Mackey's Musings

Contemplative Spirituality: Praying the Psalms

2014-03-15T15:15:00.004-06:00

The spiritual practice of praying the Psalms has a long line of history to it in the Church. The Book of Psalms has long been thought of as the Church's prayer book. It provides rich, deep material for our souls to linger and savor as we approach the throne of God in prayer. Read the passages slowly, linger silently in your spirit as you form your own prayers around the words of the Psalm you pray through.

Psalm 43 is a good place to start. Try praying with your Bible in front of you and your journal close by to capture any prayers you want to return to, to record any thoughts about God you feel are strong in your spirit, or to just allow you to slow down as you write out the Psalm as you're praying.

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
  against an ungodly people,
 from the deceitful and unjust man
  deliver me!
 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
  why have you rejected me?
 Why do I go about mourning
  because of the oppression of the enemy?
 
 Send out your light and your truth;
  let them lead me;
 let them bring me to your holy hill
  and to your dwelling!
 Then I will go to the altar of God,
  to God my exceeding joy,
 and I will praise you with the lyre,
  O God, my God.
 
 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
  and why are you in turmoil within me?
 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
  my salvation and my God.

(Psalm 43 ESV)

Reflections at Lent

2014-03-15T07:10:00.002-06:00

A friend of mine sent me an article that has proven helpful to him during the season of Lent. I was enriched by this so I want to share it here.

Sunday of Forgiveness - Great Lent: A Season of Spiritual Springtime

"Thus saith the Lord Almighty; there shall,be fasts in the House of Judah unto joy and gladness and unto feasts goodly, cheering, and joysome" (cf. Zacharias 8:19)

a. In the Paschal Vigil, the decisive criterion in our experiencing a personal Resurrection-Renewal will not be the maintenance of the Fast, but mutual love; the practice of sympathy and empathy; sensitivity before the misfortune of our brother; the rebuilding of our person relationships with Christ.
b. The Great Fast is not a Great Desert, in which we wander, beleaguered for forty days. But it is a stroll through the Garden of the Kingdom, unique in beauty and comeliness.
c. Nature's Spring coincides with the Springtime of Lent: "The Springtime of the Fast hath dawned, as hath the Blossom of Repentance.
d. In the Lenten Springtime:

our hearts are warmed and enlightened through prayer-fasting-almsgiving;

we return to our fervent and radiant relationship with God and our fellow man;
we rise above self-centeredness, that is, we remove ourselves from the center of our attention;
we open the realm of our hearts, such that they overflow with God and our brother.

+ Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi

From Loss to Found: Walking in my True Self

2014-03-14T09:01:00.000-06:00

2013 was a year of much loss, and in some ways, much gain for me. There was so much I went through in my marriage, in my family of origin, in the interior of my life and also in the physical exterior (see picture below). But what was taken in loss and heartache was used to fill me up with peace and the goodness of God.

So, I changed my focus in my graduate studies from an MDiv in Leadership to an MA in Christian Formation & Soul Care. The concepts and practices I am studying resonate so strongly with my core values, it feels as if I have come home from a lifetime of lost wandering. So much of the people pleasing that caused emotional and spiritual dysfunction really seems to have been unloaded through the suffering of loss; replaced by significant peace and knowledge of contemplative practices that heal, restore and invigorate. It seems to have impact on everything; let me give you an example of how it has impacted one area of my life: philosophy of ministry.

After 22 years of lay and vocational ministry experience, my philosophy of ministry is moving from the emphasis on discipling the Body of Christ to service experience of God (what God wants to do through us) to the emphasis on journeying with the Body of Christ to the experiencing ministry of God (what God wants to do in us); helping people to BE a child of God so that what He does in us will manifest through us. In other words, walking with people to be the person God created them to be so that they do what they were created to do.

It has also had an impact on me physically. . . I've included a picture to show how the LORD has brought me to a place of walking in my true self physically. I lost over 70 pounds.

It has impacted my vocational identity . . . as I spent time in prayer/fasting/Scripture last fall, the LORD gave me Psalm 27:4 as the Scripture foundation of my vocational calling in pastoral ministry:

 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
  that will I seek after:
 that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
  all the days of my life,
 to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
  and to inquire in his temple.

(Psalm 27:4 ESV)

It was an exciting year, 2013. And I am SO glad it is over.

Here's to a new year, 2014. Perhaps I can be more disciplined on this blog than I have in the past.

I Got Saved in a Charismatic Church Last Night

2012-12-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

My wife and I visited a charismatic church north of Denver last night. We've been there before. We love it; it's a treat for us to have time to get away and one of the things we like to do sometimes is visit certain churches with which we are in relationship.

After the song worship section one of the pastors shared the gospel and invited us to take some time and pray for those people we know who are do not know Christ. Then he asked us if there were any of us who had some issues of sin in our life we were not dealing with. He prayed and asked us to raise our hands if we wanted prayer for these issues. I raised my hand. I always have lots of issues.

Well, what I didn't realize was this was the time in the service where the invite people in the congregation who do not know Jesus to raise their hands for salvific prayers. I had several people come to me while we were praying asking if I wanted prayer. I told them I thought I was getting prayer as the pastor up front was praying. Apparently they want to pull you aside and pray with you. Another older lady confronted my wife and wanted to pray with her and give her literature. My wife was sweet and told her I was just doing business with God.

I love it! I love a church that will pray for people to get right with God through Jesus. I love a church that will worship Jesus and invite those who do not know know Him to pray and invite Him to take over their lives. I love that they want to pray with me to get saved. Again. ;)

I got saved in a Charismatic church last night. Again.

Preaching

2012-08-20T19:40:00.001-06:00

Ok, Word Press did not pan out for me.

So I'm going to still with blogger for the time being.

For the last two weeks I have been preaching at FBC Broomfield; a small Baptist church. It's been a surprisingly wonderful experience. I had not anticipated falling in love with the people so quickly. I had thought I would get in, preach the message, and get out. Clean and easy. However as I've prepared the message with these precious people in mind, prayed for them regularly, thought of them constantly, and spent time with them before and after the service I have grown quite attached.

They treat my children with such warmth and love; I have only been in one other church that treats my children so kind and it is Calvary.

I am really enjoying my preaching time. It's forced me back into the Word at a deeper level. I am also sensing this opportunity as a way to gauge preaching on a regular basis. I can honestly say I could get used to preaching every week. I love it.

Blog Update

2012-02-28T08:03:00.002-07:00

Hello friends and followers.

I will most likely be updating my blog at a new location . . .

http://famofseven.wordpress.com/

Enjoy reading. I'll read all of your lovely comments too.

Your friend,

Brian

John 4 Cross Cultural Ministry

2012-02-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

There is a stain of blood in America when it comes to reaching out to neighbors who have differing cultural background. From the hostile way African-American’s were treated during the days of slavery and beyond, to our modern day trials with illegal immigrants crossing our borders; Americans have been hostile toward each other in the area of race. What makes this even more tragic is God has called His children to cross cultural boundaries to build bridges of relationship that will carry the weight of the good news of Jesus in order to transform lives, families, cultures, and make worshippers of God out of the nations.

When Jesus walked on this earth, the tension between Jews and Samaritans was intense. Jews disliked Samaritans so much that they would work very hard to avoid them and their territory as much as possible.[1] These tensions dated back for centuries before Jesus walked Jerusalem. When the Jews returned from Exile in Babylon, the Samaritans offer to help rebuild the temple was refused.[2] This only helped to exacerbate the bitterness between the two people groups.

One would think the Jews and the Samaritans could find common ground in the fact they worshipped the same God; however, the Samaritans used only a portion of the Old Testament, which was the Pentateuch.[3] The Jews, on the other hand, enjoyed much more of the Scriptures in the Psalms, the Prophets and other books.[4] Also, instead of worshipping together, around 400 B.C. the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim. Their refusal to worship with the Jews increased the divide between them. This cultural bitterness created a culture where a “Samaritan” did not only mean someone from the city of Samaria, but also someone who is a member of that race as well.[5]

Religion played a great deal in the hearts and minds of Jews and Samaritans; thus these differences between them were a cause for great consternation. By today’s standards people may look at these issues as insignificant; yet religious differences were at the heart of much of their cultural anxiety toward each other.

