Welcome to Montana

After 3 years of questions here in Philly, we've realized that most of our east-cost friends (God bless 'em) are completely ignorant about what it means to be a Montanan. So, in the interest of public service, we have decided to create a crash course to help all of you 'less fortunates' better understand 'What it means to be Montanan!"

To that end, we offer the following links...

1. You Know You're From Montana When...
2. 6 Things you Probably Didn't Know About Montana
3. 13 Things Every Montanan Should Know How To Do
   
4. A Typical Montana Diary
5. Crazy Montana Laws
6. Helpful Montana Postcards
7. Mule Deer Hunting, Montana Style
   

There, that ought to get you going. Now it's your turn! Please let us know which of these you find most helpful, and if you have suggestions for additional resources, send them our way!

Montana Pilots

Ever wonder how to tell if your pilot is a Montanan? (Hat tip: PalmTreePundit)

I don't know about you, but I'd sure feel safe...

A River Runs Through It

Great quote from A River Runs Through It:

"The world is full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana."

What I love about this quote, what I love about this movie, is that it paints a stunning portrait of the human experience. We see these people who choose to live in Missoula, MT because they think it's the closest you can get to paradise in the lower 48, and yet we discover that their lives are dysfunctional hells nonetheless.

So their predicament is our predicament too - we are all surrounded by the gifts of God, the beauty of his creation, the blessings of his grace, and yet we constantly find our lives unraveling. We struggle to maintain our grip, we long for meaning and fulfillment. You can put man back into the garden, but you can't get the garden back into man. Only Christ can.

If you haven't seen this movie, go rent it. If you have seen it, go rent it again and start praying for the church in Missoula...

Why Secularism Fails

More from Eugene Peterson's Subversive Spirituality, as he talks about how secular culture fails to bring spiritual fulfillment (p. 34-35):

Our culture has failed precisely because it is a secular culture. A secular culture is a culture reduced to thing and function. Typically, at the outset, people are delighted to find themselves living in such a culture. It is wonderful to have all these things coming our way, without having to worry about their nature or purpose. And it is wonderful to have this freedom to do so much, without bothering about relationships or meaning. But after a few years of this, our delight diminishes as we find ourselves lonely amon the things and bored with our freedom.

Our first response is to get more of what brought us delight in the first place: acquire more things, generate more activity. Get more. Do more. After a few years of this, we are genuinely puzzled that we are not any better.

We North Americans have been doing this for well over a century now...one by one, a few people begin to realize that getting more and more only makes the sickness worse. They realize that if it gets much worse, the culture will be dead - a thoroughly secularized culture is a corpse.

...

A culture as thoroughly secularized as ours can hardly be expected to come up with its own medicine. For the most part, North Americans come up with a secularized spirituality, which is no spirituality at all.

As I've said previously, I am really enjoying this book...

Script Kiddies & Jesus

[SLDAdmin: the link should be fixed now (the original one got slashdotted, sorry).]

And now for something completely different, I offer this: the account of a script kiddy who's not the sharpest tack in the box. I'm not sure if non-geek types will understand this, but anyone semi-technical should find it hilarious. (Just in case you're confused: 127.0.0.1 is always the address for 'your own machine'...attack that address and you are attacking yourself. A hacker who doesn't know this isn't much of a hacker, eh?)

So how does this connect to the Gospel? Well, it goes to show that there is still justice in this world - after all, who doesn't like to see the self-righteous pricks get what they deserve?

On the other hand, it's a little sobering to think that Jesus loves dumb-as-rocks people like this just as much as he loves piously-nice-and-intelligent people like you and me. And there's a part of me that doesn't really like that.

It's always interesting to see who we identify with in stories like this. I wonder how many of us are really that different from this guy who confidently (yet stupidly) shoots himself in the foot.

After all, we do the same thing with God all the time...

A Distant Grief: Preface

Molly has started posting exerts from Kefa Sempangi's A Distant Grief, and it is well worth reading:

The student shifted his weight from one foot to the next as he stood in front of my desk. It was an awkward moment for both of us. He was a bright, capable young man but in the last weeks his performance in class had fallen far below average. His last exam was unreadable and, against my will, I gave him a failing grade.

Now I held the exam in my hand as evidence and tried to challenge the boy to work harder. He only stared at me vacantly. When I finished speaking there was a long silence of several minutes before he spoke.

“I will try to work harder, Professor Sempangi.”

He said the words without conviction and walked away. At the door he turned suddenly and his face was no longer empty but furious.

“Not long ago Idi Amin’s soldiers came through my village,” he said, his voice full of a remembered grief.

“Now my father is buried, my mother is dead with a terrible death, and my brother has disappeared. I have no home and I can hardly find food. And I am not alone. Our whole country is in desolation. Amin’s victims are everywhere. They are lying unburied in the streets and in the forests, and they are rotting before heaven. But where is God? Is He dead? How could He exist and tolerate this evil?”

Click here to read the rest...

Wow. Great question. I definitely need to read this book this summer...

Salvation.

I recently stumbled across this experiential description of salvation on Lauren Winner's blog. She credits her friend Lisa Anderson for it. I feel kind of like I'm plagiarizing or something, by cutting and pasting the whole thing here; but I'm doing it nonetheless for convenience. Enjoy!

Salvation happens at five years old. Salvation is better protection against the dark than her Wonder Woman nightlight. Salvation makes her run into the kitchen to tell her mother how her entire body tingles, how everything feels new. Salvation means that God, who is always so near, wants to know about her day.

Salvation grows at eight. Salvation is an adventure. Salvation means Prince Caspian and Madeleine L’Engle and Grandpa Jack and possibly kitty—but we can’t know for sure—salvation means that some of these, our favorite people, are part of one big family. Salvation results in late-night slumber party talk about a big God-who-so-loves-the-world. Salvation means crayon renderings of heaven: of flowers that are more colorful than lemon yellow and atomic tangerine combined, of sea foam green oceans that you could swim in all day if you wanted to.

Salvation is forgotten at fourteen when she reads Kerouac and Salinger. Salvation becomes uncomfortable. Salvation means she shouldn’t sneak out tonight with Kendra because it would require lying. Salvation means obedience and submission (and patriarchy, too, once she learns that word). Salvation means defending things she doesn’t understand to people she really likes, people she wants to like her.

Salvation is despised at nineteen. Salvation involves sexual purity and the GOP. Salvation means limiting her to writing nice things, listening to nice things, saying nice things. Salvation means admitting a personal connection to Historical Things We Don’t Want to Mention, like the Crusades. Salvation is a stranger.

Salvation is remembered at twenty-five. Salvation may mean regeneration of her broken parts, or maybe just the ability to forgive Joshua for his being such an amazing asshole. Salvation is everywhere: in early morning Vodka-infused conversations, on page 43 of White Teeth, in Zion canyon. Salvation is tattooed in Hebrew on her lower back, where only certain people will ever see it. Salvation might be for her. Salvation might not.

Salvation hovers at twenty-eight. Salvation means serving First Presbyterian Church in spite of its monochromatic makeup, in spite of its big screen televisions. Salvation sometimes means trying so very hard to be good to the boyfriend-who-so-loves-her. Salvation means thinking differently about human rights and architecture and unemployment. Salvation means somehow being the Imago Dei, God’s very own image.

Salvation is working all the time.

By the way, Lauren Winner is the author of a book called Girl Meets God, which is a memoir of her journey to Christianity and has gotten excellent reviews. I've added it to my amazon wish list in the hopes of someday reading it!

Monastery or Marketplace?

The guys at Baylyblog have a post worth reading on modern monastic tendencies in the reformed community - little niches where the saints withdraw from the world and hole up together. David Bayly quotes from a conversation over on the World Magazine Blog where someone speaks adoringly about some of the various options out there...

