Saturday, February 18, 2006
Tomorrow
I just finished preparing the message for tomorrow. Seriously. I don't think I've ever spent so many hours on one message and felt like I had so little to say. I'll continue to pray, but after being up til 3 last night on it, I don't think I can make more changes. Father, use that platform tomorrow as you wish. Let your Word speak through me and let us see the future of Bent Tree as you would direct.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Fog
Woohoo! My head is slowly rising from the fog. I just finished a rather consuming exam and now only see sermon prep, missions meeting prep and being "on-call" before me for the week. Right now, I'm between class and my mandatory spiritual formation group and stopped by the library. Tonight, I actually get to run home and just play with my kids and maybe even watch a movie with my college sweetheart! APPENDED: that's after I go register the Gorillas--our soccer team!
I know that's cryptic, but this has been a rather heavy week and I'm finally past one of the big hurdles (fellow Greek students, notice that I said "past" it, not that I "passed" it).
I am excited about pulling together the sermon for Sunday. It's a topic I love and a group of people I love and a method I love (yes I still have to write it, but much has been gathered). I won't be walking straight through a text, but I will be helping our body understand the shift in worldviews that is upon us and how to be Christian in the midst of it. I don't have all the answers, but I'm excited about what I think I know and I can't wait to help us enter this conversation.
Here's my 2 Things Tuesday 2 Days Late:
1-Dad had to get a wheelchair last week due to a back injury. Please pray that it doesn't become permanent.
2-I got Robbie's poem published, kindof. DTS has an arts community site and I submitted it last month. You can see it here. Yes, I'm shamelessly seeking affirmation or for someone to tell me to stop writing poetry ;-)
I know that's cryptic, but this has been a rather heavy week and I'm finally past one of the big hurdles (fellow Greek students, notice that I said "past" it, not that I "passed" it).
I am excited about pulling together the sermon for Sunday. It's a topic I love and a group of people I love and a method I love (yes I still have to write it, but much has been gathered). I won't be walking straight through a text, but I will be helping our body understand the shift in worldviews that is upon us and how to be Christian in the midst of it. I don't have all the answers, but I'm excited about what I think I know and I can't wait to help us enter this conversation.
Here's my 2 Things Tuesday 2 Days Late:
1-Dad had to get a wheelchair last week due to a back injury. Please pray that it doesn't become permanent.
2-I got Robbie's poem published, kindof. DTS has an arts community site and I submitted it last month. You can see it here. Yes, I'm shamelessly seeking affirmation or for someone to tell me to stop writing poetry ;-)
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Tuesday times 1.5
1-My uncle died yesterday. He was 92. He died from pneumonia. I know it's morbid, but I think that's a good thing--to be 92 and to not die from cancer.... He's the one in the middle, about 40 years ago. My favorite memory with him was going to see his sawmill. And, he had a very cool basement. The pretty lady is Mom's big sister.
2-Someone from our church called me today (Whitney). She's writing a drama to support the sermon I'm giving on Feb. 19. I think that is amazing. At the end of the day, my passion is communication. It's the same for the creative team. How do we best communicate what we believe God wants us to say? Kewl.
3-We started reading missions applications today. 7th graders are so easy to love. We asked, "How would you lead someone to Christ?" One said, "I might do it on the bus or at lunch. I might use the bridge trick with two Coke cans and some foil." We'll probably re-write that question for next year!
