A Faith that Risks

The Civil Wars

2011-09-19T07:45:00.002-04:00

One of my new favorites.

Bonhoeffer – Eric Metaxas

2011-09-17T07:32:00.000-04:00

In this biography of one of the most famous people murdered under the regime of Adolf Hitler, Metaxas gives us a look not only into the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but also into his mind.

I had wanted to read this book for some time, as I was interested in looking into the life of a man I knew some about, but certainly not a lot. This book ended up being just what I needed. It’s not a short book, as the author isn’t content with just giving you a story, but also is providing the reader with an in-depth look into what Bonhoeffer was often thinking at the time as well. The author turns often to the writings of Bonhoeffer, including his books, letters and sermons. This makes for quite an interesting look into his life and what he thought of the things going on around him.

The impact Bonhoeffer had on the life of so many around him alone makes for an interesting story. The way he did this with integrity, love and discipline, helping those around him capture these things as well, make his life and ministry full of valuable lessons for Christians today.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Dangerous Church

2011-09-13T17:40:00.002-04:00

Right from the forward, written by Rick Warren, I had a feeling I was going to like this book. Warren says “To be a dangerous church is to be about what Jesus was about.” The title of the book could have been “Church” rather than “Dangerous Church”, since the author, John Bishop, is interested in us seeking the purpose of the Church which mirrors Jesus’ purpose of the Church. The need for churches today is to ask the right questions and this of course falls on the shoulders of the leadership. Is our purpose correct? If it is, do our methods mirror our purpose, or is there a disconnect? Are we having an impact? It will take some courage to ask these questions, but if we are willing to face them honestly, we can find ourselves moving in the right direction.

The first part of Dangerous Church is called “Risk Everything.” One thing I like about this book is that it has a lot of personal stories from Bishop, as he tells of some risks which he took. That is where it begins, with the story of his personal journey with Jesus. It’s in chapter 2 that things really begin to come together, as you see the direction he is going to be going. The chapter is called “What’s wrong with the church”, and this is the question, isn’t it? Bishop argues that the church has become largely apathetic in the areas which really matter to God.

The question we need to ask is whether we care about what God cares about. Clearly God cares about the lost, but do we? “The truth that we hate to admit to ourselves is that we usually don’t care too much about things that are lost, unless they are our things.” (pg 38) So if the lost matter to God, certainly they should also matter to us, and we need to make sure we are actually doing something about them.

He goes on to point out that many churches get stuck, and points out three indicators of being stuck. We could see our growth plateau, stop hearing signs of God working in individuals, and find out that our members aren’t inviting people to church. These are indications that our church may need to get unstuck. To get unstuck, we need to not so much worry about making the right plans, but instead trust that the purposes of God for our church will see us through.

Before he goes on to the next section, Bishop makes sure to point out that failure is a real possibility. Any time you take risks, you need to make sure you’re aware of the potential to fail. We can’t avoid risky behavior, though, because of risk.

For this reason, he moves on to the next section, titled “Reach Everywhere.” The issue for Churches to understand is that if the Great Commission is failing, this is our problem. There is need for us to really stop doing things which are keeping people from Christ. This is a theme of sorts through several chapters, as Bishop points out that we too often are hypocritical and play god with people. On top of that, there are things which we do in services which frankly make people feel uncomfortable. On page 103 he says “Most of us are great at doing church for people who do church, but we’re pretty stupid when it comes to reaching people who don’t do church.” Right on! He even tells a story about when he was visiting a church. I both chuckled and cringed as I read it.

So the need for leaders, and particularly pastors, is how we can make the services not become barriers to Christ. He’s not suggesting we change the message at all, but understanding the need to speak in ways which deal with people where they are, and doing so with the understanding that a real impact in people’s lives only happens when we preach through Christ in the power and conviction of the Spirit. Also in this section is the need we have to go to the people where Jesus went, meaning we may have to get dirty with them. We are called, after all, to the “least of these.” He points out in chapter 11 that while we can’t do everything, no one can, we can, and therefore must, do something.

The third part of the book is called “Release Everyone,” and this begins with a chapter called “Jesus would hire who you wouldn’t.” The important thing here is that often we avoid people who have bad pasts, but these might be just the people we should be using. In fact, Bishop points out that Jesus went after the outcasts. He didn’t go get followers from the elite, but from the shores of the lake.

It is in releasing everyone that we will make mistakes, and the author shares some of the mistakes they made in their growth, and in chapter 13 tells three important lessons he learned. I won’t go into them here, but they are worth looking at. He talks in this chapter about something they did which was a “bit reckless”. This may be the understatement of the book. It was very reckless, but they did it in order to see what God could do.

An interesting chapter in here was the one called “Purple salt: becoming a church that gets noticed.” He talks a lot about salt and its uses, and then on page 156 says this: “Salt is effective only as it comes into contact with other objects.” We cannot use too much salt, but we must get out with other people in order to be the salt. The reason for the “purple” salt is that we need to stand out in the world. People should notice us.

The fourth and final part of the book is called “Remember only God.” In the end, after all, the risks we take are all about God. He is the one who will deal with us when we’re in the midst of our droughts, which are bound to happen if we go into the world and take risks. These are the people and churches which will be attacked by Satan, so it’s important to rely completely on God. It’s important to know also what God has called us to be, and how He will take us there.

One final quote I like, which is really the foundation of the whole book. “Your potential is not found in what you have to offer God but in your availability to God.” (pg. 182) I did enjoy the book, and it gave me a lot to think and pray about. As a pastor who seeks to lead a church into dangerous territory, it’s nice to read a book which contains success and failure, lessons learned and disappointments felt.

Erasing Hell, pt. 7

2011-07-24T23:03:00.000-04:00

Chapter 7 – Don’t Be Overwhelmed

So what now? How can we carry on with visions of hell in our head? Wouldn’t it be easier to try to not think about it? Certainly it would, but that doesn’t mean we should. As a matter of fact, shouldn’t we work even harder to try to think about hell and do life differently? Chan believes we should. “We shouldn’t go on with life as usual.” (pg 145) This would be foolish. So he gives us some final thoughts.

First, this calls for a greater urgency. In Romans 9, Paul says he has “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” in his heart. Do we feel this sort of urgency? Paul goes so far as to say he wishes he could switch places with those who are on the path of destruction? Do we even come close to feeling like this? Do I? I would have to say that most time I don’t, and that’s a shame. The thing which is lacking, of course, is love. We don’t love people like Paul did. They were on his heart and mind all the time.

Chan also says that hell gives us a greater sense of joy when it comes to the cross. When we realize what we’ve been saved from, it makes the cross of Christ that much greater. In fact, the teachings of hell magnify “the beauty of the cross.” (pg 148) I do not suffer the wrath of God, but this is not for what I’ve done, but for what Jesus has done on my behalf. This is reason to worship!

Finally, Chan asks us the big question: “Are you sure?” It’s pointless to read, study or concern ourselves with hell at all, if we never turn the question back to ourselves. So this is where Chan spends his last few pages. If hell is real and most of the passages concerning hell were addressed to those who believed they wouldn’t be there, everyone should stop and consider the question of whether or not they are going to hell. So I’ll put it to you: Are you sure?

“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – II Corinthians 5:20b-21.

Erasing Hell, pt. 6

2011-07-23T21:36:00.002-04:00

Chapter 6 – “What if God…”

Here we come to what was inevitable with a book by Francis Chan. If I have one complaint with his teachings, it is his hold to the idea that everything which happens is orchestrated by God. This I simply cannot believe. There is far too much in Scripture which denies this teaching. Before I get into that, though, let me dive into what he says in the chapter. As I go through, I will give some critique.

Chan begins by looking at Romans 9, and talks about how in this chapter, Paul is telling the Jews about their standing with God, and how God has the right to choose or discard according to His desire. Let’s look at a few verses, and then we’ll take some time to look into them.

“Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?’ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” – Romans 9:18-21 (NIV)

Chan says this passage is teaching that God makes decisions based on His own will as to who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell. But is that what Paul is saying? Let me say three things which need to be known.

First, it is fairly certain that Paul was writing to people who believed God did predetermine everything, and this passage is actually Paul correcting some of their other theology, using their own theology against them. Okay, that might have been a confusing sentence, so let me explain. The Jews believed they were the chosen people, and as such, they would always be the people of God. Now Paul is telling them that they are not the people of God anymore, and that this designation has moved to the Church, which includes Jews and Gentiles. They were complaining about this, so Paul is using their theology, which says that God has the right to do whatever He wants, no matter what we want, and pointing it back at them. “Don’t you say God can do whatever He wants? Then you have no right to complain!”

Secondly, and in conjunction with this, remember the historical setting of the “Potter and clay” image. This comes from Jeremiah, where God sends Jeremiah to the house of the potter, and uses it as an image of Him as the Potter, and Israel as the clay. Look at Jeremiah 18:5-6: “Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’” (NIV) At first, it certainly appears to be what Chan is saying. God is all-determining; He chooses who will and will not be destroyed. We are clay in the hands of the Potter. However, we need to read the next two verses. “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” In fact, it seems as if we do have a part in determining our future. As Chan said earlier in the book, when looking at the passages concerning hell, it’s important to look at any verse in the context it was written, as well as the context from which it was taken if it’s quoted from the Old Testament, since that would have been the context the writer and readers understood.

