Hope

In light of the incidents in Newtown, CT over the last few days I have heard several people ask me and others, "Why? How does something like this happen? If God is good/real, why didn't he intervene? etc."

During times like Newtown, CT, 9/11, the atrocities of war, and even throughout the daily rhythm of life, there is something, I believe, that all people yearn for and dream of, and I believe that thing is 'hope.' Hope that what I see and hear around me isn't the end of the story. Hope that one day all the things that are broken, shattered, and wrong in this world will be made right. Hope that Shadow, the golden retriever, will come limping over the hill and be reunited with his family. Hope that the Cubs /Pirates will actually know what it means to wear a World Series ring. Every person yearns for this kind of hope and redemption. It is in our DNA.

I believe that there is coming a day when God will condemn evil for what it is. I believe the words of Revelation 21 that talk about a day when “there will be a new heaven and a new earth… and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more mourning, crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” We love and serve a God who hates evil. We believe that one day he will judge between good and evil and finally condemn evil and those who embrace/choose it. As a Christian, I find that hope in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But, until that day comes, some men and women will continue to do evil acts. These evil acts are an outward sign of an inward reality (the condition of the heart) and it is our responsibility to work on our hearts and ask God to change them… but at the end of the day, some people will still choose evil. Christ calls his followers to embody a servant-like love by how we give, serve, sacrifice, and extend hope to others through our words and actions.

So, let us mourn, let us ask 'why', let us remember, let us take action, let us debate, etc. But above all, let us remember that hope is real and let us work towards embodying that hope in our world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, have mercy on us

*Warning: Graphic Story*

I just finished reading a story on CNN that caused me to weep out loud.    A 14 year old girl somehow managed to hide the fact that she was pregnant from her parents.  She would later admit that she was scared her pregnancy would have a negative effect on her relationship with her folks.  After giving birth to the baby in her bathroom she immediately strangled the baby's neck for 60 seconds.  She made sure the baby did not have a pulse.  After making sure the baby was dead, she hid the body in her clothes hamper, which her mother later went through and discovered the baby.

My son just turned 4 months old the other day.  I never imagined being able to love a child the way that I love my son.  He is so beautiful and precious to me and I would do anything for him.  I think part of the reason I feel the way I do about Sawyer is because I know that he couldn't make it without his mommy and I.  He needs us to survive.  While his crying can be difficult and stressful to hear sometimes, I know that many times those cries are his way of saying, "I need you mommy and daddy."  Having a baby has warmed my heart in a way I could never have imagined.

When Jesus talked about caring for "the least of these," I think he was talking about a wide range of people: the lonely, the imprisoned, the hungry, the naked, the mocked, the helpless, the widow, the helpless child, the enslaved, the forgotten, the newborn, and so on.  To faithfully follow after Jesus requires that we willingly and continually sacrifice for 'the least.'  To follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to sacrifice and confess, "my life is not my own."  And I believe I shed tears for this newborn baby for a few reasons: First, every little baby deserves to have at least one parent that would march through hell and back on their behalf.  My heart breaks for this helpless creation of God who was subjected to awful suffering for its short little life.  Secondly, as I read this story I am reminded of my own sin.  While I've never made it on CNN for the things I've done, I know that I turn my back to 'the least' in less noticeable and less obvious ways through how I spend my money, how I spend my time, things I do and don't do, etc.  And finally, I weep because I know we serve a God whose loves his creation far more than I do and I know his heart breaks when he sees those whom he loves suffer, especially the helpless... And the only prayer that I find to be appropriate when I hear stories like this and have an awareness of my own sin is, "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us."


If you call/consider yourself to be a Christian, let me ask you this: In what ways does following Jesus cause you to sacrifice your own comfort and well-being for the sake of others?  Does following Jesus cost you anything?  It should.

May our hearts continue to break on behalf of 'the least' and may we respond faithfully.

Dave Matthews and Love

I’ve been a pretty loyal Dave Matthew’s Band fan for 15+ years.  As I have listened to the band and various interviews that Dave has given over the last few years they/he have become much more vocal and outspoken about what they believe to be the main issues and tragedies that humanity has fallen victim to and faces today.  Some of these issues that Dave mentions in his songs and interviews are greed, war, religion, poverty, the power hungry, and so on.  One thing I appreciate about Dave is that he is not one to simply point out what is wrong but he also talks and sings about what he believes to be the solution and hope for humanity as well.  In many of his songs (most recently ‘Mercy’), Dave talks about how ‘love is the answer’ and how people need to ‘get together and begin loving one another.’  Who could possibly disagree and say that the world needs less love?