2-Someone from our church called me today (Whitney). She's writing a drama to support the sermon I'm giving on Feb. 19. I think that is amazing. At the end of the day, my passion is communication. It's the same for the creative team. How do we best communicate what we believe God wants us to say? Kewl.3-We started reading missions applications today. 7th graders are so easy to love. We asked, "How would you lead someone to Christ?" One said, "I might do it on the bus or at lunch. I might use the bridge trick with two Coke cans and some foil." We'll probably re-write that question for next year!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Tuesday Two
1-Churchmarketingsucks.com just ran an article on an experiment from the UK where secular marketers were challenged to promote church attendance. While some things were predictable, there is a wealth of insight in their findings and observations. My favorite is this gem:
2-I started reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell this weekend (in my spare time, right after that last post ;-)). In the first chapter he uses two analogies to enter a discussion about modernism (bricks) and postmodernism (springs). He does it so gently that defenses don't go up and he never uses the words modern or postmodern. Although the core tenets of postmodernism are antithetical to Christianity, so were many of the beliefs of modernism that we swallowed. Regardless of whether or not we buy into it, our culture has changed. There are good articles on postmodernism here. Notice this summation by Stanley Hauerwas, a prominent Christian ethicist:
If a church can get in touch with Jesus' teachings rather than just ritual, so people actually live it out-that would appeal to me. I think people are also looking for a clear message that they could apply to their daily lives," says Wilcock.To paraphrase, "If a church could act like Jesus, we could sell that."
2-I started reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell this weekend (in my spare time, right after that last post ;-)). In the first chapter he uses two analogies to enter a discussion about modernism (bricks) and postmodernism (springs). He does it so gently that defenses don't go up and he never uses the words modern or postmodern. Although the core tenets of postmodernism are antithetical to Christianity, so were many of the beliefs of modernism that we swallowed. Regardless of whether or not we buy into it, our culture has changed. There are good articles on postmodernism here. Notice this summation by Stanley Hauerwas, a prominent Christian ethicist:
I confess I take perverse delight as a theologian in the controversies surrounding postmodernism. Modernity sought to secure knowledge in the structure of human rationality, and relegated God to the "gaps" or denied Him all together. Modernity said that God is a projection of the ideals and wants of what it means to be human so let us serve and worship the only God that matters-that is, the human. Postmodernists, in the quest to be thorough in their atheism, now deny that the human exists. Postmodernists are thus the atheists that only modernity could produce.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Elements
It's on the new David Crowder CD. Listen for it. He says, "the elements of worship are inadequate." It's quite a thought--he compares worship to our drawings of the atom. They are inadequate, but they are the best we can do. We simply cannot draw something that we barely even understand, so we draw what we understand: two dimensions and nice circles.
In 3 weeks, I get to speak to Bent Tree about our values and their relationship to a new, postmodern culture and generation. My efforts will be inadequate. I'm well into the plan and the scripture, but I have no answers for what must happen in the church for it to truly speak to my generation and those that follow. As a friend said last week, "I know what we are doing isn't the answer." And yet, we don't yet know the answer.
Our generation grew up in divorced homes; now we demand time off for family. Our generation grew up without the internet; now we direct it internationally. But we aged too quickly, and those below us have moved in. We look much like them, but something happened. Somewhere during our birth, the world began to shift. Modernism began to lose its grip. Postmodernism reared its head. Between us and the next generation, it took over. We are a legacy generation. We bridged the gap. We look postmodern and yet we are not fully so--the ideas were still forming as we grew.
And the church didn't notice. As postmodernism raised its voice, the church shouted. And as it shouted, it was ignored. Many among us still don't notice. They see the changes in culture and hold onto a belief that America will return to her roots. America will not return. The philosophical underpinnings of the age of reason that birthed her have died. The worldview that once provided a basis for the logic that governed our legal system, our ethical system and our moral base has passed. Authority is no longer assumed. And neither is religion. Where once we could not fathom a sincere ethical basis without a divine foundation, we now listen closely to men like Peter Singer and his atheistic pragmatism. Where life was once sacred, it is now merely life. Mere commodity.
In that culture, which many have failed to even recognize, the church must once again learn to speak. It has to move past the assumptions that have fallen. It must find itself again--not in the liberality of emotion and mysticism, but in the bedrock faith in a risen savior, eternal son of the triune God. We must find our footing in that which does not move. Something truly ancient.
In 3 weeks I get to explain to our church that the church will have trouble with us and even more trouble with those who follow. We love the church and yet we don't understand it. It is inadequate and we know it, but we're not very forgiving. I think James understood this. I think he had lived through a worldview that collapsed and then used his ministry to redefine the church--to release it to the gentiles. You'll have to listen to see why I believe that, but in the end, it's not an answer. It's inadequate. But maybe it's all we have. Maybe that 's the point.
