(Ir)Regular Christian

The 2012 Iowa Caucus

2012-01-03T08:37:00.003-06:00

I'm not into endorsing candidates (so don't read into this) but I do find American politics intriguing. Here's my prediction for the Iowa Caucus and beyond:

Mitt Romney - survivor
Newt Gingrich - survivor (barely)
Ron Paul - survivor (but not for long)
Rick Santorum - survivor
Michelle Bachman - toast
Rick Perry - toast

Overall, I think Rick Santorum will make a surprise showing in the short term. Mitt is the man to beat. Sounds like he's getting the funding of "mainline" Republicans who want BushW 2.0.

Join Us in Rehab

2011-12-30T14:31:00.000-06:00

I have the privilege of meetinga diverse group of people as a pastor. Of course I meet with regularchurch-goers but I also get to meet with skeptics, spiritual seekers and peoplewho simply wonder if the Church has anything worth offering them. Some inthat last category also wonder if they will be welcomed in a local churchbecause they're too messed up with mistakes and moral failures. Some alsowonder if the Church can really improve their life. Maybe you're thinkingabout checking out a church in the new year.

Does the Church have anything to offer? Are sinners welcomein your church?

Believe it or not, Jesus rubbed religious people the wrong way. Religious experts, leaders and teachers were shocked and scandalized thatJesus intentionally spent time with "sinners." Jesus ate withJews who collaborated with the Roman occupation (tax collectors) andprostitutes. Of course, Jesus also spent some of his time with thereligious leaders, sometimes eating in their homes or answering theirquestions.

Jesus confronted the smug self-satisfaction of religious peoplewho think they have it all together. The gospel writer Mark tells thisstory in Mark 2:13-17:

Jesus went out beside the lake again. The wholecrowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he continuedalong, he saw Levi, Alphaeus’ son, sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes.Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Levi got up and followed him.

Jesussat down to eat at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eatingwith Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become hisfollowers. When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees sawthat he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples,“Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?”

WhenJesus heard it, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t needa doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people, butsinners.”

Did youcatch that? Jesus' mission was not to gather the religious elite or thepeople who have it all together. Jesus was sent to messed up people. People with moral failures, a history of mistakes, a trail of brokenrelationships and people with addictions. Jesus calls them "sick people." If you DO NOT have it all together, Jesus wants you.

And ifyou think you have it all together? Well the irony is that Jesus wantsyou to. Thinking you have all the answers and everything is roses is aspecial kind of sickness - the worst, in fact, because you don't even knowyou're sick, locked in a debilitating self-centeredness that usually only looksat other people to look down at them. It's called pride. The reasonJesus said that the "tax collectors and prostitutes" would enter thekingdom of God before the religious experts was because the "sinners"knew they needed help and were asking for it. The experts didn't.

There'san old saying: "the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum ofsaints." The church is a sin rehab center. DO NOT go to achurch expecting to find got-it-together saints. You might find some whoare more spiritually mature than you are, but you might also find some who areright where you are, or even some who, sadly, think they have it all togetherand who "go to church" just to remind everyone else how great theyare. I'm not at all surprised when I hear about church's that growbecause they intentionally welcome people who need rehab from substance abusebecause those churches speak the language of rehabilitation for sin-sickpeople.

But ifyou're interested in Jesus, you should learn right now one of his favoritesayings: "Do unto others as you'd have done unto you." Show theother messed up people the same grace you'd like to be shown. But do joinus.

The Vulnerability of Love

2011-12-10T20:50:00.001-06:00

Reading and thinking about the love of God (cf. 1 John 4), I came upon these words from C.S. Lewis:

"Tolove at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart willcertainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure ofkeeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to ananimal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries;avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin ofyour selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless,airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will becomeunbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy,or at least ot the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only placeoutside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all dangers andperturbations of love is Hell.”¹

1C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (Fontana Books: London, 1960): 111-112.

"Complete Revelation of Empathic Love"

2011-12-09T05:15:00.001-06:00

Thisthird Sunday of Advent I will continue to explore the Christianteaching of the Incarnation, the embodiment of God the Son as JesusChrist. I focus on Jesus as the embodiment not only of God the Son(as if that weren't enough!) but also as the embodiment of God'slove. My Scripture text will be 1 John 4:7-21, the opening of whichreads (from the CommonEnglish Bible):

“Dearfriends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, andeveryone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person whodoesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. This is howthe love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into theworld so that we can live through him. This is love: it is not thatwe loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrificethat deals with our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us this way, wealso ought to love each other.”

Whenyou think of love, what comes to mind? A grandparent, memories ofwhom brings to mind warmth and unconditional acceptance? Your mom ordad? A dear friend who is always ready to listen when life's stuffhits the fan? Does Jesus Christ ever come to mind?

Inhis lovely and enlightening book, ClassicChristianity: A Systematic Theology, Methodisttheologian Thomas Oden says:

“Nomore complete revelation of empathic love is possible than this: thatGod almighty shares our human frame, participates in our humanlimitations, enters into our human sphere (Tertullian, Apology 2;Oden, KC 2–3). The empathic divine Physician is willing to comeinto the toxic sphere of the epidemic to share personally thediseased human condition (Oden, 270)."

What Social Holiness Really Means

2011-12-08T06:40:00.001-06:00

What did John Wesley mean when he said:

“Holy solitaries' is a phrase no more consistent with the Gospel than holy adulterers. The Gospel of Christ knows no religion but social; no holiness, but social holiness.”

Many people only know the phrase "social holiness" and think it refers to what is commonly called "social justice," i.e. laboring for the rights of the poor, correcting systemic injustice, etc. But as my friend and Wesley scholar at Memphis Theological Seminary, Andrew Thompson, argues, that is not what John Wesley meant!

You can read Andrew's entire article about this here (free login is required to download the article).

Missionary Pastors, Missionary People

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

People sometimes ask me, "What makes United Methodists different from other churches?" Thomas E. Frank gives a good answer:

“Bytradition and polity [the UMC] is set up to invite people toChristian faith and life, to provide them the disciplines ofChristian discipleship, and to send them into their communities ascatalysts of a loving and just society. UnitedMethodist clergy intinerate as missionaries in local places, andlocal churches are organized as mission outposts.”¹

United Methodist churches are to be gatherings of people who have responded to the good news of Jesus Christ and are being equipped to themselves be missionaries by the pastors. United Methodist pastors are missionary pastors, equipping United Methodist Christians to do their work of inviting, discipling and creative cultural transformation. This is the ideal, to be sure, but one we aspire to.

1Thomas E. Frank, Polity, Practice and the Mission of the United Methodist Church: 34

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

2011-12-05T21:50:00.001-06:00

Based on message entitled "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus."

Preached 27 November 2011

Adventis a season of intense desires. Not all of them are good desires, mind you, but they are strong. Often they're desires to acquire. Temptation comes in the form ofThanksgivingDay sales, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc. As a kid, one of my favorite Christmas activities was simply buildingthe anticipation of what I might get at Christmas. Those 500pg JCPenny catalogs my grandma would get was a ticket to heaven. Aclassic example of childish desire for that one perfect gift is AChristmas Story:Ralphie just wants his Red-Rider BB gun. We're not that muchdifferent as we age; we just want things we assume are more maturethings to desire (cf. The old proverb, “Theonly difference between men and boys is the size of their toys).

Ofcourse, so much of what we want leaves us unsatisfied. Somehowwe still convince ourselves that the next thing (or person!) willfinally meet that unquenchable thirst for something more: “IfI get this thing, life will be better. If I can snag that person,I'll have all I ever wanted. If I can just have kids, I'll haveeverything I ever wanted.” And when these things don't satisfy, wedeaden the emptiness and pain with other things that don't satisfyeither: sex, alcohol, drug abuse, shopping, violence. We have a sensethat there is something more, something missing, something that mightmake sense of our lives, give them new purpose and give us real joy.

Inthe Old Testament, Israel had a sense that their was something more. There'sa sense in those First Testament stories that the Storywasn't finished, their collective destiny was unfulfilled, theirGod-given purpose in the worldwas incomplete. So God sent prophets to Israel. On the one hand, theprophets often said what Isaiah says in Isaiah 55:1-3 (CEB):

“Allof you who are thirsty, come to the water! Whoever has no money,come, buy food and eat! Without money, at no cost, buy wine andmilk! Why spend money for what isn’t food, and your earnings forwhat doesn’t satisfy?

Listencarefully to me and eat what is good; enjoy the richest of feasts. Listen and come to me; listen, and you will live. I will make aneverlasting covenant with you, my faithful loyalty to David.”

Inother words, “Why are you wasting your time on what will neversatisfy?” But the prophets rarely arrive just to beat people up(there is a ridiculously incorrect idea that God in the Old Testamentwas forever pissed off); the prophets inflict sometimes painfulsurgical wounds to then speak a message that offers healing and hope. In this case, the prophet seems to say, “There is hope! Godpromises to make things right, to send Someone who really will giveyou the greatest joy imaginable!” There was a hunger for theadvent – the coming – of Jesus, even if Israel didn't have namefor that hope.

DuringAdvent we listen to these sketches of some future hopegiven by the Old Testament prophets.They weren't detailed roadmaps that could lead you directly to amanger in Bethlehem, but they were profiles (or outlines) waiting tobe filled in, to be fleshed out. These shadowy sketches of promisedhope were fleshedout when God the Son took on human flesh in Jesus Christ.

Somuch doesn't satisfy, but Jesus offers something so profound we can'tignore his invitation. In John'sgospel Jesussays, “Come to me. I'm the joy you've been looking for. I'm whatyou've really been craving.” Jesus promises living water fromwithin. This is not Jesus-style self-help. No, Jesus promises apersonal connection to God the Father through Jesus Christ in thepower of the Holy Spirit. Scriptureends with the Holy Spirit and the Church taking up this cry. InRevelation, the Spirit and Bride call out to Jesus to “come”again and cry out to the world, “Come! Come get filled up with reallife, real joy!”

InThe Weight of Glory, C.S.Lewis famously said,“Itwould seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but tooweak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sexand ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant childwho wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannotimagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We arefar too easily pleased.”

DuringAdvent, we hear ancient Israel crying out for hope and joy. It turnsour attention to Jesus.It encourages us to prepare for a celebration of Christ's birth, butit should also turn our attention to his return, his second advent.

Whatare you hungry for? Are you hungry for Jesus? Are you hungry to seehim face to face? Are you ready to stand before his holy gaze oflove? Or are you fooling around with toys, avoiding the One who cangive you everything you ever wanted, and everything you need?

Christmas All Year (Sort of)

2011-12-02T08:16:00.001-06:00

I've gonethrough nearly a decade of "bah humbug" at Christmas but,thanks in part to my wife's persistent Christmas obsession, I'mlearning to take joy again in the Advent and Christmas seasons. Idon't care much for some of the schmaltzy Christmas tunes, or eventhe theologically questionable tunes like Away in a Manger,but I really like many traditional Christmas tunes. There aresome profound theological insights in many Nativity songs.

CharlesWesley, for example, in Hark!the Herald Angels Sing succintlycaptures the mystery of the Incarnation in verse two: "Veiledin flesh the Godhead see; hail th' incarnate Deity, pleasedwith us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel." Orin verse three of the same song, Wesley connections the embodiment ofGod the Son (i.e. the Incarnation) with our opportunity for new andnever-ending life: "Mildhe lays his glory by, born that we no more may die, born toraise us from the earth, born to give us second birth." Wesley's classic Nativity hymn alludes to Paul's hymn aboutJesus in Philippians 2:6-11 (CEB):

Thoughhe was in the form of God,
hedid not consider being equal with God something to exploit.

Buthe emptied himself
      bytaking the form of a slave
      andby becoming like human beings.
Whenhe found himself in the form of a human,
   he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point ofdeath,
  even death on a cross.

Therefore,God highly honored him
      andgave him a name above all names,
      so that at the name of Jesus everyone
      inheaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow
       and every tongue confess that JesusChrist is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Duringthe Advent season and Christmas season, people willing sing richtheological works that also touch the heart. I recognize thetemptation toward materialism, the idolatry of family and thespoiling of children all available during this season, at least inthe United States. But there is a significant spiritualopportunity when our general cultural awareness turns toward Jesus(even if only half-heartedly). Whether we Christians arepleased that the Nativity of Jesus has become what it is in America,we can't deny that what has been a significant Christian holy-daystill makes a cultural mark.

My question:why can't we reproduce the rich overlap of song and celebration forother Christian holy days and seasons? Why can't we haveChristmas all year long?

I'm notlooking for Christmas lights displayed all year (yuck!) or moreopportunities for lavish gift-giving to people who really don't needmore stuff. But can the seasons of Lent, Easter and Pentecostbecome large-scale celebrations for Christians across denominationalboundaries? Can we, over time, develop a rich assortment ofseasonal songs that turn our attention to Christ and touch the heart? Can we capture profound theological truths and mysteries incompelling ways that are, again, shared by diverse kinds ofChristians and noticed by the society around us?

Here's my pleafor a kind of Christmas all year round!

Advent: Eagerly Waiting

2011-11-29T05:15:00.001-06:00

And so begins Advent 2011. I grew up in a church tradition (Southern Baptist) that didn't observe seasons of the Christian calendar like Advent or Lent, so I had to learn them in college. As I explain it, Advent is the Christian season leading up to the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas. It's a time of expectation, charity and preparation. Advent, which simply means "coming," builds anticipation for the second coming of Jesus Christ by focusing on his first coming to us a God-in-the-flesh. In other words, Advent teaches us to eagerly wait.

Even though I did not preach the Lectionary text this Sunday, part of me wishes I had (I'll speak more later about my Advent message series, What Child is This?). Isaiah 64:1-2 (CEB)says:

"If only you would tear open
the heavens and come down!

Mountains would quake before you
like fire igniting brushwood
or making water boil.

If you would make your name known to your enemies,
the nations would tremble in your presence."

You can hear frustration and longing in the prophet's voice, a ravenous hunger for God to tear open the fabric of reality between heaven and earth to make his presence known on behalf of his people. As Scripture read during Advent, often in tandem with New Testament texts that speak of Jesus' return, the words from Isaiah are meant to make us ask: can I cry out like the prophet? Does my desire for God ever stir me to say, "Just rip open the sky and come down! Enough with injustice and evil! Get your new world going, God!" Do we, in other words, watch and pray eagerly for Jesus to return?