The third thing which is important is to remember that Paul is not talking about salvation in individual terms. We have certainly become far too individualistic in our culture today, and it hinders our understanding of the Bible many times. In this passage, Paul is dealing with the nation of Israel, of which he is a part. As a matter of fact, almost every time the Bible talks about salvation, it is talking about a people, not a person. We are a body, a kingdom, a priesthood, a family and a community. So when Paul is talking about some destined for destruction, he is not talking about how certain individuals were chosen for destruction, but how certain groups of people were destined for hell. This is the group of people who have chosen to not follow Christ. So God does not choose individuals for heaven or hell, but instead chooses that all who follow Jesus will enter with Him into Glory.

Don’t misunderstand me; this chapter does have some good to it. A lot of the reason many seem to avoid the discussion or even belief of hell has nothing to do with what the Bible says, but about the fact that we are embarrassed to suggest God might send people there. Whatever your belief concerning whether God predetermines people to heaven and hell of not, there is danger is thinking we can understand everything God does and says. His ways and thoughts are certainly higher than ours. There are things I would look at that God allowed, commanded and did in the Bible which I question. I can point to stories and say “I’m not sure I would have done that.”

However, Chan is quick to point out that this is also true of the incarnation. If I were God, would I choose to send my Son into the world to die for people who had rejected me? Probably not. So I need to take all the things in the Bible I don’t understand, and be willing to put them into the hands of God. This doesn’t mean I don’t pursue answers, much like many in the Bible. I am allowed, and indeed encouraged, to wrestle with God and Scripture when it comes to places of confusion. However, I must be willing, even in my confusion, to confess the love of God and rejoice in Him. I will end (finally!) with a quote by Chan.

“As I have said all along, I don’t feel like believing in hell. And yet I do. Maybe someday I will stand in complete agreement with Him, but for now I attribute the discrepancy to an underdeveloped sense of justice on my part. God is perfect. And I joyfully submit to a God whose ways are much, much higher than mine.” (pg 141)

Erasing Hell, pt. 5

2011-07-22T21:26:00.001-04:00

Chapter 5 – What Does This Have to do With Me?

The question we need to ask about hell, then, is what does any of this have to do with me? Surely, hell is all about non-Christians, not Christians. Why do we really need to understand this? Obviously, there is the whole idea of evangelism. We need to be going out and warning those who are in danger. This we know, but what about personally? This is a huge difficulty for most people.

To help us answer that question, Chan takes us to one of the most frightening passages in the Bible. It is in Matthew 7 that Jesus tells us “many” will think they are on their way to Heaven, will stand before Jesus on the Day of Judgment, and be in for a huge surprise. They will tell Jesus all about what they did in His name, but will not be allowed into His eternal Presence. Why? Jesus will tell them the answer: “I never knew you.”

So the question on every person’s heart should be this: “Am I one of the ‘many’ who will stand before Jesus, and still be sent away. You see, it’s to those who claim to be following God to which almost every passage concerning hell is directed. This isn’t to say we shouldn’t talk about it to non-believers, but that we need to make sure we have ourselves together first. So Chan takes another look at some of these passages in the New Testament on hell, and tells us to spend some time examining ourselves.

One passage where Jesus is talking about judgment and hell is in the context of Jesus helping a Roman soldier. Here Jesus is marveling at the faith of this one man, while the Jews were the ones looking down their noses at the Romans, yet still lacked faith themselves. This, Chan tells us, is a sign of racism, which clearly the Jews suffered from in that day. The racism had nothing to do with skin color; the Jews simply believed they were better than others, because God had chosen them. This racism was going to cause them to be destroyed. Jesus says “many will come from the east and the west, and will take their place at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” The Kingdom of God has to do with faith, not race.

Chan talks about the need to reach out to those in need. The longest teaching of Jesus concerning Judgment Day has to do with this. It is those who gave water to the thirsty, visited those in prison, and so forth. We are called to reach out to the poor, and not caring for people in need is a sign that my faith is false and my religion is dead.

He then points his finger at people like me; those who are called to teach and preach. In James, Jude and II Peter, the warning is given to those who are false teachers. The tongue is a powerful tool for the Kingdom of God, but it is also powerful for the kingdom of Satan. There are warnings given throughout the Bible of the calling and responsibility God has given teachers and preachers, and therefore the judgment which will fall on them if they are negligent in what they say.

Finally, there are the lukewarm. Drawing from the letters to the churches in Revelation, Chan points out the danger of being lukewarm. The problem is that most people aren’t concerned with this, and are in fact enjoying their lukewarm Christianity. He points out that this is a huge problem in America today. “We have become dangerously comfortable—believers ooze with wealth and let their addictions to comfort and security numb the radical urgency of the gospel.” (pg. 124)

The danger is we will become so comfortable with our Christianity, that we won’t look to these passages and more which warn those who claim to be followers of Christ, yet are living as people of the world. We are the ones to whom most passages of hell are directed.

Erasing Hell, pt. 4

2011-07-21T09:03:00.003-04:00

Chapter 4 – What Jesus’ Followers Said About Hell

So if Jesus clearly taught about hell, did his followers see it that way as well? Surely it was those closest to Jesus who understood his teachings best, so the question we must ask is whether or not they understood Him the way we understand Him. If it’s different than how we’ve taken it, maybe we need to reexamine what we’ve taken from Jesus. So what did they say?

Chan begins with Paul, and points out something interesting. Paul never uses the word “hell”. This is important to point out, because Rob Bell claims that he uses every verse in the Bible in which “hell” is used. This might be true, but though Paul doesn’t use the word “hell”, there is no mistaking that he uses the concepts and terms of hell which Jesus and the other teachers used quite frequently. It is Paul who says that those who do not obey Christ “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” (II Thessalonians 1:9)

Of course, there are many who say that we shouldn’t preach the “hell-fire and brimstone” sermon. There have been people who went too far, and never paid any attention to the grace and love of God in their teaching, preaching or witnessing. That is certainly wrong. But we need to watch out that we don’t swing the opposite direction, and begin to ignore hell completely. Chan says “God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. We can’t sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable ones.” (pg. 101) There needs to be some balance.

Paul demonstrates this for us in Acts 17. Here we have Paul preaching a clear message of God, but doesn’t say anything of forgiveness, atonement or cross. There is, however, talk of the Day of Judgment. Paul tells the listeners that God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness.” This certainly isn’t an argument that we should only preach judgment, but that it is certainly wrong to ignore it.

He then goes to a couple other authors in the New Testament, Peter and Jude. In II Peter 2 and Jude we have some very vivid imagery. Demons and false teachers, along with the unrighteous, will be punished in hell. There will be “destruction,” “punishment,” “judgment,” “condemnation” and more.

Then, of course, you have the book of Revelation. No where is the image more vivid, though Chan doesn’t talk about the possibility of John using apocalyptic language. Regardless, though, of how realistic the images are, there are certain things you cannot avoid when you read Revelation. There will be a Judgment day, and the “cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for the murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (21:8)

Do the writers back up the understanding we took from Jesus’ teachings? They certainly do, yet the idea of hell is so unpleasant, most don’t even think about it. I, with Chan, agree that I don’t often life as if hell is an actual place. “What causes my heart to ache right now as I’m writing this is that my life shows little evidence that I actually believe this. Every time my thoughts wander to the future of unbelievers, I quickly brush them aside so they don’t ruin my day. But there is a reality here that I can’t ignore.” (pg. 107)

Erasing Hell pt.3

2011-07-19T23:04:00.000-04:00

Chapter 3 – What Jesus Actually Said About Hell

Chan begins and ends this chapter with a warning to not forget the seriousness of what we’re talking about. It seems that the study of hell put some fear in him even as he was writing it, and it’s important that it do the same for us. He asks us to stop, look around us, and notice the people who are milling about. Then remember that some of them could very well be on their way to hell. “This is not just about doctrine; it’s about destinies.” (pg. 72)

Then he dives into what Jesus had to say about hell. He spends a lot of his time in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25), saying that this is the longest passage concerning judgment and hell in Jesus’ teachings. He then uses the same basic outline which he did in the chapter before, trying to show whether or not Jesus corrected the teachings of the people who were talking about hell at the same time. Surely, if they were teaching bad theology, Jesus would have corrected them. He certainly did when it came to legalism, because this gave a false image of God. If hell also gave a false image of God, Jesus certainly would have corrected it.

First, does Jesus talk about hell being a place of punishment or correction? Bell argues that those who go to hell, if there is such a place, largely go for the sake of correction or cleansing, and after that is done, they can then enter into heaven. However, in the parable of the sheep and goats, hell is clearly a place where people go after judgment because they didn’t follow Jesus. Nor is this seen as earthly judgment. While there is certainly “hell on earth” this is not what Jesus was talking about. He was referring instead to a hell which happens after judgment.

Then there is the question of punishment. The contemporaries of Jesus certainly depicted hell as a place of darkness and fire. Did Jesus correct this teaching? He certainly didn’t, using terms like “darkness”, “weeping”, and “everlasting fire.” Jesus taught very clearly that hell was a place of punishment.

Then there is the question of whether Jesus taught that those who died would be punished in hell forever, or whether Jesus taught that those in hell would eventually be annihilated. Are people in hell eventually destroyed? This is the question he poses, and Chan gives his opinion, which is the idea of an everlasting punishment. However, he leaves plenty of room for the other, stating that this isn’t one of the places where Jesus was abundantly clear. I found this interesting, and Chan simply moves on after telling us to spend some time looking at it ourselves.

He ends the chapter, though, just as he started. Let’s first be sure we leave this in God’s hands. “God has never asked us to figure our His justice or to see if His way of doing things is morally right. He has only asked us to embrace His Word and bow the knee.” An important reminder, which I’m afraid Bell forgot!