In 3 weeks, I get to speak to Bent Tree about our values and their relationship to a new, postmodern culture and generation. My efforts will be inadequate. I'm well into the plan and the scripture, but I have no answers for what must happen in the church for it to truly speak to my generation and those that follow. As a friend said last week, "I know what we are doing isn't the answer." And yet, we don't yet know the answer.
Our generation grew up in divorced homes; now we demand time off for family. Our generation grew up without the internet; now we direct it internationally. But we aged too quickly, and those below us have moved in. We look much like them, but something happened. Somewhere during our birth, the world began to shift. Modernism began to lose its grip. Postmodernism reared its head. Between us and the next generation, it took over. We are a legacy generation. We bridged the gap. We look postmodern and yet we are not fully so--the ideas were still forming as we grew.
And the church didn't notice. As postmodernism raised its voice, the church shouted. And as it shouted, it was ignored. Many among us still don't notice. They see the changes in culture and hold onto a belief that America will return to her roots. America will not return. The philosophical underpinnings of the age of reason that birthed her have died. The worldview that once provided a basis for the logic that governed our legal system, our ethical system and our moral base has passed. Authority is no longer assumed. And neither is religion. Where once we could not fathom a sincere ethical basis without a divine foundation, we now listen closely to men like Peter Singer and his atheistic pragmatism. Where life was once sacred, it is now merely life. Mere commodity.
In that culture, which many have failed to even recognize, the church must once again learn to speak. It has to move past the assumptions that have fallen. It must find itself again--not in the liberality of emotion and mysticism, but in the bedrock faith in a risen savior, eternal son of the triune God. We must find our footing in that which does not move. Something truly ancient.
In 3 weeks I get to explain to our church that the church will have trouble with us and even more trouble with those who follow. We love the church and yet we don't understand it. It is inadequate and we know it, but we're not very forgiving. I think James understood this. I think he had lived through a worldview that collapsed and then used his ministry to redefine the church--to release it to the gentiles. You'll have to listen to see why I believe that, but in the end, it's not an answer. It's inadequate. But maybe it's all we have. Maybe that 's the point.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Fire and Brimstone
I reckon that very few ever truly come to love God as he is. Maybe I'm wrong. Jonathan Edwards was big on this. He made sure to occasionally address the reality of hell and he did so graphically. He liked to posit the image of God from Isaiah 63.3-4:
It struck me today at lunch with Paul--all those images from the Tsunami last year and the harbors full of bodies... What did it look like outside the ark? I imagine that the population was smaller, but I'm sure that the currents sometimes concentrated the flotsam. Perhaps, God held them in the boat for a year in order for the disease to subside. It was unspeakable carnage, and yet it was God himself writing the story.
As the church, we must tell the story as it is. God has no need for our embarrassment. Only when we see him as He is do we ever really see Him. The love stands side by side with his wrath. He's much more like Aslan than George Burns or Morgan Freeman.
For Tomorrow:
1-Here are pictures and video of all the animals on Earth.
2-Here's how to be funny. It works...
2.5-Others have greatly influenced my thinking above, including Glenn Kreider and Jeff Bingham.
"I have trodden the winepress alone;It's not the language we like to hear, and yet it is God himself speaking to us. Because we ignore it, we have allowed the skeptics and atheists to own these passages and now even find them embarrassing (example).
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and the year of my redemption has come
It struck me today at lunch with Paul--all those images from the Tsunami last year and the harbors full of bodies... What did it look like outside the ark? I imagine that the population was smaller, but I'm sure that the currents sometimes concentrated the flotsam. Perhaps, God held them in the boat for a year in order for the disease to subside. It was unspeakable carnage, and yet it was God himself writing the story.
As the church, we must tell the story as it is. God has no need for our embarrassment. Only when we see him as He is do we ever really see Him. The love stands side by side with his wrath. He's much more like Aslan than George Burns or Morgan Freeman.
