Defining Success

American pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Congregations still pay their salaries. Their names remain on the church stationary and they continue to appear in pulpits on Sundays. But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn’t the remotest connection with what the church’s pastors have done for most of twenty centuries.

The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades. Eugene Peterson

I’d Rather See a Sermon

I’d rather see a sermon
than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me
than merely tell the way.

– Edgar Guest

Thoughts on Heaven and Hell… before I read Rob Bell’s Book

There is quite a stir about Rob Bell’s soon to be released book – Love Wins. It is about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who has ever lived.

Judging by the response to a book that no one has even read yet, Bell has certainly hit a nerve. This nerve is probably the growing tension between traditional, orthodox Christian belief and the growing pluralistic, post –Christian culture we find ourselves in.

Is orthodox Christianity in danger? Is Rob Bell, and other church leaders, starting to teach false doctrines? Is the church succumbing to the post –modern culture it now finds itself in?

Or, are we now asking tough questions we once avoided? Are we not settling for cookie –cutter answers? Are we beginning to see things about God and scripture that we once were blinded to?

I reckon probably a little of both.

Here are some of my thoughts off the top of my head on the issue of heaven/hell:

1. The Conversation Changes When It is Someone You Love – and that is a good thing. Last year I lost my cousin to a tragic death. She was 25. That experience changes everything – and it should. Heaven and hell are not primarily matters of belief and doctrine. They are primarily matters of an intimate relationship with the living God.

I am not saying that we can change the Christian faith to suit our own feelings. I am saying that we can turn a living, breathing faith into a lifeless belief system. I worry that this issue has been thoroughly depersonalized by some church leaders. If that is true, we are in danger of being modern –day Pharisees. And Pharisees, in scripture, were orthodox in belief – but rebuked by Jesus.

2. Our Salvation is Based on the Grace of God. A young evangelist was sharing the gospel with people in an airport terminal. He noticed a man sleeping. Undeterred by his slumber, the young evangelist tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “Are you saved?” The man, half asleep, responded “Ummm, yeah, I’m saved. I suppose I’m saved. Yeah, I’m saved.” And then he went back to sleep.

The young evangelist did not think that was good enough, so persisted, “When, sir? When were you saved?” To which the man responded, “Well, I dunno. It was about 2,000 years ago I guess.” That is good theology. Our salvation is based on the grace of God.

When we discover that grace, and how we respond to it, will vary.

3. Judgment Resonates with our Souls. I don’t buy the argument that a God who punishes us is amoral or mean. Judgment resonates with our soul. Our hearts long for it. Our hearts ache for justice, including judgment.

For example, if a priest molests children. And continues to do so for years. And when caught, denies any wrong doing. And hides behind the power of his position and the church. And in the end, continues to serve as a priest and work with children. That disturbs our souls… especially those people who are not “religious”. Regardless of faith, judgment resonates with our soul. We want God to set things right.

God judges us. And while that is incredibly terrifying – it is a good thing.

Now, does telling a white lie equal burning in hell for eternity?

4. God’s Love and Grace is Always an Extravagant Surprise. In terms of hell -bound people, Jesus was notorious for keeping their company. It seems that in the gospels, religious leaders were quick to pick up rocks. But Jesus miraculously found a way to get them to fall to the ground harmlessly.

Tax –collectors, crooks, lepers, prostitutes, Samaritans, the demon possessed, and the other hell –bound characters in the gospels are exactly the type of people we read about in order to learn about God’s love and grace. According to the religious culture of their day, these were the people smitten and rejected by God. And that is exactly why Jesus was such a surprise.

5. Our Choices Matter. I cannot emphasize this enough – OUR CHOICES MATTER. One of the reasons hell leaves such a distasteful flavor in our mouth is because it asserts that there are actually consequences for our actions. And in our culture, we work very hard at being able to make POOR choices and then avoid living with the consequences.

Here is what I notice:

– Kids can make poor choices in school – should flunk or get punished – and are often passed on to the next grade.
– We eat poor food and get sick because of it – but we avoid changing our eating habits by taking pills or having surgery.
– We spend our money poorly. We buy things we cannot afford with money we do not have. And then we avoid the consequences by paying the minimum on our credit card or not answering our phone when the debt collector calls.

However, eventually all of these things catch up with us. Consequences are inevitable. Kids will grow up and have to deal with their lack of education. People get sick and have to deal with their illness. And eventually the debt collectors find you and make you pay.

Our choices matter. And that goes for God too. If we choose to reject God and his will, that matters. That is a significant decision. And I believe it has consequences.

My question is: if we spend our entire lives avoiding and rejecting God, what makes us think that will change on the other side of death?

6. Heaven and Hell are present realities. One of the biggest problems with this conversation is that we limit the idea of heaven and hell to “places we go after we die.” While I believe that this is partially true, the greater truth is that heaven and hell are present realities.