You don't need to relocate as far as Idaho, you know. You have a couple of choices in 'leaven communities' today:

1) The Dougs (Wilson & Jones) and their men in Moscow have a phenomenal life...

2) George grant and his men in Franklin, TN have a wonderful, similar community going;

3) Robert the Sproul and his 'Basement Tape' men have perhaps the best of all possible worlds (like heaven on earth, I tell you!) in Mendota and Abingdon, VA (two churches to pick from; Robert pastors the Mendota parish and fellow Basement Taper Laurence Windham pastors the other parish;

4) Hidden in the texas Hill Country is tiny Waring, TX where an 80-year-old picturesque country church stands. Each Sunday, that place is filled with several hundred Reformed Christians where Doug Phillips and his men teach, preach, and raise covenant families (the credobaptists among the group).

John, come spend time with this Doug, and you won't feel like you have to move to the snowy country to abide with the other Doug! All four of these wonderful covenant communities are peopled with priceless magisterial Reformers.

This is just the creme de la creme; I mention many more similar churches in my upcoming book.

I think David did a nice job of responding, so I won't duplicate his comments.

Something did strike me, however. Notice all those references to "his men"? Maybe it's just me, but isn't it supposed to be Christ's church? I got a creepy feeling in the bottom of my stomach reading this...

For the record, this is pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum from the type of church we hope to plant in Missoula, MT. But that actually raises an interesting question, because I'll bet deep down we're all interested in the same thing: a deep sense of community.

So what's to keep us from becoming just like them? I think the difference is how those "outside the fold" are welcomed and embraced to participate along with us. We hope to be intentional in engaging "unbelievers", "sinners" - people who are not usually found in Christian churches; you shouldn't have to clean yourself up before you can feel welcome in our midst.

We also believe that true Christian community will be redemptive in the midst of the secular society in which it lives. If the kingdom of God were to come visibly to Missoula, MT, what kinds of things would we expect to change? How would our daily lives, our public spaces, be changed? Our friends at Saint Patrick's in Greely, CO have put some of their thoughts down on paper.

It's probably also worth noting that our definition of "church" includes a deep sense of mission - mission to actually reach out to unbelievers, to meet them on their level rather than waiting for them to come to us. Church without a sense of mission can only end up existing for itself, and as soon as you get there... are you really still the church?

Anyway, these are some of the questions we're wrestling with, and we'd love to hear your thoughts as well...

God's Radio Station

Picked up a nice illustration off of Twenty Someone about how we are all created to hear God's voice.

The point? Like my car radio (piece of junk that it is), we as humans have been wired to pick up particular frequencies wherever we go. Originally programmed for very different messages than the ones we receive now, we are still receivers that receive.

Certainly our geography has changed from the Eden that humanity once occupied, but (for better or worse) our antennae and circuitry still work.

Click here to read the full post...

I think this is what Paul is getting at in Romans when he says, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." (Rom 1:19-20).

This is why we don't have to teach people that God exists, that there is such a thing as morality. Unfortunately, we spend most of our lives trying to convince ourselves that those are arbitrary constructs which can be modified as we see fit...

Three verses - two brief answers

Earlier today, Steve over at Ragamuffin Ramblings wrote on 3 verses - 2 challenging questions. Basically, he quoted Acts 7:56-58, where Stephen gets stoned (w/ rocks, not weed), and then he asked these questions:

So here, to me, is the first of two really challenging question:

(1) Who are we, as a church, stoning today?

Who are the groups we (as a church or denomination or community) don't want to hear? What are the topics that make us clap our hands over our ears? Is it even slightly possible that the voices we don't want to hear today in the church are as valid and right as Stephen's were?

(2) How many people are going to have to die in order for us to have our spiritual awakening, like those for Saul-who-become-Paul?

I want to respond to these (and I'm a little hesitant in doing so, because I like Steve's blog and I don't want to sound like I'm slamming him or anything). But there were several things he said that I think I would disagree with, or maybe look at from a different angle.

Question 1 - I want to start by saying that I appreciate the issue Steve is raising here - as Christian's we are often very reluctant to consider views "outside the camp" (and often this is because the approval of those inside the camp hinges on it - if you start asking the wrong questions of considering the wrong answers, and all that unconditional, brotherly looooove just up and vanishes). We in the church are often very conditional in handing out our approval, and I think both Steve and I would agree completely on that.

So what rubs me wrong here? Well, when Steve raised the question, he framed it by saying this:

+ Stephen sees a vision, something no one else can see.
+ The representatives of the institutional church, who have been listening to Stephen for the last 53 verses, cover their ears. They've had enough.

Now, maybe (hopefully) I'm just reading him wrong, but it SOUNDS like he's drawing a parallel between Stephen in the midst of the Jews and "voices of dissent" in the modern "institutional church." And I don't think that is a right analogy.

Stephen was not right because he saw a vision, or because he spoke against the institutional church of his day - what made the difference was the object of his vision (the risen, exalted Christ) and the fact that the people he was speaking to had rejected Christ.

If we want to draw a valid comparison with today's church, then everything hinges upon showing how the dissenting voices are speaking Christ's message, and the institutional leaders are rejecting that same Jesus. Show that, and you've got a case. But I don't see it in his article as it stands.

Question 2 - how many people are going to have to die in order for us to have our spiritual awakening?

That's easy, in my book. Precisely one. Christ. And he's already died (and risen, and is reigning in glory! Woo hoo! Now THAT wakes me up spiritually!)

Ok, that sounds a little trite, but it's true. And I say that on the basis of my theology - I believe very strongly that Jesus reigns now, that he is the prime mover in both my salvation -AND- and my sanctification, and that this eternal life is already breaking into the present, overcoming my sin and weakness. This is what Molly was getting at here.

I also say it on the basis of my experience - I find that the better I understand the reality my union with Christ, the more that moves my heart to change. I don't need examples of others; I need to know Christ better. This is what I was getting at when I talk about sanctification by faith, or the indicative driving the imperative.

So there you have it. Those are my thoughts. I wanted to share not only because I think Steve raised some very good questions, but because I think the answers come a whole lot more easily when we get our frame of reference right. I hope my answers are constructive and encouraging!

Where We Stand

Yesterday, I shared our thoughts on What the Church is All About. Over the coming months we want to build on that by fleshing out our understanding of the gospel message. What does it mean to be a Christian in the Church?

Sure, Jesus tells us to "repent and believe" (Mk 1:15), but what does that actually mean? What actually happens when I do that? Who does what in this thing called salvation? And where do we go from there? How do we please God? How do we become more like him?

If we're going to plant a church, we need to be upfront and honest about what we believe and what God expects - what people see is what they should get; there shouldn't be any theological "surprises". We think people would rather hear it straight, even the hard parts. That's how we would want to be treated, and so that's how we want to treat others.

We also think that it's important to communicate our beliefs in plain English, something ordinary people can understand. We want to try and avoid technical jargon, and to give real life examples how our faith plays out in practice. After all, that's how God speaks to us in Scripture - he doesn't usually give us systematic theology; he gives us parables, stories, letters, history, practical advice for life and faith in the real world.

Now, there is a downside to this kind of approach. It's sometimes hard to nail down what people actually believe. If you were to visit our church, you would probably want to know where we stand: "You love Jesus? Of good, I love Jesus too!"...yet in reality, we may be a million miles apart on what we really believe about Jesus, on what it means to actually love him.

So before we go too far with examples and illustration, I'm going start with some very precise descriptions of what we believe. In spite of what I said earlier, I am going to use some technical language, but I'm going to do so that you can peg where we fit in the broader context of Christianity. This will help Christians evaluate where we're coming from, and it'll give non-Christians a point of reference when they want a concise summary of what we believe.