For Tomorrow:
1-Here are pictures and video of all the animals on Earth.
2-Here's how to be funny. It works...
2.5-Others have greatly influenced my thinking above, including Glenn Kreider and Jeff Bingham.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Deep Magic
Tennessee is always difficult. We have so many wonderful stories and memories--it is so much a part of us. When we're in Texas, we forget exactly what we left behind, but going back brings it all to bear all over again and then we depart, with a renewed sense of loss and a new round of goodbyes. It was hardest for me when I drove away from Mom and Dad's--not really sure when I'll get to see them again. But I know the vivid memory will fade and I will yearn a little less in the coming weeks. And I look forward to going back to work--finding my place again, remembering that we are Texans now.
We saw Narnia last week. I needed something to vividly remind me of what I sometimes leave behind--something to rekindle my hope in the kingdom that is coming. I think we all treat it like Tennessee--we forget and memory fades the longer we're away. Now and then we have a moment that brings it all back into focus and we begin to yearn all over again. Paul called it groaning. We know that this is all temporary, but sometimes it feels so final and so permanent.
There are days when I think I'm ready to cash in my birthright and chase the wind--to seek a fortune and coast. Sometimes He sends a reminder like Narnia to bring back perspective. Other times He lets me simmer awhile until I remember that I simply have no other option. As Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." If I could learn to appreciate that like I do those mountains when I see them....
We saw Narnia last week. I needed something to vividly remind me of what I sometimes leave behind--something to rekindle my hope in the kingdom that is coming. I think we all treat it like Tennessee--we forget and memory fades the longer we're away. Now and then we have a moment that brings it all back into focus and we begin to yearn all over again. Paul called it groaning. We know that this is all temporary, but sometimes it feels so final and so permanent.
There are days when I think I'm ready to cash in my birthright and chase the wind--to seek a fortune and coast. Sometimes He sends a reminder like Narnia to bring back perspective. Other times He lets me simmer awhile until I remember that I simply have no other option. As Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." If I could learn to appreciate that like I do those mountains when I see them....
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
O' Charleys
We haven't been out to eat in awhile. Maddie said, "Oh my word" on finding 2 forks in her napkin. Kenzie said, "Why is it a blanket?" about the cloth napkins.
Nashville
On the way home. Lunch in Bellevue. Strange to say, but the overpasses in Nashville are beautiful--carved out of hills with exposed rock faces.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Full Circle
Today was one of those wonderfully blurry days that will be best understood when the photos come back. Ginger bread houses, motorcycles with old friends and a late evening at Starbucks. There were many exceptional moments and many notable thoughts. One observation in particular came in an overdue chat with Neil while drinking an unnamed fru-fru drink made from something that isn't coffee.
The Romans of the first century A.D. considered the Christians to be atheists, because of their refusal to adopt the pantheon of gods that everyone else embraced. This label led to much misunderstanding and even persecution. We noted how similar postmodern American culture is to that of the early church, at least to those in Corinth. And then the observation came--we are like atheists again. We stand out because of our refusal to accept the many views of truth. In a sense, we are the anti-culture. We have been labeled the intolerant.
What a relief. The Gospel absolutely exploded in a culture like that. Now we just have to relearn what exactly the Gospel is and stop doing church.
The Romans of the first century A.D. considered the Christians to be atheists, because of their refusal to adopt the pantheon of gods that everyone else embraced. This label led to much misunderstanding and even persecution. We noted how similar postmodern American culture is to that of the early church, at least to those in Corinth. And then the observation came--we are like atheists again. We stand out because of our refusal to accept the many views of truth. In a sense, we are the anti-culture. We have been labeled the intolerant.
What a relief. The Gospel absolutely exploded in a culture like that. Now we just have to relearn what exactly the Gospel is and stop doing church.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Road Trip Compilation
Sorry to all you Feedblitz folks, but that was fun. I'm compiling the whole trip and comments under one post, so it doesn't take up so much room! I think I'm a fan of mobile blogging, even if it is text-messaging instead of emailing in (I'm too broke to pay for email on my phone). I don't know how to make it take headings--it normally reads the subject line, but my phone doesn't send a subject line.
