Reasoning the Gospel

Acts 24 picks up the story with Paul being brought before Marcus Antonius Felix, a Roman governor (52-58). The Jewish religious leaders concurred that Paul was a troublemaker and a “plague” who caused trouble “all around the world” stirring up riots. Paul offers his reasoned defense so that Felix, knowing about “The Way,” put off the religious leaders, waiting until Lysius, the Tribune arrived.

It’s impossible to pinpoint exactly what was said, but Paul reasoned out his faith with Felix. The word, “reasoned” means that Paul had a well-thought through discourse with him. He didn’t preach at him. He had a thoughtful discussion with him! Paul focused on three things – righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment. The space is too short to cover all three but it dawned on me that Paul speaks to at least three questions that all people seem to have:

1. If righteousness is a relational “right standing” with another (and everyone wants this in one way or another!), how does one receive a right standing with God?

2. Why is it that I can’t seem to consistently do what it right? Why is it that I know so much and yet my will seems “bent” toward the opposite of what I know to be good? What principle is working in me that seems to oppose my desire for self-control? And if I fail in self-control what does that do relationally to my sense of right standing with another? With God?

3. Why do I judge? What does it tell me if I realize I am incapable of not judging? What am I appealing to when I judge? If I judge am I not admitting that there will be an outside judgment by which everyone’s actions will be judged? And if I’m not appealing to a universal truth, what I am then appealing to?

What would it look like if our evangelism was Holy Spirit aided and empowered discussions that were thoughtful yet leaving evangelistic “time bombs” in people’s laps that nagged at the deep existential crisis people sense?

Acts 5 -The Real Hero

Acts 5 is significant in Luke’s narrative because it marks the first time the early Church faced persecution. This would be the case, off and on, until Constantine legalized Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire.

As I read this earlier, I think what my eyes drifted toward immediately were the clear marching orders in the face of persecution… go, stand up, speak, teach, preach. But one thing stood out to me in my reading today. It was the word “leader” in v.31. The word archegos is translated here as “leader” or “prince”. In other places it’s translated as “pioneer” or “initiator”, “captain“, and “author”. It’s not an easy word to translate from the Greek because the meaning is so broad. What I discovered is that the word is used quite a bit in Greek mythology to describe a hero or champion (it’s mostly used to describe Hercules).

This shocked me a bit. I think when I read Acts 5 my initial temptation is to go to the commands quickly and insert myself in the Acts narrative; I’m the hero of the story! I’m the one who is going to boldly speak about Jesus. Yet, what sunk into my head (and needs to sink in over and over again) is that Jesus is the hero of the story. In what way? He is the one who led the way for us by suffering as the way to receive glory. He is the one who conquered death and initiated new life and credited us with all the benefits. He is the pioneer of the new covenant. He is the author of Life.

He’s the hero of God’s story! But he’s not like the heroes of Greek mythology. They are one-dimensional and while they at times characterize virtue, no one really says, “I want to be just like Zeus when I grow up.” Jesus is the hero of the story, not because he patterns for us how to be moral. As the ultimate hero, he has come to rescue people from their dire and broken situation. We draw near to the one who rescued us as leader and Savior (v.31). As I sit here reflecting, that’s a story to tell not only others, but myself day after day…

True Grit thoughts

I promised earlier that I would pen my thoughts about the movie True Grit (which I enjoyed). I have seen both the old version and the new. Both have their merit but what makes the new different is that it breaks out of the typical western genre. Here the modern version, while a period piece, uses the western as a modern exploration of virtue and morality in a seemingly cruel and unforgiving universe.

My suspicion is that the Coen's are relying on their Jewish upbringing to use their craft as a dialogue about the nature of life. The movie, rather than feeling overtly nihilistic (as some charged that No Country For Old Men was), actually is getting us to explore morality. Hence, you have Mattie who has religious leanings and a deep sense of conviction about justice (and Matt Damon's character as a noble Texas Ranger) juxtaposed against the morally ambiguous Rooster Cogburn. He's neither completely virtuous nor completely vicious. This is the stage that the Coen's use to explore virtue in this life much like a young man would ask a Rabbi about the moral nature of the universe. While it might be unsettling because it's not black and white (like the old westerns), it leaves us with great questions to explore.
What makes up a person who is truly heroic?
Is God's grace really free? It seems like everything else in life is "deserved".
is revenge ever justified? Under what circumstances?
When it's all said and done, what role does religion have in our lives? In particular, what is the point of the old hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" at the end?

I'm keeping it short here because a friend of mine posted this article from the NY Times written by Stanley Fish. I thought I should share it with you because it contains some wonderful thoughts. If you have the time take a read!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/narrative-and-the-grace-of-god-the-new-true-grit/

Missions and Haiti

I am convinced that missions trip based on both compassion and evangelism are critical to college ministry. If missions are not grounded in the gospel then they can easily become disconnected with God's redemptive work. I sense that as evangelicalism seeks to regain credibility that it's lost over the years, it's easy to swing the other way entirely and travel to other countries just to do good works with no thought looking for opportunities to communicate the radical life-giving message of the gospel.