The ancient Greco-Roman[6] household model recognized the husband as the ruler of the house and it would have been common for children and wives to submit to this rule.[7] They were not valued in the same way men are valued. In ancient times it was understood that women were weaker than a man; this was looked at as a good thing, even desirable. Yet unlike in today’s worldview, women were unable to make decisions on their own because of their weakness. The idea would have been a weak body (compared to the male physique) also meant a weak mind.[8] Because of this rabbis would not teach women; this made it difficult for women to get an education.[9] It would have been radical that women would sit at the feet of Jesus while He taught them; or that Paul would instruct Timothy to have the women taught.[10]

In this culture men would rarely speak to women in public, even if the woman were his wife! And single men would never speak to or touch another female. It would have been expected for women to be in a more subservient role in this society. Because women were not considered equal to men, they were expected to submit to men. The relationship between a husband and his wife was one where the wife submitted to the husband. She would take on his ways, his friends, even his religion. Historian Tertullian even noted the radical mistreatment of Christian wives by their unbelieving husbands.[11] This could create tension for the wife who was expected to submit. Even more pressure was added to this as it was thought in order to prosper and have well being there had to be order in the home; which meant if the wife did not want to be blamed for something going wrong she would submit to her husband.[12] In this antagonistic culture toward women, the lack of submission by a wife, especially a Christian wife, could prove hostile.

Theological and Biblical

It is exciting to know that our God is a pursuing God. This is revealed throughout John’s gospel as he reveals his understanding of mission. God the Father sends John the Baptist, He sends Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit, and this sending culminates in the sending of His Church.[13] John records Jesus’ words, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” (John 4:23 NASB)

Because the Samaritans and the Jews worshipped in different temples, in different geographical places (Samaritans worship on Mt. Gerizim and he Jews worshipped in Jerusalem), there was division in their worship. They may be worshipping the same God, but their ideas of separation because of cultural, religious, perhaps even political differences. Jesus stated, “an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” (John 4:21 NASB) There is no longer a need to be in a certain temple, at a certain location, or to be a privileged sex or race to worship God. God is above these things; He is “Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 NASB) Like the divisions in first-century Middle Eastern cultures, the divisions that people have today need the same Scriptural balm to heal them. Some denominations will not worship God with other denominations. In some areas of America whites will not worship with people who have a different skin tone; the racism in this country is not much different than the racism between the Jewish people and the Samaritans. God is above and beyond specific cultural mores that divide; He is wanting to have unity in His body[14] so that all people at all times in every nation will worship Him.

True worship is the worship of God “in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 NASB) Because God is spirit, this is how humanity must worship Him. It is not the human spirit Jesus is referring to in this passage; humanity does not need to work itself up in some kind of hysteria in order to get some spiritual high in order to be worshipping God. No, what Jesus means is the true worship is “worship that is dynamically animated by God’s Holy Spirit.”[15] The Spirit of God, dwelling in true believers, ignites true worship. It is not something conjured up, it is something initiated by the Spirit of God Himself. We see again the initiation by God even in the worship of Himself. Because God is spirit, He is not bound to any specific locale, as the Samaritan woman seems to understand worship. He is invisible, He is life giving, and He is unknowable unless He reveals himself.[16] His initiation and pursuit of people is rewarded by the worship and praise of His adoring children.

The transcendence of the Father means that He is not bound by physical formalities. True worship of God is worship that is honest, genuine, and from the heart.[17] Humanity need not have a certain cultural form to worship God; or be a part of a certain racial heritage, or speak a certain language, or be a part of a certain religious tradition to be able to worship God in spirit and truth.

The role of Christ in mission is he is the connecting person between the Father and humanity. One need only be connected to God in relationship through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ through His death, burial and resurrection.[18] In the context of this Scripture, there is no longer a need to travel to a physical temple to worship God; children of God can worship Him anywhere and everywhere. He is the drink that quenches every spiritual thirsting of humanity. When the nations drink of Jesus, they will drink of “living water” so they will “never thirst” again. (John 4:10, 14 NASB)

Missiological

In this text, Jesus confronted the Samaritan woman with her sin; “for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.” (John 4:17-18 NASB) In this culture, unlike in today’s culture, living together would have been considered morally wrong.[19] In her conviction, she recognizes a Messianic element in Jesus as she went back and told her friends (4:39) what she had learned about Jesus; instantly she becomes a missionary to her own home town evangelizing and sharing about Jesus, the long awaited Messiah. (4:25) We know the harvest is ready when there is conviction of sin and an understanding that one needs a savior, the Savior, to cleanse them from their wrong doing and give them new life.

Jesus did not wait for the Samaritan woman to come find Him; the text states that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria.” (John 4:4 NASB) Given the hostile nature of Jewish/Samaritan relations, and the fact Jews would go out of their way to avoid Samaria, Jesus makes a point to go here. He is pursuing this woman. He is intentional. The first missiological lesson is we cannot wait for the lost to come to us, but we must be intentional to go to the lost.

Jesus not only intentionally went where the lost were, but He pursued the marginalized of society. It is lost on modern readers how radical this is that Jesus – a single, Jewish man - was talking to not just a woman, but to a Samaritan woman. Jesus did not let the cultural traditions stop Him from reaching out to the least of society. The second missiological lesson that can be gleaned from this passage is that current ministry must include intentional outreach to the marginalized in our society. Those who are hurting, broken and on the outskirts will not come to the church; the church must go to them.

The third missiological lesson that can be gleaned from this passage is quite clear: the only message the lost need to hear is the message of the gospel. Too many churches and ministries want to build a pragmatic, program driven ministry that not only does it not reach the lost, it does not even think about doing cross-cultural ministry to the marginalized. It has become more important in modern Christian circles to build programs and ministries that reach other Christians, rather than to do the work of preaching the gospel to the poor, broken, sick, and destitute for the purpose of introducing them to a God who loves them and wants to give them new life. We would rather sit in tepid pools of luke-warm ministry than to be refreshed by the everlasting waters of Jesus Christ. As odd as it may sound to modern ears, the mission of missions is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. If preaching Jesus was good enough for Jesus, (“I who speak to you am he.” (John 4:26 NASB)), then it is certainly good enough for His church to build a ministry of mission that preaches salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

The wells in my context, which include Littleton and Englewood, surround our church. We are situated in, if not the hardest section of this part of Denver, then certainly one of them. Our area receives the highest number of 911 calls; there is a large number of suicides, economic disaster among families, and all-around dysfunction. Surrounding the church where I worship is a community where sin has a strong grip. Our church is becoming known in the church district for having a strong passion to reach this community with the saving news of Jesus Christ. There are members of the Englewood/Littleton community who are coming to faith for the first time. There are others who are being saved out of a life of drugs and sexual addictions, they are getting baptized, and they are sharing their faith with their family and friends. It is like watching the story of the Samaritan woman at the well every Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church. We are baptizing women who share about their past of drugs, alcohol, sleeping around with other men; and who are now, because of Christ, have been able to turn their life around. They are getting their kids back from foster homes because the state took their children away due to their out-of-control lifestyle. Young men are being saved and baptized; they share their story of how God is ministering to them. For the first time in their life they feel accepted and loved. Fathers are finally walking in their role to lead their families by submitting to Christ; their transformation is radically changing their family dynamic in such a deep and wonderful way. There is much healing and miraculous work taking place as the gospel penetrates a broken community.

For a very long part of my life I have not taken my calling in ministry seriously. In fact, I have not taken the mission of God seriously. I have known since 1988 that God was calling me to shepherd His body; and yet, even though I knew this, I did not take it seriously. I ran from this calling for many years. This is unfortunate because there is no greater calling, no greater privilege, than to serve Jesus Christ. It was not until three years ago that I began to realize serving God is a serious thing. I began to evaluate the areas of my life that were hindering me from doing this work.

For me, the temple that hindered me from worshipping God in spirit and truth was the arrogant lie I believed that suggested I knew more than anyone else about Scripture; I felt if others did not agree with me they were wrong. I did not worship God in any other way than that which made me look good in front of others. I studied at an institution that was rather anti-charismatic so I bought into a lie that insisted all charismatic worship is an embarrassment to God and Christianity as a whole. I looked down on anyone who believed differently; and I was especially disinterested in listening to anyone who believed in any type of theology that seemed to be less than Calvinistic.