But it was the last statement which is perhaps the most important to remember: “Don’t get so lost in deciphering that you forget to tremble.”

Erasing Hell, pt 2

2011-07-19T07:28:00.002-04:00

Chapter 2 – Has Hell Changed? Or Have We?

The goal for Chan in the second chapter of this book is to find out the context of teaching in which Jesus taught. In other words, what were the people teaching about hell in the time Jesus lived? This is important, because we find Jesus in the gospels constantly correcting bad theology. When the Pharisees were teaching things contrary to the teachings of the Old Testament, Jesus was pretty hard on them. So what they were teaching about hell, if it was too far off base, would need to be corrected. Also, they were using some of the same language which Jesus used, so it helps us to understand even more.

A problem which even Bell points out in “Love Wins” is that we need to understand Jesus according to His culture, not ours. Chan is certainly not arguing with him. However, he comes away with some very different thoughts. He points out four things about hell which were being taught in the time of Jesus.

First, he says they taught that hell is a place of punishment after judgment. After a person dies, they go to a “holding place” of sorts, which may or may not include some type of punishment. After the judgment, they are now thrown into hell. He is careful to point out that this punishment isn’t seen as “corrective” but “retributive.” It is most certainly judgment. He quotes an early writer who says that those who end up in hell after judgment “cannot now make a good repentance that they may live.”

Secondly, it is noted that hell is described in images of fire, darkness and lament. It is not a pleasant place at all, but a place of torment.

Interestingly, he points out that thirdly there were some people who were annihilationists. In other words, there were early Jews who believed that those who ended up in hell were only there for a time, and after their punishment was completed, they would be destroyed forever, never to live again.

The fourth thing he points out is that this was not a universal belief. Many believed in a never-ending punishment. Those who went to hell would remain there for all of eternity, and would not be destroyed.

If these things were all being taught while Jesus walked on earth, how does that change the way we understand His teachings? It should certainly make us wonder why, if Universalism is correct, Jesus never set the teachers around Him right.

The final few pages of this chapter deal with the issue of Gehenna. There is a lot of controversy concerning Gehenna. Bell contends that it was a garbage dump, and Jesus was talking about the fact that after we die, it is more like a dump than the ideas we commonly think of (fire, weeping…etc). Does this hold water?

Actually, no, it doesn’t. Chan points out that just because Jesus uses something like a garbage dump to illustrate hell, it doesn’t make the other things we are taught about hell any less true. The point of an illustration isn’t to be a complete explanation, but a picture of a larger truth. (I wonder if Bell believes we live in a mustard seed?)

The other thing which was fascinating is that Chan calls Bell on using the idea of a garbage dump at all, since there is no writing until around the year 1200 AD that calls Gehenna a garbage dump. Even then, it was used as an allegory of hell and destruction.

Erasing Hell, pt 1

2011-07-18T12:25:00.000-04:00

I would like to do a chapter by chapter review and commentary on Francis Chan’s book “Erasing Hell.” I recently read and reviewed “Love Wins” by Rob Bell, and thought this would be a good follow up to that. I went into this book quite a bit more hopeful, and so far, Chan is living up to that hope.
Right from the introduction, Chan gives some clear warnings. It’s not about what I want, but what the Bible says, and when it comes to the subject of hell, we need to be cautious. “When it comes to hell, we can’t afford to be wrong. This is not one of those doctrines where you can toss in your two cents, shrug your shoulders, and move on. Too much is at stake. Too many people are at stake. And the Bible has much to say.” (pg. 14-15) Hell is real, and Chan says we need to take it seriously enough to study it, learn about it, and weep over it. So let’s dive in.

Chapter 1 – Does Everyone Go To Heaven?

One of my biggest critiques when it came to Bell’s book was his constant habit of quoting verses without dealing with their context. Chan seems to have a problem with this too, as he starts right out dealing with Bell and other Universalists, talking about the passages they use to defend their position. He demonstrates how their proof passages are not really that at all, if looked at in their immediate context.
Chan uses Philippians 2 as an example, showing the context of the phrase “every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” He points out the verses in chapters 1 and 3 which speak clearly of those whose “end is destruction.” If all you have are three verses from Philippians, there might be some argument to be made for universalism. However, we have a lot more of Philippians than that, and we are called to rightly divide the word of God, not divide the word of God so we can be right. An important distinction, to say that least.
Not only this, but Chan points out that Paul is quoting a passage in Isaiah, which also speaks of the destruction of the wicked. Huh, context and cross referencing? Now that’s some innovative thinking!
My biggest worry, though, in reading Chan’s book is that I know he’s a pretty staunch Calvinist, meaning he believes that God’s sovereignty doesn’t just mean all-powerful, as I believe, but all-determining, which I don’t believe. So I was a little concerned when, on page 30, Chan says that God gets everything he wants. Thankfully, Chan finds balance by pointing out the difference between the “moral” will of God and the “decreed” will of God. Chan says that God has a “moral” will, which is that none will go to hell, but that this will doesn’t always happen because God gives the chance for us to choose. However, there is also the “decreed” will of God, which means there are some things which God decrees, which wouldn’t be morally pleasing to Him. Quite frankly, Chan seems ambiguous on this point, at the very least. Perhaps he’ll clear himself up as we go along in the book.
So for clarification, let me state my belief on the will of God, and how His sovereignty plays into my thoughts on our eternal destiny. I don’t believe God gets everything He wants, because I believe God created us to love, and love is a choice. Therefore, God had to allow us to not love Him in order for our love to be genuine. If this is the case, there will be some who break God’s heart by rejecting Him, and they will end up in hell. This is often called the “permissive” will of God. God doesn’t want me to sin, but still gives me the ability to do this, because He loves me and wants me to love Him in return.
Chan ends this chapter with the crux of the matter. “…there is no single passage in the Bible that describes, hints at, hopes for, or suggests that someone who dies without following Jesus in this life will have an opportunity to do so after death.” (pg. 35) Now that’s a bold statement, but one that Universalists have to deal with.
In Love Wins, Bell claimed he used all the passages which dealt with hell. After listing a few of them, Bell says “Anything you have ever heard people say about the actual word ‘hell’ in the Bible they got from those verses you just read.” I said in my review that he fell short of actually using every passage. There were Old Testament passages he left out, but one of the most important New Testament passages on hell actually answers the question of a second chance, after death, and whether hell is a reality for those who aren’t ready for Him. One passage he ignored was Matthew 25:1-13.
Bell goes so far as to suggest that God could never say “Door’s locked. Sorry. If you had been there earlier, I could have done something. But now, it’s too late.” The passage I mentioned above actually says something similar. Chan points this out same phrase by Bell out, and gives another passage to deal with it; Luke 13:25-28. Both of these passages clearly point out that we can indeed be shut out, and once that happens, the doors will not be opened.
Well, this book has been good so far. More to come, I’m sure.

Approaching Scripture with a "Yes"

2011-07-18T01:12:00.000-04:00

I recently asked the people at my church a series of questions, listed below. I didn't ask them these things assuming God would ask them to do them, but wanting to know if people would be willing to obey God no matter what. Too often we approach Bible reading wanting to know what God wants, and then deciding whether we will obey, rather than asking God to speak to us, planning on saying yes no matter what He says. Not an easy attitude. But I think these are valuable questions to ask, and maybe consider once in a while. Some of them are easy, but don't focus on those. What about the harder ones? What about the ones which aren't comfortable, easy or convenient? What are we going to do about those?

What if?
If Jesus asked you to stop watching tv for a year, would you?
If Jesus asked you to witness to one new person every week, would you?
If Jesus asked you to stop going out to eat, would you?
If Jesus asked you to be a missionary to Africa, Brazil, New York or Black Lick, would you?
If Jesus asked you to fast one day a week, and give that money to the poor, would you?
If Jesus asked you to get a different job so you could spend more time serving Him, would you?
If Jesus asked you to not go out to movies any more, would you?
If Jesus asked you to get rid of one vehicle so you could give more to those in need, would you?
If Jesus asked you to give up Steelers football, would you?
If Jesus asked you to move to a smaller house so you could give more to those in need, would you?
If Jesus asked you to give 20 hours a week to helping people who didn’t like you or show gratitude, would you?
If Jesus asked you to give 20% of your income to Him, would you?

On the Verge

2011-07-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

I was excited to get a copy of “On the Verge” (Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson), as I’ve been struggling with a couple of things lately in my role as pastor. First, the need to be missional and transform communities by the love of Jesus is obviously Biblical, as well as the call God puts on every believer and group of believers. But the “how” of that isn’t always so obvious. A lot of books want to tell you how a particular group did this, but most of them haven’t dealt with anything close to the situation I pastor in. So the first thing I was looking for was some practical things I could do to help me get an idea of what was needed. Secondly, I wanted to know how to infuse into my leadership and congregation exactly what I feel as if God has put inside of me. These two things have been burning in me, and it has been my intention, through preaching, teaching and leading to get these things instilled in my people. On the Verge manages to help answer these questions in very thoughtful and practical ways, without sounding like a how-to manual, which is unfortunately what a lot of church leadership books read like.

There are some very key themes used throughout the book. Imagination, risk, innovation and missional people are just a few. The introduction starts right there, pointing out the thing most pastors need to know; how to instill into every individual the call of God on them to be a player in the Kingdom of God.