I appreciate my United Methodist home but here I think my old Baptist brethren have modern Methodists beat. I grew up with an urgent sense that Jesus could return any minute. I don't find that urgency in many Methodists or other Christians within the Mainline denominations. But Advent invites us to reclaim that passion for Christ's return as we cherish his first visitation as the God-Man.

When God Won't Save

2011-11-28T04:52:00.001-06:00

I was reminded of a lovely quotation from Wesley scholar Randy Maddox this morning while reading Polity, Practice and the Mission of the United Methodist Church by Thomas Edward Frank. Maddox summarizes John Wesley's "chief theological concern" with the following statement:

Maddox's Responsible Grace: John Wesley's Practical Theology is a readable book that will not only educate you about the theology of John and Charles Wesley but will also give you some serious food for thought regarding the work of God's grace in our lives.

Grounded in Scripture

2011-11-26T07:30:00.000-06:00

*****In recognition of National Bible Week *****

ForUnited Methodists and many other Christians, the Bible has been theguiding source of authority for living the Christian life. The Bookof Discipline of the United Methodist Church, which detailsour beliefs and governing principles, says the following about ourdoctrinal standards as United Methodists:

"UnitedMethodists profess the historic Christian faith in God, incarnate inJesus Christ for our salvation and ever at work in human history inthe Holy Spirit...Our forebears in the faith reaffirmed theirancient Christian message as found in the apostolic witnesseven as they applied it anew in their own circumstances. Theirpreaching and teaching were grounded in scripture, informedby Christian tradition, enlivened in experience,and tested by reason."

TheDiscipline has much to say about the primacy of sacred Scripture forthe Christian life - especially at it relates to this interpretingauthorities of tradition, experience - but the Bible remains primary. It is our grounding, an image that implies sure-footing. Consider these words from the Bible itself that surely feedthis picture of sure-footing.

Colossians1:23 - "You need to remain well established and rooted infaith and not shift away from the hope given in the good news thatyou heard."

Colossians2:7 - "Be rooted and built up in him, beestablished in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you weretaught."

1Corinthians 3:11 - "No one can lay anyother foundation besides the one that is alreadylaid, which is Jesus Christ."

Luke6:47-49 - "I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes tome, hears my words, and puts them into practice. It’slike a person building a house by digging deep and laying thefoundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashedagainst that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house becauseit was well built. But those who don’t put into practicewhat they hear are like a person who built a house without afoundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsedinstantly. It was completely destroyed.”

Ephesians2:20 - "As God’s household, you are built onthe foundation of the apostles and prophets withChrist Jesus himself as the cornerstone."

NOTE:Each of these Scripture quotations are taken from the CommonEnglish Bible.

Eventhough holy Scripture provokes new questions and unsettles us attimes (as it should), it also has the capacity to profoundly groundus. In fact, it's only as God unsettles our comfort with sinthat we're freed to be newly grounded in the bedrock of Scripture.

Groundedin Scripture, we build one another up upon the one foundation, JesusChrist.

Give Thanks to the Lord

2011-11-25T09:19:00.001-06:00

Praise the LORD!
   Give thanks to the LORD
   because he is good,
   because his faithful love
   endures forever.
Who could possibly repeat
all of the LORD’s mighty acts
   or publicly recount all his praise?
The people who uphold justice,
   who always do what is right,
   are truly happy!

Psalm 106:1-3 (CEB)

As we have celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States, and as Christians prepare for Advent, we should pause and once again give thanks to the Lord. Specific acts of giving thanks to God, and not merely a feeling of gratitude, are important for the life of faith, a life lived with God. Thanksgiving helps us to see reality as it really is. In other words, when we give thanks, we affirm God as he really is and we affirm that all we have is God's gift.

Take time this week not only to feel grateful but to name specific blessings and give God thanks.

The Words of Life

2011-11-23T20:17:00.001-06:00

***** In recognition of National Bible Week *****

James 1:22-25 states, "You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. Those who hear but don’t do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like. But there are those who study the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continue to do it. They don’t listen and then forget, but they put it into practice in their lives. They will be blessed in whatever they do (CEB)."

It's very easy to read the Bible the way a dermatologist might look at a wart: a dead thing to poke and prod. But the same Spirit of God who breathed-forth the words of sacred Scripture still breathes life through them today, giving us life. Scripture is not meant to be observed from afar or looked upon condescendingly with words like, "Well, that's interesting." Scripture is meant to be received by faith as the Voice of God to be obeyed. It is meant, as James says, to be a mirror that reveals us to ourselves.

Our response to the living Voice of God in Scripture must be that of Simon Peter when Jesus asked him if he wished to leave him. “Lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68, CEB)."

Martin Luther, as usual, put it bluntly and put it well when he said, "You may as well quit reading and hearing the Word of God, and give it to the devil, if you do not desire to live by it."

The Burning Issue

2011-11-22T13:50:00.001-06:00

During the final evening of the Alpha Course hosted by my churches, I did a Q/A session with everyone present. I asked for questions that still lingered after completing the course, including any questions that emerged from conversations and readings that emerged from secondary readings.

Most were not surprising since they're common questions: human origins (Adam and Eve, evolution), sexuality, speaking in tongues, other religions, other Christian denominations, appropriate entertainment, etc. Then I was asked, "What's your question, pastor? What issue is on your mind? What's your burning issue, right now?"

I had to pause and think for a bit. Then I said, "Christian unity, or how we Christians treat one another, even when we disagree."

As I've reread and studied First Corinthians, I'm amazed that of all the problems that the Corinthian church faced, the apostle Paul seems most distressed by their lack of unity and appalling mistreatment toward one another.

I've witnessed Christians mistreating one another. I've been on the receiving end of that mistreatment and I'm sure I've dished it out, too. I've seen toxic people eat away at congregations from within. I've talked to friends who like Jesus but now feel estranged from the Church because they were mistreated by Christians. I've received email from people who grew up in the Church only to be soured on Christian faith, or at least the "going to church" piece of it, because they and their loved ones were mistreated. In my lifetime, I'm watching denominations diminish in part because they cannot get along within themselves.

As a pastor, it's sobering and it makes me sad. I'm sad to see professed Christians completely miss the point about loving others, event those who mistreat you or who, at the very least, disagree with you. Doctrine - the correct understanding and communication of the apostolic message - is absolutely important, but doctrine cannot be divorced from the radical self-giving love we meet in Jesus. They are one thing. And that love compels us to maintain the unity which is already given to us. As Paul says in Ephesians 4:3-6, "Make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all, through all, and in all (CEB)."

Jesus says in Luke 6:27-36 , "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

If we're expected to treat even our enemies with shocking generosity and kindness, how much more those who are our brothers and sisters in the family of God?

Take note, Church: the world is watching.

How to Read the Bible: Simple Stategies

2011-11-20T05:48:00.001-06:00

***** In recognition of National Bible Week *****

Today begins National Bible Week 2012, an opportunity to rediscover the Bible. Many people make a New Year's commitment to "read my Bible more," but many quickly get bogged down by daily life and the Bible is squeezed from the calendar.

There are some simple strategies you can take for making your Bible reading more regular and fruitful:

TRY A NEW TRANSLATION - There are many English translations of the Bible available, most of them good (but not all). If you've been using the same translation for a number of years, try something new! The New International Version (NIV) is a favorite of mine, is the worldwide bestseller and was recently updated in 2011. The English Standard Version (ESV) is a translation faithful to the original languages but can feel a little stiff. The New Living Translation (NLT) is spirited translation that's great for people new to the Bible.

In the same vein, I'd also recommend trying the Common English Bible (CEB), which feels much like the NLT in its readability. The CEB is intentionally gender inclusive ("humankind" vs. "mankind") and is the work of diverse translation team from many Christian denominations. The CEB was also field-tested with many kinds of readers, including regular church-goers. For a fresh translation, the CEB is a great choice.

On the other hand, maybe you want to try something really different (at least to you). Maybe you should try the old King James Version (KJV). The older English can sometimes jolt you into hearing familiar texts in new ways. And for a more fluid paraphrase of the Bible, The Message (translated by one pastor, Eugene Peterson) is a fun option guaranteed to shake up your expectations.

Whatever you choose, a new-to-you translation of the Bible can re-energize your reading.

READ WITH OTHER PEOPLE - Accountability to other people can make a huge difference in your ability to persevere in Bible reading. I'm maintain a more consistent exercise regimen when I know that someone else plans to meet me for a workout. Likewise, simply knowing that you have a reading partner can make you more committed to the task. This might be a small group, a friend or a spouse. If you both are responsible for reading the same amount of material (like one chapter a day), then you have equal accountability and possibly something interesting to talk about. You can check in via email, phone or face to face if possible.

READ EARLY - Jesus made a habit of getting up early to pray alone. I find it makes a huge difference to spend some thoughtful time reading Scripture in the early morning. Yes, I know that this doesn't work for everyone but, when I commit to doing it, it works for me.

START SMALL - Frankly, many "year through the Bible" plans ask for more reading than many people ever do in a day (a sad fact, I realize, but true). These plans ask for 3-4 chapters daily. Instead, start small. If you don't regularly read the Bible, start with one chapter a day. Read through one book, maybe a gospel. If you find you can do more, great! But don't be afraid to start small.

READ WITH A GUIDE - Who said you have to start in Genesis and read clear through to Revelation? There are many good guides to help you read the Bible in a way that will connect with you. The goal is to eventually broaden your Scripture reading to include the whole Bible but a reading guide can give you a taste of the whole Bible without reading every single verse.

Biblegateway.com has some daily readings tailored for men, women, moms or even seasons of the year. You can try them here.

KEEP A JOURNAL - Even if you're not the diary keeping type, a simple notebook where you write down questions and observations from your Bible reading can be helpful. You can, of course, revisit your notes but even if you don't, often the habit of simply putting your thoughts into words can enhance your understanding.

What I've Been Reading in 2011

2011-11-19T14:46:00.001-06:00

I love to read. Time tucked away with a good book refreshes me, even when I stay up late to finish one. During college and divinity school, I seldom ever read books for pleasure, including fiction (except for Harry Potter). In fact, I've read quite a bit of fiction in the three and a half years since I've finished school.

I love to know what other people, especially friends, are reading. So I thought I'd share some of what I've read recently.

War and the American Difference: Theological Reflections on Violence and National Identity - By Stanley Hauerwas

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire - By Suzanne Collins

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology - By Thomas Oden

Allah: A Christian Response - By Miroslav Volf

Change the World: Recover the Message and Mission of Jesus - By Mike Slaughter

The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited - By Scot McKnight

Review: The Expanded Bible

2011-11-11T11:06:00.001-06:00

I was looking forward to The Expanded Bible. Even though the market is flooded not only with new variations of existing Bible translations but also entirely new translations, I'm always curious to see the accuracy and flavor of those new translations. But I'm a little let down.

I actually expected the base translation to be the New King James Version (NKJV) which it clearly is not. This is an entirely new rendering of the original languages into English. Though it attempts to distinguish itself from the Amplified Bible, The Expanded Bible is much the same. Alternate translations are offered within the text, along with brief explanatory commentary. The inclusion of some alternative translations that remain unknown to the broader public is commendable. For example, New Testament scholars have heavily debated whether a certain NT Greek phrase means "faith in Jesus Christ" or "the faithfulness of Jesus Christ." I'm glad to at least see this as an option for English readers. All of these inclusions should make it clear that The Expanded Bible is for study purposes and not public Scripture reading (like the Common English Bible or New International Version).

I'm also disappointed in the ebook version of this Bible. Study Bibles have yet to "work" in ebook formats. Thomas Nelson Publishing provided this Bible to me for review and I'm disappointed that they didn't provide a print copy. It might have made a difference.

I recommend checking into The Expanded Bible in a print copy if you're a student of Christian Scripture. Do not buy it on ebook unless you want frustration. The new translation works overall but the digital format leaves much to be said.

I give it 4 stars for translation and 2 stars for format, averaging a 3.

*****
This book was provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers for the sole purpose of review as part of its booksneeze program.

Review: "Word Biblical Commentary: Job, Vol. 2"

2011-11-08T22:32:00.000-06:00

During my studies at Duke Divinity School, I discovered the Word Biblical Commentary set and found it quite useful to serious students of the Bible. Before addressing this individual volume, it's worth considering this series as a whole.

The "Editorial Preface" identifies three unique qualities (or, perhaps, goals) of these series. First, to be evangelical in the "historic sense of a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation and to the truth and power of the Christian gospel." Second, the commentaries are written for the English language and biblical texts are given a fresh translation by the scholar (so new reliance on NIV or ESV, etc.). Finally, the series seeks to provide multiple layers of study. For example, if you're a pastor in need of some extra preaching insights, you can move straight to the "Comment" section. If you want deep textual and word analysis, then this, too, is provided.

While I have found the Word Biblical Commentary series to be commendable, I think that final goal is obscured by the layout of the commentaries. Pages and pages are filled throughout the book with bibliographies and footnotes. I find this to be needlessly complex. A complete bibliography and footnotes could be relegated to the back of the book. Even when writing extensive exegetical papers in divinity school, I rarely made it through the complicated bibliographic listings. It's needless confusion that obscures fruitful insight.

As for this second volume of David J. A. Cline's commentary on the Old Testament book of Job, I found it wonderful and insightful. This volume begins with Job 38, the start of Yahweh's response to Job. I don't know Hebrew, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of Cline's fresh translations into English, but they are refreshing. I was already impressed within the first few pages of his "Comments" at the depth of insight arising from his attention to detail and the overarching connection of those details. This should be a powerful tool for those studying Job.

My only complaint is again the layout of the commentary set as a whole. It's frustrating to have the fresh English translation separated from the "Comments" section by pages of footnotes. Moreover, this thick (and somewhat intimidating in appearance) book is actually just over 200 pages of commentary. The rest is - you guessed it - bibliography and footnotes. A redesign could've trimmed and repackaged for a one volume (or slimmer two volume) entry.

Regardless, this series and this volume is worth your time!

*****
This book was provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers for the sole purpose of review as part of its booksneeze program.

Hanging with Church Planters

2011-10-21T09:53:00.001-05:00

I'm spending part of my week at the Church Planting Innovation Forum in Nashville, TN. Many of these people have either planted new churches, are church planters, assist church planters or are trying to figure out if they are church planters. "Church planting" is the name for starting new churches.