For convenience sake, we'll organize these articles sequentially on the right hand side of the page (down below "The Buzz" in a section called "Where We Stand"). For starters, I want to talk about 3 important beliefs which we often refer to as Justification by Faith (JBF), Sanctification by Faith (SBF), and Worship by Faith (WBF).

All right then, ready or not, here we go!

Justification By Faith (1 of 3)

As we approach gospel ministry in Christ’s church, we find several principles to be particularly important: Justification by Faith (JBF), Sanctification by Faith (SBF), and Worship by Faith (WBF).

Definition: When we talk about justification, what we mean is this - how is a sinner "justified" or "made right" in God's sight? You see, Scripture is very clear: human beings have a problem. This problem is commonly called "sin," and its very, very, serious because it separates us from God.

While our sin is often expressed actively when we do things we shouldn't (or passively by NOT doing things we should), Jesus is clear that that sin stems from our hearts (Mk 7:20). We sin because we are sinners, and it is impossible for us to clean ourselves up (Mk 10:23-27). Christ's death on the cross is the means by which we are saved; we access that salvation by repenting of our sin and putting our faith in Christ. (Acts 2:23-24, 38-39).

So how is someone justified? We begin by affirming the five great “solas” of the Reformation – sinners are justified (made right with God) by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Scripture alone shapes our gospel message; God alone receives the glory.

Paul’s evangelistic messages in Acts 13-14 (NIV) illustrate the matter plainly: “through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses” (13:38-39). Luke calls this “the message of God’s grace” (14:3); it is accessed solely by faith (Heb 11:6) in Jesus (John 14:6). Unbelievers respond in joy, glorifying God (13:48, 14:27).

With Paul, our proclamation must be focused on what God has done, how he has fulfilled his promises to redeem sinners (Acts 13:32). Even our faith is a gift of God, that no man should boast (Eph 2:8-9). This is what makes the gospel such “good news” – God has done everything; our responsibility is simply to repent and believe.

Rom 3:21-28 describes a “great exchange” in which Jesus Christ does what we could never do ourselves, offering himself as propitiation for our sins. In the moment of our belief, he takes our guilt and we receive his righteousness. Thus man “is justified by faith, apart from works of the law” (3:28), and God is both “just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (3:26).

Justification by faith in Christ is at the heart of the gospel; anything less is NO GOSPEL!

So now let's take a look at Sanctification By Faith...

Sanctification By Faith (2 of 3)

If Justification by Faith (JBF) is the heart of the gospel message, Sanctification by Faith (SBF) is its lifeblood, its power for daily living.

Definition:When we talk about sanctification, what we mean is this - how does a sinner who has been saved by God's grace actually start to change, to be transformed (Rom 12:2) into the image of God (2 Cor 3:18), to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God, rather than sinful and displeasing? Is it a matter of trying harder? Or is something else involved? How does my sanctification relate to my justification?

So the gospel message for unbelievers is that salvation comes by faith in Christ, and few evangelicals would disagree that sinners are justified by faith alone. When it comes to sanctification, however, many Christians (even in Reformed churches) unintentionally revert to a works-based theology – “I may be saved by faith but I will become more like Christ only through my own effort.” They live as if holiness is achieved by trying harder, that sanctification comes by works.

This creates a sort of practical dichotomy – the gospel message may be good news for “sinners” outside the church, but it often seems strangely irrelevant for “believers” on the inside. The road to sainthood appears to be paved with personal effort. After all, even Paul says “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). (Of course, many overlook the following verse: “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”. Our working is always subsequent and in response to God’s prior working.)

The Reformers, however, recognized that the gospel does not end once the Christian is justified – it is just as relevant for those who already believe as it is for pagans in their unbelief. Like justification, our sanctification is also by faith.

Martin Luther unpacks this concept with an example of covetousness:

If you wish to fulfill the law and not covet, as the law demands, come believe in Christ in whom grace, righteousness, peace, liberty, and all things are promised you. If you believe, you shall have all things; if you do not believe you shall lack all things… God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything.

- Luther, On Christian Liberty, 13

What Luther means here is that while the law shows us what we ought to do (eg. “don’t covet”), it does not give us the power NOT to do it. Just as we are incapable of justifying ourselves to God, so also we are incapable of sanctifying ourselves for God. Why? Because even if I am able to control my outward behavior, my heart within is still fundamentally covetous. My external sins flow from internal sins of the heart (cf. Mk 7:14-23).

Scottish preacher Thomas Chalmers reflects on our heart problem, pointing out that we are inevitably torn between mutually exclusive affections:

The love of God, and the love of the world, are two affections, not merely in a state of rivalship, but in a state of enmity, and that so irreconcilable that they can not dwell together in the same bosom. [It is impossible] for the heart, by any innate elasticity of its own, to cast the world away from it… the only way to dispossess it of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one.

How then do we alter the affections of our heart? By continually returning to the promises of God in faith! Luther describes it like this:

The soul which clings to [God’s promises]with a firm faith will be so closely united with them… that it will not only share in all their power but will be saturated and intoxicated by them…This, then, is how through faith alone without works the soul is justified by the Word of God, sanctified, made true…Just as the heated iron glows like fire because of the union of fire with it, so the Word imparts its qualities to the soul.

- Luther, On Christian Liberty, 14-15

In other words, our hearts are sanctified (changed, perfected) only as we repeatedly embrace the gospel in faith. Luther offers an analogy from marriage: faith is the wedding ring which unites us to Christ; by it he inherits all that is ours (sin, unrighteousness), and we inherit all that is his (glory, righteousness). Our desires are transformed as we focus on Christ’s magnificent, ravishing love for us. As Jerry Bridges says, “My driving motivation now is not guilt but gratitude.”

Tim Keller sees in this the fundamental dynamic for Christian living: “We are saved by believing the gospel, and then we are transformed in every part of our mind, heart, and life by believing the gospel more and more deeply as our life goes on.” The reality of my union with Christ funds my spiritual change; the indicative drives the imperative. We need to constantly remind ourselves of this truth. We clean ourselves up, then, not be trying harder or by doing good works, but by believing God’s promises more and more.

Jack Miller calls this “preaching the gospel to ourselves daily.” Seen in this light, the gospel message is not just for non-Christians, but for Christians as well. Indeed, as a Christian I need the gospel even more desperately than an unbeliever because I see my sin more clearly – the more I know Christ the more my own sin is exposed.

It is important to note that this concept of sanctification by faith is fundamentally biblical. As Dr. Richard Gaffin says, “What faith will always understand is that the path of sanctification has on it the same signposts as the path for justification – grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone."

Such an understanding carries important implications for faith and practice. First, if we do not commend ourselves to God on the basis of our sanctification, neither should we commend ourselves to one another on these same grounds; if God’s approval is based on faith, then our own approval of others cannot be based on their performance, their piety, or even their knowledge of “the right answers.”

Second, sinners and unbelievers should feel welcome in our churches as they are – you do not have to “clean yourself up” before you can participate in our community. This does not mean that we negate God’s demands for righteousness; on the contrary, we preach the law on the one hand, while compassionately identifying with unbelievers as fellow sinners on the other. In regard to God’s standard of perfection, we are lawbreakers just like they are; yet on account of Christ we are righteous, obedient children of God. The only difference between us and them is our relationship to Christ through faith.

Third, we as Christians must incarnate the gospel by being open and vulnerable about our own weaknesses and shortcomings. With Paul, we must testify that we are chief among sinners (1 Tim 1:15) by publicly modeling the repentance, confession, forgiveness, humility, and charity which characterize a life of faith.

Sanctification by faith in Christ is the lifeblood of the gospel.

So now let's take a look at Worship By Faith...