Chapter one begins to lay out the problem with the numbers 60/40. According to Hirsch and Ferguson, approximately 40% of people in America today are touched in some way by the church, and most congregations are fighting over those people, while the other 60% are barely touched by the gospel. Worse than that, the church seems to not have an answer to this problem. Institutions have become the focal point of many groups, or arguments about worship and preaching style, and so “win” the battle for the 40% who are already being reached, rather than focusing on reaching those who aren’t connected with any of these things, or more importantly, Jesus.

The book is written in four parts; Imagine, Shift, Innovate and Move. Chapters two through six, written primarily by Alan Hirsch, begin to tell us how we can address these problems. It must begin, he says, with imagination. Too often we have spent our time looking at what we are, rather than what we want to become. Then we imagine our way forward. This is where it gets difficult, because if you’re like me, you want a manual, but it is only Spirit-guided imagination, seeking to get into the minds and hearts of those on the “outside” and re-discovering ways of touching them which will be effective. There will not be one solution to this problem; each community will present unique situations, and believers must answer them with unique solutions.

One thing I really liked is the push to have churches recognize themselves as mission organizations. If we will do this, we will then understand it is our responsibility to cross cultural barriers, not ask those outside the church to do the hard work for us. On page 73, Hirsch says this; “If we persist with the current status quo, we are in effect asking the nonbeliever to do all the cross-cultural work in coming to church! Remember, we are the sent ones—not them.”

So helping the people move forward needs to begin, not with the solution, but by pointing to the problem. There is something which is wrong in our nation today, and if we have the answer, yet aren’t seeing significant change for the good of our communities, this is an issue which we need to find an answer to. And it is our responsibility, not theirs!

In the “Shift” section, the discussion moves to the mDNA, or the missional DNA which is in each church living out mission in community. The authors are quick to point out that this DNA is in all Christians and groups of believers, because they are part of the nature of following after Christ. Even if they aren’t tapped, they are there. These six are the lordship of Christ, disciple making, missional-incarnational impulse, apostolic environment, organic systems and communitas. If we are going to “imagine” our way forward, and shift the movement of ourselves and communities, they will be done through these core essentials.

From this DNA, we create an ethos, which includes our values, those we call heroes, the symbols we use and our belief system. All the programs in the church are centered on what our ethos is, which is built from our mDNA. This will look different in different churches, depending on a community’s needs, the heart of those who are leading, and the individuals who are becoming missionaries in their own environments. From our ethos come the practices we participate in as a church.

In the “Innovate” section, Dave Ferguson takes over the main writing, and begins by talking about the need for true innovation, not simply copying someone else’s good idea. I appreciated the three things he mentioned were necessary for us to be good leaders. First, we need to lead from the front, and honestly ask ourselves this question: “If people only imitated me, would they be doing God’s mission?” This is a crucial question which challenged me greatly. Secondly, we lead with curiosity, not certainty. The need to take risks is not to be underrated. Finally, we lead with a yes, encouraging people in their own personal missions. Included in this section is a chapter with some “how-to’s” concerning innovation, including the need to do new things, not just do things better and allowing everyone to participate in the mission.

Dave also writes the “Move” section, which he begins by helping the reader evaluate where their particular church is. If we know where we are, we’ll know more what needs to change. This questioning moves into the final chapter of the book as well, as we are asked the important questions so we can figure out how to begin or continue a movement within our churches.

The book concludes with some examples of what that author’s call “Verge” churches; churches which are living out the Apostolic Genius, communities of missionaries, taking the gospel into their own personal communities.

All in all, this was an excellent books, with Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson each taking different chapters, with the other one having a few pages of response at the end of each chapter. It was nice to read two different voices on the same subject, and I felt myself challenged in different ways by both of them. I’m very thankful for this book, and believe it will help me a great deal in the future as I continue to seek the heart of God in the world I live in.

One final word: while this book is very practical, I don’t want to give the impression that it’s not also deeply spiritual. The emphasis on the lordship of Christ, the guidance of the Spirit and the heart of the Father are all over the place. You can’t miss it. But that shouldn’t ever take away from the practical lessons of leadership, and I appreciate the difficult edge they walked in order to bring us this book. I look forward to reading more from the Exponential series.

Love Wins - Rob Bell

2011-06-17T09:52:00.000-04:00

As if you needed another review of Rob Bell’s book, and as if you wanted one from me, I thought I would at least share my thoughts.
First, let me say that from the beginning, I have defended Bell. This wasn’t because I agreed with him. Actually, I would say that I didn’t really defend Bell at all, but defended his right to write this book. I have never read anything by Bell, and so I couldn’t really defend what he believed. Anyway, this seemed to get me on the bad side of some. Oh well. Its fun over here, you should try it!
The first reason I defended Bell was because most of the people who talked about the book never actually read the book. They saw some things, assumed some things, and spoke from that. This is why the only thing I posted on my page with reference to this book was an interview with Bell. I think he should be allowed to speak for himself. I never stated whether I agreed with him or not, and the reason for that is because I just didn’t know. I hadn’t read it. Now I have, so I’ll speak to the book in a bit.
The second reason, and bigger, I defended this book is because, whether I agree with him or not, Bell is not debating creedal positions of the Church. I believe that those things contained in the Nicene and Apostle’s Creeds are fundamentals to the faith. In other words, to deny them is to deny Christianity itself. There is no mention of Heaven or Hell in the creeds, so differences of interpretation are allowed within Christendom. There are some who believe in the annihilation theory, universalism, the idea that “hell is locked from the inside”, and what we know as the traditional views evangelicals today. You can believe any of these things, and as far as I’m concerned, still be a Christian. I personally am okay with the discussion. In fact, I encourage it, because I believe it is healthy for us.
I know that for me there are many things I believe fundamentally, but are not fundamentals. I have debated them over the years, and some things have changed in my own theology. I have different views on the sacraments and end times than I did ten years ago. I imagine I will have even more things in my theology fine tuned as I continue to grow in grace and knowledge.
In addition to this, those things which I didn’t change, I found myself growing even stronger in those beliefs. I am a Wesleyan Arminian, meaning I am a 1 point Calvinist…I’ll let you figure out which one that is! I have debated these issues, and reached crisis points of my own within them, but have always come back to them believing them to stand solidly on Scripture and historical integrity.
Because I feel pretty strongly about this, I tend to try to spread my reading into books which I feel uncomfortable with, or am pretty sure I’ll disagree with. Some of the time I was right, some of the time I was mostly right, and other times I wasn’t very right at all! I’m sure that sentence makes sense.
There were a lot of people who were terrified when “The Davinci Code” came out. What was going to happen? Were people going to abandon Christianity because they had no faith in Scripture? But I heard someone, I think it was Lee Strobel, point out that there was no reason to fear. What do we have to be afraid of? When people started taking the claims made by a work of fiction and comparing them to actual history, it turned out they didn’t have much to worry about. Scripture stood strongly against the barrage of lies.
But on to Love Wins. It’s actually difficult on some levels for me to say how I feel. The more I read the book, the more I found myself not sure what I thought. Let me explain. I would read one page, and I would agree with everything there. Then I would read another page, same chapter, and disagree with everything there. It’s not as if there was one chapter I liked, and then the next I didn’t.
It finally dawned on me what was going on. Bell argues against a god I’ve never served, and for a god I have no interest in serving. So in a lot of ways, I agreed with him. He argues against a God who carelessly tosses people into hell for all eternity. He tells us that we need to be careful to state that Heaven and Hell are not only future things, but present realities. At this point in the book, I was totally with him. And, to be honest, I don’t know many Christians who would disagree. I remember hearing Colson, years ago, speaking on just this topic. He said that many people today think you have to go through hell on earth to get to Heaven, and heaven on earth would land you in Hell. Obviously, I don’t believe that, and neither did Colson, and neither does Bell.
This I’m okay with. I think there are many Christians today who live in complete bondage and fear (not the good kind) of God. That’s wrong. Jesus came to give us life, and life more abundantly. The problem is that instead of trying to find some type of center, Bell goes to the opposite extreme, and attempts, throughout the book, to show God as a God who doesn’t judge us for the way we choose to live. Now, I think there is an important center to the way God judge’s people. I’m not always sure what that center is.
So there were certainly things I liked about the book. He says in here that our “eschatology shapes our ethics.” I don’t know that I would make the statement that strong, but I certainly think that our view on the end times is important to our every day life. It does change the way we live today. So for him, the discussion of Heaven and Hell is important, because our view on these things will determine the way we live and evangelize today.
In light of this, I also appreciated how global his scope of evangelism was. That’s important. We need to see the world as our mission. Again, though, nothing new. “The world is my parish.” Ummm, that isn’t Bell, that’s Wesley.
Anyway, I think a lot of the good of this book is drawn from Bell’s unwillingness to judge someone’s eternal status. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not my place to judge a heart. I can judge someone’s actions while they are on earth, detecting whether they are truly bearing fruit, but that is only for corrective and discipleship purposes, not for eternal judgment purposes. One thing which was funny is that he tells us not to judge a person’s eternal destiny when, by all appearances, they are evil. Yet he is more than happy to do this when it comes to someone who is good. Where’s the balance? I believe there will be people in Heaven that will surprise me, and people who won’t be there that will surprise me just as much.
The problem is, there was a lot more which was bad in this book. There are several “rules” for Biblical interpretation, and Bell seems to ignore almost all of them. When he quotes verses, there is no fear of ignoring context. He doesn’t understand that some writings are intended to be taken figuratively, rather than literally, though a big part of his debate is wrapped around trying to do get everyone else to do that in regards to the passages concerning Heaven and Hell.
Also, he says he uses all of the passages on hell from the Bible, but he seems to have missed some, which apparently didn’t fit in with his concepts. Maybe Bell forgot his Strong’s Concordance?
There are also concepts of salvation that he either doesn’t get, or doesn’t care about, or just ignores for the sake of his arguments. The process of grace, then faith, then repentance, and then works seems to elude him completely. He argues some things that just don’t make sense when you read the Bible as a whole. One major problem I had is that Bell seems to ignore the idea of repentance. Non-repentance reveals an unchanged heart. That poses a problem when it comes to judgment. Speaking of judgment, Bell also ignores completely the Day of Judgment. Say what you will, this is not a minor issue in Scripture.
I do think that this book will bother those from the Calvinist view point more than those from the Arminian. The reason for that is because Bell talks about the fact that if people go to hell, God doesn’t get what he wants, and this is a failure on God’s part. So obviously God must get what he wants, which is the eternal option of Heaven. So also people must get what they want, so they have to have the eternal option of Heaven.
I don’t have a problem with God not getting what He wants. That is certainly Scriptural. There are things which happen which God doesn’t desire, and people who will go to Hell that God desires to be in Heaven. I also don’t have a problem with people having the option of going to Heaven. I believe everyone will get the opportunity to choose God; I just think that will happen here.
Whether or not I would encourage you to read this book is difficult. For me, it’s not a problem to pick up a book which is filled with bad Biblical interpretation. I know how to discern, and understand what isn’t being said, along with what is. If you fit in that category, this book may be helpful to you. It will, at the least, encourage you to study your own thoughts on eternity, and hopefully change the way you live today.
I guess I would say this; don’t make this the only, or even the first, book you read on Heaven and Hell. Study Scripture, look at some theologians and listen to sermons from trust sources. If you do read this, please remember that Bell writes from a pastoral perspective. He is not a theologian. That changes the way he writes, and the way we should read.