            But as I listen to Dave’s words and songs and many others who express similar thoughts, I am again reminded that love can be a very vague word.  Love needs definition.  If I told you I painted an ‘incredible picture’ or baked ‘an amazing meal,’ my words may sound exciting but you still don’t know what the picture looks like or what the meal tastes like.  My picture needs to be seen, studied and observed.  The description ‘incredible picture’ is not enough.  Likewise, my meal needs to be experienced and tasted (preferably my barbeque hamburgers) to understand what I mean by ‘an incredible meal.’ Similarly, love needs true, honest, and complete definition and without that definition we are left with lofty undefined hopes and emotions.

How do we know what love is?  Through the life, teachings, words, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As 1 John reminds us, “How do we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”  We come to know and understand true sacrificial servant love when we come to know Jesus.  The Church, the Body of Christ, is then called to go forth and embody that love through the way we serve, the way we give, the way we sacrifice, and the way that we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.  

Christians on the Internet

A few weeks back I had an absolutely crazy idea... While watching a video that addressed a comical yet controversial issue in the Church I thought I could share a few things that I had been questioning and wrestling with while hoping to hear some intelligent/thoughtful responses.  My goal in doing so was by no means to 'stir things up a bit.'  I enjoy listening and hearing other people's views and stances on things.  Silly me for thinking I could honestly share from my heart some of these questions that had been resonating inside me and engage in some helpful/meaningful dialogue.

Over the course of a couple weeks, I would get an email notification every time someone responded to my questions.  Out of the 15 or so responses I got, 12 of them were from fellow believers that used a variety of vocabulary to let me know how pagan my questions and thoughts were.  "No real believer who actually has read the Bible would ever ask such a stupid question..."  A few even informed me about their thoughts on where I would be spending my eternal destiny.  All that to say I deleted my question after about two weeks because I would actually find myself discouraged when someone would write something hateful or condemning.  


While this was one of the few times I actually posted some of my own thoughts on this particular website, I think I should have known better.  There must be a hidden verse or passage in scripture that says something like, "...And when you go on the internet and engage in controversial topics and conversations forget everything I ever said about loving others and extending peace and mercy...  In fact, be a complete tool."


'Defending your faith' does not justify hatred.


Who are you extending the love of Christ to?

Good Theology

Theology: The study of divine things and/or religious truth.

I would like to think I have 'good' theology... I would like to think that when I speak about my faith in God, the scriptures, and how we ought to live that I do it with consistency and faithfulness.  My hope is that when I  preach, teach, and enter into conversation with others regarding the faith that God affirms what I am saying (to some level)  as 'good.'  N.T. Wright has said (paraphrased), 'If I had to guess, I think what I teach/write and have to say about God is generally accurate about 80-85% of the time and the other 15-20% is off in some way or another.  The only problem is, I don't know what that 15-20% is.' What I don't want is to have bad theology and I think you know what I am talking about.  

The other day I was watching TBN and one of the preachers/teachers was telling her listeners that the reason she got breast implants is because God told her she should feel beautiful.  We've heard other televangelists talk about how God wants to double and triple your income so you can get another Mercedes.  Or how about those teachers/preachers that tell people, "If you would pray enough prayers and give enough money to my 'ministry' the cancer will go away."    Some more subtle examples of poor theology and praxis are when we justify our hatred and prejudice in the name of God and the faith.

But here is what I believe to be true.  No matter how long I live, my guess is that there will always be a part of me that 'never fully gets it.'  If I lived to be 150 years old and was asked to teach a study on any book of the Bible, I can guarantee I would say/teach something that would cause God to say, "Eh, nice try Jay but your way off."  I'm sure as long as I live there will be signs and symptoms of false beliefs and understandings that I have picked up along the way... And to a certain extent, I am ok with that.  Why?  Because above all the nooks, crannies, and truths I will strive to articulate, discover, teach and preach throughout my life lies the greatest commandment of all: to dedicate my entire life to loving God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength while striving to love my neighbor as myself.

My mother is 64 years old and has MS.  Walking is becoming more and more difficult for her.  She is a sweet woman who loves the Lord with her whole heart.  Over the last couple years I've heard her articulate some thoughts and beliefs that, my guess, she has picked up from the media that I do not agree with.  But at the end of the day, here is a woman who regularly visits other people who are suffering from Alzheimers, MS, cancer, and other various disabilities and serves communion to them.  She sits with them for hours and loves them with the simple/extravagant love of Christ.  In the end, it is her love for God and others matters most.