Worship By Faith (3 of 3)

If Justification By Faith is the heart of the gospel, and Sanctification By Faith is its lifeblood, then Worship by Faith explains the reality of our fellowship with God.

You see, Sanctification by faith also carries important implications for how we approach worship. Historically, the Reformed tradition has placed a great emphasis on allowing Scripture to define our practice. We must never believe, however, that “getting it right” in terms of form and practice makes our worship acceptable to God. Like justification and sanctification, true worship flows from faith.

For example, when an unbeliever participates in worship – even if he has the best voice and sings with all his might, even if he pays attention and takes notes during the sermon, even if he tries to personally apply the principles he is hearing – none of this is worship because it does not stem from faith. Apart from faith, our most righteous acts are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Is 64:6), for "apart from faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). This is just as true for believers as it is for unbelievers.

This concept is made explicit in Heb 9, where Christ’s work of atonement (9:13-14) is presented as the new covenant counterpart to the OT rules and regulations for worship in the temple (9:1-5). The author of Hebrews sees the concept of “worship” as intimately connected with the concept of “atonement.” By accomplishing the latter Christ simultaneously perfects the former. As the mediator of the new covenant (9:15), his blood purifies the instruments of worship (9:21) and the consciences of the worshippers (9:9). Thus it is only through faith in Christ that our worship can be pleasing to God.

Consequently, while we strive to worship according to the precepts set forth in Scripture, we also recognize that we will inevitably fail to conform to God’s standards – Scripture is sometimes difficult to understand and not all passages are equally clear; more frequently sin impairs our judgment. Whatever the reasons, we must continually remind ourselves that our worship is perfected by our faith in Christ; there is no room for pride on our part.

Similarly, we should be slow to judge or condemn others whose practice does not conform with our own. Worship by faith should encourage charity, not separation.
The churches we plant will not die because we misunderstand a particular issue of doctrine, or misapply an element of worship; our churches will die when we fail to understand the gospel – that we are justified by faith, sanctified by faith, and that our worship is made pleasing in faith.

Worship by faith in Christ is a fruit of the gospel.

These three principles then - Justification by Faith (JBF), Sanctification by Faith (SBF), and Worship by Faith (WBF), when viewed together in light of What the Church is All About - all have huge ramifications for how we think about faith and ministry in the local church. We'll start fleshing some of these things out in the coming months...

Put This in Your Pipe

You can file this under the 'Put this in your pipe and smoke it' category. A study coming out of London reveals that our 24x7 e-everything lifestyle may be more harmful to our health than marijauna:

In 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King's College London University, monitored the IQ of workers throughout the day.

He found the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points -- the equivalent to missing a whole night's sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana.

Click here for the rest of the article...

Now, having never smoked a joint or done drugs, I have no idea whether it really has this little impact on intelligence (my initial reaction was, "Come on, this has got to be full of crap!" But then I got to thinking - all my knowledge of this issue is the secondhand, non-scientific sort, passed along by people who already have made up their minds: Don't do it! It's bad for you! They are probably right; at the same time, how do we explain the results of "scientific" studies like this? Anyone have firsthand experience in these matters?)

That said, I have plenty of experience in the other side of the equation. Having worked as a software engineer for the past 14 years though, I know what its like to work 80 hr weeks, do the whole startup thing, etc. It definitely takes a huge toll over the long haul (but its also incredibly addictive as well).

So what have I done about it? Decided to work my way through seminary! Hello?!? What does that say about MY IQ?

The point the article makes about technology is really true - we tend to view it as this "messiah," making our lives better and better. There is, however, a serious "downside" to "always-on"; God designed us to need rest, to need peace and quiet etc.

Up until a 100 years ago, most people went to bed when the sun went down, and got up when it rose; there was a lot more opportunity for thought, rest, and reflection. So we invented lightbulbs (so you can stay up later), and TVs (so you can "unwind" while industry hawks its wares to you in the comfort of your own home), and cell phones (so you are always accessible), and laptops (so you can take your work home with you), and ... you get the idea.

Frankly, I'm a little tired of it all (and where am I writing this? On a BLOG, on a Saturday morning, when I should be...WORKING ON A PAPER FOR SCHOOL!!!).

Argh! I epitomize that which I hate! *Sigh.*

Time to go sit on the porch and smoke my pipe...but there goes my cell phone about that deadline on Tuesday! Gotta run...duty calls!

What the Church is All About

As Ryan and I think about planting a church in Missoula, one of the questions we get a lot is "Why do we need more churches anyway?" Even those who like the idea often haven't given much thought to what a church should look like; "What is the church really supposed to be about, anyway?"

When you plant a church from scratch you get to step up to the plate and try to answer that question - it's a tremendous opportunity, but it's also terrifying because there is so much riding on your conclusions. That's part of the reason why God warns us not to take the role of leadership lightly (James 3:1). That's also why we want Scripture to guide and shape our practice.

As we approach church planting, it is critical to identify our core presuppositions up front – how we think about the God, the church, and mission. This is important because our starting points will inevitably shape how we look at everything else – opportunities, dangers, goals, directions, and especially our methodologies.

So why DO we want to plant a church? What DO we think church is all about? How do we delineate our core convictions?

We start by concurring with the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” In short, we recognize that man exists to worship God (1 Cor 10:31; Rom 11:36). Unfortunately, all us have fallen short of God’s glory – both in Adam, and in our own actions – no one is righteous; there is no one who seeks God, not even one (Rom 3:23, 5:12-14, 3:9-12.).

Given this, we also agree with John Piper, who says that, “Mission is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Mission exists because worship doesn’t.” Think about that for a minute. God desires people to worship him in spirit and in truth, and because of our own inability, he himself is seeking true worshipers – not merely to find them, but to actually form them (John 4:23, 6:44). God is creating a people for himself, and this redemptive effort summarizes his work through all of history.

At the heart of our confession, then, lies a central truth: God is a missional God – his work culminates in Christ, Christ’s work culminates in the church, and the church’s work culminates in worship and mission. From this basic recognition, we can make several key observations:

• God, not man, builds his church – Church planting is not simply a matter of human effort or intention – this is something God is doing. It is his work (cf. Acts 13-14, where we repeatedly see God actively intervening to build his church: 13:2, 4, 9, 48, 52; 14:1, 3, 27).
  

• God has been building it from the beginning – everything God was doing in the OT finds its fulfillment in Jesus. Christ is the crux of the entire biblical story (cf. Gen 3:15, 12:2-3; 2 Sam 7:13; Acts 13:32-33). The heart of the gospel is that Jesus fulfills all of God’s promises.

• God has a passion for the lost – Jesus views his own work in terms of saving the lost and building his church. Thus Christ is a missional Messiah (cf. Luke 19:10; John 4:1-43; Mt 16:18; 1 Pe 2:6-7).
  

• The church is at the center of God’s redemptive plan – In Eph 3:6-11, Paul tells us that the church is the climax of God’s eternal purpose, created to manifest the mystery of the gospel to the Gentiles. In other words, the church is God’s means for mission. The church exists to model the gospel – in word, deed, worship, and mission – to unbelievers, and so invite them to participate in the kingdom as well.

In light of these principles, we offer two core convictions for church planting:

1. First, we want to plant churches that reach the unchurched – We desire this because God has a heart for the lost, he commands us to go, and this is where the harvest is ripe. Our aim is not simply to establish a “reformed church,” or to gather people who are already Christians - neither of these are bad; but they aren't at the heart of what the church is all about, either. We must never lose sight of the fact that our calling is to bring the gospel to people who have rejected God so that the gospel may redeem both us and our culture.
   