It cannot be emphasized enough how valuable the decision to be a part of the Denver Seminary has been on breaking down these walls and introducing me to a new framework from which to view those who may fall outside of my theological grid. In fact, my theological grid has been changing and morphing as I interact with others who may not hold the same value on certain doctrinal points as I do. This has increased my love for others outside of my sphere, as well as a desire to continue to grow in my capacity to love those who are from differing theological, even cultural backgrounds. I am moved by God’s heart to pursue all people at all times in all places. We serve a good and mighty God!

Bibliography

Brown, Jeanine K. “Silent Wives, Verbal Believers: Ethical and Hermeneutical

Considerations in 1 Peter 3:1-6 and Its Context.” Word & World 24. 2004.

Burge, Gary M. “John.” The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 2000.

Laney, Carl J. “John.” Chicago: Moody Publishers. 1992.

Jobes, Karen H. “1 Peter.” in Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand

Rapids: Baker Academic. 2005.

Keener, Craig S. “1 Peter” in The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Downers Grove:

InterVarsity Press. 1993.

Morris, Leon. “The Gospel According to John.” Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans

Publishing Company. 1995.

Rogers,Cleon Jr. and Cleon Rogers. “The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek

New Testament.” Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1998.

Slaughter, James R. “Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ.” in Bibliotheca Sacra 153.

2006.

Tennet, Timothy C. “Invitation to World Missions.” Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications.

2010.

[1] Leon Morris, “The Gospel According to John,” (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.) 226.

[2] Ibid, 227.

[3] Ibid, 226-227.

[4] Ibid, 227.

[5] Ibid, 227.

[6] Craig S. Keener, “1 Peter” in The IVP Bible Background Commentary, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 485.

[7] Jeanine K. Brown, “Silent Wives, Verbal Believers: Ethical and Hermeneutical Considerations in 1 Peter 3:1-6 and Its Context,” Word & World 24 (2004): 399.

[8] Keener, “IVP Bible Background,) 716.

[9] Gary M. Burge, “John,” The NIV Application Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.) 332.

[10] 1 Timothy 2:11

[11] James R. Slaughter, “Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ,” in Bibliotheca Sacra 153 (2006), 202.

[12] Karen H. Jobes, “1 Peter” in Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 203.

[13] Timoth C. Tennet, “Invitation to World Missions,” (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2010.) 154.

[14] John 17

[15] Burge, “John,” 147.

[16] Cleon Rogers and Cleon Rogers, “The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament,” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.) 189.

[17] J. Carl Laney, “John,” (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1992.) 96.

[18] 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-10; and other scriptures that speak to salvation by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

[19] Laney, “John,” 94-95.

The Mission of God

2012-02-06T10:11:00.001-07:00

Billy Graham stated in an interview that he would be willing to go anywhere, sponsored by anyone, so long as there were no strings attached to his message, in order to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The example set by so many in the church throughout history to do just that is humbling and challenging. From the earliest days in Cyprus and Cyrene as the unnamed disciples evangelized the Gentiles[1], upon which the groundwork of the cultural translatability of the gospel was laid, up through Raymond Lull’s ministry to the Muslim peoples and his groundbreaking and counter cultural work to reach out to those who would have been considered the enemy;[2] it is inspiring to hear how the redemption of mankind found in Jesus has been proclaimed.

The history of missions reveals that God is still pursuing the nations. The Korean church is a wonderful example of this as God takes Korean nationals out of Korea for them to hear the gospel and be saved, only to send them back to Korea in order to build His church.[3] Also the fact the Scriptures have been translated in over four hundred new languages[4] is a powerful testimony to the fact God wants the nations to know Him. The example of a contextualized[5] gospel as the need for churches to be planted in cultures to disciple Christians in order to root the redemptive work of Christ further into the culture.[6]

The changing face of global Christianity with Pentecostalism[7] is something that needs to be recognized and understood. Stereotyped for lacking a robust theology,[8] this movement in the church needs to be addressed as God continues to move in a remarkable way through Pentacostalism. The Pentecostal church is not isolated to Latin America[9] but is also having a remarkable impact in Africa as well. The Zionist[10] churches are growing and influencing global Christianity and cannot be ignored. The church in Africa, misunderstood[11] as it may be, is demonstrative of God moving as it “will soon become the most Christian continent on earth.”[12]

The growth in Pentecostalism is increasing, perhaps renewing, the global churches understanding of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He provides,[13] the importance of worshiping God in Spirit and in truth,[14] and the urgency with which the world must be evangelized[15] before Christ returns to receive His Bride, the church. The Holy Spirit is the “central agent in the unfolding of the missio dei, enabling the church to experience the New Creation”.[16] The church, infused with the power of the Holy Spirit, is the embodiment of the New Creation.[17] The church will suffer; the world hated Christ, and the world will hate His Bride. This suffering, though not wanted but normal, identifies believers with their Master Jesus.[18] Suffering also matures believers and give them doors for evangelism that would not have been available in other contexts and situations. As believes in Messiah suffer, hope in the return of Christ increases.[19] The missio dei is not yet fulfilled; suffering increases the hope in the kingdom of God being established on earth where all peoples at all times worship Jehovah. We long for the return of King Jesus.

Analysis

Invitation To World Missions is thorough and broad in laying a foundation for understanding what God is doing in the world and what our part, as the church, should be in partnering with Him. It is very good to see how God has used the church, even individuals within the church, throughout history to impact their culture with the gospel. There is much knowledge to be gleaned by learning of the triumphs and failures of those who risked, sometimes all, to get the message of Jesus Christ to those who have not heard. Even though the way the gospel is presented, or the means through which the gospel is presented, may vary from generation to generation, the message of the gospel will never change.

One of the many strengths of this book is the consistent focus on the church’s responsibility to get the message of the gospel into the hands and hearts of people in all cultures. This book is not about laying out any programs or strategies for doing this, because programs and strategies may work for one group at one time in history but will not work for another group at another time in history.[20] Success in presenting the gospel to a culture can be a great thing; but the danger is that the culture may think the success was because of the method, not the Power of the Spirit of God behind the method.[21] When the church contextualizes, we must remember the goal is to be “faithful to the original biblical context and authorial intent of the biblical message.”[22] The goal is not faithfulness to the particular method or strategy used.

Another strength in this book is the author begins to lay a foundation for a good theology of suffering. He is right in diagnosing the problem with Western Christianity’s “inability to live theologically in the ‘not yet’ arises because of a rigid, Enlightenment-initiated dualism, which unduly separates God and world, including God and His church.”[23] In a culture that values triumphalism[24] while lacking a good theology of suffering[25], the idea that suffering is a true mark of the church[26] (not a mark of failure on the part of the believer who suffers for Christ), and to help His children be connected more to the identity of Jesus,[27] is radical. The missio dei is God’s initiating act of establishing His kingdom, and there are many places on this earth where the people do not want His kingdom established. To partner with the missio dei is to participate in the sufferings of Christ.[28] A good and robust theology must include suffering in order to press on in this endeavor to be used by God to establish His kingdom. This is certainly challenging, and indeed it is counter-cultural here in the West where we are taught from childhood to be the strongest, the best, the victors, and to not be used by anyone.[29]

Mark 9:35, Jesus teaches those who would aspire to leadership must be willing to serve. The greatest in the kingdom are not those who are the strongest, or those who demonstrate their success by using others to come out on top, but those who are willing to serve others. To become least is the key to greatness in God’s economy. This is a radically different teaching. And given the lack of this type of teaching in Western Christianity[30] it is crucial the church begins to teach this and even be willing to model this.