Church planting is the future of the Church universal and the future of the United Methodist Church if it is to have a church. You might think it's surprising to say that the UMC needs new churches when we have so many churches dwindling, but that't the point: new churches reach new people. Nevertheless, for churches willing to go the extra mile, turnarounds in declining churches is possible. Many of the ideas that emerge from these kind of getogethers that are helpful that might be adapted to turnaround situations.

Bottom line: amazing stories, invigorating ideas and a lot of hope for the UMC to be an evangelistic powerhouse in the future.

Review: God Wins

2011-10-07T20:11:00.000-05:00

God Wins is another book responding to Rob Bell's Love Wins, this time by Mark Galli, Senior Managing Editor of Christianity Today magazine. Galli's response can best be summarized by his April 2011 review in CT entitled "A Bridge Too Far." I remember reading Galli's review and being impressed both by his charitable reading of Bell's book and his insightful critique of its theological drift.

In short, Galli sees Bell's theology drifting ever-closer to 20th century liberal Protestantism which came to dominate the Mainline Church of America and Europe. As an evangelical, Galli's cautions Bell by pointing out the Achilles heel of liberal Protestant theology: it gradually reasons away any uniqueness of Jesus Christ and destroys the foundation for a visible Church. Mainline churches like mine have slowly been dying from this lukewarm brand of Christianity, so Galli (like me) can't understand the evangelistic appeal of Bell's soft universalism.

Galli is charitable toward Bell, almost to a fault, never referring to what Bell thinks but only what "Love Wins says," even when dismantling Rob Bell's creative but sloppy exegesis of Christian scripture. Overall, God Wins is insightful and a necessary companion to Love Wins.

*****
AUDIOBOOK COMMENTS

I read God Wins via audibook from Christianaudio.com. Again, great book. Narrated by Sean Runnette. For no rational reason, I'm not found of Runnette as a narrator. But that fact didn't stop my enjoyment of God Wins.

*****
This review refers to a free audiobook edition of "God Wins" by Mark Galli, provided by Christianaudio.com through its Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review.

Why I Haven't Blogged

2011-10-07T19:45:00.000-05:00

I've posted two blog postings since July. Part of me feels bad about it and the other part is too exhausted to care. But I'm offering a bit of explanation.

Over the summer we were the caregivers for two of our pre-teen nephews. As the school year began, we also took in their older brother who spent some time as a runaway. We also took in their mom as they transition back to the Midwest. It's been an exhausting few months, a lot of balls to juggle but we think we're doing the right thing.

Prayers and patience are welcome from anyone who reads my meager thoughts.

Review: In Constant Prayer

2011-09-30T09:54:00.002-05:00

In Constant Prayer is an introduction to the ancient Christian practice of "praying the hours." Praying the hours primarily refers to a regular pattern of mostly ritualized prayers throughout the day. This might include praying the Psalms and the Lord's Prayer, but it also allows for "free" expressions of personal prayer requests. Praying the hours is usually a spiritual habit more at home in so-called liturgical church traditions: Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans.

Even though I've used this practice myself and found spiritual nourishment from it, Robert Benson's exploration of praying the hours was not engaging. One reviewer said, "It literally took me months to read." That's not necessarily a bad thing but I concur. It took me months to read because it just didn't capture my attention. Benson's book is intended for rookies but I'm not sure many people new to praying the hours will be drawn to this potentially life-giving means of grace through this particular book.

*****
This book was provided to me free of charge by Thomas Nelson publishers through their Booksneeze review program in exchange for honest review.

Free to Serve

2011-07-09T17:59:00.002-05:00

Usually I don't make much of civil holidays in the context of Christian worship. On Father's or Mother's Day, I briefly recognize fathers or mothers and offer a prayer of blessing. Same goes for Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day (most of which are a blur in the public mind). My theological formation warned me about blurring national or civil calendars with that of the Church lest we blur the line between the kingdom of God and any earthly nation.

This year, I went against tradition and addressed Independence Day (the Fourth of July) directly in my mesage Free to Serve. That bias or hesitation is still very much with me but I've thought a great deal about what it means for Christians and churches to be a blessing to the communities they're part of. I firmly believe that Christians should indeed make a noticeable, practical differnce in their local communities. Many Christians who are wary of "civil religion" might agree with me but get increasingly anxious the further up the political ladder we go. Can we Christians be a blessing to our states (or provenances, depending on your national origin)? Can we Christians be a blessing to our nation?

Yes, I believe we must be a tangible blessing to our local communities, our states and our nation. Churches in America not only belong to a city or town but also to a nation called the United States of America. We can serve our nation by serving our God to the best our ability. Justin Martyr tried to convince the Roman emperor in the second century A.D. that Christians were not only law-abiding citizens but could also be the best Roman citizens, especially when they refused to honor the emperor as a deity. In like manner, I argue that Christians can and should be the best citizens of their nations.

If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts on this, download my message from 3 July 2011.

This is anything but a full blown "political theology" but it's a gesture in the right direction.

Casey Anthony: Justice for Caylee?

2011-07-09T17:31:00.000-05:00

"Caylee Anthony did not get justice." Something to this effect has been repeated over and over again, from media bigwigs to Facebook. Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, was accused of Caylee's murder but was found "not guilty" by a Florida jury. The verdict in this much-hyped case infuriated many. I've written two previous posts about this, one expressing some general cautions about hatred and the other cautioning against pride. In this post I turn to the question of justice.

Did Caylee Anthony fail to get justice? Likewise, did her accused mother fail to get justice? This answers depend in part on how we define "justice." I explored this topic upon the execution of Osama bin Laden. Not to be overly technical, but great thinkers have debated the definition of "justice" for centuries. For many, justice means "receiving what is rightfully yours." By this definition, if you steal from me, having my goods taken from you and returned to me might be justice. A judge or jury might think it fair to give me additional compensation, too, if your theft caused me some kind of emotional trauma. A court would probably punish you, too.

Why are criminals punished?

Why are criminals punished? Some would say that punishment is a practical reminder to you, the offender, that what you did was wrong. In addition, other people considering theft might reconsider their potential crime once they see your punishment.

Many believe we as a society should punish criminals because wrongdoing simply needs, well, punished. To do wrong means you deserve (at least) equal wrong in return. This is known as the lex talionis, or the ancient law of "eye for an eye."

How are criminals punished in the case of murder? Courts cannot give life back to the victim, so we seek for some way to "pay back" the murderer. In some states, this means convicted murderers themselves receive death. In other states, they receive life in prison. It's argued that is fair punishment (justice) and protection of the larger society from the violent criminal.

But what about a case like

that of Casey Anthony?

No one was punished for

the murder of Caylee.

But what about a case like that of Casey Anthony? No one was punished for the murder of Caylee. Sometimes an accused criminal is declared "not guilty" as was the case with Casey Anthony. This is a miscarriage of justice to many outside observers not only because the crime was so gruesome but also because Casey Anthony appeared so guilty. So it appears Caylee did not receive justice.

Caylee Anthony did not receive justice in a human court. Whether Casey Anthony received justice or not (i.e whether she was, in fact, Caylee's murderer) is another question. When no one is convicted of such a gruesome murder, the injustice against the victim seems all the more egregious. We get angry and rightfully so. We might feel hatred for the criminal or even the accused murderer.

We might also lose faith in our system of justice. But we shouldn't. Though I've not experienced the justice systems of other nations, I'd wager the United States has one of the best. Mistakes are made, of course. And we grieve those mistakes, especially when they might seem so obvious. The Bible is filled with those who wept because of the injustices they witnessed. Some in their grief even took God to task for not acting more quickly and waiting to render divine justice.

We should pray for

and welcome Judgment Day.

But as Paul the Apostle said in another context, we do not have to "grieve as those who have no hope." We can trust in God and God's ultimate justice. The Bible offers us hope that God will one day stand in judgment over creation. Many people, even Christians, fear Judgment Day. We should think about it soberly but Christians have no need to fear it. In fact, we should pray for and welcome it because Judgment Day brings God's judgment. This is the day of Jesus Christ's "Appearing," often called in shorthand by New Testament writers "the Day." On that day, all wrongs will be set right. Every injustice will be rectified, including the restoration of life to innocent children who were cruelly murdered by the only One who has authority over life and death.

"Generation Rising" - Andrew Thompson Interview Part TWO

2011-07-08T06:48:00.005-05:00

Here's the rest of my interview with Andrew Thompson, editor of and contributor to Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church.

What's the biggest, dumbest thing the UMC is doing today?

The dumbest thing we're not doing is focusing on how everything that we do, or that we should be doing, must be related to our salvation. You see a marked absence of the language of salvation in many aspects of the UMC's life now. I think there are reasons for that.

For one, I think people are afraid, perhaps especially the church's leadership, that "salvation" will be equated with things we don't want it to be associated with such as a transactional understanding of salvation or “The Sinners Prayer,” etc. [That concern] is important but John Wesley said that salvation extends "fromthe first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory.” Many of the things we're doing are not essential to the life of salvation. Salvation is not talked about in the “Call to Action” plan or in our marketing or in our Annual Conferences for how the church will be revitalized.

Whyis it that the doctrine of salvation, which was so important to JohnWesley, is so absent from the ministry and writing of the Church today?

You say in your introduction to Generation Rising that “as a church rooted in the Wesleyan tradition, the UMC has a special calling to an evangelistic witness that proclaims God's transforming grace for all people.” To claim a special calling is bold and provocative. Why do you say Wesley's heirs have a special calling?

First,“special” is not “unique” in this case. Wesleyans are notthe only ones with that evangelistic mission rooted in our DNA. Othershave that calling too, but I think it's at the core of what it meansto be a Wesleyan Christian. It has to do with the mission John Wesley emphasized himself. Methodists preachers were raised up to “spreadscriptural holiness.” Wesley also said to his preachers, “You have nothing to do butsave souls...”

Younever heard Wesley say we should create a large cumbersomedenominational institution. For Wesley, that institution was alreadythere: the Church of England. He wanted to reform the church andreinvigorate it by getting people to open their hearts to God's grace.

Though I'm not sure whether Neo-Calvinists have more churches than Wesleyan-Arminians, Neo-Calvinists have certainly gained tremendous attention and (I would argue) influence among American Christians. Think of Mark Driscoll, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, etc. Men like these are part of aggressive church planting networks with a vision to reach non-Christians and make deep impacts in culture. Why don't we see a similar Wesleyan-Arminian movement, one with the same theological and evangelistic vigor of the Neo-Calvinists?

Thatis a complex issue. It touches on where we are as a culture, intheological education, American history and so on.

Peopleare hungry for an understanding of Christian faith that is integratedand makes sense and provides answers to many of the vexing questionsof life. The advantage of the Reformed tradition is that it offersthat; doctrinaire Calvinism offers a comprehensive vision of thewhole of life – a complete depiction of how God, the world,society, family life, and you as individual fit together

[NOTE: TheReformed tradition is several hundred years older than the Wesleyantradition. The Reformed tradition traces its roots to the early 16^thc. with Protestant Reformers like John Calvin, whereas the Wesleyantradition “only” began in the mid 18^th c.].

We'renot uninfluenced by that. Reformed theology influenced the Church ofEngland in Wesley's day. It was one of the most significant influences on the Church of England in that time. In any dayand age, the Reformed tradition, like the Roman Catholic Church,offers a compelling vision of life. The question is: does theWesleyan tradition offer that vision when it's taken seriously? Ithink the answer is yes. The problem is that so much of contemporaryMethodism just isn't truly Wesleyan.

*****

Thanks again to Andrew and those who labored to make this book a reality.

Thanks to Andrew for the interview.

Thanks to Abingdon Press for providing a review copy of Generation Rising.

Casey Anthony: Beware Pride

2011-07-07T18:23:00.002-05:00

In my first post reflecting on the Casey Anthony trial, I said:

“The crime against Caylee was evil. Caylee's murderer should indeed be found, prosecuted, appropriately punished and guided toward correction. Casey Anthony might well have been the murderer...but a jury of her peers found her “not guilty.” That jury had far more information than we who presume to sit in the court of public opinion. They had time to discuss the case with other jurors who also had that information, all of whom put their lives on hold to give their undivided attention to this case. And they made a decision that many in the public dislike.”

The caution I would add: I caution us against the presumption of having greater knowledge and wisdom than the jury.

It's possible the American justice system failed to deliver justice for Caylee Anthony. It's possible Casey Anthony is guilty of murdering her own child. It's possible the defense fooled the jury. It's possible the prosecution could have made a better case. Many things are possible, but the reality is that Casey Anthony was found “not guilty.” That does not mean she's innocent of the crime. It means that the prosecution did not present the evidence in such a way as to persuade the jury.

But many people will sit back and claim certainty about things that they only know are possible. None of us in the public knows with certainty about Casey Anythony's guilt. She may have made some very bad decisions that certainly make her look guilty of murder. But the real temptation here is to think, “I'm so smart, I know more than that idiotic jury. I have more wisdom, I would have made a better decision.”

Maybe. But you don't know. Frankly, to assume that I am smarter or wiser than the jury in this case is pure pride. You or I might be smarter and wiser...but again, we don't know that. To simply assume it is pride.

Pride is powerful. Pride shrinks my own shortcomings and magnifies those of others. And pride is sin.

This is no justification for the terrible crime against Caylee or a defense of her aggressor. It is a warning against the subtle power of sin that can worm its way into our hearts even when we correctly condemn evil.

Casey Anthony Verdict: Response - Part One

2011-07-06T21:33:00.000-05:00

Many were shocked to hear Casey Anthony declared “not guilty.” Casey was accused of murdering Caylee, her two year old daughter, of hiding her remains and of leading police through a maze of lies in an attempt to cover the grisly deed. I did not follow the story and know very few details about the case beyond what glimpses I caught here and there on daily headlines. Others eagerly followed the media circus provided by CNN and/or Fox News who were happy to indulge American voyeurism once again. Unless you live under a rock, you know that earlier this week Casey Anthony was convicted of lying to the police for which she will likely serve a negligible prison sentence but was found “not guilty” of murder.