God would rather someone who is wrong now and again that commits their life to loving God and others as oppose to the articulate scholar that fails to embody the love of Christ towards others.

The practice matters most.

'But seek first well-being...'

Today (and over the course of a few years) I made an observation that I believe to be thoroughly true.  It seems that most people who would call themselves Christians, whether they realize it or not, are much more interested in pursuing ‘well-being’ for their life than they are of seeing God’s Kingdom become a reality in the world

The prayer has changed.  Instead of praying, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we pray for comfort, security, health, and well-being for our life.  We pray for and defend our nation in order to better secure this ‘well-being’ that we covet so much.  In fact, for many people, I believe the Christian faith serves as a means of securing this ‘well-being’ that we desires so much.  That's right, Christianity is simply one building block to the greater goal of well-being for our life.  And the cool thing about building blocks?   You can move them, change them, shift them and even get rid of them for awhile if it will help you achieve the ends you desire.

The difference between these two prayers and ‘ends’: seeking God's kingdom vs. seeking security and well-being,  is how we view suffering.  When ‘well-being’ is our chief end, there is no place for suffering in our lives.  We are unable to comprehend that a good and loving God could ever possibly allow or even want us to suffer. Redemptive suffering is a foreign concept.  In fact, God is the one who is supposed to relieve any and all suffering that we might come across… But when our greatest aim and ‘end’ is seeing God’s Kingdom being brought into fruition, we realize that there are things that are of far greater importance in this world than our security and well-being.  Perhaps God is allowing me to gradually suffer and die from cancer so that I may show my children and my community what it looks like to die well?  Perhaps God desires to strip me of all financial security so I can truly learn what it means and looks like to depend on God for my daily bread?  Perhaps God has better things in mind for me than the 4 bedroom house and 6 digit income?

Final thought: I’m glad that Jesus sought faithful obedience to God’s work and mission in the world over his well-being.  I’m glad that the disciples chose to live faithfully towards God’s work and mission in the world over their health and well-being.  May God strip us of the idol of security and well-being that we run after so that we may be free to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

Worship

You ever go on to youtube looking for one specific video/song and 20 minutes and 8 'suggested videos' later you find yourself watching 'Charlie bit me: The Remix' again?  Don't deny it.  You know what I am talking about.

So, the other day I went on youtube and I somehow found myself watching a video that mocks many modern evangelical services.  While I don't think the video intends to be malicious towards anyone, I believe the video exposes a truth that causes unrest in within me.  I believe that many of us evangelicals have, somewhere along the line, lost what it means to worship.  And the simple truth I am beginning to realize is this: we can only love God and love others to the extent and to the depth in which we worship God... We can only embody the way of Christ to the extent and the depth in which we offer ourselves to God in worship.   I'll say that again in the negative: We cannot expect to see the rich fruit of Christ in our life if our devotion and worship of God is shallow.  How can I love God and my enemy with sincere conviction if I don't believe from the very depths of my being that our Lord bore the cross from his conception to his final breath?  How can I ever expect to know what it means to sacrifice and pour myself out for the sake of others if I don't worship and commune with my Lord who washed the feet of those who would deny and betray him?  How can I expect to see the power of the Holy Spirit lived out in me when I roll out of bed with little or no intention of spending time with the very one who granted me the gift of 'today?'

And I as a pastor am guilty of sometimes contributing to this problem. We focus on creating a worship service that is 'seamless' and 'professional.'  We want your worship experience to be better than what the other churches have to offer.  We leave discouraged if we butchered a song, made an awkward transition, fumbled on a sermon illustration, and so forth.  We are upset if 'worship didn't go well' because we believe that worship has more to do with us.

But this is what I am realizing more and more...

Shame on us if our worship of God is dependent upon man.  Shame on us if my worship of God is contingent upon the song choices, how well a worship leader has learned to play an instrument, if I don't like a pastor's squeaky voice, and so forth.  Instead, may my worship and devotion to God, on Sunday and everyday, be real in my life because God is worthy of my worship and devotion.  May my worship be authentic and true because worship should not be circumstantial.   Forgive us for how we have allowed our worship of God to become so much about us and not enough about you... Because when our worship becomes less and less about communing, knowing, and being shaped by our Lord and more and more about us, we are forgetting what worship really is.