There has been an assumption of mission that believes one can participate in the global work of Christ and what the church looks like in the States is what the church will look like in other cultures. In some circles, Pentecostalism carries a lot of negative baggage associated with the movement such as the “health, wealth, and prosperity” teaching found in some Pentecostal circles.[31] This association with heresy causes great angst at what the church will look like in places where Pentecostalism is rising. The desire for the church to be biblically sound, coupled with the knowledge that Biblical depth is not a priority for the Pentecostal church,[32] is very unnerving. However, it is refreshing to know God is breathing a fresh and “vibrant life”[33] into His church by renewing the churches emphasis on worship.[34] Sometimes Western Christian’s have the idea that what we know about God is the most important priority, in other words the priority of cognitive knowledge is what God favors. As important as a solid, theological foundation is, Ephesians 2:17 reminds us the knowledge God desires is an experiential, or relational, knowledge. A knowledge of “trust between” two persons that recognizes the two as friends in a love relationship.[35] The global Pentecostal movement will challenge the body of Christ to increase in areas of worship. To celebrate this relationship humanity has with their Creator in beautiful worship. We worship God because we cherish Him. The Pentecostal movement is demonstrating to the church how to cherish God in worship. This is highly valuable because “missionaries will never call out, ‘Let the nations be glad!’ who cannot say from the heart, ‘I rejoice in the Lord.’”[36] As we partner with God in the missio dei we need not only to be theologically strong with our minds, but also to be emotionally strong with our hearts. The most crucial issue facing the church today is the lack of the centrality of God[37] in the life of the body of Christ. We have made lesser things our priority in the church. We forget that God’s ultimate goal is worship[38] of Himself by all peoples at all times every where.

The denominational walls that separate the body of Christ must be broken down. As difficult as it may be, the body of Christ must learn from each other and value each other. Pentecostalism can benefit from other areas of Christ’s body where deep and rich theological waters reside. Those areas of the body where academia and headiness are a priority can benefit from the fresh spiritual breezes of Pentecostalism to refresh their hearts and invigorate their robust theological lungs.

Bibliography

Brown, Colin. “Dictionary of New Testament Theology.” Vol.2. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,

1986.

"Success-N-Life." www.roberttiltonlive.com.

http://www.roberttiltonlive.com/webcast.html (accessed October 26,

2011).

Osteen, Joel. “Your Best Life Now.” New York: Time Warner Book Group, 2004.

Tennent, Timothy C. “Invitation to World Missions.” Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010.

Trump, Donald. “Think Big.” New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

Piper, John. “Let the Nations Be Glad.” (Grand Rapids:Baker, 2003.

[1] Timothy C. Tennet, “Invitation to World Missions,” (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010.) 233.

[2] Ibid, 243.

[3] Ibid, 253.

[4] Ibid, 267.

[5] Ibid, 348-349.

[6] Ibid, 275-276.

[7] Ibid, 286

[8] Ibid, 289.

[9] Ibid, 287.

[10] Ibid, 297-298.

[11] Ibid, 300-301.

[12] Ibid, 301.

[13] Ibid, 421.

[14] Ibid, 422.

[15] Ibid, 422.

[16] Ibid, 431.

[17] Ibid, 457.

[18] Ibid, 483.

[19] Ibid, 484.

[20] Ibid, 350.

[21] Ibid, 412.

[22] Ibid, 349.

[23] Ibid, 479.

[24] Joel Osteen, “Your Best Life Now,” (New York: Time Warner Book Group, 2004.) In this book Mr. Osteen argues suffering is not a part of God’s plan, but the result of our negative words, or the negative words of others, spoken over us that we have received. His argument would be it is not God’s will for His children to suffer, but to triumph.

[25] Tennet, “World Missions,” 470.

[26] Ibid, 472.

[27] Ibid, 476.

[28] Ibid, 479.

[29] Donald Trump, “Think Big,” (New York: HarperCollins, 2007.) This book provides tips on achieving success in business and in life, discussing thinking big, passion, instincts, creating luck, fear, revenge, momentum, focus, and prenuptial agreements. It is all about being stronger and coming out as the winner. Indeed it is counter-cultural to the suffering Servant, Jesus Christ.

[30] Tennet, “World Missions,” 470.

[31] "Success-N-Life." www.roberttiltonlive.com. http://www.roberttiltonlive.com/webcast.html (accessed October 26, 2011).

[32] Tennent, “World Missions,” 287.

[33] Ibid, 287.

[34] Ibid, 422.

[35] Colin Brown, “Dictionary of New Testament Theology,” Vol.2. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.) 392.

[36] John Piper, “Let the Nations Be Glad,” (Grand Rapids:Baker, 2003.) 17.

[37] Ibid, 20.

[38] Ibid, 20.

The Mindset of Mission

2011-10-18T12:11:00.005-06:00

"The missionary mandate . . .has one explicit aim: to display the glory of Christ through the ingathering of a hugely diverse and unified redeemed people." ~John Piper

That God brings the nations to our country is a blessing; we are able to evangelize/disciple/send. Yet I've heard a lot of complaining about other nations being in this great country. It is an opportunity, not a problem that the nations come to us. That we complain the nations come is a tragedy. Let us pray God continues to use us to reach the nations.

It saddens me when I hear my Christian brothers and sisters complaining about social issues such as illegal immigration. They whimsically try to end the discussion with a hand swept swiftly through the air as if shooing a fly and say something to the effect of, "They should all just go back and go through the process legally to get here!" Their dismissive attitude and condescending judgementalism shows more about their own heart than it does about what legislation should do in this situation. Their heart is not to reach out to others with the message of the gospel, it seems their heart is wanting to hide behind excuses that keep them from feeling they must take risks for the gospel.

(caveat: Put your umbrella up, it's about to rain cynicism) Those I hear complaining about illegal immigration are the same personalities who refuse to do anything out of their comfort zone. They are not plugged into the church in sacrificial service, they do not share their faith with their friends, they do not give to missions agencies or couples the church sponsors, and their life style is marked by a focus on material possessions that bring comfort and prosperity.

It really is a sad illustration of the church in much of America that we are angered by "illegal's" in our country instead of joyful at the opportunity that we can, at very little expense, evangelize/disciple and send these dear people to places in other cultures where they, because of their nationality, will find great harvest for Christ.

Servant Leadership

2011-10-03T08:01:00.000-06:00

Henry Blackaby makes it very clear how influential a Christian man and woman can be on their culture as he writes, “As go the people of God, so goes the redemption of the world.”[1]Another way to say this is, “As goes the spiritual leadership of the people of God, so goes the people of God.” In Matthew 20:28 lies the foundation for spiritual leaders: to serve. If Jesus, the supreme example of leadership, came to serve, how much more so do His followers need to be people who serve? The model of Jesus’ servant leadership is in the text; “. . . to give his life as a ransom for many.” Not only is this the model, this is the goal of servant leadership. Spiritual leadership has as the goal, to lead in a sacrificial way so that those who would follow would be led to the redemption found in Jesus Christ. Servant leadership is the foundation for all spiritual leadership.

Knowing the foundation for spiritual leadership enables and it empowers. It enables in that leaders will know what it is to which they are leading. They are able to build on a foundation that has substance as well as sustaining power. Spiritual leaders do not have to build their own foundation-it has been built for them in the person and work of Jesus Christ. There is no reinventing of the wheel for spiritual leaders. Spiritual leaders do not need to lead people by coming up with a new and compelling vision statement that will attract the masses. The vision is Jesus.

Servant leaders are empowered to lead sacrificially, not out of a sense of entitlement; their goal is not their own comforts. (Philippians 2:3) In fact, the larger the sphere of leadership influence, the less personal choice a leader has. What a leader does in private becomes less private the larger the sphere of influence. Jesus Christ gave His life as a ransom for the redemption of humanity. Spiritual leaders who are servant leaders are empowered by this message to do whatever it costs, short of sin, to lead people to Jesus.

A servant leader loves others. They cannot be effective unless they have a desire to better the lives of those they lead. Of course the deepest way to better others is to lead them to an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. A servant leader has a desire to have those they lead to be healthy and whole (spiritually/emotionally/physically). No healthy person wants to follow a servant leader who inflicts soul wounds on those they influence, or to spiritually/emotionally abuse those whom they lead.

Humility is a trait that is deep within the soul of a leader. (Philippians 2:5-11) Humble servant leaders understand that it is because of the work of God and others that there is any achievement in ones life. Humility understands how to honor those they serve and lead.

A servant leader whose life is marked by duplicity and moral compromise will not be a leader with very much influence, if any at all. A servant leader who influences deeply and broadly is one who lives with rock solid integrity. They inspire those they lead by the high standard with which they govern themselves. A leader with integrity is a leader that can be trusted; a leader who is trusted gains access into the life of a person that others do not or will not have.

A leader may be loving, humble, and full of integrity, but still find their influence diminished if they are not enjoyable to be around. A servant leader is full of joy-they are fun people. Jesus was one of the happiest guys to ever walk the earth. (Hebrews 1:9) People enjoyed being around Jesus (unless they were a religious hypocrite.) Servant leadership is leadership that walks in and demonstrates the joy of the Lord in their life.