With the declaration of Casey's innocence by a jury of her peers, my Facebook network lit up with a nearly unanimous fury. Every comment I read said or implied Casey's guilt, calling this a terrible injustice. All were certain of Casey's guilt and many were angry on behalf of Caylee. A little girl is dead with no one to pay for the crime. But the viseral reaction, from Facebook to Fox News, somehow rubs me wrong.

As a father of three, I understand the anger and the desire to lash out on behalf of a victimized child. Anger on behalf of those who've been treated unfairly is a good thing. It is morally appropriate and good to be angry about evil. The murder of a child is evil. Those who murder others should be found, prosecuted and appropriately punished. Anger on behalf of victimized people, when properly channeled, can motivate us to defend what is good and resist what is evil.

The crime against Caylee was evil. Caylee's murderer should indeed be found, prosecuted, appropriately punished and guided toward correction. Casey Anthony might well have been the murderer...but a jury of her peers found her “not guilty.” I assume that the jury had more information than we who presume to sit in the court of public opinion. They had time to discuss the case with other jurors who also had that information, all of whom put their lives on hold to give their undivided attention to this case. And they made a decision that many in the public dislike.

It's so easy to get on the “bash Casey Anthony” bandwagon. But in our anger over an injustice, I caution my fellow citizens – especially my fellow Christians – to monitor our reactions. I caution us not to allow anger on behalf of the victim to become bitter hatred against the accused. I caution us against prideful presumption in which we assume to be smarter and wiser than the jury. I caution us against a lack of faith in God and God's justice. I caution us not to allow the attention-hungry media to shape our desires.

Over the course of the next few blog posts, I'd like to briefly address each of these.

First, our attitudes. Anger on behalf of victims and anger that rallies against injustice is good. Anger that becomes hatred is not good. It is not good for you. Hatred is corrosive. When anger against another person takes root, it stews into hatred and bitterness. It can twist your view of the world. Hebrews 12:15 warns us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” When anger is buried within, it easily breeds a bitter root. It can trouble us and even cause us to miss the grace God daily offers us.

Christians must also check their anger against people (not against sin and evil but against people) because God calls us to something higher and better. Jesus warns against anger toward “a brother or sister” in Matthew 5:21-24. In that same Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Why? Because this is how God treats us. God gives us good gifts which we don't deserve and God loves us beyond imagining which we also don't deserve. God does not punish us as our sins deserve.

When we allow our anger over evil to become hatred of a person, we're moving further away from a golden opportunity to become what God made us to be: human beings fully alive with the sin-shattering love of God. Like it or not, God loves Casey Anthony just as much as God loves her daughter Caylee, just as much as God loves you or me. Like it or not, God's purpose with Casey Anthony is no different than his goal for you or me: to rescue us from the murky depths of sin, ushering us into God's presence. As we respond to that saving grace, we are not only forgiven but changed. We are made more like Jesus. That is God's desire for you. That is God's desire for me. That is God's desire for every precious child. That is God's desire for every unpleasant person and every criminal, even those declared “not guilty” by human courts.

I think Paul the apostle said it best: “Be angry but do not sin (Ephesians 4:26).” Let anger at injustice stir you to defend the weak and resist evil, but do not let anger breed hate.

"Generation Rising" - Andrew Thompson Interview Part One

2011-07-05T22:33:00.002-05:00

Below is part one of an interview with my friend and rising (no pun intended) Wesley scholar, Andrew Thompson, in response to his first book, Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church.

First, my apologies to Andrew and to his publisher, Abingdon Press, for the lateness of publishing this interview. I meant to post these earlier and allowed myself to be sidetracked. I quickly read Andrew's book and posted a review some time ago. Again, apologies. To my readers, I believe you'll still find Andrew's words worthwhile.

Second, talking to Andrew is always refreshing. He loves Jesus Christ and loves the theology of John Wesley which is nothing less than practical and needed today.

Third, I'm struck by Andrew's insistence that we United Methodists focus more fully on salvation, which, not surprisingly, is utterly Wesleyan. I've heard about so many initiatives and foci and slogans in the UMC...but so very few connect the dots between those promotions and our salvation through Jesus Christ. And one wonders if that alone doesn't speak volumes either about our theology or our agenda items (or both).

I asked Andrew a variety of questions. Below is part one of our interview, conducted both via email and phone.

*****

1) What's the single most important thing the UMC needs to do right now to be part of God's work (or have a future?)?

That’s a tough question, if you are asking for only one single thing! As a whole church, I’d say that we most need to distinguish the difference between life in the world and life in the church. We’ve gone for a long time assuming that discipleship to Jesus Christ doesn’t require any more of us than living as good citizens in our own society. And so you’ll often hear people talk about how the church isn’t “keeping up" with the culture. You’ve got to think about what that implies. People who feel that way assume that our culture is on an inevitable upward trajectory and that, for the church to have a place, we need to take our cues from what the culture deems to be good. But I don’t read Scripture as calling for us to underwrite the agenda of Caesar. In fact, the whole scope and tenor of Scripture – to use a Wesleyan phrase – is deeply skeptical of the powers and principalities at work in the world. There is a wonderful statement of Wesley’s in the Large Minutes, where he writes, “How few are there that know the nature of repentance, faith, and holiness! Most of them have a sort of confidence that God will save them, while the world has their hearts.” The inability to distinguish between the church and the larger world is not a new problem.

I’ll add this: I think a lot of what we’re trying to do in Generation Rising is to present a path forward for the church that can assist in the work of seeing what life in the church really looks like. We have ground our work in the language of the means of grace, which is the Wesleyan term to describe those practices of the faith through which we are formed as a holy people. For the means of grace to really transform people, they must be practiced seriously, intentionally, and in a disciplined way. They are not an end in themselves, but they are a means to the end that God intends for all of us. They allow us to receive Jesus Christ in his presence and power, exactly because the Holy Spirit is at work in the midst of them. And if the congregations of the United Methodist Church begin to take the means of grace more seriously at the center of their communal lives, then I think we will find ourselves simultaneously at the center of God’s own work in the creation.

2) Why this book? Why did you write it? Why do we need it?

I first had the idea for Generation Rising from a late-night conversation with Arnold Oh (one of the contributors) over the future of the church. We talked about how books on church renewal tended to be written by people in the generation ahead of us. Many of those books are really strong. Increasingly, they’ve tended to focus on connecting our current practice with the rich Wesleyan heritage we’ve received from our tradition, which I think is important. But it struck Arnold and me during that conversation that the church needed to hear the voices of the generation currently rising into leadership. It is when people start to get into their 30’s and 40’s that they start to be seen as having the experience necessary to take real positions of authority and responsibility. That’s where Generation X finds itself right now. So the timing seemed right.

But let me say this: While the book is written by 12 authors from the Generation X cohort, it is not aimed just at other Gen X readers. It’s a book written for the whole church. The perspective it offers comes from Gen Xers, but the church we are trying to envision is a church of all of us – young, old, and somewhere in between.

I think Generation Rising can serve as a real resource for pastors, laity, and whole congregations because it takes an honest look on where the church finds itself in our current culture and offers ways to ground our common faith in Wesleyan practices of discipleship. The chapters themselves present quite varied perspectives. That is only natural in a book that is a collaboration of 12 writers. Some of the chapters are very practically oriented, suggesting particular ways that congregations can live more fully into their faith today. Others are more reflective essays about how the experiences of people in both church and culture affect they way we understand ourselves religiously. And still others try to do some fairly meaty historical and theological ‘work’ while putting it in language that a broad reading audience can understand. All in all, I think that collaborative approach makes the book stronger than it would have been if any one of us had written it alone. (And in fact, we make that very point in the book’s preface!)

3) Why does the world need the UMC?

That’s a challenging question. What I’d want to get away from is the suggestion that the United Methodist Church is some kind of unique institution that the broader Christian church can’t do without. I’m not interested in a “denominationalism” in my approach to our church’s calling and ministry. I am interested in the distinctive tradition out of which we come, which is the Wesleyan tradition. Methodists don’t call themselves Wesleyans because we think that claiming John Wesley somehow defines our Christian identity. We call ourselves Wesleyans because we think that the ministry, witness, and writing of John Wesley show us the way to Jesus Christ. Within that Wesleyan heritage, I would point to Charles Wesley, John Fletcher, Francis Asbury, and countless other early Methodists as well. Those men and women responded to a calling from God that they understood to be all-consuming. John Wesley writes in the Large Minutes about God’s design in raising up Methodist preachers in this way: “Not to form any new sect; but to reform the nation, particularly the Church; and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.” And to his junior preachers he writes, “You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those that [need] you, but to those that [need] you most.” Now, the best way I know how to describe this Wesleyan calling is that it is an evangelical calling to be ministers of the gospel of salvation we receive from Jesus Christ. We’d need to dig deeper to get at the heart of what that word – “salvation” – fully means, but that’s the core meaning of what it is to be Wesleyan.

So why does the world need the UMC? Well, I think the world needs the UMC because we are inheritors of that vital Wesleyan tradition. And God loves the world, and he wants to world to know salvation. We aren’t called to save the world per se. That is Jesus’ work alone. But we are called to bear faithful witness, which we do by worship, ministry, and mission. The UMC has the potential to be a faithful expression of God’s holy people, but we also need to continue committing ourselves to the reformation of our own life that the Holy Spirit can guide us in.

4) What role does the Christian explosion in the Global South have to play in UMC renewal? What do we Christians in the Global North where Christianity has been declining have to offer Christians in the Global South, and vice versa?

The growth of the church in the Global South is probably going to be the biggest story of the 21st century, as far as Christianity is concerned. We’re seeing that in the United Methodist Church, where the growth of the church in Africa in particular is causing the overall percentage of African UM membership to rise rapidly. Some people want to categorize the understanding of Christianity in the Global South by using words like “more conservative,” “Biblicist,” and a whole host of other terms that are almost always intended to be pejorative. I disagree with that assessment, and I think it smacks of the cultural condescension that Westerners tend to have for people from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

I’d offer another view, which is that the West has become so wealthy and so comfortable (usually on the backs of the Third World) that we have lost the ability to distinguish Christian discipleship from general citizenship. I write about some of that by telling a story of my own experience with the Methodist Church of Peru in the book, and Arnold Oh’s chapter on missions centers on that North/South dichotomy. Arnold presents a pretty strong critique of American Methodism by looking at our history over the 19th and 20th centuries, but I think the point he is making is an important one: We fell into the trap of “over-translating” the gospel so that we associated being Christian with being Western. Christians of the Global South are receiving the gospel now without all the cultural baggage that Western missionaries inflicted on them for so long, and the fruits of that new encounter with the Holy Spirit are being borne. For those of us in American society, we need to try and put our cultural baggage to the side and see God’s work in other places with fresh eyes. We might find that it allows us to be born again, so to speak, by the process of what is sometimes called “reverse mission.”

5) General Conference is coming in 2012. What are your hopes? What are your fears?

My main hope for General Conference is that it will more closely reflect the original Wesleyan notion of conferencing than it has in a long time. Conferencing is supposed to be a means of grace, and it can be that if it is focused on worship and equipping for ministry & mission. Between now and next year, there’s going to be a lot of talk about the Call to Action report and the way it will impact the work of the General Conference. Much of what I’ve read is encouraging about Call to Action, though any large-scale initiative runs the risk of becoming an end in itself. We need to avoid that, and we need to pray that the Spirit would free us from the fear that many feel about change.

I guess my fear about the upcoming General Conference is that it would become preoccupied with issues that are not truly helpful to the church’s mission and ministry. The GC is so legislative in its focus that it sometimes seems as if we Methodists think we can legislate ourselves to Christian perfection. That’s never going to happen, and I hope we can work to make the GC a less legislative body overall. If there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, I’d encourage him or her to pick up a copy of the Book of Resolutions sometime, which is the collection of current official statements by the church. There’s some good theology in it, but that is a distinct minority. It’s full of a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. I grieve to think how much time and energy are spent debating and voting on issues that have no real impact or lasting significance. And I would want all of us to remind ourselves that we are not doomed to this kind of impoverished expression of conferencing. There’s got to be a better way!

Vacation!

2011-06-15T15:47:00.000-05:00

I'm on vacation with my family in Oak Island, North Carolina during the month of June! You won't hear much from me as I enjoy this Sabbath-like time with my family. I've been running to and from the lighthouse pictured here.

I will soon post an interview with my friend and colleague, Rev. Andrew Thompson, about his book Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church and his thoughts on the UMC.

Preparing to Speak

2011-05-25T07:57:00.000-05:00

Most people hate public speaking. I love it. It's part of my vocation as pastor and, after ten years of preaching, part of my identity. The hardest thing about public speaking is not the delivery but the preparation. Twenty to thirty minutes of speaking can take 10-15 hours of preparation. This is especially true when you're engaging the living God through Scripture and attempting to speak authoritatively to a congregation.

Preparation is key. One key way to prepare is by practicing your speech or sermon out loud.

My final year of divinity school I made a choice: no more preaching manuscripts. No more crafting every word in a sermon as if it were pure gold delivered from God on high for the benefit of my listeners. With rare exceptions, I preach from a 1-1.5 page set of notes, something like a detailed outline. This forced me to focus on preparation. I know I haven't made enough time for preaching preparation in a week if my notes are wordy and (generally) over one printed page long. I'm convinced that ditching the manuscript has made my speaking more conversational, more confident, more engaging and more successful at communicating what I want to say. And I was able to ditch manuscripts because I practice out loud.

How do you prepare for better public speaking?

I practice out loud. Every week. I spend very little time trying to write and much more time trying to craft words that connect with the ear. I can't emphasize enough how beneficial solitary, out loud practice has been for my preaching. Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers, emphasizes this very point in his latest blog post. The key point: practice, practice, practice...out loud!

Practice may not make perfect...but it will make you better.

If you regularly public speak,

how do you prepare?

Review - Generation Rising

2011-05-24T09:48:00.001-05:00

In Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church, Rev. Andrew Thompson has pulled together a diverse cast of Gen-X writers with one thing in common: they're United Methodists who believe the United Methodist Church can have a vibrant future making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Many United Methodist Christians wonder if their denominational body can be a viable force for good in the future. Generation Rising features a range of voices who all believe the UMC can regain vitality for the sake of God's kingdom on earth. They offer different solutions but no silver bullets to overcome every challenge the UMC faces.