Hell is when/where God’s will is rejected. Heaven is when/where God’s will is done. One day, I believe, God will completely set the world right. All the evil, pain, and death (hell) will be eternally condemned. And the will of God will reign, and the glory of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea.

But in the meantime, heaven and hell are present realities held in tension. At times, God’s will is accomplished. At times, God’s will is rejected. At times, it is almost as if we are experiencing heaven on earth. At times, it is almost as if we are in the middle of a living hell.

7. The Human Soul is Eternal. So the bigger question is – are we becoming heavenly creatures (people who are living in God’s will), or hellish creatures (people who are rejecting God’s will)???

Both now, and forever, are we going to be people who live in harmony with the will of God? Or are we going to be people who reject the will of God (in favor of our own will)?

C.S. Lewis says, “Hell is when God finally says, ‘Your will be done.’

Which makes heaven, I guess, when we say with Jesus, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

This would be a good opportunity to re –read *Revelation 20: 11 – 22:21* with fresh eyes. Pay special attention to:
o Revelation 20:12 -15
o Revelation 21: 1 -8, 22 -27
o Revelation 22: 14 -15

Thoughts/insights?

Resurrection

Resurrection

I’m tired, Lord, and have grown weak.
I serve, and give, and die, and leak.
Crucifixion has been my life’s selection
But now I’m praying for resurrection.

I’ve died a thousand deaths to obey your call;
Lost my life, lost it all.
Like a seed – dead and buried in the ground
Hoping this is where resurrection’s found.

I cannot give what I do not own.
But I have not reaped, only sown.
But the seeds are there, deep in your earth.
Longing for resurrection’s birth.

Suffering and Spiritual Growth

I once was part of a survey on spiritual formation. Thousands of people were asked when they grew most spiritually, and what contributed to their growth. The number one contributor to spiritual growth was not transformational teaching. It was not being in a small group. It was not reading deep books. It was not energetic worship experiences. It was not finding meaningful ways to serve. It was suffering. People said they grew more during seasons of loss, pain, and crisis than they did at any other time. – John Ortberg

Welcome to the World

Welcome to the world, Chara and dear Grace
Welcome to this magical, God-soaked place

I have many things to tell you and many things to show
Many wonders await you and many truths to know

But for now dear daughters graced from above
Just rest in my arms and abide in my love

Lashed to the Mast Amidst Siren Voices

Eugene Peterson would be on my top 3 people I would like to spend a day with.

“This isn’t the only task in the life of faith, but it is your task.  We will find someone else to do the other important and essential tasks.  This is yours: Word and Sacrament.

“One more thing: We are going to ordain you to this ministry, and we want your vow that you will stick to it.  This is not a temporary job assignment but a way of life that we need lived out in our community.  We know you are launched on the same difficult belief venture in the same dangerous world as we are.  We know your emotions are as fickle as ours, and your mind is as tricky as ours.  That is why we are going to ordain you and why we are going to exact a vow from you.  We know there sill be days and months and maybe even years, when we won’t feel like believing anything and won’t want to hear it from you.  And we know there will be days and weeks and maybe even years when you won’t feel like saying it.  It doesn’t matter.  Do it.  You are ordained to this ministry, vowed to it.

“There may be times when we come to you as a committee or delegation and demand that you tell us something else than what we are telling you now.  Promise right now that you won’t give in to what we demand of you.  You are not the minister of our changing desires, or our time –conditioned understanding of our needs, or our secularized hopes for something better.  With these vows of ordination we are lashing you fast to the mast of Word and sacrament so you will be unable to respond to the siren voices.

“There are many other things to be done in this wrecked world, and we are going to be doing at least some of them, but if we don’t know the foundational realities with which we are dealing – God, kingdom, gospel – we are going to end up living futile, fantasy lives.  Your task is to keep telling the basic story, representing the presence of the Spirit, insisting on the priority of God, speaking the biblical words of command and promise and invitation…”

– Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor

Incarnation

Incarnation is a theological world.  Though fancy, its meaning is simple.  Simple, but deep.  It is the combination of two words “in” and “flesh”.

Incarnation means that before we attempt to fumble our way towards God, God has already moved intentionally towards us.  The God of heaven, the God that often feels far away, the God who reigns in heaven, the God who created all things at the beginning of time, the mysterious God who we cannot see or comprehend… has come “in the flesh”.

Incarnation means that God is know –able.

Most religion is the movement of people towards God.  Incarnation is the movement of God towards us.

Most religion is humans moving away from earth towards the heavens.  Incarnation is heaven moving towards earth.

Most religion is learning how to love God.  Incarnation is realizing that God loves us.

Most religion is our struggle to find God.  Incarnation is God’s struggle to find us.

Most religion is trying to get closer to God.  Incarnation is the truth that God is closer that we realize.  Much closer.

Most religion is our pursuit of God.  Incarnation is God’s pursuit of us.