And hey, it was in Mckenzie, TN. That's the funny part.
Monday, December 19, 2005
We head for TN in the morn. I'm going to try to update the blog from text messaging. More l8r! -steve
posted by Steve at 7:24 PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Headed Out! It's 6:52 and we're on the road. Not too bad, and not too full. The cargo box is for the trip home only. -steve
posted by Steve at 6:51 AM
Texarkana. 9:10. -steve
posted by Steve at 9:09 AM
Little Rock at 11:15 (I think--I forgot to enter it). -steve
posted by Steve at 11:38 AM
Lunch in Forest City, AK at 12:30. We had to go for McDonalds--haven't seen a Cracker Barrel in over 100 miles. -steve
posted by Steve at 12:42 PM
1:10. Leaving Forest City full of gas (not from McDonalds). About 50 miles from Memphis. Oh, AK is Alaska. I meant AR. -steve
posted by Steve at 1:09 PM
Memphis. 1:55. -steve
posted by Steve at 1:55 PM
2:09 first vomit, east Memphis. Damage minimal. -steve
posted by Steve at 2:16 PM
Jackson, TN at 3:10 central time. -steve
posted by Steve at 3:08 PM
Mackenzie making #2 in McKenzie, TN. 3:25 central. -steve
posted by Steve at 3:23 PM
Nashville @ 5:05. Rush hour... -steve
posted by Steve at 5:06 PM
Cracker Barrel at exit 219 (Lebanon?) east of Nashville at 5:35 central. -steve
posted by Steve at 5:33 PM
7:00 central. Finally leaving Cracker Barrel. -steve
posted by Steve at 7:00 PM
knoxville at nine fifteen central. [editor's note--easier to spell than shift for numbers while driving] -steve
posted by Steve at 9:14 PM
Done. 11:00 central. 950 miles or so. 16 hours. -steve
posted by Steve at 11:15 PM, December 20, 2005
And hey, it was in Mckenzie, TN. That's the funny part.
Monday, December 19, 2005
posted by Steve at 7:24 PM
Tonya said...
I read another blog this morning with the same title, but when i went back to comment, it was gone.
It still shows up on my bloglines that you recommended-i wonder why that is.
I hope you guys have a safe drive and that your 'vacation' is restful- when i visit family, there is usually more running around than actual time spent with friends and family, so it is anything but relaxing. blessings to you, and have a great christmas! Sorry we will miss you guys :(
Tonya
7:36 PM, December 19, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Tonya said...
ok, i actaully laughed out loud at this one :) ahhh texarkana...memories of the pruitts flying by on the interstate while we waved out the hotel window. can you take a picture of our house that they bulldozed when you pass through memphis?
9:33 AM, December 20, 2005
sekondstory said...
ok, now I know why you are using text mess., I thought why not use a computer?.... I get it.
It's 11:35, where are you?
12:34 PM, December 20, 2005
sekondstory said...
never mind I thought I was commenting on the 9am post :)
4:12 PM, December 20, 2005
Mary Ann said...
technology is amazing.
finished that book.
still didn't bite me.
was really good.
am going to read it again.
hopefully over christmas.
"fear and rebellion" It's still there...and I still don't know what I'm afraid of or what I'm rebelling against. I didn't give you grief with those two did I? Or at least too much grief...?
2:02 PM, December 20, 2005
Mary Ann said...
oh! are you going to be at Grace anytime? And I know you'll be incredibly busy, I'm sure, with everyone to see, but would you come to a cigar meeting with the society?
and are you going to be going to Grace?
2:04 PM, December 20, 2005
Christopher said...
This is great... its like we're in the car with you! Oops, maybe that is not so great on this one... :)
2:35 PM, December 20, 2005
f1rststorysaid...
heh
2:58 PM, December 20, 2005
sekondstory said...