[1] Blackaby, Henry, “Holiness,” Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003. 1

Grace and Leadership

2011-09-03T05:12:00.001-06:00

There has been a phrase that has been used in leadership that comes across a bit more like a warning than an encouraging exhortation. It reads like this, "Do not mistake my meakness for weakness." The premise behind this statement seems good, but for some reason the phrase is a little off-putting. It seems to come across as a bit of a warning; like a rattle snake shaking its tail to make sure any passer by knows it is there and to be warned. It will strike if need be. Perhaps a balance is in order; one need not confuse those they lead by being just "meak". Leadership that comes across as weak, potentially confusing those they lead by being weak, is not good leadership. Meakness is strength in check, or strength/power under control. If a leader is being confused as weak and their leadership appears weak, then there is a bigger problem.

Leaders must walk between difficult, sometimes painful decision making while also demonstrating Christ-like tenderness. A leader must be full of God's powerful grace, and ready to forgive and dispense His grace. Spiritual leaders must also, while being forgiving and full of grace, be motivators and movers of people onto and into God's agenda in this world. Axioms aside, it will be fun to explore leadership and leader making this semester.

Meditating on the life of Jesus Christ, one sees such power under control. There was never a time someone following Jesus would ever mistake His meakness for weakness. As a father and husband, sometimes it can be tempting to use size, power struggles, voice tone and volume, to get desired behaviors and outcomes. In this situation, the mistake is not assuming weakness. It is, however, still a very weak form of leadership.

As mentoring kicks off this semester, there will be many cracks in the foundation found. These will need to be addressed, and by God's grace, fixed. It will be fun to explore leadership development (for spiritual leadership this really just boils down to disciple making) in the context of God's agenda here on this earth in and through people.

Worship

2011-05-03T19:38:00.003-06:00

I wrote a review of a book that outlines six different methods or styles of Worship.

Here it is:

John Piper argues for the value and importance of worship by declaring worship is the ultimate goal of the church, over and above missions. He reasons, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” This puts in perspective how vital worship is to the Christian individually and corporately with the body of Christ. A believer shares the news of Jesus Christ not to win arguments or convince unbelievers of its truth, but to make worshipers out of people. The goal of a holy life is so others will see the truth and beauty of God and be worshipers of Him. In Exploring the Worship Spectrum there are six views explaining, defending, and critiquing the theological and historical basis for different styles of worship.

The temptation with this author was to latch onto Harold Best and his arguments because his thinking was sound and the denomination affiliation of Christian and Missionary Alliance is the same. However the experience of traditional worship is unfulfilling and lacks a perception of spontaneity that assumes interaction with the Holy Spirit. With that said, it would logically seem the charismatic worship stream would be most fulfilling with the third wave of the Holy Spirit as the one that is most relatable; however, even though there is a focus on directly worshiping God with Charismatic worship as well as a restoration of the Holy Spirit to church services , there is too much spontaneity in charismatic worship services. The lack of structure , and experientially speaking, the tendency for churches to be full of granola Christians, causes a stereotypical irrelevance of the church in ministering to the needs of the community at large.

The view of Blended Worship is most appreciated and engagement in this worship style connects most for this author. After spending a few formative years at the Moody Bible Institute, it was heard over and over to be a balanced Christian. Perhaps this is why blended worship, combining elements of traditional worship as well as contemporary worship , is so appealing. Webber is hitting on a major point as he states what is lacking in traditional worship-the experience of God during a service, while the contemporary worship service misses substance.

As Webber dissects blended worship to expose the three aspects of content, structure and style there is attractiveness to this; a balance that seems lacking in other worship styles. Of course as Exploring the Worship Spectrum it could not be helped but notice there is an element of all the styles intermingling, but this Blended Worship seems the most intentional. It is grudgingly to critique Harold Best as he argues against Blended Worship as it tempts congregations into a “McDonald’s” mindset. Perhaps this is not such a bad thing to want to know what the service will “taste like” simply because of the power behind worship. One is able to trust God to do the unexpected. The traditions become a source of stability while the contemporary allows for spontaneity. Worship is not a show , it is participatory; the worshipper is able to engage more deeply because they are not forced to stand warily by critiquing the content, structure or style, it is familiar to them.

There is a frustration with Don Williams critique of Blended Worship, not that Blended Worship is above being critiqued, but his argument is so tragically flawed. He argues against Blended Worship because he does not like the structure (which has come to be associated with Charismatic worship) and implies structure is not biblical because he does not see it evidenced in the New Testament. Much of this was because there were no church services at each corner in all the cities; most of the early church worship was done in homes or small groups out of doors. The strategy was for Paul to go to synagogues and evangelize the Jewish congregation before looking for small homes or groups of Christians. There is a structure to how the early church ministered and worshiped in the New Testament but unfortunately many people fail to realize this. Secondly, his conclusion that the lack of structure that he assumes is lacking in the New Testament but argued for in Blended Worship puts the worshiper under the law is preposterous. Even in ancient times those who were actually under the law were still able to worship God (check out the book of Psalms). It is irresponsible to accuse a worshiper as law based simply because they find a modicum of structure appealing in their worship service. God’s grace is bigger than this. Thirdly, having even a moderate amount of structure can be done in obedience to Scripture. (1 Corinthians 14:40) God’s grace flows to those who choose to obey Him, especially when they mess up. (Romans 5 & 6)

In today’s culture there are enough people who desire a church that can connect them with their traditional roots as well as a generation unfamiliar with those structures. Blended worship can provide a place where the past is honored but not idolized as well as providing a place for a fresh experience with contemporary artistic forms to be utilized in expressing praise and adoration to the God who has seen more worship styles and forms than any of us.

Worship Wars?

2011-04-27T08:54:00.002-06:00

One of the classes I am taking this semester is called Pastoral Theology and Worship. Last night we discussed different ways churches minister culturally. Some churches worship model avoids integrating different cultures and their styles into their worship services, they avoid hiring staff who are ethnically more diverse, etc. While other churches are so blended culturally as they infuse ethnicity and diversities into one synergistic whole.

It dawned on me as we have been thinking our way through worship and its implications in the church that we have a culture that does not want to bring a sacrifice of praise, nor do we want to offer our lives as living sacrifices of worship. We are fragmented rather than united because that is easier than dealing with our issues, walking humbly with each other, and living radical lives that deal with personal sin and selfishness.

How do I live a life that offers sacrificial praise and worship to God? What areas of my life have I guarded selfishly as I justify myself rather than dealing with sin?

How Christianity Changed the World

2011-03-07T06:55:00.005-07:00

The learning curve for Seminary seems to have taken on less of an upward move and has leveled off; at least a little. Last semester I felt overwhelmed and did not feel as if there was any good in my work. Now that there has been some work to gauge how to do things, this semester seems to be flowing at a better clip.

Continuing to process through this adventure called Seminary, one of the books I read called, How Christianity Changed the World. In essence it shows the impact on Western culture directly by Christianity.

A couple of things that struck me as quite interesting, and alarming, is how our society is trying desperately to increase the distance between religion and science. The reality is modern science has its roots in Christianity. Copernicus, Leonardo da Vinci, William of Occum, were all devout Christians and strong theologians who made significant discoveries for science. Copernicus discovered the earth rotates around the sun; this impacted how we date the world including significant religious festivals, and other things. Davinci, not just a great artist, but a great scientist. His drawings on the human body helped science understand the body at a whole new level. For example doctors long believed the body pumped air through the heart. DaVinci's studies proved air does not go through the heart but through the lungs. There are many discoveries made by DaVinci's drawings of the human body as well. William of Occum's summation that the simplest explanation is probably the best is well known in sacred and secular circles alike.

There are many other examples of how Christianity has had direct involvement in areas of education, women's rights, etc. My one point of contention was his take on music. But I'll let the reader decide.

The book is a fairly easy reading book that keeps the reader engaged and interested. It is well documented.

2011-01-30T18:38:00.003-07:00

I've been worshiping to this song the past few days. I purchased the CD this song is on and found it about a week ago; the CD is going to be my study CD. When I heard this song I've replayed it now about a half dozen times. It's moving, compelling, emotion-provoking, powerful. It moves me to want Christ more.

