R3: radical, revolutionary, different

biblical leadership: owning stuff

e. barrett — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:03:26 +0000

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“Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?” (Jeremiah 22:15)

Most of us don’t want cedar. What would we do with it anyway? I’m not even sure you can sell it on Amazon. But during the time of Jeremiah, cedar was hugely important. It was the sign of wealth, power, and affluence. It was the Rolls Royce of building materials.

And God is calling out Shallum son of Josiah.

Shallum wanted to prove his “greatness” by building a palace to himself filled with cedar. It would be like you or I building a house out of marble. Sure it’s nice, but does it really matter? That’s the question God is asking. You see, God doesn’t measure greatness by how nice your house is, or what kind of car you drive. God measures greatness by different standards. He measures your greatness by your heart and by your actions.

In short, it’s who you are that matters, not what you have.

It is all too easy to confuse the trappings of office with true leadership. We think that just because someone has a corner office, a big desk, and an impressive title that they are a leader. But that’s not how God measures leadership. Biblical leadership isn’t defined by how much stuff you have. It’s defined by your heart. It’s defined by who you are and what you do.

In short, it's who you are that matters, not what you have.

Biblical leadership is about self-sacrifice. It’s about doing something with what you have. It has nothing to do with looking like a leader.

The next time you are tempted to buy something because it makes you look important, remember that biblical leadership isn’t about nice stuff, it’s about the core of who you are. You don’t want to find yourself in the same position as Shallum son of Josiah.

This is part of an ongoing series on Biblical Leadership.

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what is my mission?

e. barrett — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:03:24 +0000

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One of the areas we, as believers, can get hung up is on our mission. For some reason we think that we can’t act until God comes down in a beam of light or burning bush and directly tells us what to do. To put it bluntly: that’s a load of crap.

I told you it would be blunt.

The Bible gives us more than enough stuff to work on. At the very least your “mission” is to fulfill Jesus’ words “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19).

This is even called “The Great Commission.”

Of course that can look like a lot of different things. God is a creative guy, you can be creative too. What matters is that you’re being obedient to God. And while I don’t know what your specific mission may be. I do know that if God wants you to do something specific he will let you know. That’s part of what happens when we are obedient – God has an easier time giving us specific instructions.

Perhaps, though, you will never have a specific mission. That’s okay. This isn’t some kind of competition. You aren’t less of a believer just because you haven’t seen a burning bush. Living out a life of faith is about being active. Not sitting back waiting for your “moment” to come. Even if you are never given anything specifically, you can still live out a life of faith.

So go. Act. Do something.

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politics and faith

e. barrett — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:00:57 +0000

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Election day. There may not be any other day that so many Americans get worked up and angry over. Besides the obvious Sunday of football. While some people say that elections are becoming more “vicious” and “partisan”, I think they’ve always been that way. Last time I checked there haven’t been any pistol duels in Washington recently.

Politics can be exciting. A lot can ride on an election. We’ve seen this in the last few elections. About a third of the country despised the direction of the USA under George Bush. Now about a third of the country despises the direction of the USA under Obama. We seem to be evenly balanced in our dislike of political trends.

So if there is so much tension, anger and animosity, why do we get so worked up about politics?

For some elections and politics represent the hope of change. That’s what Obama campaigned on. Although he wasn’t the first, he might have been the best at it. For others it represents the continuation of the status quo. Their party gets to stay in power. They get to call the shots.

Ultimately it boils down to one fact: elections can have profound consequences.

So what does this mean for someone who believes in God? How do politics and faith mesh? Especially when you are living out a life of faith? I wish I had an answer for you. I don’t know how you balance the two. I don’t know if people of faith should be involved in politics. I don’t know if they should stay out of politics. There are certainly disadvantages to both choices. And there are compelling reasons to do either.

But what I do know is God warns us to be careful of believing too much in human-only solutions.

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.”
(Jeremiah 17: 5)

For many believers I think politics has taken on a primary importance because at their core, they don’t fully trust that God is in charge. They aren’t quite on board with believing that God really is acting. I recognize that paints with a broad brush. I know many Christians who are fully on board with God’s plans. But I also know many people who don’t know what it means to submit to God and trust him. And there are some days I can’t fault them for that. When we hear news of disaster, rape, murder, or other horrific things, it’s easy to wonder exactly how all this fits into some kind of “plan.”

