JoeBurnham.com

How to Celebrate the 4th?

joe — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:37:34 PDT

For a number of years now, I've had a certain level of angst as I approach the 4th of July. I always loved it as a kid ... after all, what's not to love about BBQ, fireworks, and getting to stay up late? But then, as I grew older and the things that really mattered to me developed, my love of the festivities waned. But why? Here's a few thoughts:

Most of what I see on the 4th of July is a patriotism akin to an adolescent sentimentality. It's one of those here today and gone tomorrow kind of loves that's dependent on all the festivities for its vitality. For me, somebody who has a deeply rooted love for my country that brings me to tears when I take time to reflect on it, the 4th, in many ways, seems like something once beautiful that's become a joke.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have those radical patriot types who, in every way, embrace McCain's, "Country First" slogan. These folks truly do love America year round and tomorrow is the highlight of their year. Yet, while we have a love for this nation in common, the way we love our country in light of our global community is completely different. From my perspective, they're arrogant towards other nations, insisting that everyone should be just like us, and that all other nations are lesser. There's a disregard for others as they approach options with the singular focus of, "Is this what's best for America?", rather than asking how we can use our blessings and gifts to benefit the world at large. All too often, this voice leaves me struggling to join with others in the celebration.

Then you have the whole "Christian nation" thing. For me, the closer the 4th of July is to a Sunday, the worse it gets, because the whole, "restore America to it's Christian roots voice", gets louder and more obnoxious. Never mind that Thomas Jefferson was a deist who cut the resurrection out of his Bible because he didn't believe in it (although he was a strong proponent of a Judeo-Christian ethic), if you actually read the New Testament, it's rather clear that the State was established as something different from the Church ... they have two entirely different, God-mandated purposes. I want grace from my Church and order from my State, when the two get blended together, it's the gospel that gets lost, and that's something I can never agree with.

So, how does someone who love his country and sees it as one of many viable ways that God uses to bring order to society celebrate the birth of the United States? How can this be done in a way that is both thankful for the blessing of living here, but faithful to my core beliefs? Any suggestions?

1 Peter 1:10-12

joe — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:54:10 PDT

While we'd intended to cover quite a bit more this week, the two tangents from these three verses on how we approach reading the Bible (context and Christocentrically), combined with the richness of Peter's statement concerning the prophets of old (they knew about the suffering and glory of Jesus), took longer than expected.

1Peter1_10-12.mp3

What to Preach on Father's Day?

joe — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:22:43 PDT

What to Preach on Father's Day.mp3

This past Sunday I had the task of preaching on Father's Day. It was a challenge for me as I had months to prepare and, in the process, gathered way more thoughts than I could ever cover in 15-20 minutes. In the end, this overwhelming amount of info actually guided the structure I used. Enjoy, and happy belated Father's Day.

The Theology of the Cross

joe — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:34:25 PDT

On Sunday, June 21, 2009, I had an opportunity to teach highlights of Luther's Heidleberg Disputation at St. John's Lutheran Church in Denver, CO. On this particular weekend, many members of the church were on a church-wide camping retreat that had the theme, "Fresh Air, Fresh Faith". Playing on that, I wend with the title, "Camping at Home: Stale Air, Fresh Faith" with the goal of focusing on how even the trials and struggles of everyday life can build our faith (and more importantly, that just because you're in the valley, it doesn't mean God isn't there).

biblestudy.mp3

Stories that Make a Difference

joe — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:01:21 PDT

A little over a week ago I had the opportunity to sit down for lunch with a couple of people from Christ Lutheran here in Denver. For those of you who don't know this part of my history, I spent most of the Sundays in January through August of 2008 preaching at Christ. It was unique for me because it was the one time in my ministry life that I had the opportunity, week in and week out, to share the story of Jesus from the various facets that Scripture uses. In the process I emphasized things like vocation, meeting people where they're at, and approaching the community from a posture of service.

So, here we were, 9 month since the start of my hiatus which marked my stepping away from Christ Lutheran (it's always funny just saying, "Christ"). While the focus of the lunch was spending time with Naomi, an adult with cerebral palsy who grew rather attached to me while I was there, her caregivers took time to share what the congregation is up to these days, and how they're approaching ministry in the community. While I won't go into details, the approach, the language, and the entire idea seemed as if it was coming off my lips. As they talked, I must have begun to smile because finally, one interrupted the other with the line, "See, we were listening to you."