Every chapter is written by a different author (Andrew wrote the first chapter, along with the introduction and epilogue). Some of the essays are fantastic - pure gold, including those by Sarah Arthur, Kevin M. Watson and Shane Raynor to name a few. Sarah provides an incredible description of what Confirmation could look like in UM youth ministries. Kevin calls United Methodists to deepen their discipleship by “watching over one another in love” through (what many would call) accountability groups. And Shane speaks from personal experience on the importance of adapting our gospel message to new technological methods.

Other essays are less engaging, usually because the author chose to address their "pet issue" instead of addressing a specific challenge facing the UMC. Some of the authors missed golden opportunities to speak with clarity about matters at the heart of our life together as United Methodist Christians. For example, I love Holy Communion and preaching. I believe both can and should be central components of Christian worship, but neither chapter on these subjects, respectively, made a compelling case as to why those particular practices are vital to the UMC's future or how they can make a practical difference. Eric Van Meter's essay on ordination was provocative in his call for a radical redefinition of ordination. I'm not at all pleased with his suggestion (though he certainly writes with clarity and passion) and will address it in another post.

Despite a few lackluster moments, Generation Rising is well worth reading for the many quality essays.

Andrew is an ordained United Methodist pastor, long-time blogger at genxrising.com and a rising Wesley scholar. "Generation Rising" should be read by anyone who cares about a vibrant future for the Wesleyan-Methodist tradition.

When the World Ends...Blame the Methodists

2011-05-20T14:35:00.000-05:00

And the Presbyterians, American Baptists, Congregationalists, Lutherans and any other "Mainline" denomination that comes to mind. "Mainline" basically means "our denominations used to be in charge in America but aren't any more," or "we got big and flirted with Liberal Protestant theology."

Why blame the old Mainline? Because we don't talk about the return of Jesus Christ at all. Let me explain.

This Saturday is supposed to be the Rapture of true Christians from the earth, beginning a hell-on-Earth five months until this age finally ends...according to one loudmouth fringe self-proclaimed Christian with lots of money. I don't buy it for a second, nor does any other pastor I personally know or respect.

But it begs the question: how on earth do such fringe groups get attention and even cause normally clear-headed Christians to pause and say, "Could it be true?" It happens, in part, because orthodox Christian churches do not talk about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ enough or at all (and here it would be nice if "Mainline" meant "orthodox" as in "staying in mainstream of 2,000 years worth of Christian thinking and practice"). Just like the other "supernatural" topics of heaven and hell, the end of the world (a phrase that doesn't even accurately get at what Christians believe) and the return of Jesus from heaven to this earth are intentionally ignored by Mainline pastors. Why? Because they either don't believe this things are actual events which will happen, or they don't understand the ideas themselves.

This insight is not original to me. It was an "aha!" moment the other day listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR. Jerry Walls, senior research fellow in the Center for Philosophy and Religion at the University of Notre Dame, said:

"I would simply say and reiterate that while they have taken a biblical truth and pushed it to an unbiblical extreme, they are taking something seriously that a lot of Christians actually fail to do so. And perhaps part of what creates the climate and makes guys like this able to flourish is because mainline churches do not preach the Second Coming of Christ in a more responsible fashion and keep this at the forefront of their faith.

I mean, the Christian faith can be summed up in three phrases: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. And just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Easter. And anyone who takes seriously that Christ was raised from the dead cannot but take seriously the second coming. So a lot of churches have failed their parishioners and made their parishioners and other people vulnerable to the kind of excesses that Harold Camping is capitalizing on."

The good news of Jesus Christ is couched in a story, i.e. it has a beginning and an end. We need the full gospel for the gospel to truly be good news. We need the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ and the return of Christ. And if so-called Mainliners - like my own United Methodists - won't preach it, then we shouldn't whine too loudly when fringe elements twist the gospel.

Wrighting Stephen Hawking

2011-05-19T09:21:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite theologians, Anglican Bishop and New Testament scholar N.T. Wright, responded to Stephen Hawking's "heaven is a fairy tale" interview. You can read Wright's response here.

This back-and-forth sounds like another "religion vs. science" moment. In truth, the crossroads of science and theology are much more diverse, interesting and fruitful than "vs." Wright notes part of the problem: experts in one field of study don't take the time to understand the way another field of study works. In this case, you have a brilliant physicist (which no one denies) trying to knock down straw man caricatures of religion. Or as Wright says:

"Hawking is working with a very low-grade and sub-biblical view of ‘going to heaven.’ Of course, if faced with the fully Christian two-stage view of what happens after death -- first, a time ‘with Christ’ in ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise,’and then, when God renews the whole creation, bodily resurrection -- he would no doubt dismiss that as incredible. But I wonder if he has ever even stopped to look properly, with his high-octane intellect, at the evidence for Jesus and the resurrection? I doubt it -- most people in England haven’t. Until he has, his opinion about all this is worth about the same as mine on nuclear physics, i.e. not much."

The other often unacknowledged and unnecessary part of the religion vs. science conflict is defining Christian belief/practice as a "religion." What exactly is a religion? I would argue that "religion" are ways of life and thought that modern, secular people want to right off as unimportant to "real life." In other words, there is no such thing as "religion." But it's very hard to find new language to describe what we Christians are about and then enter into conversation with Muslims, etc. Defining Christianity as "religion" stops people from defining consumerism, Marxism, being a Republican or buying only Apple products as "religion." Again, Wright gets at this, too:

"Of course, the old set-up of the ‘science and religion’ debate was itself deeply influenced by this same worldview, and needs realigning. In fact, the ancient Christians would have been shocked to see their worldview labelled as a ‘religion.’ It was a philosophy, a politics, a culture, a vocation... the category of ‘religion’ is part of the problem, not part of the solution."

"Heaven is a Fairty-tale"

2011-05-17T22:52:00.001-05:00

A friend sent me this post about renowned physicist Stephen Hawking finally "coming out of the closet" as (more or less) an atheist. Surprise! "Atheist" doesn't appear per se in the article but he does admit that theism - the belief in God as most philosophers of religion and religious adherents would define it - is silly and incredible.

I'm no scientist. I eagerly want to learn more about the relationship between these things we call "science" and "religion." That said, Hawking made this interesting statement:

"What could define God [is a conception of divinity] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," Hawking told Sawyer. "They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible." (emphasis added)

Hawking demonstrates in this one simple statement a significant flaw with atheism: to assert with certainty the non-existence of God (which atheism, by definition, does), one has to assume a god-like perspective on the universe which everyone else lacks.

Hawking apparently dislikes or finds incredible the possibility that God is "a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship." You can dislike that concept. You can admit it makes you uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. What you cannot do is assert its truth without being God himself or very close to God. You would be claiming - without any evidence - a superior vantage point over any theist.

The same flaw is evident in the section I emphasized. Hawking the scientist loads his words with truth-claims he cannot know. He can't know them with certainty and he can't even know them with great probability. What do I mean? Hawking describes human life as "insignificant" and "accidental." Again, as an atheist, he can't demonstrate the probability or certainty of such a statement unless he has a privileged vantage point which everyone else, or at least theists, lack.

Sermon Series: Heaven and Hell

2011-05-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

Finished up my Easter sermon series, Heaven and Hell. My gut tells me that many Mainline churches avoid dealing with these "messy" topics. But people wonder about them and Scripture talks too much about the consequences of life in the present age upon life in the next age to ignore them. And part of me really likes preaching stuff that other preachers want to avoid.

You can download the audio from the entire series below. The Easter sermon was not billed as part of the series but it really sets it up.

Easter 2011 - Life Without Limits

Heaven and Hell 1: Judgment

Heaven and Hell 2: Hell

Heaven and Hell 3: Heaven

Hell, Yes...and No

2011-05-09T22:34:00.000-05:00

My current message series is called Heaven and Hell. Of course during such a message series I have to address the topic of Hell. Not a topic people like to think about or talk about, especially in polite company, though it has received a lot of media attention

But it must be faced. Scripture warns too much about the destruction and suffering that emerge from our rebellion against God's love. And though I'm personally hesitant to use fear to motivate in preaching, I can't deny that Scripture urges a sobering and (dare I say?) healthy fear by considering the long-term consequences of rejecting God's will. So last Sunday (yes, on Mother's Day) I preached on Hell.

If you'd like to listen to my message, you can download it here.

One of my main points was that there is indeed a final, irreversible separation from God's life-giving, joy-filled presence for those that have no appetite for God in the present life. Is it all dark torture chambers of physical fire, stinking of brimstone, overrun with pitchfork-wielding horned devils? To the reality of Hell, we must say, “Yes, such a fate is possible.” To these unbiblical and lurid exaggerations, we must say, “No.”

That phrase above, “no appetite for God,” really captures it for me.

We all have a hunger for SOMETHING, something we might not even be able to put our finger on. We can try to satisfy the hunger with many people or things...but none can or ever will truly satisfy. WE fashion many idols to worship in place of the living God. We can have “no appetite for God” by ignoring God or being apathetic toward God. Or we can “have no appetite for God” by open hatred of God.

But God in Jesus Christ can satisfy that hunger and strengthen it over time. As the Spirit of God works in us over time, we hunger for God more and more. Those who increasingly want nothing more than God shall have it. Those who want nothing more than themselves shall have it.

If we take the whole of Scripture seriously, we must believe it possible to finally be separated from God. This is the consensus of Scripture. It is the consensus of Christian tradition, men and women reading Scripture together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

To put it simply, there is a Hell. Better yet, there is a Savior.

Celebrating the Death of Sinners

2011-05-07T07:27:00.000-05:00

“Osama bin Laden is dead has already gotten like 150,000 'Likes' on Facebook. I don't want to sound unpatriotic or pro-Muslim-extremist, but it's kind of disgusting for some reason.” This was a message sent to me by a young Christian the morning after the announcement of Osama bin Laden's killing at the hands of U.S. special forces.

“Good for you,” I said. “I think the Christian response must be more nuanced than a Facebook 'Like'.”

And what is that response?

Osama bin Laden was the so-called mastermind behind the devastating attacks upon the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He was head of the global terrorism network Al-Qaeda. His death or capture has been a top priority for the United States government and after nearly ten years of searching, bin Laden has been killed. According to president Barack Obama, “justice has been done.”

Has justice indeed been done?

Christians – especially Christians living in the United States – must ask this question. But most will not ask if the execution of bin Laden was right or just because of the very reasons my young Christian friend named. Osama bin Laden has been the face of evil incarnate for a decade; to dare question the means of his death or the celebration of his death feels “unAmerican.” To question the-powers-that-be seems like a backhanded cheer for bin Laden. American Christians are afraid to ask questions that imply a challenge to violence.

It's nearly impossible for many American Christians to ask these kinds of questions because many American Christians do not know how to think about their dual citizenship. For the most part, we in America are born citizens of the United States; Christians are reborn in Jesus Christ as citizens of God's kingdom. As Paul the Apostle says, “our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20).”

What does heavenly citizenship means for Christians in the present age? How do we involve ourselves in the politics of our American citizenship? Do Christians do our best to go with the flow and blend in as much as possible with every other American? Or do we withdraw from American society and politics altogether? To picture it another way, do we engage society like the Prohibitionists or the Amish?

The biblical answer is “neither.”

The Apostle Peter urges us to live as “aliens and refugees in the world (1 Peter 2:11).” Aliens and refugees live somewhere but that place is not their ultimate goal; that place does not define them. Peter then urges Christians to support earthly governments, as does the apostle Paul (cf. Romans 13), though both were at times mistreated by “governing authorities.” They were treated with injustice by those in authority to administer justice. John of Patmos, author of the Book of Revelation, had far less confidence in earthly powers than Peter or Paul. And Christians should never forget (though we often do) that a majority vote handed Jesus over to his governing authorities who swiftly and gruesomely executed him. Sometimes the values of the kingdom of God are at odds with the values the nation in which we live - and we must learn what to do when those values clash.

Much more could be said about our dual and dueling citizenships, but my point is this: though Christians support institutions that administer justice, we must maintain our freedom to question the administration of that justice.

Christians can and should question whether or not the execution of Osama bin Laden means “justice has been done.”

I'd like to explore that question of justice in a future post, but back to the question of celebration. Should we cheer his death? Most public Christian thinkers I've read say, “No, Christians should not celebrate anyone's death.” These Christian leaders challenge many aspects of this killing. They include Sam Wells, N.T. Wright (under comments section) and Rowan Williams. There are exceptions.

Though many biblical writers, especially those who composed the heartfelt pleas of the Psalms, cry out for God's retribution against the wicked, it's hard to imagine Jesus himself celebrating an unrepentant sinner's death. Two texts here hold hands in my thinking:

“Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:11)”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45)”

We should be glad that Osama bin Laden is no longer capable of hurting other people. Yet we should grieve that, according to our best available information, a sinner died unrepentant for his many sins.

John Wesley: Undying Worms, Unquenchable Fire

2011-05-06T09:59:00.002-05:00

What does the Bible really say about Hell? How do the good Christian thinkers in Christian tradition help us to understand the Bible on this subject?

I take seriously my task as pastor when I have to regularly preach, teach and talk about such weighty matters as salvation. I've intentionally chosen to talk about matters - like judgment and Hell - that are frequently downplayed or ignored in many Mainline churches (or are too glibly celebrated in others).

As I prepare to preach on Hell (on Mother's Day, of all days), I've done a lot of reading. A lot. I've also been swimming in the sermons of my tradition's theological mentor, John Wesley. Being a good 18th century preacher, Wesley of course preached on hell.

In many ways, John Wesley simply falls in line with traditional understandings of Hell as a place of unending torment, a view widely repulsive to people in the early 21st century. However, he also rejects much of the lurid exaggeration of Medieval Catholic piety and revivalist preachers. For example, here's what John Wesley says in his sermon Of Hell about the "undying worms and unquenchable fire" of Gehenna (cf. Isaiah 66:24 and Mark 9:47-48):

The First thing intended by the worm that never dieth, seems to be a guilty conscience; including self-condemnation, sorrow, shame, remorse, and a sense of the wrath of God.

Who can bear the anguish of an awakened conscience, penetrated with a sense of guilt, and the arrows of the Almighty sticking in the soul, and drinking up the spirit? How many of the stout-hearted have sunk under it, and chose strangling rather than life! And yet what are these wounds, what is all this anguish of a soul while in this present world, in comparison of those they must suffer when their souls are wholly awakened to feel the wrath of an offended God!