There is a sense about life these days compelling a feeling of hopelessness. There is a reality to the idea that no matter how "good" something goes, there is an end to it; or even worse in the midst of the experience of that really good reality, somewhere, most places, there is utter depravity and sadness. Life in most places on this globe are not all that great. I have sensed this now for a few years, beginning at the loss of my son a little over four years ago. Life is not awesome. In most ways it is hell. The prick in my spirit bringing this thought back to the surface was the visit to a nursing home facility where an aging Episcopalian Priest came up to speak to someone and from outward appearances seems wholly normal. But as he began to speak it sounded as if he wanted to follow up on some work he had delegated but none of his words made a sentence and all of his rambling was incoherent. His dementia is severe, obvious, and killing him. Pouring his life out for the church and his end is met with mental darkness and wasting. How poignant! Christians believe the point of life is the Gospel of Jesus, the gospel changes life and brings hope and healing to a dark and dying world. The irony of this man is he pours his life out for the advancement of the Gospel only to end his life unable to articulate a sentence about this life changing, healing-bringing message. Does he even know what the Gospel is anymore?

I thought of Ecclesiastes . . . meaningless! I thought of the book of Job, speaking of the wicked, "How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?" (Job 21:18 NIV) There is gratitude in being reminded in the shortness of this life. There must be something greater. Lord help us if this is all there is; how grateful one must be to know there will be an end, sometime, to all the dementia, dying, aging, death. As I meditated on this, it made me grateful that God would even tell us there is an end. We do not deserve to know this fact; the knowledge He has given us is not on a need to know basis. He has given us hope. There will be an end to the suffering and loss. How unwise to put my plan for peace and prosperity in the basket of now.

Church & Christ

2011-01-30T07:43:00.003-07:00

Chris and I took the kids to a Messianic Jewish church yesterday with our friends. It was a, dare I say, life changing and transformational experience. It was like the curtain to the stage of my mind was pulled back just a little and the exposure of sheer ignorance shown brightly in front of the stage lights.

One paradigm that continues to be exposed is how I import, or maybe transport, my 21st Western thinking into first century middle Eastern characters and culture. I realized my thoughts of Jesus were a person born in Iowa or Nebraska or Pennsylvania; He's just some good ole boy from a small-town farm. Born in the 20's or 30's. He's obviously passed away and in heaven but his upbringing was so familiar to mine He's not that much different. As I sat in the service it blasted me, Jesus is Jewish. He's not part Jewish and part Nebraskan. He is ALL Jewish. And in order to understand Him, to truly know Him, I need to know something about what it means to be Jewish. To know the Christ of the New Testament, it is imperative to know the Old Testament.

I was so impacted from the service and this realization that I am changing about the order of my studies. Instead of taking Greek this next fall, I'm going to study Hebrew. And instead of pursuing any more New Testament classes I am going to take Old Testament classes first. I want to study in the order of the History of the Bible and the culture of the Bible in order to understand the Bible more fully.

Character

2011-01-28T11:35:00.005-07:00

Today is the last day of the first week of my second semester of graduate studies. And what a semester this is going to be; I am very excited about the course load. I am taking a New Testament class focusing on the Epistles through Revelation; Church History focusing on the Reformation through the modern era; and a pastoral theology & worship class.

In my pastoral theology class this week we discussed the five "P's" of leadership: Prayer, plan, prepare, practice, and perform. Great thoughts that can take some time to meditate on and apply. Specifically the 'P' of planning. I can definitely use some work when it comes to this area of my life. Taking time throughout the week to work specifically on areas that need work. Carving time to intentionally focus on projects that get neglected yet are crucial in taking me to the next level of life.

It made me think about the reality of leadership; much of what we do is imposed on us by outside factors. Buildings, budgets, and bodies can be a focus we can not escape and our planning is around these things. But what about the leader who is not yet in a position and much of the planning is self-imposed. What benchmarks should that leader be looking at to see if they are focused in the right direction?

I respect and value this professor so much. His answer, in my opinion, is absolutely right on. He answered (my shortened version) the leader needs to focus on character. He elaborate a bit, but for now I want to focus in on my thoughts about how to assess character. I'm trying to think of how to take a personal character inventory. What types of things should we be looking for in our lives to see where we are at on the road to quality and deep character and what indicators should we look for to see if aspects of our character need work. Self character assessment is almost impossible. I'm realizing I will need to cultivate some quality relationships with other men whom I trust in order to help me hold up the mirror and do some character construction.

Not to be trite, but "male accountability" is way overused and often misunderstood. I have seen groups of men get together and ask 'specific' questions and everyone has to answer 'honestly' and if we have a good week then it's some back-slapping, good 'ole boy congrats and if we mess up then it's some hearty c'mon man's, get in the game's. Blech. Talk about a recipe for failure. It's totally law based. I'm sure there would be someone reading this who would disagree and say, "That stuff is important, Brian." That's okay. I'll give you the freedom to be wrong.

More on that later.

For now, I've got some planning to do.

Rambling

2010-12-06T07:41:00.003-07:00

I had not anticipated accruing fans and followers would tempt me to edit as I type changing what I leave posted on this blog. When no one knew this existed I could say what I wanted. Now there are actual subscribers wanting to read (for some odd, morbid reason) what I have to say. Well, my logic is as follows. If you signed up when I didn't care what you read, I'm not going to change my literary barfing to make it seem more palatable. Of course no one has asked me to, and there is no book deal on the hinge, or publisher asking me to clean things up. Frankly, my blog isn't even that spicy. I don't know how to even deposit photos or anything within the blog like other cool bloggers do from time to time. But now that I have followers, watch out world. I'm gonna start laying it on thick!

I'm reading, quite furiously I might add, through Niebuhr's book, Christ & Culture, for a paper due Thursday. I believe it is the first time in my life (since starting here at DS) I've read strong, lengthy books in two days. Not just read, but read for comprehension. One plus of grad school is it has stretched me to see that I can do things I would not have realized before.

I think this is a 'must read' for every Christian. Written in the late 40's (at least that's when the lectures were given), published in the early 50's, it is as true today as it was when it was written. In fact it could have been written 2,000 years ago and still be relevant. It addresses how Christians engage (or disengage) culture and why they do so. It does not moralize one view point over another as much as set up types that identify so they can be observed. It makes the argument, incidentally, for unity. The closing chapter is going to be copied and mailed to a few people I know. Maybe. We'll see if I remember to do that because when this paper is done I have a final paper and three final tests two final exams to prepare for. Maybe I'll scan them and email them. It's easier and free.

He argues as a definition for Christ along the vein of love. Lots to what he said, I'll just sum up. Love was the defining characteristic of Jesus' character/kerygma/calling. There are other facets to Jesus, but not that define Him. As I was thinking about this it influenced a topic for my final paper for my hermeneutics class. Philippians 2 (The Kenosis Passage) is to be my text and the topic is humility & love exemplified in the Person of Jesus Christ. I'm very much looking forward to diving into the work this week. I'll post some gleanings after I finish the paper.

Now go buy the book. Christ & Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr.

Back in the saddle again . . . for now

2010-12-05T07:26:00.002-07:00

I have two rants, then a thought to post today. The first deals with the idea of blogs and who should or should not be blogging and what, if any, they should blog about. I lingered a little longer than necessary thinking that perhaps I should give up the blogging ghost. Someone I know started a blog last week and I felt very embarrassed. I read their blog and wondered to myself, "Should just anyone be able to blog? I mean, do we really want all those random thoughts floating out there for anyone to read?" Sometimes a person becomes smarter by thinking out loud or writing (of the laws of learning, I forget which type it is) and then again some people become dumber by reading those thoughts. It's like a vortex, or cognitive black hole sucking life and worth out of this universe into another irretrievable space and time.

My second rant and I'll be done has to do with "what the heck happened to the holiday spirit in people when they are out and about for crying out loud?!?". This topic, in case the tone and volume eludes you, is one that caused great angst in me the other day when I ventured out to by diet 7-Up and diapers for the first time in about a month. Chris had been doing all the shopping for a while and she just had the stomach flu so I ran out for her. I had not been to the stores in a long time and was appalled at how oblivious people are in stores. Racing to get in front of you, cutting you off (with carts!!), acting like you aren't standing there waiting to move forward so they swerve around you only to block people who are coming in the other direction. The level of rude made my heart sick. Alright, I'm done. I'll leave it at that so everyone becomes dumber by reading those rants.