Prayer - John Newton

2009-08-28T09:41:00.000-04:00

Indeed, a person who lives in the exercise of faith and love, and who finds by experience that it is good for him to draw near to God, will not need to be told how often he must pray, any more than how often he must converse with an earthly friend. Those whom we love, we love to be much with. Love is the best casuist, and either resolves or prevents a thousand scruples and questions, which may perplex those who only serve God from principles of constraint and fear. A believer will account those his happiest days, when he has most leisure and most liberty of spirit for the exercise of prayer.

John Newton

Time to Pray!

2009-08-27T00:02:00.005-04:00

We're doing the Truth Project at our home on Wednesday nights, and this week it was about the history of America. Part of Abraham Lincoln's proclamation was on there, and so I went searching for it. This is what we need to be hearing from our politicians!

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.
And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State

What's So Great About Christianity

2009-07-09T13:47:00.002-04:00

I highly recommend “What’s So Great About Christianity” by Dinesh D’Souza. Writing a book concerning the defense of Christianity is not something necessarily easy to do, unless you ignore all of the serious objections to Christianity. D’Souza manages, though, to address these objections and give reasonable, well thought out answers. I’m sure this won’t satisfy those who refuse to open their eyes to the possibility of truth within Christianity. But to any who are seriously searching, this book provides an excellent tool. It will also help Christians who are struggling with either answering these questions for themselves, or have a hard time formulating the answers to others who are questioning, and need some help. He doesn’t just seek to answer questions, but to lead readers who aren’t Christians to a walk with Christ. It is, as he says, “an invitation to convert.”

The book opens with some extraordinary chapters concerning the rise and spread of religion in general and Christianity in particular. Instead of taking the rather pessimistic view of many Christians in America, he sees Christianity in a global light. Chapter one begins with this; “God has come back to life. The world is witnessing a huge explosion of religious conversion and growth, and Christianity is growing faster than any other religion. Nietzsche’s proclamation “God is dead” is now proven false. Nietzsche is dead. The ranks of the unbelievers are shrinking as a proportion of the world’s population. Secularism has lost its identification with progress and modernity, and consequently it has lost the main source of its appeal. God is very much alive, and His future prospects look to be excellent. This is the biggest comeback story of the twenty-first century.”

He then goes on to show how and why this is happening. A very encouraging start to this book. He goes on to show how the atheist is trying to defeat this rise in Christianity through different avenues, particularly in the area of education. So this is where a lot of the book is heading.

D’Souza defends creation a lot in this book, though the one thing I really didn’t care for in found in this area. While he is defending creation, it is in the realm of theistic evolution. While I agree with what he is trying to do, defend Christianity, and show that it doesn’t contradict science, I have a hard time with how he does it. There was a growing frustration in me as he continued down this line for quite some time, arguing rather vehemently about his ideas of God “creating” the process of evolution, in contradiction to the Biblical story of creation.

However, the book once again turned to areas that I appreciated the authors’ views, as he turned to the philosophical arguments against God, and once again showed them to be erroneous. Again and again through this book he takes what he views as the strongest arguments against God, and demonstrates why they are false, and once again God is shown to be truth. Because I am certainly less knowledgeable in the realm of philosophy, it did me well to read these chapters.

The last few chapters deal with the questions of suffering and the nature of man, which are dealt with well, though he leaves some questions unanswered that I felt could have been answered. He ends with a call to Christ, defending briefly His life, death and resurrection. He shows why one would desire Christianity at all.

All in all, a good book, and again, one I would recommend, with just a couple of reservations, already mentioned. I recommend it to Christians and non-Christians alike; any who are seeking truth. And since I’m recommending this book alongside Ravi Zacharias, I feel like I’m in good company!

Marriage Explained...?

2009-06-30T21:27:00.002-04:00

Hopefully this isn't the impression that Carlee gets!

The child was a typical four-year-old girl - cute, inquisitive, bright as a new penny. When she expressed difficulty in grasping the concept of marriage, her father decided to pull out his wedding photo album, thinking visual images would help.

One page after another, he pointed out the bride arriving at the church, the entrance, the wedding ceremony, the recessional, the reception, etc.

"Now do you understand?" he asked.

"I think so," she said, "is that when mommy came to work for us?"

Our Savior King

2009-06-24T11:52:00.000-04:00

"The Lord will not save those He cannot command. He will not divide His offices. You cannot believe on a half-Christ. We take Him for what He is – the anointed Savior and Lord who is King of kings and Lord of lords! He would not be Who He is if He saved us and called us and chose us without the understanding that He can also guide and control our lives." - A.W. Tozer

Hand painting

2009-06-16T22:34:00.002-04:00

Had these sent to me by a friend. Actually, this is only a few. There were many more. I just picked some of my favorites, and thought I would share. Enjoy!

Madame Blueberry

2009-06-06T23:43:00.003-04:00

My two year old has recently discovered Veggie Tales! This has led to some interesting times around the house, and a lot of humorous times as well. Her favorite at this point is Madame Blueberry, the story of a woman(?) who has all she needs, but is not content. So she goes to the Stuff Mart to attempt to buy happiness, only to discover that with all they have, they cannot sell her a “happy heart.” This all, despite the fact that she was told “Happiness waits at the Stuff Mart.”

The story is, of course, geared at being content with what we have, and not being greedy for more. Happiness comes from inside, not from outside.

As I was watching this with my daughter, I was struck by the fact that here is a lesson every Christian needs to learn, not just about life, but about church. Churches have become so commercialized that the real question when looking for a new church is often “what can they give me,” as opposed to “what can I give.” I know, I know, churches need to fulfill needs, but what is a need? Is it new carpet, more comfortable seats (our church just redid our pews!) or better availability in childcare?

I’m not saying these things aren’t nice, or even necessary in some occasions, but the fact is that we have become far too worried about people finding happiness than we are with people finding God. That is, after all, what church is supposed to be about, right?

I recently read “Fool’s Gold,” which was edited by John MacArthur. There were some good things in the book. One chapter in it was titled “Choking on Choices: Combating Consumerism with a Biblical Mind-Set.” In it Kurt Gebhards said this;

“Instead of shopping for a church that fits our criteria, our desire, as God’s servants, should be to find a ministry that meets His standards. The question should not be, ‘Are my expectations met?” but rather, ‘Are God’s expectations met?” In spite of the market-driven culture around us, we should work hard to root out the self-centered perspective that American materialism breeds. Ultimately we must each as ourselves, ‘As we come to God’s house, what weighs more heavily on our hearts—His expectations for sacrificial service and worship, or our own expectations for personal fulfillment?’”

We in America, and much of the Western world, need to take the time to examine our motivations for life; whether we’re talking about our walk with God, how we view church, our relationships, our jobs, and a bunch of other things. What a blessing it would be if we would all take some simple lessons from a kids cartoon to heart, learning to thank God for what we have, and not look out so much for our own desires, but to please God by loving others and living lives of worship.

A Generous Orthodoxy - Brian McLaren

2009-05-30T08:34:00.004-04:00

I had the opportunity this last week to read “A Generous Orthodoxy” by Brian McClaren. I picked up this book knowing I was going to disagree with the author on things, but felt it was necessary. He has been largely criticized, often times with very harsh words and attitudes, by many, and I felt it was time for me to do a little reading of my own.

Actually, I have read some by him before, thought this was my first chance to read a book by him alone. I first came across his writings in the book “The Church in Emerging Culture,” which was edited by Leonard Sweet, a friend of McClaren as well as a fellow “emergent” type. In that book, Sweet brings together five authors who discuss how we are to “do” church in our culture today, and we get all different answers, from don’t do anything at all, to basically we need to change almost everything. The book is written in a conversational way, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to find out where they fit in, rather than how people tell them they should fit in.