We may observe a remarkable difference in the manner wherein our Lord speaks concerning the two parts of the future punishment. He says, “Where their worm dieth not,” of the one; “where the fire is not quenched,” of the other. This cannot be by chance. What then is the reason for this variation of the expression? Does it not seem to be this? The fire will be the same, essentially the same, to all that are tormented therein; only perhaps more intense to some than others, according to their degree of guilt; but their worm will not, cannot be the same. It will be infinitely varied, according to the various kinds, as well as degrees, of wickedness. This variety will arise partly from the just judgment of God, “rewarding every man according to his works:” For we cannot doubt but this rule will take place no less in hell than in heaven. As in heaven “every man will receive his own reward,” incommunicably his, according to his own labours, — that is, the whole tenor of his tempers, thoughts, words, and actions; — so undoubtedly, every man, in fact, will receive his own bad reward, according to his own bad labour. And this, likewise, will be incommunicably his own, even as his labour was. Variety of punishment will likewise arise from the very nature of the thing. As they that bring most holiness to heaven will find most happiness there; so, on the other hand, it is not only true, that the more wickedness a man brings to hell the more misery he will find there; but that this misery will be infinitely varied according to the various kinds of his wickedness. It was therefore proper to say, the fire, in general; but their worm, in particular

Many writers have spoken of other bodily torments, added to the being cast into the lake of fire. One of these, even pious Kempis, supposes that misers, for instance, have melted gold poured down their throats; and he supposes many other particular torments to be suited to men’s particular sins. Nay, our great poet himself supposes the inhabitants of hell to undergo a variety of tortures; not to continue always in the lake of fire, but to be frequently, By harpy-footed furies, haled into regions of ice; and then back again through extremes, by change more fierce: But I find no word, no tittle of this, not the least hint of it in all the Bible. And surely this is too awful a subject to admit of such play of imagination. Let us keep to the written word. It is torment enough to dwell with everlasting burnings.

I noted above the way Wesley both adheres to and challenges the prevailing notions in his day of Hell. What also strikes me is his insistence that these "undying worms" are metaphorical but vigorously defends the literalness of hellfire! I would challenge Wesley on his rationale for that distinction but his views are insightful and worthy considering nevertheless.

Cheering Death?

2011-05-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Still processing my own thoughts on the death of Osama bin Laden and the celebration of his death, even by professing Christians.

In the meantime, one of my preaching mentors, James Howell, has some good words.

Who is Jesus? - Lenten Message Series

2011-04-29T10:28:00.000-05:00

Below are the download links for my 2011 Lenten message series, Who is Jesus? All but one sermon is recorded.

I share these for anyone else who may benefit. If you're a preacher and find something you like, please cite me if you hear something original to me.

Who is Jesus 6 - SAVIOR - April 17, 2011

Who is Jesus 5 - LORD - April 10, 2011

Who is Jesus 4 - TEACHER - April 3, 2011

Who is Jesus 3 - HEALER - March 27, 2011

Who is Jesus 2 - DIVINE - March 20, 2011

Who is Jesus 1 - HUMAN - March 13, 2011

A Tale of Three Kings - REVIEW

2011-04-29T08:07:00.000-05:00

When you're the object of attack, what do you do? Retaliate in kind? Duck and cover? A Tale of three Kings: A Study in Brokenness attacks that question specifically within the context of the Christian community, drawing on the biblical stories of three Old Testament kings: Saul, David and Absalom.

Mad King Saul chased his God-anointed successor, King David, until Saul's death, but David refused to attack Saul even when given ample opportunity. According to the biblical text, David refused to “touch the LORD's anointed,” even if that anointed one was quite obviously way off course. David later faced a similar situation when his own son, Absalom, led a coux. The author works this into an imaginative new fictional narrative of the actual biblical stories.

The narrative is a creative attempt to face all too common church divisions, specifically focusing on the relationship of submission to leadership within the Christian community. What do you do when attacked by a Christian leader? What do you do when your pastor, who may once have been solidly in line with God's will, goes far astray? Gene Edwards answers, “Even when Christian leaders err (or abuse?), do not raise your voice or revolt. Submit to your leaders.”

I applaud the creative use of the biblical stories about these three kings but “A Tale of three Kings: A Study in Brokenness” does not do justice to the issues. Certainly Christians need to take far more seriously the Christian virtues of submission and have a proper respect for the office of pastor. But in an age when once-hidden abuses of the clergy (and I speak as a pastor), it's ludicrous to simply say, “Endure poor pastoral leadership and submit to unethical behaviors from those God has placed in authority over you.” There must be a fuller account of how Christians can resist evil and address wrong-doing within the congregation.

I give the book some credit for creativity and an occasionally entertaining style, but the one-sided theology wouldn't allow the narrative to hold my attention long. Paul Michael did a great job narrating the audiobook edition (which I “read”), adding characterization to the many voices of the story.

But overall, it was a mediocre story with lopsided theology. I don't recommend “A Tale of three Kings: A Study in Brokenness.”

*****

Print edition from Amazon

Audiobook edition from Christianaudio.com

"A Tale of Three Kings" in audiobook format was provided free of charge for the sole purpose of review by christianaudio.com as part of the christianaudio.com Review Program.

Why We Aren't Making Disciples

2011-04-27T13:17:00.000-05:00

I've personally experienced the most Christian growth when I've been part of an active small group of Christians together committed to being more like Jesus. I've witnessed the most Christian growth in others in the same context. The most effective small groups for Christian growth that I've experienced embody the goal of John Wesley's "class meetings" (i.e. 17th century accountability groups) to "watch over one another in love." We open ourselves to one another with rugged honesty and grace-empowered commitment to Jesus.

That's not worship. It's not Sunday School. It's not Bible study. It's not a prayer meeting. It's not a committee meeting. It's not a potluck. It's not Holy Communion. It's not serving at the soup kitchen. It's not tithing. This is asking one another things like, "what temptations have you faced and how did you overcome them?"

In other words, it's not only asking, "how is your soul," but also, "how is your discipleship?"

And in my very limited experience, most Methodists shy away from such aggressive, Christ-centered interaction.

Does this absence of intentional, grace-filled accountability contribute to the recent decline of the United Methodist Church? Does it pose a challenge for the future?

Kevin M. Watson thinks so according to his chapter in Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church, entitled Small Groups: Bearing One Another's Burdens. Why aren't United Methodists living up to their mission of "making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world?" Try this on for size:

Contemporary Methodism has forgotten one of the deepest convictions of the Methodists in John Wesley's day—that community is essential to discipleship...
One of the reasons we are not more effectively making disciples is because we have stopped asking one another about our discipleship. It sounds like a simple statement, but that statement contains an idea that is absolutely crucial to the success of the church's mission. We have stopped being willing to give an account of what is happening in our relationship with God. And our formation as committed followers of Jesus has been stunted as a result (emphasis added).

Sounds like a "well, duh" statement. But think about it: if you're a United Methodist (or any branch of the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition), how often are you asked about your discipleship? Not "how are you" or "did you do your devotions this week?" But "how is your discipleship?"

Well?

Methodists Have a Special Calling

2011-04-25T07:37:00.001-05:00

So says my friend and Wesley scholar, Andrew C. Thompson, in his new book Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church. As I prepare to interview Andrew about the book, I plan to share striking quotations from the book, some of which will be fodder for our conversation.

Below is one striking quote from Andrew himself:

"As a church rooted in the Wesleyan tradition, the UMC has a special calling to an evangelistic witness that proclaims God's transforming grace for all people. Back when Methodism was a movement within the Church of England, John Wesley described this calling as spreading scriptural holiness over the land and reforming the larger church. Today, our church describes that same mission by saying we are called "to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." Either way, the people called Methodists have always believed that God has a special calling for us to receive and be remolded by his grace so that we can be empowered to go forth and offer it to hurting people in a broken world (cf. "Introduction")."

This is a provocative statement! I daresay that many United Methodists (or any branch of the Wesleyan-Methodist stream of Christianity) would be surprised to hear they have a special calling.

Would that statement frighten or inspire Wesleyan Christians?

How does this "special calling" fit with the ministry of other church bodies (Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Baptists, etc.)?

Holy Saturday Meditation

2011-04-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

As we move from Good Friday through Holy Saturday, anticipating the joy of Christ's resurrection on Easter, hear these words from one who witnessed the suffering of Jesus firsthand:

Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

   “He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.  “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”  For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:21b-25 (NIV)

Denying Jesus (Lenten Blog Tour)

2011-04-19T23:47:00.003-05:00

This post is part of the Common English Bible "Lenten Blog Tour 2011."

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant woman came and said to him, “You were also with Jesus the Galilean.”

But he denied it in front of all of them, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

When he went over to the gate, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
With an oath, he denied it again, saying, “I don’t know the man.”
A short time later those standing there came and said to Peter, “You must be one of them. The way you talk gives you away.”

Then he cursed and swore, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the rooster crowed. Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably.

Matthew 26:69-75

*****

In clear earshot of disciples like Peter, Jesus said, “Whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven (Mt 10:33).” Did those words ring in Peter's ears when he disowned Jesus – not once, but three times in rapid succession?

Peter's denial occurs in the thick of the Holyweek drama of our salvation. By this point, Jesus has marched to Jerusalem, been welcomed (by some) like a conquering king, confounded and angered Jewish leaders, finished his last meal, agonized in Gethsemane, secretly arrested through Judas Iscariot's betrayal and condemned by Jerusalem's religious authorities. Before Jesus' official condemnation to death by the Roman govenor, Pilate, Jesus is denied by one of his closest companions, Simon “The Rock.”

Jesus had personally chosen Simon (Peter's Semitic name) to be the foundation of his ecclesia, the people of God assembled around Jesus himself. Simon boldly confessed Jesus as “Christ,” God's chosen one to free God's people. Jesus then gives Simon his nickname: “I tell you that you are Peter. And I'll build my church on this rock The gates of the underworld won't be able to stand against it (Matt. 16:18).” Peter is meant to be part of the Church's “foundation of apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).”

Some foundation.

Under incredible peer pressure, “The Rock” crumbles. Simon Peter promised to be an unshakable pillar. “'If everyone else stumbles because of you, I’ll never stumble.' Jesus said to Peter, 'I assure you that, before the rooster crows tonight, you will deny me three times.' Peter said, 'Even if I must die alongside you, I won’t deny you.' All the disciples said the same thing."

How often have you told God, “I won't let you down again?”

“God, I know I screwed up but from here on out, you can count on me. I'll never do that again! I know I've promised this before, but this time, I really mean it!” Sometimes it seems like we're stuck in a rut of the same tired sin, denying Jesus, repenting, promising better behavior.

It's so easy to make outrageous promises to ourselves, to God. We may make outrageous promises to be faithful no matter what. And then it happens. We meet temptation. We enter the pressure cooker, the time of testing.

In this moment Matthew describes (and Jesus predicted), Peter is under enormous emotional duress. The center of his universe was crumbling and all he could do was watch from a distance. Then someone recognizes him. A servant girl recognizes Peter as belonging to Jesus. It sounds sexist today, but big bold blue-collar Peter is beat by a girl. A servant girl. The Rock falls.

And so it had to be. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).” Faithless Peter had to witness faithful Jesus take his blows so the broken Rock might learn to stand.

Though our promises fall empty and broken, God's promises do not. We crumble under pressure; he stands tall like a pillar. We deny him, but “Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession (1 Timothy 6:13).” “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).”

The very reason Jesus endured the terror of Holyweek was to redeem all who crumble and break under pressure. “When God our savior’s kindness and love appeared, he saved us because of his mercy, not because of righteous things we had done. He did it through the washing of new birth and the renewing by the Holy Spirit, which God poured out upon us generously through Jesus Christ our savior. So, since we have been made righteous by his grace, we can inherit the hope for eternal life.”

The gospels of Mark and John include Peter's return to the fold. When we turn back to Jesus, he receives us. The very one we deny is our only hope of forgiveness, reconciliation and new purpose. Right now, we may not be reliable pillars. But by God's grace, we “are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple (1 Peter 2:5a).” And we stand on Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our hope and salvation.

John Wesley on Hell

2011-04-12T10:36:00.000-05:00

Christian controversies about Hell have recently spilled over into the news (just Google it and check the "news" section). While much negative attention has (once again) been given to the Church, this has been a good opportunity to think more clearly about Christian teachings on hell.

I plan to dive into the fray in my post-Easter message series, "Heaven and Hell," which I staked out long before the recent ruckus.

Some Methodists - myself included - have wondered what John Wesley, our spiritual godfather, said about Hell and the life hereafter. Here are two resources.

First is a summary article from the United Methodist website.

Second is Wesley's sermon, On Hell. Wesley himself was traditional on the concept of Hell so you won't find any surprises there.

A "Generation Rising"

2011-04-09T08:01:00.000-05:00

My good friend, Andrew Thompson, is releasing his first book this month through Abingdon Press, Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church. A United Methodist Elder from the Arkansas Conference, Andrew is completing his Th.D. at Duke Divinity School and has already been hired at Memphis Theological Seminary to teach Wesleyan theology beginning fall 2011. On his blog, www.genxrising.com, Andrew writes from a Generation X perspective that is robustly Wesleyan and deeply orthodox.

In Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church, Andrew edits a number of essays from young United Methodist authors about the future of this historic church. If you pray for a vibrant, Christ-centered future for the UMC, please read and share Andrew's book. I get the priviliege of soon reading and reviewing Generation Rising (and maybe even interviewing the author). I hope to share my thoughts on Generation Rising after Easter. It's available both in print and in ebook formats.

Here's the official description of Generation Rising from Abingdon Press:

"Computers, mass media, consumerism, and family instability have transformed our society dramatically over the past three decades. These cultural shifts undermine the stability of real, authentic community and make it more difficult to fulfill God’s call to live in love and connection to one another. Jesus calls us to reconciliation, but life today moves toward ever-more alienation.

The adults now known as Generation X had a unique firsthand experience of the cultural shifts now affecting the way the church works in the world. Growing up, Gen Xers were isolated and independent and had no common cause in terms of war or revolution, but had a common experience of life as increasingly less concrete, increasingly more detached. Because of this, Gen X Christians have a deep hunger for authentic community and the possibility of lifelong growth in grace because those things have become more and more difficult to achieve.