There have been SO MANY things I'm learning that I made a mental note to myself to put it down here for reflection. I didn't because I've been trying to get papers/reading done and now I can't remember most of the thoughts and juicy pieces of theological meat that have been set before me as I dine on the Word here in Seminary. So I'll settle for taking a HUGE Ginormous topic that I was discussing with some colleagues the other night and throw a little bit down to whet our appetites. It's the topic of women in leadership, specifically Christian ministerial leadership. Bear in mind these are random and will not end with a poignant point but hopefully just stir thought and, best case scenario, challenge views that subordinate women.

When Jesus walked this earth he challenged paradigms that subordinated women and left them marginalized. A couple of examples. The woman with the issue of blood came to Jesus in public. In ancient times this would have caused Jesus to be unclean and impure, yet Jesus did not scorn her actions. In fact He elevated her by stating her faith had made her well. Not only this, He made a public spectacle by declaring "who touched Me". He was drawing attention to the scene to show not only was she not unclean but also to elevate her (a woman) in public eyes. Second, when Jesus was in the home of Mary and Martha, the pattern of the day would be for the women to make the meal. However Mary sits at His feet, a role only for men to sit and be discipled by the Rabbi. Women were not educated. So she is taking on a male role and Jesus makes the incredible statement that this was the better thing. The familiar role of the woman to be in the kitchen was not the best thing, to be learning at the feet of the Master Rabbi was the better thing. To take on the role of a man and sit at the Teacher's feet was the better thing. Pretty amazing. Another pretty remarkable way Jesus elevated the status of women was at the Resurrection. He appeared to a woman first. He sent her to tell others (teaching other men???) about the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of HIS ministry . . . the Resurrection. Jesus commissioned women to go teach men the Gospel story . . . HE IS ALIVE!! Do not downplay this message and role God gave to women.

Final thought and I want to make it separate b/c it's the most radical. The passage in the Pauline pastoral letters that most of us use to show that Christian leaders should be men, I Timothy 3 and others (the husband of one wife) is quite possibly a mistranslation. There are other ways to translate this passage out of the Greek. The noun for wife is not possessive, meaning the term women is not possessed by the male term for husband. In other words it is not to be read "husband of one wife" but it is more precisely translated (loosely by this non scholar) "these are guidelines for both husbands and wives). The qualifications for church leadership apply to both men and women. The most likely reason we have it translated "husband of one wife" is because this lines up with church tradition which was one of the criteria in Bible translation (especially the KJV). You would have never translated something that went against church tradition. So it is very likely the qualifications for church leadership apply to both men and women equally, which would line up with the paradigm of Jesus elevating women in society when He was here. Jesus broke the marginalized position of women not only by how he treated them, but how he elevated their status. For some reason men keep wanting to put women in the back seat. Jesus keeps wanting to put them right next to us.

Lots of food for thought. I know its hard for us, as men, to think differently with roles. It's a debate that has roared for centuries and centuries. It will continue. I guess my challenge to myself is this, am I looking for opportunities to elevate and exalt Chris and serve her because that is the example Christ gave to me. Am I really submitting "one to another" or am I expecting her to submit? Am I looking for ways to serve her, to get beneath her and elevate her through honest, intentional, meaningful service? In church, am I giving authentic ways for women to minister out of their gifting? Or am I simply throwing them into positions (like nursery) that won't cause waves?

In 1 Corinthians 12-14, note the gifts were given not based on gender. Hmmm . . . perhaps God gives teaching and leadership gifts to women too. :)

Parable of the Talents and Discipleship

2010-11-11T05:55:00.002-07:00

In the near future I would like to process through the idea of the parable of the talents (the paradigm that this has to do with Christian fruit production) and Jesus' model of discipleship. Specifically how he provides for us, works in us, and produces through us. And how this dispels the myth that we are responsible to bear fruit in our own power and way.

The kingdom of God demands of the believer to come to Christ, for he gives us rest. The kingdom of this earth demands we weary ourselves to 'produce'. Take a look around, see the hurting people. Are they fruitful? The church is full of hurting people. Are they fruitful? The church in this country is shrinking. Have you noticed? Studies are showing this, and we demand that our people continue in the same path that has produced hurts/wounds/burn out/and apathy. People do not go to church and are not rejecting the cross because of this 'produce' mentality.

Jesus demands we 'abide' in him, HE is the vine that will produce. Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Who said this? Are you serious? You can't possibly be serious. Don't you know how much there is to do out there??? Oh, wait, You're the one in charge of bringing a lost world to Yourself? You mean to say I'm not in charge? I'm simply to rest in you and let you do the work through me? My, how refreshing.

Processing Part II: Clarifying for the Masses

2010-11-11T05:18:00.002-07:00

Another interesting tidbit about Jewish culture in the ancient world, and quite possibly today but I am uncertain if this still happens, is the children would be raised for the potential to be discipled. In preparation for discipleship parents would have their children memorize the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) which are the five books of Moses, and in some cases children would memorize the entire Old Testament. Their goal was to be prepared in case a rabbi would choose them to be his disciple. Rabbi's would choose the brightest, the cream of the crop, and to be chosen as a disciple was a high honor. For the most part, depending on the rabbi, when a child was chosen for discipleship, the rest of their life would have been taken care of in each and every way imaginable. It would be the equivalent of Billy Graham coming up to Brian Mackey and stating, "I want to disciple you, Brian. You'll travel with me, all your bills will be paid for, you'll have a generous salary, plus a retirement package that will exceed any expectation as well as have enough left over to provide for your grand kids grand kids. Your ministry will be enormously bigger than my own. Let me be your mentor." Well of course this would be a high honor. Of course there was a little dramatic flair on the part of the authors as I just get excited about the idea.

So apparently there are some doctors reading my blog. Perhaps their PhD stands for Pretty Hot Dad, however, they don't have kids yet. So I'm not certain what they studied. But now I have to back track to explain some parabolic ramblings. :)

The parable of the talents . . .many have preached this parable teaching the idea God distributes gifts (talents) and expects us to use our resources (time/talent/treasure) wisely and bear fruit. Verse 24 of Matthew 25 reveals an interesting insight into the character of the 'master'. Doesn't seem to describe the way the Lord gives gifts through His Holy Spirit. Something must be happening here. Also verses 29-30 do not seem to describe our Lord as evidenced through the ministry of Jesus while on this earth. There must be another message regarding the parable of the talents OTHER than the prosperity message regurgitated in American churches, trying to find biblical evidence that God is wanting to multiply our net-worth and we should take what we have been given and grow our portfolio.

Remember, this is a society that had a mindset of limited goods, there was just enough to go around and anyone who is going to increase in their socio-economic standing would do so at the expense of someone else. Verses 16-17 would have been understood by the ancient mindset to be frustrating, a reason for anger, not applause, as the slaves were taking advantage of their peers to increase the amount of talents they had been given. This was not a reason for praise, but scorn to the ancient mindset. There was only so much and they increased what they had. They took advantage of others to increase what they had. So no one is sitting back thinking to themselves, "I had better pull out my PDP (personal development plan) and figure out some fresh ways to bring glory to the kingdom by expanding what I have." No, it would have made the listener angry.

So what is this parable about? Quite possibly the kingdom of heaven. Verse 24 seems to indicate the man never knew his Master. Do we see his explanation of Christ as true in his words? "I knew you to be a hard man."(NIV) Really? The one who healed, provided food free of charge in abundance, restored sanity to the demoniac, calmed waters, walked upon them? This is a hard man? No, this man didn't know the true Master. This is why he is cast out into utter darkness, not because his portfolio was lacking, but because he didn't know Christ (Matthew 7:23). It seems to make more sense not only contextually in the passage, but also in the biblical scope that the parable is referring to the kingdom of heaven and not to a way to increase ones talents, or stewardship, or any other Americanized version of prosperity we have cloaked over this passage.

Verse 29, everyone who has a piece of the kingdom of heaven through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ, more will be given. Isn't this true? With Christ, when we die we get God! Even now, with Christ, Paul says all the riches of the kingdom are ours. There is salvation that is past, present, and future. We were saved, we're being saved, and one day we will be glorified and have an experience far beyond anything we could think, ask, or imagine in this life. Conversely to the one who does not have Christ, everything they thought they had will be taken from them and God will say, "Depart from me I never knew you."