God, though, is very clear on this. We need to trust him in all circumstances. Not just when things are running smoothly. That’s the point of the book of Job. Job needed to trust God, not because Job’s life was good, but because God is, well, God.

God hammers this point home to Jeremiah too.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17: 7-8)

Jeremiah’s mission was to deliver a message of destruction and punishment to his country. That’s not easy sailing. But God reminds him – don’t place your trust in the human solution. Place your trust in my solution.

Whatever your politics, if you are a believer than it is your responsibility to put your trust in God, not in elections. Elections can be important. God may even want you to be involved. But never at the expense of your first allegiance: to the Kingdom.

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the logic of a life of faith

e. barrett — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:05:16 +0000

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“One day I realized there was no God, no one behind reality, no life after death. I realized existence is a meaningless accident, begun by chance and destined for oblivion, and it changed my life. I used to be addicted to alcohol but now the ‘law of natural selection’ has set me free. I used to be greedy, but now the story of the Big Bang has made me generous. I used to be afraid, but now random chance has made me brave.” - John Ortberg, Faith and Doubt

This, tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek quote from John Ortberg illustrates something I’ve been thinking about the last couple of weeks: reasoned thinking. I recognize this isn’t any great revelation, but as a society we have seemingly abandoned reason and logic. On the one hand this can be good. Pure reason and pure logic can lead us to cold and unmerciful decisions. Playing the “odds” can dehumanize problems. It can take human suffering and tragedy and make it a statistical anomaly. Isn’t that the point of the Borg in Star Trek?

But I think there is more to logic and reason.

I’ve been a fan of Greg Koukl and Stand to Reason for a few years now. Their biggest teaching effort is in “clear thinking.” By that they mean teaching people to think logically about problems. And since I’ve been listening to the Stand to Reason podcast, I am utterly shocked at how few world views really apply logic across their beliefs.

There are perhaps no worse places for this then watching children’s TV shows. Which, I suppose, is another post all together!

Stories are powerful movers to a human. How many of you immediately picked up on my Borg reference? Did it not create an immediately concrete image in what it means for logic to run amuck? It’s not a coincidence that politicians spend a lot of time, energy, and money trying to create a story for the public to hear. TV ads don’t sell facts to us, they sell experiences and lifestyles. We, as people, fall for stories. And that can be a good thing. Even God uses stories to illustrate what it means to live out a life of faith. It’s called the Bible.

Ravi Zacharias has commented that if stories are powerful on their own, think of the power they have as a culture.

Every day we are given competing world views. Every day we are told that the way to happiness lies through sex, drugs, wealth, and power. That’s a view that is logically inconsistent with what God teaches. Someone has to be wrong. Both world views can’t be right.

This brings us back to Ortberg’s quote from his book Faith and Doubt. Why is it, that you don’t hear quotes like this from naturalists? If there is no life after death, and there is only randomness and chance, how do we ever have hope in anything? How can we believe that something good can happen? How do we break free from the grips of alcoholism if it ultimately doesn’t matter?

I believe it goes back to logical consistency. Most of us don’t want to follow the logical consequences of our beliefs. Atheists want morality because it’s convenient and offers protection. But morality is impossible to explain if there is no God. Because you’ll never be able to overcome the argument of “might makes right.”

Believer want the blessing, protection and hope that God provides. Yet we often aren’t willing to count the cost. We don’t want to follow the logic of what it means to live out a life of faith.

The world is filled with world views that don’t make sense. We are inundated with views that contradict themselves but no one seems to notice. No one is immune to problems of logic.

But what good is a world view if you don’t apply it consistently? What good is believing in God if you don’t live that way?

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Faith & Doubt – core beliefs

healing a broken heart

e. barrett — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:08:13 +0000

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My girlfriend has the most annoying cat known to man. This is the type of cat who the minute you sit down jumps into your lap. He’s the type of cat who can’t go five minutes without craving attention. He’s the type of cat you almost always step on, because he’d rather be under foot (literally) than in another room. I have never seen a cat who wants more human interaction.

We often joke that he’s “broken.”

But the sad reality is, he is broken. He is what is sometimes called a “rescue cat.” That’s a cat who was mistreated and been removed from a home. In Ben’s case, he was abused as a kitten. Mistreated in cruel ways. And because of that he’s developed an unhealthy need for attention.