   
2. Second, we want to plant churches that plant more churches – We believe that mission must be part of the fabric of the church; the goal of our church plants is not to become self-sufficient and acquire a building – it is to call people (both unbelievers and believers) to continual faith in Christ, to lead them in true worship of God, to equip them for service in the church and for life in the culture, and to send them missionally back to the unchurched. While every member of the body has different gifts and abilities, we assert that all Christians are called to serve and witness and participate in mission, just as all are called to believe and worship.
   

So mission exists because worship doesn’t. Conversely, true worship must include mission.

These convictions carry dual implications. As God’s church, we are obligated to think missionally (redemptively) about our unbelieving friends, our neighborhoods, our cities, and the larger region in which we live. Ecclesiologically, we are not permitted merely to focus on our own personal or corporate needs and desires. We exist for mission.

As God’s missional agent to the world, however, we must also think missionally (pastorally) about our churches. We must give careful consideration to how we call, train, and equip our flocks, and how we embody the gospel in all aspects of our faith and practice. We are not permitted to view mission simply as propositional proclamation; belief is much more than mere intellectual assent to historical facts. We exist for worship.

Consequently, neither mission nor worship must ever become a subcategory or parenthesis within our ecclesiology – mission and worship are THE primary tasks of the church. Christians within our churches must come to love the things God loves and to redefine their own practices in light of his, and this will only happen as they realize the relevance of the gospel for themselves, as well as for unbelievers. As Martin Luther says, it is not enough for us to know that Jesus is Christ, he must “be Christ for you and me.”

Mission and worship are intimately interconnected; both are funded by the gospel. The churches we plant must manifest this reality. If we are serious about these convictions, it will impact how we plant churches.

it's a boy!!!

we went to the doctor for an ultrasound today. here's what greeted us:

so, we'd like to introduce you to joshua ryan sutherland. he's our 2nd son and we are proud that, like joshua of the bible, he will be the first of our family to lead us into the promise land. if you haven't heard joshua ryan's story click here.

it's so ironic that my wife is carrying both a blessing and a curse. my friend shane was pointing out this observation recently. on the one hand, rachel's womb carries all the blessing that comes with a pregnancy and all the hope and expectation of new life. but at the same time, her womb carries all the curses of adam's sin and the fall...all in the span of 9 months. it's such a paradox.

here's a couple more pics of joshua from today's photo shoot:

Magnolia

Magnolia Tree, originally uploaded by A Random Mind.

I took this picture on Sunday as I was enjoying the beauty of a Philadelphia spring day. The sky has been blue here for a record - over a week now, I think!

I also heard a thoughtful devotion today about Matthew 6, where Jesus exhorts us not to worry by pointing us to the flowers, which exceed Solomon's glory without all of that effort.

In closing she drew a connection between the passage in Matthew and another passage that speaks about worry and clothing:
"Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:5-7

Back to Square One

Eugene Peterson illustrates what it means to "walk by faith" as he describes watching his grandson Andrew practice his crawling...

He had a tennis ball which he would pick up, throw, and then crawl after. The ball caromed nicely off walls and furniture, providing challenge and variety for showing off to his grandfather his finely honed skills of crawling... This went on for ten or fifteen minutes, and just then, the ball that he was crawling after rolled under a dry sink and disappeared from view. The moment it disappeared, Andrew stopped, sat back on his well diapered bottom and looked around for something else to do, as if there had never been a tennis ball to chase.

I looked to his mother, "Lynn, what's wrong with Andrew?... Why did he quit chasing the ball?"... Was there a missing gene in his DNA? Was he showing early signs of dyslexia and a short attention span? Lynn, not bothering to look up from her book, said cooly... "Andrew has not yet acquired object permanence."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if he can't see it, it doesn't exist."

It took a few seconds for that to sink in, and then I said, "Oh, I've got a whole congregation just like that."

...

I had never heard the phrase before, "object permanence"... She told me that during those early months of being a mother, virtually everything in Andrew's life required immediate gratification - feeding, comforting, diapering. There was no waiting. There was no reality for Andrew other than what he could see and taste and smell and feel and hear. And most of what he saw, tasted, smelled, felt and heard was his mother. If she was going to be a good mother, she had to be there physically with her body. She also observed that if she continued being a good mother in that way, past a certain point, she would be a bad mother.

...

Her good mothering would become bad mothering if Andrew never learned object permanence - if he never learned to deal with her absence in the same way he learned to deal with her presence. Most of Lynn, to say nothing of most of the world, was not at that moment accessible to his senses. If she insisted on being indispensible to him, she would narrow his life to only what he could see of her.

...

I am always surprised when I come across yet another way in which biology provides a grounding for spirituality. But here it was again... I am calling this starting point, Square One, the place where we acquire object permanence. This is the place from which we launch the distinctly human journey.

...

Up to Square One you live by sight; after Square One, you live by faith.

- Eugene Peterson, Subversive Spirituality (p16-18)

Mailbag

Steve at Ragamuffin Ramblings recently left a comment on my post about Joni Eraeckson Tada and Watching Our Words.

Since I doubt many people view comments on old posts, I am posting a portion of his comment now, but please take the time to read all of his thoughtful comments here.

I was glad to see you post Joni's statement. She certainly has solid ground upon which to stake her claims, and I appreciate her position. But it also made me think about a later post of yours.

In your April 16th post, your answer to whatever-is-going-on with the high-school girls was "Because God loves you!" I'll admit that I struggle with that as an answer for the questions of theodicy in daily life, though I won't challenge it in this setting.

But I'm curious how you might see that answer affecting this particular topic. What happens when an injury or illness destroys a person's ability to feed themselves, to care for themselves in any way, or to communicate, to share God's love with anyone else? If it's "because God loves them," then who are we to separate them from God's love by artificially extending their life? ...

If death is the logical termination of the domination of this world, and entry into unity with Christ in the world to come, then why do we fight it so? ...

I'm just suggesting that this topic is much, much closer to gray-scale-gradient than it is to black-and-white. And I am also suggesting that the decision to let a loved one "go home to God" is frequently not murder, but surrender to God's will at the end of a life (whether at 85, or at 25).

Steve, I particularly appreciate your closing remark that I've posted here, that we Christians have a tendency to make issues seem a lot more black-and-wise than they are. I might add that we presume to know exactly what God's will is while actually parading our own opinions, without thoughtfully considering alternative positions. In the end, that makes our argument all that much weaker.

In response to your questions about juxtaposing my two recent posts, I actually think they fit together very nicely, and I continue to cling to the belief that God's love is what gives us hope, no matter our situation.

You made two comments that I found interesting:

“If it's ‘because God loves them,’ then who are we to separate them from God's love by artificially extending their life?”

and, “If death is the logical termination of the domination of this world, and entry into unity with Christ in the world to come, then why do we fight it so?”

In response to both of those, I kind of question your presuppositions. How is keeping someone alive separating him or her from God’s love? While we usually focus on the “death” in Rom 8:38, Paul also says that “life” will not separate us from the love of God. Also, our union with Christ is the dynamic of our lives in THIS world. Death is not the logical termination of the dominion of this world; Christ’s death and – especially – his resurrection are. That means that Christians presently live in a world that is no longer dominated by sin; the dominion of sin is a defeated and retreating foe. It is true in the sense that we groan, along with the rest of creation, to be set free from the bondage to decay. Yet, in a very real sense, we are living Christ right now – the fact that we have been died with Christ and are resurrected with him, means that for us, “to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21, Eph 2:5).

I guess what I meant by because God loves you was a sort of doble entendre – first, we have to hold on to the fact that God loves us above all. Secondly, however, and I think this is where Joni would come in (if you haven’t read her excellent book When God Weeps, I highly recommend it), we experience God’s love precisely within our suffering. In God’s wisdom, he designed us to come to know him in this way.