Disciple, Disciples, Discipling and Discipleship

2010-11-10T13:50:00.002-07:00

It is fantastic how homework at this level actually applies to real life and real world ministry. I love it. No more complaining from this old codger in nasally tones, "What does this have to do with anything?"

My research paper that I've droned on about for some time now is actually coming along. The topic is discipleship methods Jesus used as well as behaviors he exemplified that can be used in today's counseling practices and ministries. As I'm reading/researching/writing it dawned on me it would be apropos to discuss what a disciple is, or even what a disciple should look like to serve, at least somewhat, as a benchmark against the methods observed in Jesus and employed by his followers. Again, the simplicity of the Scriptures refreshes me.

A disciple is in its essence one who is growing both inwardly and outwardly. More specifically a disciple is one who is growing in character as defined, in part, by Paul in his letter to Galatia. The passage is Galatians 5:22. These inward qualities should be observed over time increasing. It is a process after all. And a disciple is one who is growing in maturity (completeness, wholeness, sanctification) in their outward walk with Christ. Literally, they are sharing the gospel with others and leading them to Christ as the continue the process of discipling others to maturity. There is an outward spirit of service and growth that can be witnessed by others. Over time both can be observed in the life of a disciple; and conversely both can be observed to be lacking in a person. If patterns of sin persist they are to be confronted; a true disciple of Christ will demonstrate humility in their attitudes and also gratitude that someone is trying to help them grow.

So to sum the last paragraph up, a disciple is evidence by internal and external growth. Duh!

I have a question though. What if someone fights growth? What if someone continues to fight correction and confrontation because of their pride and stubbornness? The answer? We are not responsible for someone's sanctification. God is . . . if his child is rebellious, he has ways of dealing with his children (Hebrews 12).

Processing

2010-11-09T14:41:00.002-07:00

I think I'm going to process more of what I'm learning on here as opposed to putting down what happened during the day. That is, after all, why I started back up with my blog after about two years of non-bloggness. To have a place to jot down things that I'm hearing the professors say, discussions with other students, wife, etc. and to process those thoughts.

I'm finding I really enjoy studying historical-cultural data from the ancient middle east. It is fascinating as it opens up the world of the Bible so much more. Reading the Bible is like hearing an old radio broadcast; reading the original languages is like watching hi-def color tv. It adds so much texture and nuance to the text of Scripture. Learning the culture and seeing the Bible through the eyes of the original audience and their paradigm helps to add this texture and nuance. I am fascinated by it.

For example, ancient Israel had a paradigm that the worst thing that could happen to you was to be publicly shamed. It was the absolute worst thing; so for Jesus to go not once, but twice to his hometown and both times he was rejected is enlightening. The first time they tried to kill him, the second time they got uproariously angry. The text reveals on his second trip he was amazed at their unbelief. He was publicly shamed in his hometown. Have I been shamed by others? Yes. Jesus understands this first hand. Hebrews states this is one of the reasons he is a high priest who understands what we have gone through.

Also it was a culture of limited goods. They believed there was only so much to go around and if someone succeeds it would be at the expense of someone else. Upward socio-economic movement was not an option, for to move up financially meant someone else had to decrease financially. The idea of prosperity and the abundance mentality would be foreign to the ancient Hebrew mindset. The american dream was not in their paradigm. So when we read Scriptures like the parable of the talents, we miss the fact that the lord was an unscrupulous and ruthless slave owner. He had his slaves take advantage of their peers to take their 10 and 5 talents and increase the goods. We look at the parable of the talents as a reason to be good stewards and Jesus is trying to point out that to take advantage of others for gain is atrocious. We are missing the point because we don't understand the mentality and context of the Scripture.

Alright, I get to go pick up three of my babies from school. Until next time . . .

Take a deep breath . . . Now exhale.

2010-11-09T11:02:00.003-07:00

After two late nights and early mornings (oh yea, and full days) of research, my outline is pretty much done. Today was a critical day. It gives me two days to type the first draft of my research paper. What I failed to mention, but lingers in my mind like that naggy whiney girl in Jr. High complaining because she's an idiot and doesn't know how to do anything else, the professor for the class I'm in and working on the paper for is a noted new testament scholar. He trained under D.A. Carson. He's brilliant. Most of his books are textbooks at the graduate level. And I'm supposed to come up with 18-20 pages of interactive, well thought out material. I have a hard time with ordering pizza in a well thought out fashion. My last well thought out plan ended up with a house in foreclosure. Ahem. (Did I say that out loud?)

But I have been working. So the outline is done, most of the research is done, and I met with the professor this morning. After reading my outline his first words were, "Wow, I'm impressed." Unfortunately I couldn't convince him to just accept my outline in lieu of the paper. So I still have to write the 18-20 pages. But it did encourage me that I was on the right track. I also met with another professor earlier today to discuss the issue of mentors. As an MDiv student I need to find two mentors. He was great. He gave me some recommendations as well as feedback regarding a faculty member on campus who I am interested in speaking to regarding possibly considering mentoring me. I do feel good about the progress today is making.

Lastly, the men's bible study this morning was fantastic. God spoke directly through the man leading the study to address three key points of attack I've been dealing with. There was no reason the three items should have been addressed. They were not in the text being studied (at least directly); so I am convinced it was God speaking to me through the words of the teacher to bring encouragement and also truth to a frustrated mind. God did not bring us here to leave us alone or to fail. He brought us here to do things in us, through us, and he will finish his work.

I'm refreshed to see God in action, not just in answer to my prayers, but initiating a work I had not prayed over or taken to him. He knew/knows my heart and ministered to me out of his proactive goodness. 'While we were still sinners . . .' God didn't wait for me to cover every detail in prayer. He showed me that he is on the ball, preveniently doing what only he can do. Not to dismiss how important it is to pray, but I am attacking the idea that I have to pray through and over and around every issue in order for God to work. And I'm grateful for that; it shows God is interested in the relationship with me perhaps even more so that I am interested in our relationship.

Procrastination

2010-11-08T06:18:00.004-07:00

Unbelievable. After midterm exam and papers I crashed. I spent three days in a fog of delirium thinking I was OK only to realize last night I had forgotten to post an assignment, I was tragically behind in my research paper, and I still had the other 'regular' assignments to keep up with. All because of my lack of planning and preparation. This frustrates me to a very high degree; it frustrates me because I know I can plan better than this, it frustrates me because I know I can work better and learn more if I only had prepared and executed better, and it frustrates me because it makes my life exponentially harder to catch up.

It reminds me of people I ran into while in vocational ministry. They would come to myself or another pastor very frustrated with a particular predicament they had found themselves in at the moment and thought maybe talking to clergy would get God to somehow, mystically, to transport them out of their situation and into a 'safe place'. My annoyance would usually come when I would counsel them and they didn't want to take responsibility for their life choices but to assuaged by sweet words. I guess I have mercy up to a point. I mean, if one isn't willing to make a change, it seems pointless to waste my time chit chatting about how hard they have it; there is much to do in ministry and listening to a whiner isn't high on the to-do list.

So I got out my planner and worked on this weeks assignment list. I got up early this morning and did some much needed research for my paper and spent time in the Word. Which, ironically, has been lacking since Seminary began. I came here to go deeper in the Word and find myself neglecting it all together. Another hefty consequence to my lack of preparation which is the most important things are being neglected for the lesser important things that feel more urgent. Assignments with deadlines are crowding out my time in the Word, prayer, meditation and journaling.

Its time to buckle down. I'll be in the library most of today, tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday. I plan to have my paper pumped out by Thursday so I can begin reading for my other three papers I have due in December. I also have to catch up with my reading for a class so this is a crucial week. After next week my research paper will be turned in and I'll be on Thanksgiving break. I will enjoy having time to work on some reading/papers as well as spend time with the family without having the stress of deadlines for that week looming over my shoulder. The week after Thanksgiving break I have two papers due that week but they should be relatively easy reading/writing. Then the second week of December I have another paper due. And my third week of December, final week of class I have a paper due and two final exams. Praise the Lord for this opportunity. But I really do want to make the most of it.