College students eagerly desire to take part in missions. In fact, if a college ministry is not actively involved with partnering in mission around the world where the needs are great then I don't think it's too strong to say that is a college ministry that will become so internally focused that it dies. Missions is God's heartbeat not only around the world but here in our own communities. We don't necessarily need to travel around the world to be involved missionally. However, that being said, I do not think it's entirely just to conclude, "We don't need to go anywhere in the world when there are people here." In my thinking, there is room for both. We ought to be mingling with the marginalized here as well as around the world. We ought to be living out the gospel and speaking the gospel to those here as well as going to places around the world where some (if not most) have never heard.

So when the opportunity came up to travel to Haiti this January, I was thrilled! A team of twelve of us were handpicked by God ready to head out to offer both relief work and words of relief - that God has broken into this world and offers new life and the resources to be able to experience this in a way that, as some would say, causes us to flourish. We were ready not only to give our all to help an orphanage in Leogane with new building projects but also to give our all in living the gospel and sharing it with kids.

That said, I'm sad that our trip has been postponed because of political unrest in the country. I was preparing my heart with God to be with the kids for a week helping them see and experience the deep love that Christ has for them. I was assured that the project will be there when we try it again sometime hopefully this spring. While I am disappointed, all I can conclude is that God certainly is guiding this process and He's not caught off guard. It's part of what happens when you send teams to really hard places. Now this is a time for me to continue to process the importance of missions in the lives of college students, helping them connect their hearts to God's heart. And when disappointments happen, together we trust that God is still at work in the lives of people as we rally to pray for Haiti and other hard parts of the world that God sends us.

Busyness of Life and the Sabbath

Yes, even pastors are not exempt from staying busy. But what makes it even harder to bear is my automatic bodily responses. Let me give you an example. I was having my time with God this morning - to let His Word speak into my life and to share with Him the heavy concerns that were on my heart. There is something about sharing these with God that takes the heaviness and puts the weight on Him. It is the abiding life where, in yoking myself to Him, He bears the majority of the weight. The one who upholds the universe by the word of His power can surely uphold my life with His Word.

As I was getting really comfortable just being with Him, my phone started buzzing uncontrollably (the ringer was off). Why it was on I have no idea but it was my bodily reaction that threw me off. I found myself drifting away from God and wondering who was emailing or texting me! I couldn't just sit with God in silence. I had to find out who needed me or wanted to contact me! It was simply a Pavlovian response where the buzzer went off and my automatic response was to reach for the phone to see who it was.

This is a powerful reminder that it’s hard to turn off life. How do I get far enough away from the distractions of life to pay attention to God? How do I get to the place where the urgent things of life can simply wait? We are so conditioned to “take care of stuff” and as a result my soul has no chance to rest, to catch a breath. My soul needs space to rest in God. While it’s something natural, the pace of life, the demands of life seem to take priority. They are habituated bodily responses created by a need to be wanted, to be important.

So here we go with a Sabbath Experiment. Read Psalm 46:10. Instead we are to rest, to cease from striving and know that He is God. The created order in Genesis is finished and we are not essential to it running. God has it all under control. And in following Sabbath, we redeem time by making it holy.

Sabbath is not intended for us to do what we want. Sabbath is not about going to church and checking it off. The break that Sabbath provides is intended for us to pause, reflect, and enjoy God. It can include other people. It can be done alone. However, the end result is that God is the focus of it. It’s providing an intentional break for us to remind us that our sense of trying to get ahead reflects how deeply insecure we are and how little self-control we have. We are related to Him and that is enough.

Let’s risk something together. For a 24-hour period cease striving and know that He is God. You might take the day to go to the mountains or the beach. You might spend it alone or spend it with friends. You might go hiking, you might sit and watch the waves, or you might have friends over for a meal. You might read a book about God. But the intended break is not primarily about your refreshment and restoration. It might have that as a side effect but the focus of Sabbath is on God.

Try this. Go to church on Sunday and ask this as you are sitting there: “God, how have I made this into something that it’s not? Would you speak to me during this time? Cause my soul to rest in the accomplished work of Christ on the Cross.” Then whatever you decide to do for the rest of the day, make it a prayer time where you purposefully invite God right into what you are doing. Speak to Him as you are hiking or driving or reading. It might include taking a nap but even then do something crazy like dedicate the nap to the Lord thanking Him for this great gift. Whatever, you do, avoid activities that either catch you up with something or get you ahead.

Cease from activities like video games, computers, cell phones, and ipods especially if they are providing noise or there is an incredible dependence upon them. I would also encourage you not to shop no matter how much you like shopping. Avoiding consumeristic tendencies is a great way to reject the need to find your identity in what you have or wear. And be honest about your lack of self-control. And please, the twelve-hour period is not meant to be done at night when you normally sleep.

For those of you that come to Paradigm Shift, let's gather at 7 pm and we’ll share with one another how the experience was. By faith, let's try this together.

Inception and the Gospel

This will be a different sort of blog... Have you noticed how many people are watching the movie "Inception"? By the way, if you haven't seen it, you should probably be warned not to read on so the plot is not ruined. The buzz has been big with college students. Why? For one, it's not a movie filled with gratuitous special effects and an inane plot.