Also, you bring up an extremely delicate issue when it comes to artificially preserving someone’s life … which basically means that we choose when it will end. I first encountered that kind of ethical discussion when a neighbor hesitated to put her dog to sleep for that very reason, but she realized that he was suffering immensely more than he would have if they hadn’t been keeping him alive by various other medications for several months. Still, if it’s a hard choice with a dog (I LOVE dogs, so this is truly a hard choice for me), how much more with humans who are made in the image of God!

What I continue hold onto is the fact that someone who is severely disabled and suffering is still not separated from the love of God in Christ. Even if they can’t express anything or understand what we say, I believe that God is wise and powerful enough to communicate to them. So yes, if I were to watch my mom or dad have a stroke and be essentially incapacitated for the rest of their lives, or spend the last 15 years of their lives with Alzheimer’s, when it comes down to it, I would still affirm that, yes, it happened to both them and me because God loves us too dearly to not prescribe this specific circumstance for our lives. Would it suck? Yes, but I would also know that God loves us too much to let us go through life without experiencing his love in this way.

I admit that this doesn’t bring any clarity to the issues that we face with someone on artificial life support, and I don’t think I’ve thought about the topic enough to weigh in on it to the extent that you may have been hoping. However, to have this sort of foundation provides us with a framework out of which to make these decisions, and it also provides us with comfort in the midst of an extremely painful circumstance.

Steve, I also appreciate your statement that you’re not looking for an argument. I hope you don’t feel like I am either. I just thought your comment provided interesting fodder for a bit more discussion, so thanks for the opportunity to interact with you!

Dipping my Toe in Mormon Christology

I need to interact with Mormon theology for one of my classes at school, and since I know very little about it I thought it might be helpful to actually get some answers straight from the horses mouth (rather than just reading what Christians say about them).

What I am looking for here is not so much "the history of the Mormon church" but rather the delineation of Mormon theology - what do they actually believe about Jesus; how do they actually view salvation. I am eager to understand how they actually differ from us.

So I rummaged around the web and found some Mormon blogs, posted my request for input, and a number of very nice individuals have taken time to respond (thank you!).

The most frequently recommended book has been How Wide the Divide?, a conversation between Craig Blomberg (evangelical) and Stephen Robinson (Mormon). I've dialed it up on Amazon an my copy is on the way.

Several respondants also made intriguing comments about why my task may prove challenging:

• "Your question is actually a little difficult to answer, because Mormons don't do theology per se, let alone systematic theology."

• "You’ll find, especially if you engage a variety of Mormons that nailing down a consistent theology is rather difficult. A lot of this has to do with history, but also the dynamics within the church."

• "Theology among Mormons simply does not work at all the way it does among a lot of other Christian denominations."

• "I personally (and all the Mormons I know) accept Jesus as the unique Son of God who died on the cross and atoned for our sins, and that we are saved by his grace, conditional upon our covenantal acceptance of Him."

Hmm...this sounds interesting! I am already beginning to see that 'Mormonism' is not the monlithic entity I presumed it to be - they have their camps and factions too (ranging from conservative to liberal). I was especially struck by this last comment, however: I suspect that apart from the 'and all the Mormons I know part,' most Christians would probably see this as a very "orthodox" statement.

SO...my curiousity is piqued and I'm looking forward to learning more! I'll be sure to keep you posted on the results of my reading, and I'll try to give our Mormon friends a chance to respond as well (just to make sure I'm not misreprenting things).

Stay tuned!

My youth group saga continues.

Last week was good; this week was nicht so gut (German: "not so good"). In fact, I was totally beaten down at youth group last night. It must really suck to be a high school girl, because they seem to have a lot of angst. Praise God, I didn't take it personally, though, when they physically turned away from me because I asked them to discontinue an unproductive discussion. I got the 'silent treatment' for the rest of the meeting time, so I took the opportunity (a rare one, I assure you!) to reiterate to them what I think is THE most important thing they can take out of the year that I've spent with them, which is God's love.

As God has ordained it, this is also an area that I've grown in a lot lately. I once listened to a conference tape where the speaker had been in college ministry, and her catch phrase for whenever the girls asked 'Why?' was, "Because God loves you!"

"Why did God let my parents divorce?" Because he loves you!
"Why didn't I get into the school I wanted?" Because God loves you!
"Why am I sick, or why do my friends and family die?" Because God loves you!

This is a truth that we must cling to tenaciously. We hold it alongside the truth that God is sovereignly ordering everything in our lives. But we can find comfort (rather than fear or anger) in God's sovereignty because of the fact of his love.

I can't tell my high school girls why their lives are so hard. I can't tell them why they feel like God is so distant from them right now. I surely won't promise them that they will start "feeling" God's presence with them again.

So, I turned the hostile silence into a chance to tell them that - no matter where they turn, what they say to God or what happens to them - their loving heavenly Father is pursuing them, and holding out to them the best he has to offer. Now, I'm not discounting the need for repentance and a walk of faith. But for where these girls are right now, what they need to hear most of all is a theme that reverberates throughout the Bible. It is the story of a God who loves his wayward people, who pursues them in their sin, who redeems them from the consequences of their rebellion, who tenderly cherishes ugly and broken people, who chooses us simply on the basis of his love and nothing in us, who ultimately sends his Son to die for his enemies, and this exalted Son gives us every spiritual blessing, all that we need, and the riches that he himself has merited through his work.

Yeah, it turns out that I'm not so different than my high school girls after all. Granted, I don't typically express such open hostility, but it's there inside me (trust me!). And this grand theme of God's love - which is our hope and salvation - is the same message that I need to hear and believe every day.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:6-10

Eyes to See

In Subversive Spirituality, Eugene Peterson begins with this statement:

"We are accustomed to believing that the Holy Spirit inspired the content of the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16), but it is just as true that the form itself is inspired, this new literary form that we call the gospel." (p5)

Peterson is reminding us that it's not just the "truths" that are true; the forms in which they are given are also inspired. God speaks to us in a form that is perfectly crafted to convey precisely what he intends. This isn't just true of Scripture - it's true of all creation. God says everything points us back to him, it tells us of his glory. God gives us all our senses, and then he invites us to see! hear! taste! touch!

God speaks to us through images - the bread and the wine of his supper, the sunset outside my window - and God speaks to us through story. In short, he does not come simply to engage our intellect; he comes to engage us heart, soul, mind, and strength. He will have all of us; he will settle for nothing less.

Peterson says something else as well:

"The moment we formulate our doctrines, draw up our moral codes, and throw ourselves into a life of ministry apart from a continuous re-immersion in the story itself, we walk right out of the presence of God and set up our own shop."

He's right too. This is not to say our doctrine is not important - it's vital. But we can know all the "facts" about God and still miss out on a relationship with him.

I've been thinking a lot about my own relationship with Christ these past few days. We're at that point in the school year where the demands of this life start squeezing the joy out of my soul. And surprisingly, this has actually been a blessing, because it's forced me to think about what I really want - relationship with God; fellowship and friendship with him.

And in the midst of all this, I've realized that the pressure is not really the problem - that's just the vehicle which brings my sin to the surface. What I really need is to figure out how to draw near to God in the midst of the whirlwhind. So that's what I'm going to be focusing on over these coming months. Reconnecting with God in his story.

Of course it won't be easy. It may even require some extreme measures, because relationship takes time, and that's the one thing I never have enough of. But it should be interesting, to say the least.

I know already that I need to adjust my priorities - both with school and with blogging. That probably means less writing between now and the end of May. It also means I need to rethink my study habits - I have spent years training myself to be a very good student, and I may need to actually unlearn some of those habits now. School is important, but it's not most important.