Generation Rising is the collaboration of twelve Gen X authors who believe passionately that the Wesleyan vision of Christian discipleship in the holy community called church is the most exciting life we can live. They offer a vision of what the United Methodist Church could be, if we will faithfully respond to the call God continues to give us, and where our very identity as disciples will never be separated from the community God calls us to join.

Contributors include: Sarah Arthur, Presian Burroughs, Jeff Conklin-Miller, Timothy R. Eberhart, Joy J. Moore, Julie O'Neal, Arnold S. Oh, Douglas Powe, Shane Raynor, Andrew C. Thompson, Eric Van Meter, and Kevin M. Watson"

Should We Measure Worship Attendance?

2011-04-06T16:40:00.001-05:00

I've just returned from the United Methodist Leadership Summit, a worldwide event extended via the web. The event focused on the Call to Action report. The UMC as a whole hired consulting firms to study what makes a vital church, which has prompted numerous conversations among United Methodists about congregational vitality and success.

What makes for a successful church? Once you define "success," you can (in theory) deliberately change a church's behaviors to increase vitality/success. In order to know if you're achieving your goals, many of us argue that we need to somehow measure both our behaviors as well as our fruit (or outcomes of behavior).

Many pastors are troubled by the idea of measuring any part of a church's ministry and using those measurements as indicators of success/vitality. Many pastors argue that we should not focus on measuring worship attendance as a key indicator of congregational vitality.

Worship attendance is one of several key factors to evaluate a church's vitality. It is not the only factor...but it is important.

How can churches justify measuring worship attendance as a sign of church vitality, of ministry success?

Your theology of worship determines the importance of worship in the life of your church. The importance of worship in the life of your church will determine whether or not you believe measuring worship attendance matters.

Here's my basic theology of worship and why I believe we're justified in measuring worship attendance:

1) Worship is the most important thing we do as followers of Jesus Christ. Human beings were made to worship. Everything we do - our generosity, our acts of service, our witness, our genuine fellowship with one another - flows from a dynamic connection to God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants more people reconnected with their primary purpose in life: worship of the living God.

2) Christian worship is community worship. While worship is much more than those occasions when the church is gathered together (typically Sunday morning), it is not less than this. The Bible tells us that God calls us to corporate worship because God is gathering together a redeemed human family through Jesus Christ. Ancient Israel's worship was corporate. Christian worship has been corporate from the beginning. Worship is personal but not always private. Robert Webber describes community worship in his Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God's Narrative. "Do not forsake gathering together," the author of Hebrews tells us. God wants more people in his family, and God wants more of his family worshiping together.

3) We encounter the living God in corporate worship. Worship is all about entering the world-shattering presence of Almighty God! Scripture, Christian tradition and Christian experience testify again and again: where Jesus Christ is lifted up in worship through the power of the Holy Spirit, God makes his presence known. Worship is a means of grace, a conduit of God's love-filled, life-changing personal power. God wants to meet more people in grace and power through worship.

4) Worship strengthens and encourages Christians. Again, because worship is a genuine pathway of power into our lives, it changes us. It melts our sin and self-centeredness. It warms our hearts by fixing our gaze on the Source of life and love. God wants to strengthen and encourage more people.

Now, if God longs to connect with more people through Christian worship....why on earth would God's people want anything less?

I want more people in the worship services I lead because I want more people to encounter the living God in Jesus Christ through the power of God's Spirit!

Worship attendance should not be something for pastor's to brag about. Tracking worship attendance opens up opportunities for pastoral leadership. If a regular worshiper begins to miss worship, I need to know why. If an outsider has no interest in our worship, I need to know why. The statistics point toward a bigger story and invite pastors and their churches to dig deeper which can help them to do more faithful, fruitful ministry.

While we shouldn't brag on ourselves when worship attendance increases, we should indeed celebrate more people encountering God through worship. When United Methodist churches share those statistics, it gives us a chance to dig deeper. When I hear that another church is growing in worship attendance, I try to find out what they're doing. How are they connecting to their mission field? What have they changed in their worship to better equip people to encounter God? Again, tracking worship attendance and communicating it to fellow United Methodist churches is an invitation to do more faithful, fruitful ministry.

I don't question the Scriptural fact that God wants to meet more people through Christian worship. And if this is true, what are God's people going to do about it?

What is a "Radical Disciple?"

2011-04-04T09:29:00.000-05:00

At the age of 87, widely read evangelical Anglican pastor John Stott offers us his final words and (literally) lays down his pen with The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling. These are his parting thoughts as he retires from public ministry.

Stott describes "eight characteristics of a Christian discipleship that are often neglected and yet deserve to be taken seriously" (Preface). These are: nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation care, simplicity, balance, dependence and death.

I hate to admit it, but I didn't find most of these characteristics either radical or neglected. I only recently (winter 2010) plunged into Stott's classic of evangelical theology, The Cross of Christ. It was a stellar work from an evangelical perspective on the atonement provided through Jesus Christ. But none of these characteristics were probed with the depth of The Cross of Christ The first four characteristics are commonplace conversation pieces at least among many Christian leaders, if not Christian lay people. The latter four are, I grant, less commonplace. Those latter four could have been the entire book and merited longer treatment. Thankfully, the book is not that long and so still worth the time to read (or listen to). But I wish that Stott's publishing career ended on a stronger - or more radical? - note.

*The Radical Disciple was provided free of charge by christianaudio.com for the purpose of review. You can find this book here at christianaudio.com.

Other works by John Stott
The Cross of Christ
Basic Christianity (IVP Classics)
The Message of Romans: God's Good News for the World
Basic Christian: The Inside Story of John Stott

Other works in Audiobook from Christianaudio.com
Basic Christianity
The Cross of Christ
Is Jesus Christ Truth for the 21st Century?
Christian Mission in the Modern World

Three Phases of Spiritual Growth

2011-03-31T09:33:00.000-05:00

In his sermon Scriptural Christianity, John Wesley not only describes a progression in awareness of God (and thus a progression in spiritual growth), he also describes his method of ministering to each according to their need. This, he believes, was the method of the earliest Christians and so the cause of Christianity's wide expansion. He says:

"They endeavoured herein to speak to every man severally as he had need. To the careless, to those who lay unconcerned in darkness and in the shadow of death, they thundered, “Awake thou that sleepest; arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” But to those who were already awakened out of sleep, and groaning under a sense of the wrath of God, their language was, “We have an Advocate with the Father; he is the propitiation for our sins.” Meantime, those who had believed, they provoked to love and to good works; to patient continuance in well-doing; and to abound more and more in that holiness without which no man can see the Lord. (Heb 12:14)"

Here they are again:

Spiritually Asleep: It's not politically correct to say but some people are, according to Scripture, spiritually dead, unable to perceive God. Wesley advocates preaching "the Law," as some Protestants describe it, i.e. drawing attention to human sinfulness and the judgment we're sure to face before God.
Spiritually Awakened: For Wesley, these persons are conscious of their sin and feel a sense of guilt for it. They also sense God's wrath against sin (though, we might say, not God's anger against the sinner). Wesley says we should point these awakened persons to the grace of God, i.e. that we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ.
Spiritually Growing: These have sensed their sin, turned and embraced Christ as their only hope in this life and the next, and now grow in the character of Jesus. This is growth in holiness and a life of good works.

Do you find John Wesley's schema helpful? What about his prescription for ministry to people at each level?

What is Hell?

2011-03-29T07:26:00.000-05:00

Doing lots of research on Heaven and Hell in preparation for my post-Easter message series. Rob Bell has a great quote from Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived:

"Hell is our refusal to trust God's retelling of our story."

The First Charge of Every Church

2011-03-26T21:22:00.000-05:00

A quote from P. T. Forsythe:

"It is useless to preach the Kingdom when we do not carry into the centre of life the control of a King. The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master. And the first charge of every Church is to offer Him."

"The Authority of the Preacher," Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind

The Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives

2011-03-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

Just started pastor Rob Bell's Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I've never read any of Bell's prior books but since I'm preaching on Heaven and Hell post-Easter, I thought "why not?". For those who don't know, Bell is the closest thing to a pastor rock star among many American evangelicals. He pastors a church of some 10,000 attendees and looks the part of a hipster.

Bell's promotional video for Love Wins made uber-conservative theology watchdogs instantly declare him a universalist, a heretic, etc. It's great PR for a book.

As I've begun reading the book (I'm about 25% of the way through as of writing), I began searching out reliable book reviews. Mark Galli's review from Christianity Today, the flagship evangelical Christian magazine, is extremely fair and charitable toward Bell and his book.

Galli has a great description of what separates theological conservatives from theological liberals (not talking about political divisions here). He sees Bell leaning heavily into liberal Protestantism, a form of theology that came to prominence in the 20th century and found a cozy home in Mainline denominations (like my own United Methodist Church). Galli says:

"Since the days of Schleiermacher, liberals have striven to make the gospel relevant to "the cultured despisers" of religion, a key phrase in the title of his groundbreaking book. Liberals are evangelists at heart; they do want people to follow Jesus. The problem is methods and conclusions. For liberals, the sensibilities of the age trump biblical revelation. Personal opinion outranks the consensus of the church. Fondness for metaphor and parable sabotage the particularity of the gospel."

I find Galli's description of the difference between theological conservatives and theological liberals helpful and accurate. By Galli's definitions, I would identify myself as a theological conservative (again, not the same as a political conservative).

What do you think of that description of theological liberals and theological conservatives?

Blog Tour for Lent

2011-03-09T15:26:00.000-06:00

I'm participating in the Lenten Blog Tour promoting the new English Bible Translation, the Common English Bible (CEB). Like the Advent tour of which I was part, this will feature a different blogger each day of Lent (41 in all), reflecting on biblical texts from the new CEB. The full CEB text is scheduled for Fall 2011 publication.

The first post for Ash Wednesday can be found here.

In case you don't know, Lent is a Christian season of spiritual purification and preparation for Easter. Easter is our true "high holy day" (not Christmas) when we celebrate Jesus' victory over sin and death through his resurrection. Lent invites us to think about the realities we ordinarily want to avoid: our certainty of death and our sin, realities which the Bible ties together. Lent is a traditionally a time for self-examination and fasting. It's appropriate to set aside additional time each day for prayer and Scripture reading, especially the gospels.

I'll be posting during Holyweek on April 20.

My Thoughts on "Knowing God"

2011-03-03T00:24:00.002-06:00

J.I. Packer's Knowing God has become an evangelical classic since it was first published in 1973. In short, “Knowing God” is an evangelical doctrine of God. Though an evangelical Anglican himself, Packer's theology is influenced by Reformed theology, the stream which carries John Calvin and the English Puritans among others.

As a Wesleyan/Methodist, I have occasional disagreements with Packer's doctrine of God but I'm generally sympathetic to overall theology as a fellow evangelical. One of my former professors once labeled Packer a “fundamentalist” (though added, “He's a good fundamentalist.”); I don't think that label is fair. He's solidly evangelical, which is not the same as a fundamentalist.

Knowing God is a fantastic introduction to an evangelical understanding of God, no matter your church background. This is not a book that should be left to pastors alone. Lay people who wish to broaden and sharpen their theological thinking (which simply means you want to think more correctly about God) should read this. If nothing else, Packer's writing is clear, gracious and eloquent – much like John Stott's, another evangelical Anglican. In fact, I'd recommend reading Stott's “The Cross of Christ” after “Knowing God,” which means you then need a book on the Holy Spirit to complete your evangelical theology of the triune God!

In the audibook version, narration is provided by Simon Vance who wins extra brownie points for being British. I love British accents when listening to theology! It's a snug fit for my mind.

Knowing God is highly recommended – even if you disagree with it.

Click here to purchase the audiobook version.

*A free audiobook edition of "Knowing God" was provided to me at no charge by Christianaudio.com for the sole purpose of honest review.

Guts Like Jesus

2011-02-23T16:49:00.000-06:00

I did a "pulpit swap" (as we in the biz call it) last week with Pastor Tom Goodell of Crossroads UMC in Washington, IL. Tom preached for my churches and I preached for his. I have to say, it was a fun turn of events to have my only responsibility be to walk in and preach...AND to about 800 people vs. the usual 100-125 I normally preach to.

My message was called "Guts Like Jesus." If you're interested, you can download the audio right here.

Sleeping With the Church

2011-02-21T22:30:00.001-06:00

Dan Dick makes a great point about welcoming new people into a church.

"I ask people to wrestle with the following distinction when I lead workshops on outreach and evangelism (and radical hospitality): what is the difference between entertaining guests and welcoming someone to live in your home. Every group makes the immediate distinction. Both require kindness, friendliness, openness, etc., but the best thing about company is that they go home. To open your home to a newcomer is a whole different matter, requiring much greater sacrifice, discomfort and adjustment." (Emphasis added)

Many church members love the idea of new people at their church...so long as those people think, dress, believe and behave like they do. But welcoming new people into a church family is like welcoming a baby into a family: necessary for the family to continue but definitely a source of tremendous change. Every new addition changes the dynamic.

Some find that kind of change threatening. I admit that new additions of any kind are demanding, but they're exciting! In families, you're welcoming a new life! In churches, you're welcoming people into a new life!

Two Things That Make a Church Grow

2011-02-19T13:22:00.001-06:00

Every church that's faced decline wants to know: what will make our church grow?

I had a great conversation with a guy in one of my churches recently who a) loves his church but b) realizes that tough changes will have to be made to embrace the future and grow.

"I really want some more people here," he said.

I said, "I think it takes two 'simple' things." What are they?

First, worship has to be a "no miss event." People have to be hungry for what happens in worship on Sunday mornings. There are so many debates about the shape of worship, what kind of music, how long the sermon should be, how often to have Sacraments, etc. I agree with church coach Jim Griffith that there are only two kinds of worship: indigenous and non-indigenous worship. Worship must connect with people in their language...and language includes words, music, dress, space, relevant preaching, etc. It's not about changing the message "once delivered to the saints." It's about communicating the gospel in the local language.

Problem is most church services are not indigenous. It took the Roman Catholic Church until Vatican II in the 1960's to approve worship in non-Latin languages. Many Protestants look down their noses for this but most Protestant churches are no different. Our worship usually speaks the language of 1850-1950. People under thirty use the words "Facebook," "friend," "Twitter," and "tweet" as verbs while we worship to music written no later than 1950. We fret about spilling coffee in the sanctuary while a worship guest in our church wonders if this God stuff can make a difference in their life. We miss the point so we don't connect.