Anyway, McLaren is firmly entrenched in that book in the changing your methods and message, which means we need to change how we do church, as well as what we are talking about. While I agree with both of these to a certain extent (in the sense that we need to bring to the gospel to the world in a relevant and understandable way), I think there are ways of doing this which aren’t so extreme. Anyway…the problem which was the biggest for me when it came to McLaren in that book was the way he was willing to change the message, and I believe he wants to go way too far, conceding and teaching things which are clearly not true, no matter the culture you live in. This is why, for the longest time, I didn’t really want to read too much by him, particularly a book of his on, of all things, orthodoxy. However, I felt it was important for me, as a pastor, to be able to talk about him from actually reading what he says, rather than reading what other people say about him. That being said, here are my thoughts.

First, I disagreed with far less than I thought I would. I admit that I went into the book expecting to agree with very little, and came out disagreeing with about the same amount; certainly not all of what he says, but a lot. One of the things which stood out to me was the heart McLaren has for the lost. His goal throughout is to reach those who don’t know Christ, and to find ways of introducing them to that. For this alone, I think his books need to be taken seriously, though still possibly with a willingness to question and perhaps get a little irritated at him. By the way, he admits in his introduction that he is okay with irritating you if it gets you to think. That I can appreciate.

Secondly, on this same line of thought, I found that people are far too hard on him. Yes, I know there’s some compromise, but still this man deserves a fair trial. Many of those who criticize are Calvinist, and don’t give this man the time of day because of his thoughts on the sovereignty of God. Boy did he stick his neck out on that one! Enough said there…

Thirdly, one thing I really liked about this particular book is that McLaren seems very interested in finding the best in all the different branches of Christianity. While at some times he is very straightforward and certainly steps on toes, at other times he simply wants the best anyone can offer. Certainly there are chapters where he is a little too generous with his orthodoxy, but it doesn’t hurt for us, and definitely for me, to be stretched a little and made to think.

I suppose I could go on and on, but I won’t. Next up: “The Rule of Faith; Scripture, Canon, and Creed in a Critical Age.” This will probably help me come back into proper balance!

About dispensationalism

2009-05-27T08:59:00.002-04:00

I came across this quote while reading "Security - The False and the True" by W. T. Purkiser. Thoughts?

"Dispensationalism is one of the most ingenious systems of biblical interpretation ever devised to escape the clear statements of God's inspired Word. It takes a half-truth, and by artificial and strained application transforms it into a principle of interpretation which permits almost any deduction one might wish to draw from the pages of the Book."

Making good coffee

2009-05-07T13:20:00.001-04:00

I love coffee, and here's a great tip from the Red Green Show on how to make it cheap.

Word Cloud

2009-04-29T22:46:00.003-04:00

Here is a word cloud for the text I'm preaching from this week. I thought it might be interesting to compare the text to my sermon.

So here is the text - Hebrews 5:1-10

created at TagCrowd.com

Now here is my sermon

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Quiz - Are you a Calvinist?

2009-04-29T06:34:00.006-04:00

Ran across this on a blog, the Wesleyan Arminian, and thought you might enjoy.

Genesis 25:23 The LORD said to [Rebekah], "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

Q: What was in Rebekah's womb?
A. Two nations and two peoples.
B. One elect person and one reprobate person.
C. Don't even try to refer to the Old Testament for your exegesis of Romans 9. Heretic.

Ezekiel 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Q: How much pleasure does the Sovereign Lord take in the death of the wicked?

A. No pleasure
B. Much pleasure
C. No revealed pleasure, but lots of secret pleasure.

Mathew 23:37: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Q: Why didn't Jesus gather up those in Jerusalem, when he longed to?

A. Because they were not willing.
B. This is a mystery.
C. Hello pea brain. Jesus was speaking of general chicks, not effectual chicks.

Luke 10:30-37 [The story of the good Samaritan - the priest and Levite "pass by" the traveler, the Samaritan stops and helps.]

Q: Which of these three do you think showed mercy?

A. The Samaritan. Go and do likewise.
B. The priest and the Levite showed mercy by passing by.
C. Each person showed a different kind of mercy. If all had stopped to help, the act of the Samaritan would have been diluted.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Q: God loves what?

A. The world
B. The elect.
C. His glory.

Q: Who will not perish?

A. Whoever believes in God's only son.
B. Let me get back to you on that, I need to look up the answer on "Desiring God".
B. Francis Schaeffer won't perish, but his kid Franky is definitely going to burn.

Acts 16:30-31 [The jailer] then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Q: What must I do to be saved?

A. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.
B. Win the divine lottery.
C. The jailer was a Pelagian.

Romans 11:32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Q: Who does "all" refer to in this verse?
A. All
B. The elect
C. An unbiased reading of the text shows that first all refers to everyone and the second all refers to only the elect.

1 Timothy 1:18-19 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.

Q: Paul says that some people have done what with their faith?

A. Some have shipwrecked their faith.
B. This is a hypothetical analogy with no real world application. It is merely used by God to ensure the perseverance of the elect.
C. Nice try. Obviously the ship was never floating in the first place.

1 Timothy 2:4 [God] wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Q: Who does God want to be saved?

A. All men
B. All men, but no women.
C. Tom Wright is a heretic.

1 Peter 1: 1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Q: How are the elect chosen?

A. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
B. If you were elect you would already know the answer to this question.
C. Who are you oh man to talk back to Piper?

1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Q: Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for what and what?

A. Our sins and also for the sins of the whole world.
B. The sins of the elect, and also for the sins of the elect.
C. The correct word is "propitiation". You show your Arminian tendencies by quoting from the NIV. Read the ESV, heretic.

BONUS ROUND!

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Q: Which picture best depicts the above verse?

A.

B.

C.

Add up your score:
2 points for every A
1 point for every B
0 points for every C

Score:
25+ points - Congrats! You are predestined to be an Arminian
20-24 points - You read a lot of Norm Geisler.
15-19 points - Old school Calvinist
10-14 points - Neo-Reformed
0-9 points - James White is your homie.

Delilah - By Tim Hawkins

2009-04-22T10:24:00.001-04:00

Huge dead snake found

2009-04-18T07:38:00.001-04:00

Had this video emailed to me, and thought you might enjoy.

Officer Stephen Mayhle

2009-04-07T07:44:00.006-04:00

My wife's cousin, Officer Stephen Mayhle, was one of the three police officers killed in the line of duty on Saturday, April 5. Here is a link to one of the better articles I've read.

Processional held for Indiana native killed in line of duty.

Your prayers of support are of course much appreciated at this time.

By their fruits...

2009-04-03T22:22:00.003-04:00

"You cannot follow Jesus and remain the same. The journey itself will change you forever-not only your priorities but your passions. It alters not only your direction but your desires. It transforms not only your actions but your values. It makes you just like Christ and unlike anyone else. It is nothing less than leaving the fake for the real. There is great risk in abandoning the artificial in pursuit of the authentic. Yet if we've never known the real thing, it's easy to understand why we are mesmerized with the best versions of the imitations."

Erwin Raphael McManus - Stand Against the Wind

"Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Matthew 7:17-20

Thirsting after righteousness

2009-03-23T05:40:00.002-04:00

I've been reading "Wesley's 52 Standard Sermons" and came across this the other day. One of those "wish I would have said this" sort of things.

“And it is as impossible to satisfy such a soul, a soul that is athirst for God, the living God, with what the world accounts religion, as with what they account happiness. The religion of the world implies three things: (1) The doing no harm, the abstaining from outward sin; at least from such as is scandalous, as robbery, theft, common swearing, drunkenness: (2) The doing good, the relieving the poor; the being charitable, as it is called: (3) The using the means of grace; at least the going to church and to the Lord’s Supper. He in whom these three marks are found is termed by the world a religious man. But will this satisfy him who hungers after God? No: It is not food for his soul. He wants a religion of a nobler kind, a religion higher and deeper than this. He can no more feed on this poor, shallow, formal thing, than he can ‘fill his belly with the east wind.’ True, he is careful to abstain from the very appearance of evil; he is zealous of good works; he attends all the ordinances of God: But all this is not what he longs for. This is only the outside of that religion, which he insatiably hungers after. The knowledge of God in Christ Jesus; ‘the life which is hid with Christ in God;’ the being ‘joined unto the Lord in one Spirit;’ the having ‘fellowship with the Father and the Son;’ the ‘walking in the light as God is in the light;’ the being ‘purified even as He is pure;’—this is the religion, the righteousness, he thirsts after: Nor can he rest, till he thus rests in God.”
– John Wesley in Sermon on the Mount, Discourse II

Steelers to Lose Super Bowl Trophies

2009-03-21T11:50:00.003-04:00

The latest from ESPN...

The Super Bowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team to win six titles, will soon be losing half of those trophies. After a meeting between NFL Commissioner Rodger Gadel and President Barack Hussain Obama, Obama decided to redistribute half of their Steeler Super Bowl victories and trophies to less fortunate teams in the league.

“We live everyday in the country that invented the Super Bowl,” said Obama “We are not about to lose this Great American tradition in the wake of these difficult times.” Obama’s plan calls for the Steelers, who are a successful NFL team, to give half of their Super Bowl trophies to teams that are not successful or have not been as successful as the Steelers. “The Detroit Loins are just as much a part of the same fiber of the NFL as the Steelers and they should, no rather will, be entitled to a Super Bowl Trophy as well.” Obama explains in his plan that he has imposed on Godel and the NFL.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who by virtue of hard work, excellent team play, stellar draft choices, responsible investing of free agents, careful hiring of coaches and excellent community service and commitment to their fans, has prospered greatly during the past 30 years and have won six Super Bowl Trophies. But President Barack Hussain Obama’s plan calls for the Pittsburgh Steelers to carry the larger burden of the NFL’s less successful teams. Obama went on to further proclaim, “In these difficult times we are all in this to work together. We must reclaim the NFL Championship Dream for every team, for every city and for every fan.”