At this point, I need to see more of Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith (Heb 12:2). I want to engage my senses in the God who is speaking to me. I want to know him, talk with him, be engaged by him. I don't see him nearly as well as I desire, but I do see him, and I long for more. He has promised to reveal himself, and I am looking forward to the journey.

Lord, give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that is drawn to you!

Blast from the Past

Isn't it interesting how our perspective changes over time. Think about it - on a day to day basis, life seems much the same today as it did years ago. Then every now and again you run across an old photo, and (*gasp*) - I used to have HAIR!!!

Often it seems like we only see the changes when we pull our nose out of the daily grind and then pause to take a look around, to think about who we are and where we've come from. Interestingly, this is precisely what gives birth to "story" - as we reflect, we begin to identify with certain pieces of our personal history more than others - we see highlights and low points, and those form the contours for how we perceive ourselves, our world, and the meaning of our lives.

In light of these two concepts then - "looking back," and "story" - I offer two links:

1. FoolishSage in all his glory (I go to seminary with Mark and Karyn, and they regularly leave comments on this blog, so some of you who also know them will appreciate this);

2. Cheering Jesus, with a great insight on the difference between listening to Scripture as story to be embraced, rather than simply as bare history to be learned.

If you look closely, I think you'll see a connection. Hope you enjoy them both...

Watching Our Words

JoniandFriends.org have issued a statement in light of the recent publicity about the lives of people with disabilities in our country.

While I generally bristle at all of the language changes that we must use to be politically correct (the Montanan in me wishes that language didn't have so much potential to offend), the challenge from Joni really caused me to stop and think:

To uphold the God-given dignity of life – especially those whose lives are impacted by significant disabilities – we are asking society to stop using the term “persistent vegetative state.” Too many people with severe disabilities have been called “vegetables” – this is not only demeaning, but dehumanizing. When severely disabled people are stripped of life-dignity, the discussion too easily turns to death or the warehousing of that individual in a hospice.

And...

We have observed that media discussions have centered around whether or not a severely disabled person is “going to get better some day” as though that fact is a criterion for life. However, for millions of Americans, disability is a fact of life; many will “never get better” by society’s standards. We assert that the quality of one’s life should never be a criteria to put them to death. Life is the most irreplaceable and fundamental condition of what it means to be human and it is an express gift of God, the Author of life.

hat tip: dawntreader

Getting a Grip on Christian Spirituality

Earlier today, Molly shared some of Manny's Questions for the Soul, and then she reflected on how we benchmark our relationship with God. Making improvements is often not as easy as it seems; its very easy to devolve into legalism, to lean on our discipline and rigor as things which commend us to God. At the same time, its just as easy to be lax and lazy.

As I told Manny in class, I pretty much suck in all these categories - part of that is because my life is so busy right now; but at the same time, I'm not sure that if I suddenly reduced all the stressful demands that my spiritual devotion would actually improve at all. At the same time, I don't think the solution is simply to "try harder" either.

Say Molly: "It's so ironic/counterintuitive to me that a 'disciplined life' in many ways involves stepping back from everything that we 'do,' just to 'be.'"

Wise words. Several things struck me as I reflected on this further:

1. I'm not even sure I know what true "biblical spirituality" really looks like anymore. I used to think it meant spending an hour every day in prayer and study; but I'm not so sure now.

I would love to have someone to model these categories for me in the context of the urgent demands of work / school / family / life. I have a difficult time knowing who to emulate here. I have a difficult time visualizing what it actually looks like in practice.

2. What's going in the reformed circles in this regard? What are the movements, the contours? Who are the movers and the shakers?

I have a feeling that the traditional reformed answer has been to focus on "public worship and the preaching of the word." I dig that, but I also suspect there's something more. On the other end of the spectrum, we have community oriented approaches like the Jesus movement of the 70's. I'm not sure I want to live in a commune with others (and how many of you would really want to live in a commune with me?). The answer is probably somewhere there in middle.

3. Assuming we can actually get our hands around what kind of "biblical spirituality" we're actually aiming for, what would it look like for the body of Christ to pursue this intentionally? What would it look like for us to grow? To help each other grow? What would it take for all us to seriously pursue one-anothering in the faith?

I would love it if folks could help flesh out some of the contours that might shape our answers to these questions. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Coca-Cola Evangelism

David Wayne over at Jollyblogger has an interesting little piece on what I am calling (for lack of a better term) "Coca-Cola Evangelism." Here's a little snippet:

You may know the name Steve Sjogren - he is the pastor ... who started a little revolution in evangelism with the publishing of his book Conspiracy of Kindness. This book and the whole ministry has the motto, "little things done with great love will change the world."

God has remarkably blessed Steve's ministry and the ministry of the Cincinnati Vineyard as they have sought to evangelize through simple acts of service - like giving away free cold drinks on hot days, hot drinks on cold days, free car washes, light bulb and smoke detector battery giveaways and all kinds of things. The basic idea is that you give away these gifts and services and refuse to take any kind of compensation for them as an expression of the freeness of the grace of God.
...
Having done a few of these projects over the last 2 years, we haven't seen anyone come to our church as a result and because of this, there could be a temptation to think that this isn't working.

But this kind of pragmatic way of evaluating such a ministry misses a fundamental point. The point of "servant evangelism" or "irresistible influence" is not to use these things as just another church growth gimmick. In fact, to the extent that these things are turned into church growth gimmicks, to that extent they will become fads and to that extent they will fade away just like all the other church growth gimmicks. The real value of these things is their potential to build good will in the community for the church.

Here's what I like about this - it DOES get people doing something in the way of sharing their faith; it DOES model the gospel in a way that will probably be surprising to many people (giving you an opportunity to graciously explain what the heck you are doing). So I don't want to say that this is all bad.

That said, I'm not sure I feel totally comfortable with it either. You see, David connects this type of approach with the actions of the early church. And that makes me a bit uneasy - they cared for outcasts in society, they visited the untouchables in prison, they gave their lives for the sake of their creeds; we on the other hand, pass out cokes.

And there seems to be something a bit disproportional in that. Yes, what we are giving away is free; but its also fairly cheap. And we live in the wealthiest country on the face of the planet. It reminds me of going to trade shows and getting a free keychain, or... ooooh! a T-shirt!

Don't get me wrong. I like free T-Shirts (well, some of them). But I tend to value something based on what it's worth. As Bonhoeffer pointed out - yes, grace is free, but its certainly not cheap; it's incredibly costly, incredibly valuable. After all, salvation was something so expensive if cost the Son of God his life.

It seems to me that what people are looking for today is something precious - and relationship lies at the heart of that. I think about Brandon's comments regarding community a couple of days ago, and I wonder which is more meaningful to unbelievers: a coke from a stranger whom I will never see again? or someone who moves into my neighborhood and is willing to invite me into their lives?

What what really models the value of the gospel? Something that cost less than a dollar? Or something that requires me to radically rearrange my life in order to give it?

At the end of the day, something tells me the soft drink approach isn't going to quench anyone's thirst...

When the Gospel Works

When was the last time you got a phone call from a friend, weeping because she hurt you? That happened to me this weekend when an old friend named Lydia called to apologize.

You see, I had spoken with her earlier in the day, and some of the things she said really cut me. Now, she didn't mean to do that - she didn't even know they had that effect. So it wasn't her fault; if anything, it was probably mine. I tend to be pretty open around friends, especially in regards to my struggles. And that's usually a good thing, but the problem is when you open your heart up to others, you almost always end up getting burnt sooner or later.

In this case, I said one thing, she heard another, and we both ended up speaking past one another with very painful results. And I took it personally because I turned to a friend for consolation and felt like I got attacked instead.

Now this type of thing happens all the time in relationships, but it seems particularly frequent in the church. I think there are two reasons for this: a) people in the church are generally needy (they realize they don't have it all together), b) people in the church are generally struggling with their sin (after all, Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous).