According to recent statistics of the United Methodist Church, the regular churchgoer attends worship 1.8 times a month. That's "regular attendance." We all have things come up in our lives that keep us away from worship on Sunday, but when those things come up do we ache in our souls because we're missing something good in worship? Do the people in our communities believe they're missing out on something vital when they skip worship, or do they feel like they're doing the church a favor by showing up?

I believe that if we want to grow our churches, worship must be a dynamic "no miss" event.

Second, Christians must reach out to and invite their non-Christian network of friends to worship. Pastors can lead the way on this and should lead the way. Pastors need the back up of their local church leaders when pastors spend time in the community. Why? Because a pastor's personal efforts to broaden their network and build relationships with non-Christians is just as important as leading the congregation in prayer.

If we believe that Christ is worth knowing and if we believe that others are missing out on something life-changing in our local church, then we need to tell them. New Christians are far more invitational than life-long church members. I hear crazy things from some older members like, "Everyone I know is Christian." Bull. Everyone may say, "I'm Catholic," or, "I'm Lutheran," but usually that means, "I grew up Catholic but haven't been to Mass in 20+ years." I'm so impressed with some of the new folks in my church who constantly invite their friends to worship with them. Apparently they don't know it's weird to talk about Jesus and church. They work their network, NOT because they're trying to be slick religious salespeople. They tell their friends because they've encountered something good and even life-changing that they want others to be part of.

I know their are dozens of other little things we can do to make a church grow. I know I'm making many unsaid assumptions (like, "It's good for a church to welcome new people."). I know I've said nothing about spiritual vitality, prayer, etc. Absolutely the work of God beneath, behind and ahead of our efforts is a must. And if God's not in whatever our church is doing, it won't last long anyway. But in my naivete, I believe that any church that wants to grow can begin by focusing on these two things.

What do you think?

RELATED POSTS:

Prayer is the Greater Work
Pastors: Catalysts for Ministry
The Ministry of the Saints
How Can I Grow My Church?

One Way to Grow Your Faith TODAY

2011-02-09T14:42:00.001-06:00

Wanna grow your faith right now? Give away your money. Growing in generosity and stretching ourselves through the habit of giving are sure-fire ways of flexing - and growing - our faith.

The character trait of generosity and the habit giving are central to our lives as Christians. To study the Bible and miss this point you'd have to be blind. We can't get away from giving, and if we do get away, our trust in God is packing its bags, too.

When the Bible talks about giving, it sometimes refers to “tithes” and “offerings.” Tithing is the practice of giving away 10% of our income to honor God (tithe means tenth). Tithing...

Reminds us that everything we "own" comes from God.
Reminds us that God still owns "our" money and stuff...it's just on loan to us.
Honors God by giving God the first and the best of all we earn (and even the ability to earn comes from God! Cf. Deuteronomy 8:17-18). It's an expression of love.
Supports the work of God in the world, i.e. ministry. This is why Christians give their tithes to God through their local church.
Supports those in need among us.
Trains us to put God first in our lives by giving him our first and our best.

Joyful, God-trusting tithing stretches our faith. One person recently told me, “I feel closest to God when I tithe.” I understand the sentiment, because tithing stretches my trust in God!

Did you know that the ONLY time in the Bible God allows – and even encourages! – us to test him is in tithing? Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough to store it.” God says, “Test me: I dare you.” Everywhere else in Scripture people are told NOT to test God. People are rebuked or punished for testing God. But not with tithing! God welcomes the test.

Last Sunday I challenged non-tithers in my congregations to step up and take The Tithe Challenge. Here's the challenge: if you're not a tither, practice the tithe for 3 months as a spiritual discipline.

I emphasize "as a spiritual discipline" because the point is spiritual growth. Yes, your church can do great things with your financial gifts. Yes, people in need do, in fact, need financial assistance. But God's primary concern with money is cutting the cord between our hearts and our money - and that happens as we grow in generosity and the habit of giving. Tithing is the training wheels of generosity.

Now, if you're thinking, "Give away 10% of my income?!? Are you crazy?!? I'll have to reexamine my whole budget!" Exactly. Tithing forces us to look at how we spend God's money. We're forced to trust God to provide for what we need. In other words, it grows our faith right now!

Don't tithe grudgingly. Don't tithe out of guilt. Intentionally give away 10% of your income to honor God through your local church. When you write your check, make it a time of prayer. When I tithe, I usually pray something like: “God, I could use this money for a lot of other things, but I want to honor you. I trust you to provide for our family. Please bless us and help us to grow in generosity. Amen.”

If you're a non-tither who wants to step up, test God and tithe, GREAT! I'd love to hear your stories, pray for you and encourage you.

Stretch you faith today!

Are YOU a Person?

2011-01-29T09:46:00.000-06:00

What's the difference between being a human being and being a person?

If you think this sounds like a boring freshman philosophy class, you'd be dead wrong. Perhaps literally. You see, how you define "human being" and "person" determines how you can treat others. Can you kill grandma when she gets Alzheimer's? Can you kill an infant after it's born? Some modern philosophers would say, "Yes."

This has obvious consequences for how we deal with the unborn, the newborn, the aged, the handicapped and the ill. Philosophy and theology make a difference.

For a good head start on thinking about personhood as a Christian, check out Being a Person by Joe Carter of First Things.

The Best Kids "Sunday School" Curriculum

2011-01-23T20:02:00.000-06:00

Do you struggle to figure out how to share your Christian faith with your kids (or grandkids)? What are you doing to pass the faith from one generation to the next?

In recent weeks I've preached a series of messages called Generation to Generation: Building Faith in Your Family. In this series of posts, I'm sharing with you the highlights of the series. To download the sermon audio, visit the "Sermons" section.

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What's the best tool to build Christian faith in your kids (or grandkids)?

I've spent a lot of time in my ministry career trying to figure out the best curriculum for youth and children's ministry. Do we go with Group? What about Cokesbury? Should we make something up ourselves? What should young people learn first? Learn right now?

Can I tell you a secret? I've discovered the very best curriculum for sharing Christ with your kids.

The best curriculum for passing Christian faith from generation to generation is...YOU. That's right. You are the curriculum. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses charges parents and grandparents to be the spiritual leaders for the next generation. Not a pastor. Not a youth pastor. Not a children's pastor. Not a Sunday School teacher. Not a kid's Bible. Not family-friendly Christian radio. You. Parents and grandparents, living and modeling faith.

If you want to learn more about being a "pastor parent," download my message Generation to Generation: Pastor Parents.

Chesterton on Politics

2011-01-22T15:49:00.000-06:00

Came across this wonderful quote by G.K. Chesterton in The Quotable Chesterton: The Wit and Wisdom of G.K. Chesterton:

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

What a wonderful reminder of the limitations of all human political endeavors.

Multisites: Branding the Church

2011-01-18T11:10:00.000-06:00

Big churches are getting multisite mania. Though not entirely limited to megachurches (i.e. churches with over 2,000 members or attendees), more and more churches are franchising themselves out into multiple locations called "campuses." A multisite campus typically features an on-site pastor, live music and either an on-site preacher or a sermon via video. A fascinating report of factoids about multisite churches was just published on this advancing method of ministry, and stirs up a lot of theological juices for me.

Unless your multisite features a sermon via video (often pre-recorded), you might ask, "So what's the difference between a multisite church and my church?"

Exactly.

You'll probably find a strong "contemporary" worship experience and lots of tech: screens, videos, loud speakers maybe even smoke machines. Beyond this, I see no discernible difference except branding. A multisite campus intentionally carries the "brand name" of its mother church. Multisites ride the popular appeal of a particular church's credibility and recognition - in other words, a brand. You order a Big Mac at a McDonalds 500 miles from home because you trust the brand to deliver the same product you can get at your home McDonalds. This is basic franchising and branding. You attend a multisite campus because you expect to get the same experience at Campus B and you would get at the main campus. "I don't live close enough to Rick Warren's main campus but I can get the Rick Warren experience at a Saddleback campus."

I would label multisite expansion "franchise evangelism." Franchise evangelism is fascinating because it works on a principle counter to that of the non-denominational movement against branding. Non-denominational churches arise because people do not want to associate with an established denomination, i.e brand/franchise. In our current cultural context, you can exchange the word "denomination" for "brand" and exchange "local church" for "franchise." Non-denominational churches define themselves as non-Methodist, non-Baptist (though most are Baptist in polity if not theology), non-Presbyterian, etc. They reject branding, sometimes for practical purposes, i.e. maybe Methodists are unpopular in a new church's mission field. Sometimes they reject branding for theological purposes, i.e. identifying ourselves as anything other than "Christian" is bad.

For the last decade or so, non-branded/non-denominational churches have appeared to have the upper hand on denominations in terms of starting new churches and attracting new people. Many megachurches are non-denominational churches. But multisite cuts against this grain because it openly capitalizes on church-name branding. Perhaps even more surprising, traditional denominations have the most multisite churches, not non-denominationals.

So what's the difference, then, between a traditional denominational label and multisite branding?

Multisite branding is more localized and are therefore geographically defined or confined. With the exception of churches that offer online worship experiences, multisite campuses are confinded to a related geographic area: Atlanta, St. Louis, New York, etc. Nelson Searcy, for example, leads the "The Journey," a church he planted in New York now with multiple campuses around the city. But you won't find a "The Journey" affiliate in Los Angeles or Miami. Geography, not theology, makes the difference.

Another major difference (and this is speculative) may be programming. A new multisite campus may seem novel with cutting edge technology, music and programming. Americans definitely have a taste for what's new. Same often goes for choice in church..

The franchise evangelism of multisite fascinates me because denominations have been decried as out-dated, as having bad reputations (re: your brand stinks), and as theologically problematic for the sole reason of having a brand name. After all these years of rising non-denominationalism, brand names are resurging.

What does this trend back toward branding mean?

Does it mean that Americans are more trusting of church brands than we once thought? In other words, did the mission field change? Could it be that some of our brands (perhaps rightly) lost credibility and just never gained it back?

Is it all about novelty, who has the most cutting edge music, tech and programming?

Does a charismatic leader/preacher make the difference?

What do you think?

The Death of Evolution - Review

2011-01-17T05:30:00.002-06:00

If the theory of evolution is as short-lived as Jim Nelson Black predicts, I wonder why we need his book. The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt is a mixed bag of unoriginal shotgun style criticism which amounts to little more than, “Evolution is bad. Boo!” Other than to rehash the arguments of others, Nelson only manages to make Christians seem as petty and narrow-minded as the evolutionists he attacks.

These are Nelson's five smooth stones for slaying the evil giant of evolution (in parrallel with his chapters). First, religion and science aren't really enemies and some of the best scientists have been and are Christians. True, and interesting as this may be, it does not prove or disprove the theory of evolution. Irrelevant.

Second, Charles Darwin was a know-nothing who didn't really invent evolution and was anti-religious. Perhaps, but again I ask, “So what?” It neither proves nor disproves the theory itself, though it may be useful information to have about.

Third, biological evolution has led to social evolution, which has led to a “decline of culture.” Nelson's thesis is at its weakest here and wanders into the fields of his others writings, all of which bemoan the cultural death of American culture and universities. Brandishing Bible verses and complaining about postmodern art, Nelson sounds like a grumpy old man pining for the good ole days while damning the immorality of today's youth. Social evolutionary theories may indeed have contributed to cultural decay in the West, but even if this is so, Nelson's complaints do not prove the point. It's non causa pro causa at its best.

Nelson's fourth chapter and assault aims largely to promote Intelligent Design (not to be confused with creationism) and cite the shortcomings and hypocrisies of Darwinists. I'm sympathetic to Nelson's concern for open debate regarding scientific theories, including evolution. I agree that the naturalism and materialism are destructive and often connected to Darwinism. But unless naturalism or materialism are intrinsic to the theory of evolution (and Nelson doesn't demonstrate this), then we're again chasing a non sequitur.

The fifth and final chapter just say, “Darwinism won't make you happy, so don't believe in evolution.” Well, there may be some connection to a theory of philosophy's ability to promote human flourishing (i.e. happiness), but Nelson hasn't done the tough intellectual legwork to show this yet. And without that prior argument, he just sounds whiny. The book drifts off unceremoniously to its end.

Science may one day undergo another revolution and determine that evolution was wrong all along. But it's not excuse for supposedly Christian people to be sloppy in their critique of that theory or any philosophies attached to it.

If you want to read some good books on evolution, Intelligent Design or the relationship of science and religion, do not go here. You can try Alister McGrath's book Science and Religion or John Polkinghorne's Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science, and Belief or Quarks, Chaos & Christianity: Questions to Science And Religion.

Gandalf!

2011-01-14T13:11:00.000-06:00

Hooray! The Hobbit film adaption is finally moving into production and will include some The Lord of the Rings legends like Sir Ian McKellan

Saint Patrick - REVIEW

2011-01-10T06:41:00.004-06:00

Saint Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland and taught the Trinity with three-leaf clovers, right? Not quite. Like jolly old St. Nicholas, St. Patrick is known more for his legends than his real accomplishments. Jonathan Rogers chronicles what little we know of the historical Patrick in Christian Encounters: Saint Patrick, though not without some entertaining Patrician legends along the way.

Patrick was a nominal Christian Briton in the 4^th century who was kidnapped as a teen by Irish slavers. His Christian faith grew in those several years as a slave until he escaped home to Briton. Once home, God called Patrick back to Ireland as a missionary priest. Though not the first Christian envoy to Ireland, Patrick was the first successful Christian missionary among the barbarian Irish, people beyond the Roman empire scarcely believed to even be human. Whether Patrick was the first Christians missionary to find success beyond the imperial boundaries as Rogers claims is, by my studies, doubtful, but this is a great brief biography of an important saint. Those who complain that the biography isn't exhaustive should note: it's not supposed to be. As the Roman Empire crumbled under barbarian invasions, Patrick was converting a barbarian nation into a Christian civilization. Best of all, Rogers includes the only two writings Patrick left the world, his Confessions and his Letter to Coroticus.

This is one of the better Christian Encounters biographies I've read and worth a read.

Fired Up Leaders

2011-01-08T14:25:00.003-06:00

My friend and Wesley guru, Andrew Thompson, has a great article on the need for transformational (re: fired up) Methodist pastors. Check it out.