“My plan will not affect 31 of the 32 teams in the league.” Obama assures. That’s over 95 percent of the teams in the NFL will not have to worry about loosing any Super Bowl Trophies. “The worst teams in the NFL and the teams that can’t seem to get a break and win a championship will no longer have to worry about going without a title.” Obama promises. “We are a country and league of hope. We all need to make a change.
It does not matter the color of the teams uniforms, the personal decisions that the teams make or their performance but rather if they are a member of this great American league.”

The Super Bowl XLIII trophy will be redistributed to the 0-16 Detroit Lions. Through no fault of their own incompetence, the Lions could not manage a victory all season and this trophy will help ease the pain of their lack of performance and give them hope once again. The redistribution of Super Bowl XL trophy will go directly to the Steeler’s division rival the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals who also have fallen on hard times have never won a Super Bowl. This victory will bring a smile to hundreds of Bengal fans all over the world as they can now celebrate. Finally, one of the Steeler’s two Super Bowl victories over the Dallas Cowboys will go back to the Cowboys since the league needs to provide hope in the face of difficulty and provide hope in the face of uncertainty. This is a heavy burden for the Steelers but together we can all prosper.

All hope is not lost for Pittsburgh fans, Barack Hussain Obama has another plan in place. Obama has meet with MLB and commissioner Bud Selig on a similar plan. The New York Yankees will redistribute two of their world series trophies to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a supplement to their loosing 16 straight seasons and counting. This plan will help stimulate the Pirates and enable them to regain the American Dream. Barack Hussain Obama will be meeting with the NHL and Michael Phelps in the upcoming weeks as this issue is high on his agenda for “Hope and Change.”

Scripture

2009-03-13T12:48:00.002-04:00

"The Bible is the record of the activity of God. God is the center. Everything is of God, comes from God, and returns to God. In other words, we are faced at the very beginning with this category of revelation. It is God who speaks. It is God who acts. It is God who intervenes. It is God who originates, who plans everything everywhere. It is a revelation of what God is, and what God does. It is a record of God revealing and manifesting Himself."
- Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones

“The external words of Christ, just like the words of the prophets, are to prepare us for, and point us to, that inner speaking in the heart by the Holy Spirit, which alone is life and power…How many have sought by study and meditation and acceptance of the words of the Bible to find God, and yet have failed. They knew not that these were but the finger-posts pointing to the living Son,--words coming, indeed from God, most needful and profitable, and yet not sufficient; only yielding us their true blessing when they have brought us to hear God Himself in His Son.”
- Andrew Murray

Jesus and Moses

2009-03-11T11:27:00.001-04:00

“Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.” – Hebrews 3:3, 5-6a

This passage of Scripture was part of the text for my sermon last week, and there is a powerful message in this. To get there, it’s important to ask a question. Why did the author of Hebrews find it important to mention the fact that Jesus was greater than Moses? Certainly part of it has to do with the fact that in this book Jesus is elevated to a place above people and angels in an attempt to show His superiority. In the first chapter we have the prophets, which would have included Moses, and the angels, who were superior beings to humans in the Old Testament. So why this?

To discover the message, it’s important to remember who Moses was. Moses was the man who was chosen by God to lead the people out of Egypt. From his hand came many, many miracles, displaying the power and delight of God on his life. When Aaron and Miriam said he should share his leadership, and spoke of him as a selfish leader, God Himself came down and defended Moses, telling them that Moses had been chosen by God, not the other way around. Moses didn’t do what he did because he wanted to, which is evidenced in the burning bush experience. Instead, he followed the will of God, being faithful “in all God’s house.” God had called Moses to be a servant. Moses was faithful in that calling.

In addition to this, it was Moses who gave the law to the Israelites, teaching them to obey God, and what it meant to serve Him. It was Moses who wrote more of the Bible than anyone else, including the Apostle Paul. To the Israelites, Moses was a hero, a leader, and someone with an intimate relationship with God. He communed with God in ways no one else had the opportunity to do.

But why not Abraham, the friend of God? Or what about David, the man after God’s own heart? Why Moses? The answer, I believe, can be answered in what John Maxwell calls “The Law of the Lid.” In his book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” Maxwell states that the Law of the Lid is this; “Leadership Ability Determines a Peron’s Level of Effectiveness.” What this law states is that a leader will only be able to lead others to his own level in any particular category. In other words, I am a pastor, and as such, I can only lead my people to my level of spirituality. I can’t lead them closer to God than I am. They may be able to get there, but not because of my leadership.

If you take this idea to the passage about Moses and Jesus, we see that the distinction the author makes between the two has nothing to do with whether one or the other was called by God. They were both doing as they were supposed to do. Moses was faithful in “God’s house.” Jesus was faithful as an “Apostle.” He was sent by God. It also has nothing to do with whether they were faithful. The author states the faithfulness of both. The difference is that Moses was faithful as a servant, while Jesus was faithful as a Son.

If you apply The Law of the Lid, you see that Moses could only teach the people to be the servants of God. Certainly he did this, faithfully and with great patience and diligence. He gave the law, led by example, and showed true love and compassion. He encouraged the people to follow after God. However, he was still only a servant of God, and that was the highest level he could lead the people. Under his leadership, the people would never be more than servants of God.

Jesus, however, came as a faithful Son over the house of God. When He came, it was with the intention of teaching us to not be servants of God, but to be sons and daughters. Certainly some of the aspects of servant hood still apply. We are called to be obedient, but now it is out of love, not duty. Jesus taught us to call God our Father, and to pray in that sense. His death was for the purpose of making us part of His family.

So the important distinction between the two is in where they can take us. Many of the Hebrews were considering going back to the ways of the Old Testament, and the author of Hebrews is telling them that is only so good. Those who continue to follow the legalistic patterns set forth by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day only prove that those who follow Moses will only ever know God as a master, and never as a Father. Jesus came to lead us to a higher level, and the highest of servants is sill nothing compared to the lowest of children. The law has its place; of that there can be no doubt. But the law can only take us so far; it can only teach us to be servants of God. If we want to learn what it means to be a son or daughter of God, we must follow the pattern of Christ, becoming His disciple, and learning through His example what it means to be part of God’s family.

Global Warming?

2009-03-05T22:19:00.002-05:00

My wife was reading me a letter to the editor of one of our local papers today, and a lady wrote in with this to say; "The debate is over; the science is clear: Global warming is happening and we need to do something about it."

So then we're listening to Glenn Beck, and he reads part of an article I thought quite humorous. The "Global warming" debate is supposed to be over, right? Well, what happens if the globe really isn't warming, and may not for the next thirty years. Now, this isn't the news coming from some right wing conspiracy theorist. This is from the Discovery Channel itself, just one of the groups who have been teaching on this for so long. Now, these aren't my words. Feel free to read the whole article here. Let me just give you a piece of it.

"But climate is known to be variable -- a cold winter, or a few strung together doesn't mean the planet is cooling. Still, according to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, global warming may have hit a speed bump and could go into hiding for decades."

Wait, it hit a "speed bump?" So it's not really global "warming," it's global "climate change" right? Meaning sometimes it gets warmer, and sometimes it gets colder? Hence the "global cooling" scare of the 1970's? Isn't that what many scientists have been saying all along? Meanwhile, there are those trying to put us all on a guilt trip for driving our big cars, trucks and SUV's, using regular light bulbs, and oh, yes, trying to actually stay warm during this particularly cold winter. But then you read the next paragraph...

"Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat."

So while those of us in Western PA are doing all we can to bring on an early spring, we're really not accomplishing anything at all? What a bummer.

Well, I'm no scientist, but maybe those who claim this debate is finished should go back and check the numbers one more time.

Christ - What He did for me

2009-02-25T10:11:00.003-05:00

As we begin the season of Lent, it will do us all good to remember the sacrifices Jesus made in order for salvation to be bought for man. Let us not just remember the glory of Easter, but let us walk with Him through His final days of suffering.

"Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light. My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live."
-Author Unknown

"Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."
- Hebrews 2:14-15, 17-18

Proselytizing - What is our duty?

2009-01-09T10:49:00.002-05:00

I was recently listening to the radio, and the man was talking about Penn, from Penn and Teller, and mentioned a video on YouTube with Penn talking about a man who gave him a Bible and was witnessing to him. If you don’t know, Penn is a staunch atheist, and many times in these little clips on YouTube he talks in an extremely negative way about religion of any kind, and even has a clip which is titled, “The Bible is b____t”. There is almost nothing I agree with this man on, except two things. One, magic is entertaining, and secondly, proselytizing is the duty of all Christians.

If you get a chance, I would encourage you to watch the video. It’s well worth the time. “How much do you have to hate someone to not proselytize,” is his question, and I think it’s something we all need to ask.

Now, I’ve heard all the excuses. “What if they ask a question I can’t answer,” or “I just don’t know enough about the Bible.” “I’m not good at communicating” tends to go along with those. Of course, Jesus said this; “So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!” (Luke 21:14-15) The important thing, according to Jesus, is faith. Of course, we all need to do what we can to understand our faith in a logical way so we can explain it (I Peter 3:15), but let’s not wait until we have all the answers. If we do that, we will never take the gospel to the world.