So what does Ben have to do with living out a life of faith? Simple. That cat is a reflection of many of us.

Many of us walk around broken. We carry the wounds of abuse, sexual assault, cruelty and vindictiveness. We are weighed down by those horrible acts. And in response we turn to unhealthy fixations. We may crave attention. Crave validation. Crave sex, drugs, or alcohol. Anything to make the pain stop. Even for a moment.

Yet we have something that Ben, the cat, can never experience. We have a redeeming God who is actively trying to rework our lives to bring in new meaning. We no longer have to be confined by our pain. We can be set free.

Sometimes people will say, “all things work for good for those who believe.“ And they take that to mean that everything, no matter how horrible is God’s will.

It isn’t.

God doesn’t want you to suffer any more than he wants that Ben (the cat) to suffer.

What that phrase really means is that God can take your suffering and change the meaning. Your pain can be used for something other than bondage. It can be used as a platform for healing and growth. I once heard Wess Stafford, President and CEO of Compassion International, speak. He shared his experience of torture and abuse at the hands of people his parents trusted to take care of him. How do you overcome that horror?

The truth is, on your own you can’t. On your own you end up like Ben. Broken. But with God’s help, Wess’ story is one of redemption. One of hope. It’s about God being bigger than the most terrifying things in the world. It’s about God redeeming a moment, and using it to touch millions of kids around the world.

That’s what that verse means. That’s what it means when all things work for good.

We don’t have to remain broken. We can ask God to redeem us, to change the meaning of our pain. And you know what? He will.

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Adam and Eve and original sin

e. barrett — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:03:21 +0000

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And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2: 16-17)

Adam and Eve had one rule: don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

That’s it.

And although that was the only rule, they just couldn’t help themselves. They went ahead and did it anyway. Sometimes I wonder how quickly it took before they made it to the fruit. Part of me thinks it happened right away. I know that when I’m told I can’t do something, that’s the one thing I want to do. Is that an attitude I inherited from Adam? Or has it just always been part of who we are as a species? I don’t know. But I know that urge is strong. So maybe they got dropped off in the garden and then started eating forbidden fruit right away.

On the other hand, Adam had a lot of work to do. There were a lot of animals to be named. Adam of course did a good job with that. Well, maybe with the exception of “platypus.” So perhaps he was just too busy to go off eating forbidden fruit.

Eventually though, Adam and Eve turned toward that tree. The one thing they weren’t allowed to touch they went after. Satan knew exactly how to attack them. He convinced them that God was holding out on them. So they ate that fruit, and we’ve been paying for it ever since.

It can be easy to believe God wants us to be perfect. But I’m not sure that’s his goal. Perfection would mean we were God ourselves (because God is perfect). And I don’t think that’s what God is going for. God’s commands to Adam and Eve weren’t about perfection, they were about freedom. They were about doing whatever they wanted – with one exception.

In fact, God’s first words to Adam were “you are free”.

Yet Adam and Eve still committed sin. The original sin. And we’ve never stopped sinning. If Adam and Eve only had one thing they couldn’t do, what chance do you and I have to not sin? The answer is “none.” We will sin no matter how hard we try not to.

There’s part of me that is bothered by that realization. I want to be perfect and not sin. But that’s missing the point. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, perfection isn’t an issue. We are perfect through him. God isn’t expecting us to be more perfect. He’s created a way to experience perfection while still making mistakes.

That’s just one of the many amazing and clever things God has done in his relationship with humanity.

Ultimately God is more interested in us growing closer to him than striving for perfection. He knows that over time we will naturally sin less simply because we are connected with him. This fact lives in tension with our culture. We, as a society, believe in the importance of “manning up.” But that’s not what God wants. He doesn’t want us to try harder.

The only thing that will do is cause us to fall down.

Sin may always be part of your life, but it doesn’t have to rule it.

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football as an idol

e. barrett — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:03:34 +0000

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I love football. That’s pretty obvious if you’ve spent any time rummaging around R3 or ever glance at my twitter feed. It’s in pretty much every conversation I have from August to February. Yet I’ve noticed a problem – I can be obsessed. I love football so much that a loss by the Steelers can derail my entire week. I can be in a bad mood just because of one bad play.

