without noticing or thinking about the Hebrews 10 and Colossians 3 ordered assemblies in synagogues. We are told to assemble, to teach, to admonish, to sing, and to encourage one another, among other things. Are we doing that? We need to seriously ask what our assemblies are about. If the experienced believers amongst us are going to help the milk drinkers become meat eaters, we really need to look at that. A new believer needs different teaching than an experienced believer. This can happen in a couple different ways. The experienced believer, if they have the teaching gift, can and should teach the new believer.
Regarding our roles in church, I really believe a change of mindset is necessary. We cannot continue to act in a way that is self-serving as opposed to focused on God. We in the USA are far too comfortable with church hopping, treating it like a consumer experience. I don't think people should leave a church for many reasons; perhaps the most valid is preaching that is not Biblically correct. Aside from that, if a church needs work, those with the proper gifts in the congregation should be stepping up to have at it.
Atheism is also an area where those that have that religious belief are more vocal than before. If you just stopped in disbelief at the apparent contradiction in the previous sentence, read on please. I would argue that, although atheism is by definition lack of belief in a God, it is a religion. There is a something from nothing creation story that requires much more faith than intelligent design. The idea of entropy, which is an order becomes disorder line of thinking, is counter to those who believe in biological evolution.
I will stop there to limit length for now.
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