My personal favorite excuse, simply because it sounds so holy and righteous, is “I’m going to live my faith, and let that be my testimony." Interestingly, Jesus never said, “go into all the nations and live the gospel.” Of course, we need to live our faith in a very real, vibrant way, but that is not all. We must speak it. It needs to be told. Yes, we need to be polite. Yes, we need to not shove it down throats. But too often that is an excuse for silence, when it should be an excuse for not being obnoxious.

I’m not suggesting here that I haven’t failed. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. This convicted me like I hope it does for a lot of people. We must be disciples who tell the world. They are dying, and unfortunately, there are many who are going to hell, either because they have never heard, or they haven’t heard the message given in love. That is our duty.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. – Matthew 28:18-20

Politics

2008-10-31T09:33:00.005-04:00

As we near election day, I decided that instead of giving my own thoughts, I would turn to some bright minds to share much of what I feel.

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.
But I repeat myself. --Mark Twain

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. --Mark Twain

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it
costs when it's free. --P.J. O'Rourke

We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like
a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
--Winston Churchill

In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. --Voltaire

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
--Edward Langley

Alaska? "Small"? Man, your V.P.'s state is so small, it's a question! Dela...where? Oh right, next to Pennsyl-who now? - Bucky the Cat

An American Carol

2008-09-24T13:58:00.000-04:00

Megan Ruth Miller

2008-09-14T19:36:00.003-04:00

I'm proud to announce the birth of Megan Ruth Miller. Born Friday, September 12 at 11:16 am, she weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces, and measured 19 1/2 inches.

Megan being held by big sister, Carlee.

Megan getting dressed to come home from the hospital.

Coming home!

Home, and ready for the game!

Ready for football!!!

2008-08-30T11:53:00.002-04:00

I'm not a big AC/DC fan, but it seemed fitting. I'm so ready for football season to start. The real football season starts today!

Still waiting

2008-08-30T10:43:00.004-04:00

My wife and I celebrated our fifth anniversary yesterday. It has been an amazing five years. When we got married, and were very much in love, I can remember countless people telling me to “just wait ‘till the honeymoon is over.” Everyone has their deadline to when that is. For some it’s after year one, yet when we were still going strong, that wasn’t enough. Then it became two, and then three years. Maybe it was supposed to end when we began having children. Yet, for us, the “honeymoon” may be over, but we are still in love, with a stronger marriage than ever.

Don’t misunderstand. There have been tough times. Just a month after our marriage we found out Deanna’s mom’s breast cancer had returned. This time, though, it was in her lungs, her bones and putting a lot of pressure on her brain. They gave her two years, and she made it a year and a half. We celebrated her life, and still mourn her death.

There was a lot of fear over children. We both wanted a family, yet it took two and a half years for Deanna to get pregnant. During that pregnancy my wife started growing another child. At least that’s what we called it. It was actually a fibroid tumor, bringing a lot of fear to our home. With her mom dying from cancer, we were grateful to find out that it wasn’t cancerous. For reasons I won’t get into, there was still the fear of not having any more children. Praise the Lord, we are expecting number two any time now!

There have, of course, been financial struggles. Isn’t that always the way it goes? We returned from our honeymoon to Florida with checks bounced and not a lick of sense. Sound familiar? We had it pretty easy some of the time, while other times it felt like just one more bill would be the end of us.

Through all of these things, which all the “experts” tell you can be the end of a marriage, we managed to stay strong. Tragedy, financial hardship and children; are there any more difficult struggles for a new marriage? Yet instead of it making us drift, it caused us to draw closer together. Through the love and mercy of God, we are stronger, closer and more ready than ever for the years to come.

Exhibiting a Risky Faith

2008-08-08T12:59:00.001-04:00

I had said I might give some examples on a risky faith, so I will give one. It has to do with a financial risk my wife and I took a couple of years ago. Understand a couple of things before I continue. First, faith that risks isn’t always financial. I believe it often is in our world today, because we live in a wealthy country, and money is something we tend to cling to. Secondly, faith that risks simply because of risk is foolish. The decision we made was on based solely on the fact that God told us to do it. We weren’t throwing caution to the wind because of some whim of seeming spiritual. So, here goes…

When I returned home from college, I began working with a church as a youth pastor. While there, knowing at some point God was going to lead me into the position of a head pastor, I wanted to get some opportunities to learn under a pastor working as his assistant. God opened the doors for me to go to Indiana and work with a pastor there for two years. In that time, He taught my wife and I many lessons, and some of them had to do with finances.

Let me tell you that moving in the first place cost us money. It wasn’t a major amount, but I took a pretty heavy pay cut, and on top of that, I had less time to work extra hours because of the time I was working with the church. My wife was able to keep her wage, but didn’t get quite as many hours. She worked at a Cracker Barrel, and we enjoyed the benefits that came with that. All in all, our income was probably cut by about a quarter when we moved. Still, it wasn’t the end of the world. We began to cut here and there, and were still able to make the payments needed.

During this time, Deanna and I wanted to move to the place where she was able to stay at home. We believed this was the direction God was moving us, but assumed it wouldn’t need to happen until we started growing as a family. Up to this point, it was just the two of us, but it seemed to us as if God was leading us to go ahead and have her quit. Understand that if Deanna quit, we would lose our health insurance, and around a third of our income. Not good, really, but we figured if Deanna could keep the insurance through at least our first child’s birth, it would really help.

God had different ideas. I was having my quiet time one morning, and I was telling God that if He wanted Deanna to quit her job, all He had to do was provide for us another source of finances to make up for what we would lose if she quit. Then she could quit her job, and we would remain financially secure. Again, God had different ideas. It was like He came down into the room, and asked me one question; “Haven’t I already told you what My will is?” In other words, here I am telling God that I will obey Him when He provides for us. Suddenly, I saw the ridiculousness of the whole concept.

That night I told Deanna to quit her job. She did so, with much “fear and trembling.” A month later, we found out Deanna was pregnant. Then for about a month I went without getting a full week’s worth of work at my job. In fact, I went for over two months only getting one week with over thirty hours in a single week. Also during this time, we probably had car trouble about every month or so. We had taken a financial risk, and it seemed as if the finances couldn’t get any worse. Yet they did, and continued to do so. Yet we knew we were in God’s will and purpose, so we did as God had called us to do.

God taught us a lot of lessons through that time. Our faith is stronger, our marriage better, and our ministry much better because of this. Yes, it was risk, and there were times we had no idea where the money was going to come from. I could tell you some stories about that time which had us very, very worried, yet each time God came through and proved to us how foolish we were for worrying.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19.

Vampire Bat

2008-08-06T13:32:00.001-04:00

The Word of God

2008-07-27T17:34:00.002-04:00

A Faith that Risks pt 2

2008-07-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

Risk: “exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.”

"Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith." Paul Borthwick.

To be honest, I never have to worry about personal injury or dangers within my Christianity. I am thankful for a country where I can serve and worship my God in the way I feel is Biblical without the need for fear of life. But this doesn’t mean I shouldn’t risk. If I live without risk, where is the need for faith? I must risk, or I cannot claim to be trusting. It’s easy to trust when there’s nothing to fear. It's easy to have faith when there's no danger. It’s when I climb out of the boat that I must have faith in spite of risk.

So what is a spiritual risk? First, spiritual risk is always something beyond me. If I can do it on my own, in my power, with my resources and/or talents, then it’s not going to require the help of God. It won’t require me to trust in something or Someone bigger than me. For it to be a true spiritual risk I must have to get outside of my comfort zone, away from the things which calm me, and be willing to step into the storm.

Spiritual risk is also something God tells me to do. Faith for the sake of faith is useless. If I’m just trying to prove that I have faith, it is highly unlikely that I will be able to prove it to myself or anyone else. The purpose of faith is to see God work in and through me. The purpose of fatih is to bring glory to my Heavenly Father. Some have said faith is like going down stairs only seeing the next step. I disagree. That doesn’t require faith. Faith is like going down stairs when you can’t see the next step. You step despite the fact that for all you know, there's nothing to step onto. True faith is not about the step; it’s about the One telling you to take that step. If I am going to take spiritual risks, I must make sure I am following the God who calls me to have faith.

Finally, spiritual risk must come at the potential cost of loss. I step out of the boat knowing that if God doesn’t allow me to walk on water, I will drown. I face the giant knowing that if the LORD of Hosts doesn’t give me His strength and power, I will die.

In my estimation, then, spiritual risk is a God given task or command that I obey blindly, knowing the consequences could be devastating. Knowing that if I put my trust in God instead of something or someone else, I could quite literally lose it all, whatever “all” is to you.

Perhaps some personal examples to follow…

A Faith that Risks

2008-07-19T14:56:00.001-04:00

"Someone has said that faith has three distinct stages:
the faith that reckons,
the faith that rests,
the faith that risks."
- Leonard Ravenhill

It is this faith which I desire. As I look back on my life, I can see the way each has been a part of my life.

The faith that reckons; this faith was a gift from God, which brought me close to Him almost twenty years ago. It is this faith which I still have to go back to in the times when belief is hard, when my soul is tried.

The faith that rests; interestingly, this is the faith I've never struggled with. Since becoming a Christian, resting faith has almost come naturally to me. Yes, I've had times when the resting was interrupted by the winds and waves about me, but for the most part, I "rest easy."

It is the faith that risks which has me challenged. Certainly there have been times in my life when I've taken great risks, and seen God come through. Mostly these have fallen into the financial category. I wonder, though, how much this has affected my spiritual life? Do I take great spiritual risks, and if so, how have they changed me? What have been the results?