I told stories for about 9 months. That's it. I just talked about Jesus and tried to do it in a way that said more than, "You're bad but he forgives you anyway." I talked about who he is, why he came, what he came to do, and how life is different because he did. The result, God's people in that place think differently about their neighbors, their purpose, themselves, and their God. In 9 months of just telling stories about Jesus.

Now I don't want to say this was all about me, because there were others who took some of those Sundays and have been preaching there since I left. There's also a huge supernatural role in the whole transition. But because they pointed out my influence it left me wondering, "If stories can make that much of a difference in 9 months, how much of a difference could they make over a number of years?"

Thoughts?

A Christianity Worth Believing

joe — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Doug Pagitt on his new book, "A Christianity Worth Believing". Now, before I go too far, I should say that I haven't read his book in full (although I will, and I'll post a review up on my Goodreads page), so I'm merely responding to what I heard over a couple of hours. Here's my thoughts so far.

The Good
There are two things that I think Pagitt does a wonderful job with, and they are connected. First, he listens to the hearts of hurting people, many of whom have been damaged by the church, and second, he seeks to share Jesus with them in a way that has the Gospel counter the way they are experiencing sin in their lives. Let me flesh that out a bit.

I would say that sin manifests itself in the lives of different people in different ways. If we believe the Bible that death is a result of sin, then things like sickness and aging are consequences of sin, not in a one-to-one correlation kind of way, but more just the result of being in a world that no longer functions according to God's design. Other people are experiencing direct consequences of something they've done that is in opposition to God's original intent. Still other people experience sin as a result of something that someone else has done, for example, the woman who is being abused. She feels the effects of sin in her life, but it isn't her sin that's the origin.

Now, for too long, the church has strictly used the forensic justification model for talk about the gospel. That is, you've broken the law, you will be judged, but a loving God sends Jesus to take the punishment you deserve. Now, this is great for the person who has done something wrong and is experiencing that effect of sin, but it isn't at all helpful to a person who's experiencing sin in the form of aging or abuse. That person, because of how they feel sin, needs to hear a different facet of the Gospel. That's what Pagitt ultimately wants to offer, and it's a beautiful thing.

The Bad
However, my biggest complaint with what I heard, is that, in the process of lifting up a different Gospel metaphor that is most powerful in his own life and community he serves, he casts aside other metaphors the Church has used for some 1700 years. In fact, he goes as far as saying that the courtroom model of justification was "made up" by Augustine in the 4th Century, and that's when the focus of salvation became getting into heaven. It's almost as if he hasn't read about Yom Kippur and the Day of Atonement and seen Jesus in that (which John certainly does in his Gospel). Or maybe he skipped through Paul and somehow didn't noticed the legal language that Paul used as a primary means of communicating to his Gentile audience (most likely, because he knew it would be the most powerful Gospel language for them). Then there's Peter talking about eternity being the outcome of our faith in 1 Peter 1 ... a choice made when talking to Christians who were experiencing persecution and very little in the form of tangible expressions of God's Kingdom in the hear and now.

In other words, what I heard makes me think that Pagitt has done the exact same thing with a health Gospel metaphor that broader Christianity has been doing with the legal metaphor for most of its history.

My Recommendation
The solution here seems simple. Let's search out all of the metaphors we can find, put them out on a big gospel buffet table, and, knowing that at different times and in different ways the gospel will speak to different experiences of sin, we can discern which version of the gospel is most appropriate at any given time. Not only will this allow us to speak good news into the lives of people in meaningful ways, but it will also offer that much more variety and potency to preaching and teaching.

Thoughts?

1 Peter 1:3-9

joe — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:36:58 PDT

As we continue with 1 Peter, we explore more on the importance of election in the life of a Christian under persecution, and how trial works to strengthen faith.

At the close, we have some closing thoughts how Christians should view the Kingdom of God, is it something that we simply wait for until Jesus returns or is it something we get to embrace right here and now ... or is there a third option?

1Peter1_3-9.mp3

God at Work (Ephesians 6:5-8)

joe — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:46:53 PDT

01 God at Work (Ephesians 6_5-8).mp3

On Sunday, June 14 I had the opportunity to preach at St. John's on one of my favorite topics, vocation. The word itself comes from a Latin word that means calling. In this particular sermon, I used Ephesians 6:5-8 to address how Christians, in light of the cross and empty tomb, should view their time in the workplace.

Thoughts?