Put those two things together - weakness and sin - and you get what a pastor friend of mine calls "the plumbing." Its all the crap that goes on in the church - the politics, the broken relationships, the personal wrongs...you name it, the church has got it. And the church is often judged and rejected precisely on this account. Sin tends to make itself a public thing.

What we often fail to see, however, are the many places where the church actually works - where sinners saved by God's grace actually overcome their sin, where God restores relationships. We don't see it, because many of the triumphs happen behind closed doors, out of the public eye. If I wasn't sharing this right now, you would never, ever know about it. You might never see how God moved to restore this relationship.

You see, when Lydia's words cut me, I had two choices:
1. "absorb the blow" and pretend like nothing ever happened
2. tell her how I felt and risk further misunderstanding and hurt

Most of us tend to opt for the former, because it's less risky. When we get hurt, the last thing we want to do is go back for more. So we pull back, we protect ourselves, we put up a shell around us and make mental notes not to say certain things around certain people. And when we do that, we actually kill relationship with those around us because we begin living as if the only way they will accept is if I conform to a certain standard.

Yesterday, I risked a lot. I emailed Lydia and said, "hey, you need to know that some of the things you said really hurt; I'm not asking you to do anything about it, I just want you to know how it made me feel." And I really didn't know what to expect.

What I got completely surprised me - within minutes of reading my email, she was on the phone in tears because she had hurt me. She knew she hadn't meant to, and I knew it too, but the fact of the matter is that it did hurt (mostly because of my own sin) - and here she was, dropping everything, calling to apologize and reaffirm her friendship for me.

I probably won't remember the specific words she spoke in that conversation. But I will never forget the message conveyed in her actions, tears, and tone. She was my friend first and foremost - she was FOR me!

And that, my friends, is the gospel at work in the lives of believers. We screw up, we hurt one another, but there is always forgiveness and restoration when we preach the gospel to ourselves and care enough to be honest with one another - to repent when we are wrong, to forgive when we have been wronged. And the beautiful thing is that when a relationship is restored, it doesn't just return to the same place it was before - it's always deepened and strengthened.

So that's my thought for this Monday morning - the gospel really does work. I see it in my life; I see it in Lydia's. And God is growing us both, using these experiences to mature us in Christ and help us to better love those around us.

Old Man of Fischer Park

The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, to bring good news to the poor,
bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives,
the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all those who mourn;
that they might all be called
Oaks of Righteousness,
plantings of the LORD,
that He might be
Glorified!

- Isaiah 61:1-3

My Damascus

So I went and asked the question, "Where were the pivot points in your faith?" and Charles wisely threw it right back at me: "So what about you, Christian?" I promised him an answer, and I'll do my best to give it now.

It's hard to know where to start, or how much to say. First, because my story is a long and painful one. Second, because there are people who read this list - my mom and dad, brothers and sisters - who are part of it, and that last thing I want to do is hurt them by rehashing old wounds. So I will say just a little, and I'd ask you to not to jump to any conclusions about anyone other than me.

When I was 10 years old, my mom divorced my dad and remarried less than 2 weeks later. My dad in turn remarried less than 2 years later. My sister and two brothers went to live with my mom; I stayed with my dad (which actually meant I went to live with my grandparents in CA for a year because my dad was a traveling salesman at the time).

I cannot tell you how much divorce sucks. I was devastated. Not just because the family was wrenched apart, but because it got glued back together again with different people, and once that happens you realize you aren't ever going back. Ever.

And I am ok with that now, but it hurt like a banshee at the time. And that was when I started wondering if God exists.

Not so much wondering, really - I don't think I ever doubted him at all. I couldn't afford to, because I desperately needed a way to make sense of this world. There's a time in life where every child loses his innocence, where you realize that the world is not this nice, warm fuzzy place where everyone thinks your cute. It is a cold, harsh, dog-eat-dog reality where actions have consequences and mistakes are costly. No wonder people long to return to their childhood.

So I tried to escape. For me, fantasy was a refuge. I read voraciously. I longed for someplace different. Of course it didn't work, and sooner or later you realize you have to grow up whether you like it or not. Fantasy makes for great story, but great story ultimately has to be backed up by reality or its just a cheap novel. It's like looking at porn - sooner or later you realize that mere pictures, no matter how graphic, just can't compete with the real deal.

I desparately wanted reality. And I wanted a reality where the good guys actually won - where wrongs got righted, and the stuff that was broken in life got fixed.

The only place I have ever found anything close to that is with this Jesus guy in Bible.

I remember reading it in 7th or 8th grade, thinking, "Holy crap, if this stuff is true it's absolutely amazing!" But then I looked around at my peers (who all said they believed it too) and I saw absolutely no difference in their lives. They were getting drunk on weekends, they were screwing one another just like everyone else.

It seemed like the whole thing was a stinking sham, and I came very, very close to bagging it entirely. But I didn't because of a man who became my youth pastor and actually lived like he believed this God thing was for real. I used to hate going to youth group, because it was a social club. And I still remember to this day how he announced we were canning everything social and starting bible studies - "And if you don't want to study the Bible, don't bother coming, because I will kick your butt out of here" (and he did!). He taught us how to study God's word, and he encouraged us to be passionate about it.

I think I would have made a good crusader. Or martyr. Or zealot maybe. That's just my personality - I've always been very passionate, very intense, especially about things I believe in. You see, I desperately wanted to believe in something strongly - and up until a couple hundred years ago, that was a good way to get yourself killed. The alternative, however - to live when you don't believe in anything - that to me has always seemed far, far worse. I honestly don't think I could take it.

Maybe that's why Paul's statement has always resonated so strongly with me: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (1 Cor 15:17).

That packs a powerful punch for me, because I have seen death - not just physical death (anyone can die), but living death, the kind that happens when you take families and rip them apart, and then make them live with that for the rest of their lives. I'm not just talking about my parent's divorce here. You see, as I grew and looked around, I realized that their experience was much closer to the norm than I had ever imagined.

I have lived long enough to watch people screw one another, make bad decisions with money and drugs and relationships, willingingly sell their souls to be sucessful even though it cost them their families, their marriages. Everyday people all around us make decisions that they will have to live with forever - and your conscience is not like a hard drive; you can't just wipe it clean. You think it's bad out here? Wait till you spend some time in the church; people are REALLY messed up there.

And in all of this, I've come to realize that I am not very far from any of these people; I am fully capable of doing many things just as bad, some things far worse. You may not be as messed up as I am, but I'll bet dollars to donuts you're not much different than me at the core.

So those are some of my own pivot points - recognizing that life is brutally hard, recognizing that I am right there with all those sinners, but also realizing that God is real and that he is just and righteous and yet passionately for me.

You might ask me how I know God is real - I don't know. That's like asking how I know you are real, or better yet how I know my wife is real. I have been through a lot of very hard times in my life and there are only two people who have never abandoned me: Marilyn, and Jesus. I can't imagine any circumstance that would cause me to believe that Jesus exists any less I am convinced that Marilyn exists.

I know that the way I met Jesus was through Scripture. I know that no one will ever find Christ apart from Scripture, because at the end of the day there are only two Jesus' available to you: the Jesus of Scripture or the Jesus of my imagination. And frankly, the last thing I want is another fantasy world. Like I said before, I desparately want reality, and I'm convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that I've found it - not because of some doctrine I've learned, but because of a person I know who has made a real difference in my life.

That's why I'm at seminary today - because I believe God can make a difference in the lives of other people too. And that is something I will gladly give everything for.

So...there you have it. Very partial, very incomplete, but that's the best I can do in a short amount of space. Hopefully it will give a glimpse of what makes me tick...