And you know what? I hate it. I hate that football has that much impact on me. It’s just a game. But in my heart I know I often treat it as more than just a game. Sometimes I tell myself, “don’t get so worked up” However I can’t escape the fact that if football doesn’t have much of an impact on me, it’s not really worth watching, is it?

So I am caught in this love-hate relationship with the greatest game ever devised.

Here’s the thing though, the closer I get to God, the more I dislike these things in my life. I don’t want anything to impact my mood except God. I want him to be the center of who I am, not whether the Steelers win or lose.

Over the last year or two I’ve made great progress with having football as an idol. I’ve learned to let a lot of frustration go and just enjoy the game for what it is – a game. But at the same time, in the moment I have yet to fully control that emotion. Now I don’t believe that God cares if I get excited about football or not. But I do believe he cares about the way I project my relationship with him. I can hardly call myself a Christian if I go off on someone because the Steelers lose. That’s not exactly Christ-like behavior.

To me, football is an idol. And that’s something I need to wrestle with each week.

Idols are dangerous. They seep into our lives. Stealing much of the joy in life with promises of a “better” or more “exciting” life. Those are lies though because they seem so believable. But they are lies none the less. Only God provides true freedom and true life. Everything else is just a shallow imitation.

Even football.

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blessed are those who mourn

e. barrett — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:41:32 +0000

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In the history of R3 I don’t think I’ve ever gone close to two weeks without a “serious” post. In fact it’s rare that I miss a single post during the week. But such was the case for the last two weeks. What I thought was going to keep me down for a few days turned out to floor me for nearly a week.

When I get sick I usually go in a very set pattern, and it lasts just about 3 days. This time it was different. In fact, even though it’s been 15 days since I first got sick, I’m still not feeling 100%. This is near record territory for those of you scoring at home. But in the course of all that something interesting happened – I was reminded how grateful I am for my health. Most days I don’t give my health a second thought. And I never really think about how lucky I am not to have any health issues. But these last two weeks have given me many opportunities to do just that.

Sometimes the Bible says some pretty crazy things. For instance, Jesus once said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” I’m not even sure I really understand what that means. At least not fully. To be honest I don’t even want to think about that! I don’t want to be blessed because I’m mourning. I want to be blessed because I have a nice car and a nice house. I want to be blessed because my life is easy!

Yet after being sick I can see how mourning leads to being blessed.

When we suffer we face a choice. We can become bitter and angry, and that suffering holds us in place. How many movie villains have their origin in just such a scenario? How many of us have our identities rooted in pain? Our other choice is to not let suffering control us. It’s a chance to embrace mourning as part of a natural healing process. It’s an opportunity to try and learn something from mourning. Even if all we learn is that we need more of God.

Because I went through a time of “suffering” I now more fully appreciate what it means to be healthy. Without losing my health, I never would have really understand what it meant to be healthy in the first place. Sure, in the big scheme of things this wasn’t catastrophic. But you don’t always need to have a catastrophe to learn from God.

I think this type of knowledge was what Jesus was driving at. God’s Kingdom is often upside-down. And this is just one more example. Jesus knew that. He knew that suffering can lead to appreciation. Which is why he tells us such a counter-intuitive thing. Maybe we should all embrace our mourning instead of trying to run from it. Maybe it’s true, “blessed are those who mourn. “

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admin note: health update

e. barrett — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:01:18 +0000

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So what started out as “feeling a little under the weather” turned into a full blown case of strep throat. And I am only now just recovering from that. In fact I’m still not anywhere close to being 100%. So while I hate being away from R3 I’m hoping to return a normal writing schedule next week. And maybe, if I’m lucky, will have something up and ready for Friday.

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christian humor: RockTV

e. barrett — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:04:40 +0000

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I’m feeling a little under the weather today. And I’m really hoping that it’s not the [cue ominous music] dreaded H1N1. So I thought something a little lighthearted would be in order. Which is why I turned to my old standby of RockTV. They are one of the few Christian comedic groups that’s actually funny.

So much of what passes for “Christian humor” just isn’t funny at all. But RockTV is different. They blend hilariousness (is that even a word?) with serious theological points. Not everyone can be funny and right at the same time. But RockTV pulls it off time and again.

As we head into the weekend, relax, enjoy your Friday evening, and laugh a little at the latest from RockTV.

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