Gender and the Cross

joe — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:44:27 PDT

I've had a few conversations with friends recently on the subject of gender and, after my feelings post and some follow-up discussion on Facebook earlier this week, I got to thinking about how gender might relate to the cross. But before I get to where my thinking has taken me, let me lay out a few of opening thoughts, just so you know where I'm coming from.

First, I'm a sola scriptura guy. For those who are unsure what that means, it literally translates, "scripture alone", and it unpacks to mean that God's Word is my final authority on all matters, even when I don't like what it says. Now, I should add that I feel uncomfortable saying that because of how many different ways Scripture has been misunderstood and abused (by me included), so I'll also point you to last week's eLife podcast where I talked a bit about tools to help in the reading and understanding of the Bible (if you're not in the mood to listen, I basically say you need to consider things like grammar, writing style, social and literary context, and the broader narrative whenever reading the Bible).

Second, I believe that men and women are different. Now, this doesn't mean that one is better and one is worse, it just means that we aren't the same. I should also note that there is a spectrum of variation within the genders, however, if pre-marital counseling has taught me anything, it's that there are general male and female patterns (even among those who deny one exists).

Third, I'm a theology of the cross kind of guy. For those unfamiliar with this, which I assumed would be anybody who hasn't been schooled in a Lutheran Seminary, next Sunday I'll be doing a one week overview at St. John's, however, for right now, I'll summarize it this way, "God always kills to make alive." In other words, God is constantly in the process of breaking us down and stripping away our false gods so he can rebuild us in a way where he alone is our God.

So, now that this post is already way too long, let me flesh out what I've been thinking.

If men and women each have some broader tendencies and patterns, then odds are, each gender will have some common false gods, that is, they'll be inclined to look to similar sources to be their shelter in time of need, their source of blessing, or that which gives them value and identity.

Now, because there are common false gods, it only makes sense that there would be common means of God killing to make alive. This is where that sola scriptura thing comes in. Throughout the Bible God uses his relationship with his chosen people (referred to as Israel in the OT and the Church in the NT) as a model for how a husband should relate to his wife. In other words, God's treatment of us came first, but we should tangibly experience God's love for us in earthly marriages. I'd say this taste of divine grace is a primary purpose of what God has in mind, but recently, I've been thinking there's some killing going on as well.

You see, as a guy, I read what I just wrote and feel absolutely overwhelmed. The incredible demand of having to unconditionally love and serve Anita with a sacrificial Jesus like love kills my pride and gives me no option to trust in a God who is gracious to sinful people.

I'd say the same thing happens when women are called to be subject to their husbands (which doesn't mean being inferior, after all, Jesus was subject to the Father, and certainly isn't inferior). How so? If you think about it, our society would completely collapse without all of the things women do, from more traditionalist roles of child rearing and home management, to accomplishments in the workplace, to very true adage that, "Behind every good man is an even better woman." Women, and the way they handle and manage everything they do, are absolutely amazing ... even to the extent that they regularly display the Christ-like sacrificial love that leaves me feeling so inept. Given this, I have to wonder if part of a woman being subject to her husband, is to serve as a tangible reminder that she is ultimately subject to Christ.

Just thinking out loud and publically? Anything of value, or am I completely off base?

I Shared My Feelings!

joe — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT

I'll be the first to admit that, when I get stressed out, I become really irritable and somewhat distant. Anita's obvious reaction when this happens is to begin wondering what's wrong. Now historically, I haven't been very proactive about telling her, rather, I've been more focused on trying to resolve the situation. However, the other day, I tried something different ... I shared my feelings.

That's right, I, a testosterone laden dude, talked to my wife about my feelings and the things that have been stressing me out the past couple weeks. You know what, after I did it, I felt worse. In my mind, the only thing talking about it accomplished, was bringing Anita into the middle of the stress and frustration. When I'd finished baring my soul, we were no close to a resolution than when we began our discussion, and now there were two of us stressed out. So, I proceeded to spend the night sitting wide awake, trying to pray my now greatly increased stress level away.

Funny thing is, when I talked to Anita about it the next morning, she told me that she found our conversation valuable because now she knew what was going on. For her, not knowing the why of my behavior was more stressful than my reason for being stressed.

So, how will I handle a similar situation in the future? I'm going to try to share my feelings. It's not because somehow I think talking about it will make things better, nor is it because I think Anita's way (which, in my experience, is also the dominant feminine way) is better, rather, I'll feel worse because in doing so, I am able to serve Anita ... to be to my bride like Christ is to his, a husband who willingly takes on discomfort for her good.