For those who have seen the movie the ending has sparked all sorts of discussions as to the nature of reality and non-reality. Was it a dream or reality? Great discussions! Here are my thoughts... the movie addresses the two core issues that everyone struggles with. There are two "issues" that become apparent in the movie as the plot progresses toward inception (planting a thought in someone's mind). Cobb's primary issue (DiCaprio's character) was the guilt that he carried with him regarding a previous thought he planted in his wife's mind. He had been carrying this with him and it comes to light as he progresses deeper and deeper into the subconscious. Fischer (the young businessman set to inherit his father's empire) is struggling with something just as profound... shame. It's apparent that what haunts this young man is the broken nature of his relationship with his father and the need for approval and love driven by this sense that he could never meet his father's expectations. Isn't that what shame is? If guilt is "I've done bad", shame is "I am bad."

If good psychology is simply theology as applied to the deep core of a person, the movie asserts that there are two fundamental psychological drives in human life - guilt and shame. Both produce great anxiety in a person leading them to hide and cover and blame others in order to protect the self. What does this sound like?

The first two people in the Garden! Adam and Eve experienced unbroken friendship with God. They sensed God present around them and in them, filling the deepest eternal part inside of them. Pascal was correct although he didn't say it like he's quoted today. There is something like a God-shaped vacuum in each of us that cannot be filled with anything temporal. It is an eternal hole that can only be filled with an eternal person. When Adam and Eve asserted their independence and opted for self-righteousness they experienced something so deep that it's hard for us to get the full import. To know God intimately and then to feel empty was psychologically dizzying! In their now broken state they reached for anything to grapple with this new sense of emptiness where God had been. Their response? Covering, hiding, and blaming. Their profound sense of guilt and shame led them to do anything they could to deal with the accompanying sense that they had violated God's one law and that they were now unlovable. Think about the normal neurotic ways that we deal with guilt and shame!

But what does the Gospel say? As it relates to guilt, Christ has taken upon Himself the penalty that was due you. Your guilt was placed upon Christ when He went to the cross. Most Christian college students understand this. But what about shame? The additional action was that Christ's righteousness was given to the believer. In other words, God now sees the believer as having lived the life that Christ lived. This is remarkable and it's what theologians call, "Double Imputation" (2 Cor 5:21). Your sins and guilt are placed on Christ - He is treated like you should have been treated. And His righteousness (right standing with God) is given to you - you are treated as Christ is treated. In love, God says to the believer, "Why then are you saddled with shame? If I have done this for you, then you can now be honest with me. Take off the masks and learn to be honest with Me, yourself, and others. No more hiding and covering because you think you're a bad person."

What's amazing about the movie is the director, someone who apparently is not religious, gets religion at the core of what it should be. Every religion should have to deal with this incredible, deep sense of the guilt and shame that plagues everyone. I would go as far to say that this is a wonderful form or art. If art's function is to lead us to the Beauty of God, even a movie like Inception can have a profound effect on us by moving us toward the Beauty of God as demonstrated in the Gospel. And it provides a great opportunity to bring up the subject with those who don't know Christ (what do you do with guilt and shame?).

High School seniors pt. 3

How do you communicate who your group in a very informal setting? One of the biggest challenges is helping high school students transition to college is helping them identify with a new group of people. This is incredibly difficult because frankly, it's intimidating. Not many people, unless they are very outgoing, like being in a brand new group where they don't know anyone or know anything about the values of the group. Often we make the mistake of thinking that people are looking for good teaching, worship, etc. While these are important, what new people are looking for the most are relationships. Are these the kinds of people that I want to be around? Does your group value relationships? Does your group allow new people to move from the perimeter to being a part of the circle? What hoops do people need to jump through in order to be accepted?

Our use of the word "community" often betrays us. We like the word and the concept and use it as a buzzword to let people know it's important. However, if it's not demonstrated before people with no words then I would say that it's not a value. It drives me crazy to no end when young pastors use the word. But unless there is something in place to relationally invite people into the group (assuming that people acknowledge their need for it), then it's an empty word. I would say, don't use the word unless you know what it means and care enough to see community instantiated.

All that to say last night we tried something that hopefully demonstrated our commitment to community. There was nothing preachy about it. I said nothing to people about it. Last night, we "kidnapped" the high school seniors and took them to Chuck E. Cheese where they met about fifteen of our college students. The college students split themselves up and sat in different groups to get to know these new students. Then they took their tokens and went and played games with them for about two hours. The comment I received from many students is, "I have not been here in years!" They had a blast...

My prayer was simply this. That they would experience the beginnings of community with us. We want our students to go deep with each other. We want to learn together and have each other's back in ministry. But just as important, we want to have fun together. There was nothing like yelling together with a bunch of them as we played a group video game of "Deal or No Deal". I hope that it put to rest any thoughts that the college group is not welcoming or stuffy. All this to say, when it comes to fostering community in your group and attracting new people, don't think that it has to start with something really serious or deeply spiritual. What appears to be spontaneous as well as fun (yes, we can use that word) can be the entry point to people sharing their lives together. There's nothing like yelling and laughing together that begins the process of bonding people together.