what if we are way off?

My wife and I had one of those great conversations the other night.  We had just finished watching a documentary called 'Jesus Camp' that looks at a branch of evangelicalism that encourages prophecy, speaking in tongues, they are self-acclaimed fundamentalists, and they have a summer camp.  My guess is that many people who watched this particular documentary walked away thinking to themselves, "how could they have gotten the Christian faith so wrong?... how could they possibly be that way?"   After discussing the documentary for a bit, our conversation gradually caused us to ask some more self-reflecting questions.

I recently finished up a book by N.T. Wright who said, "My guess is that 80-85% of what i teach my students is 'true' and 'correct' and the other 15-20% is wrong... The problem is, I don't know what that 20% is."

That is how I feel sometimes.  As I grow as a believer and follower of Christ, one of my greatest hopes is that I am able to talk about and understand the God I am striving to know and serve more and more each day.  I believe it is very important to speak accurately about our faith.  However, I am sure there are places where I have simply 'got it wrong...' The problem is I am not sure what those 'places' are.  In fact, I could make a list of questions that I sometimes ask myself:

Have I become too liberal in regards too what it means to be a believer?

Should I be doing more to teach the students at my local church?

As I believer, should I take a greater concern in politics and government?

Has Protestantism strayed too far from its Roman Catholic and Orthodox history?

If Jesus were hear in the flesh, what would his words be to me?

And so on, and so on....

The obvious response is, "We need to see what scripture says and live according to God's Word."  But the problem with that response is that there will always be different interpretations and understandings of God's Word... Hence 10,000 Christian denominations (which is a pretty sad statistic, might i say) Different people who share a great love for Jesus will always walk away with different conclusions.  I guess our job is to continue to seek the Spirit's leading and guiding in our lives and resist the temptation to settle for easy answers.

One thing I do know?  We need to be ready to admit that we don't have all the answers, and we need to stand firm and be unwavering in the essentials.  What are those essentials?  Just add that question to the list above.

end times

A friend of mine told me the other day that he has been studying and reading about the 'end times.'  In our conversation he shared about different books, scriptures, and theories that appealed to him and how he believes that the current events in the world suggest that the "end times are upon us." 

I will be honest, I do not think, read about, or care about the topic of 'end times' much at all.  From time to time, people will ask me what my thoughts are regarding the subject.  When I respond with an, "I don't know," or, "I don't really think about it," some people are surprised.  Here is the way I see it... Christ calls us to love God and to love others today.  There is great work to be done today.  Scripture tells us that we serve one who is victorious, and therefore, we have reason to be hope-filled people.  When the 'end times' arrive, I guess I will learn about the specifics.  How unscholarly of me.  Until that time, our greatest responsibility is to be faithful now... To be about God's work and mission in the world now.

Are you someone who concerns yourself greatly with the end times?  How much is it our responsibility to be concerned with the 'end times?'

being real

There is a group of about 8-10 men who meet at my church every Thursday for an hour around lunchtime to gather around God's Word.  Every guy in the room is either retired or works a blue collar job of some sorts.  There is no one in the room who would claim to have any specialized education in the area of theology, ministry, or the scriptures.  While they have been meeting for about three months in a room very close to my office, I had never joined them in their small group despite being invited.  Last Thursday, I decided that I would join the guys for their hour long study/conversation and can I also add that it was one of the most refreshing experiences I have had in awhile.

What was it that I enjoyed so much about this little band of brothers?  The men are quick to confess their utter need and dependence upon Christ.  There is no fluff, no smoke and mirrors that they use to somehow make it look like they have their crap together.  Prayer requests consist of help with meth and alcohol addictions.  I couldn’t help but think that Brennan Manning would thoroughly enjoy a group like this.  There is no ‘scholar’ among them that feels necessary to somehow exalt himself or let it be known that he is the ‘superior Christian’ among the group.

Don’t get me wrong; with a group like this, you will certainly come across some interesting theology and conclusions.  For example, this Thursday we read the entire book of Colossians and discussed its content in one hour… An impossible task.  And this is what I couldn’t help but wonder as the group was coming to a close: what would many of my seminary professors think about what took place in that small group setting?  Would they be disgusted at the lack of proper exegesis?  Would they be disappointed that I did not take more of an authoritative role among the group so I could correct false conclusions?  Would they be able to see that Jesus looks at a group of men like this and is so proud to see his sons seeking his face the only way they know how? 

I have a lot to learn from these men.