And this is where I think we can learn from our Orthodox and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters.  (Are they perfect? No... This is not a 'we all need to be like them' rant)  But most of them gather for the intention of offering their worship to the Lord and to 'receive Christ' in the presence of the Eucharist.  While we may differ in our theology and understanding of the Lord' Supper, the theology of 'meeting with' and 'receiving' the presence of Christ in worship is beautiful.  I wish I had that same expectation and excitement in my own worship of God.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Jesus' Anger

The other day I was looking at Jesus clearing the temple in the gospels.  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke we see Jesus clearing the temple towards the end of his earthly ministry while in John's gospel it is one of the first things that he does.  Some people believe John got the chronology wrong while others thing that Jesus could have cleared the temple more than once.

One thing I noticed while studying this passage and other times throughout scripture where we see Jesus get angry is that Jesus' anger always seemed to be motivated by his love for God, his love for others, and his hatred of sin.  Wow.  I wish I could say that about myself.

So, in this short little blog entry I am challenged to ask God and pray that the anger and passion I exert in my life would be about things that have true significance.  Also, that my anger would be motivated out of a greater love for God and for others.

faith alone?

So, I was looking up a couple comedy routines by this guy Brian Regan.  If you have never heard Brian’s stuff, he is incredibly funny, especially when you are able to watch him perform.  As I was wasting a few minutes on youtube, I saw in the ‘recommendations’ section a comedian who had a high number of views and decided to check him out. 

At one point during his routine, he began to share about why he was a Christian and this is what I heard him (and many other people over the years) say about his faith: ‘The thing I like about being a Christian is the only thing you have to do is have faith… That’s it!  All these other religions and belief systems have a bunch of rules and regulations.  Not Christianity.  All I do is believe, I’m saved, and that’s it.  An idiot can do that.”

And while that may sound nice, I find his words and beliefs to be thoroughly unbiblical.  If we take an honest look at the life and teachings of our Lord, how much time did Jesus spend teaching the disciples and other ‘sinners’ how they ought to live?  Never once did Jesus ever tell people that all they had to do is ‘believe.’ If how we spent our time here on earth mattered so little, than why did our Lord spent a vast majority of his time teaching people what the Kingdom of God was like?  Why did Jesus address complex life issues on his Sermon on the Mount?  Some may be quick to quote Paul, such as Romans 10:9 that says, "If you confess with your mouth that 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Whenever Paul or Jesus for that matter spoke of faith, it was always a faith that was accompanied by devoted action.  

Let us affirm and attest that Jesus Christ is Lord.  But God forbid we stop there.  Let us hear the words of our Lord and seek to walk in the footsteps of our rabbi in all that we say and do. 

trying to care about politics

I'm 30 years old now and I have tried to 'get into' and really care about politics, but i find it difficult.  Don't get me wrong, I believe that politics has its place and that a country's government has the opportunity to genuinely and legitimately help and provide for it's people.  However, I believe the danger comes when we place too much stock in terms of what we expect out of our government.  We demand that our government do this or not do that and get frustrated when they 'do' or 'don't.'  While talking to a gentleman I have known for quite sometime, I listened to him begin to passionately talk (and begin crying) about the government and the United States.  I had never seen him get this passionate in our 100+ conversations regarding his faith in Christ.  Why is that?  Why is it that some believers expect our government to do and be what Christ has called the Church to do and be?

grinding it out

I remember a seasoned pastor once telling me: 'When you're working and ministering with people, the natural desire will be to see huge changes and noticeable fruit on a daily basis... like hitting a home run everyday in baseball.  However, a healthy minister must be prepared for the grind.  If you look for the home run everyday, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed.  The best ball players are those who consistently hit singles and doubles.'

Forgive my over-usage of the baseball analogy but I see truth to his words.

The truth is that there are times, days, and seasons where being a minister is a struggle for me.  There are many jobs that can be summed up with a formula: I do this work for this many hours and I will get this result.

People cannot and should not be reduced to a formula.  There are students whom I have had hundreds of conversations with and poured many hours into whom have ultimately decided they want little to do with the faith.  Then, there are others whom I may have even spent less time with that continue to find their roots in Christ.

As I write these words, I am reminded that the calling of the minister is to faithfully seek after Christ in their own life while seeking to love, teach, and pour into those around him/her.  There will be those who choose to resist the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives while there will be those who listen and respond.

And during those times when you struggle to see the highlights of your efforts, take a step back, rest a little, pray, and continue to grind it out...  God sees you and God is using you, even if it may not seem like it.

Can you relate to this at all?  Have you ever felt this way?