Gross! too much information.
4:15 PM, December 20, 2005
Tonya said...
TMI, Steve!!!
4:16 PM, December 20, 2005
Tonya said...
I have my own blog now
5:16 PM, December 20, 2005
sekondstory said...
Almost in our time zone..yeah!!!
5:44 PM, December 20, 2005
f1rststory said...
hmmmm....at this time you're in knoxvegas I bet...cool. I'll go get some more gas & oil for my bike tomorrow if I get a chance. ;)
9:03 PM, December 20, 2005
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Grace
On Sunday nights, I come home from the church at about 7:00. Typically, traffic is low and I veer from the main route and take a series of semi-rural roads just to see fields and trees and horses and to pretend that I'm not surrounded by a couple million people.
This Sunday, it was about 65 degrees, the wind was light and there was no one in front of me once I broke from traffic. I got a little carried away and it took me back. I cranked down the window, turned up the heater and cut off the radio. You quickly remember that you have more ambition than actual courage on roads you can't see, but it was a real pleasure. One I miss.
I shot from the illussion of a country road back to the multi-lane reality that mocks the yet undeveloped land and began to throttle back. One mile from home, and not far from reasonable, I met an officer who showed great enthusiasm in quickly turning around and presenting me the single option of stopping my car.
I was a good citizen. I set the brake, shut down the engine, placed my hands at 10 and 2 and awaited her instructions. As she explained why I was being stopped, I sincerely asked how fast I had been traveling. I moaned a sign of regret and left it at that. It wasn't so bad, but I made no whine or complaint. I knew exactly what I deserved.
Then there was grace. "Mr. Pruitt, a verbal warning tonight, but you need to slow it down." Be careful not to mistake it for mercy--this was a gift, not merely an escape. As I pulled away, I understood God very clearly. "Steven, you've had your fun, now stop. I'm giving you this warning."
It makes me think--I wonder what other warnings He gives me that I fail to notice? I wonder if I ever get his mercy confused with the grace of a warning? It's one thing to worship a God who shows mercy. It is an entirely different thing to worship the God who gives grace--who seeks to prevent the very action that might test his mercy. Thoughts?
Lisa's 2 Things:
1-This site will let you see anything on the internet that is linking to your page.
2-This site will search through most blogs for anything you want to find (like yourself).
This Sunday, it was about 65 degrees, the wind was light and there was no one in front of me once I broke from traffic. I got a little carried away and it took me back. I cranked down the window, turned up the heater and cut off the radio. You quickly remember that you have more ambition than actual courage on roads you can't see, but it was a real pleasure. One I miss.
I shot from the illussion of a country road back to the multi-lane reality that mocks the yet undeveloped land and began to throttle back. One mile from home, and not far from reasonable, I met an officer who showed great enthusiasm in quickly turning around and presenting me the single option of stopping my car.
I was a good citizen. I set the brake, shut down the engine, placed my hands at 10 and 2 and awaited her instructions. As she explained why I was being stopped, I sincerely asked how fast I had been traveling. I moaned a sign of regret and left it at that. It wasn't so bad, but I made no whine or complaint. I knew exactly what I deserved.
Then there was grace. "Mr. Pruitt, a verbal warning tonight, but you need to slow it down." Be careful not to mistake it for mercy--this was a gift, not merely an escape. As I pulled away, I understood God very clearly. "Steven, you've had your fun, now stop. I'm giving you this warning."
It makes me think--I wonder what other warnings He gives me that I fail to notice? I wonder if I ever get his mercy confused with the grace of a warning? It's one thing to worship a God who shows mercy. It is an entirely different thing to worship the God who gives grace--who seeks to prevent the very action that might test his mercy. Thoughts?
Lisa's 2 Things:
1-This site will let you see anything on the internet that is linking to your page.
2-This site will search through most blogs for anything you want to find (like yourself).
Monday, December 05, 2005
Purpose
It's easy enough to understand how Rick Warren's book on Purpose became such a big seller--we all want to make sense out of the circumstances around us. We all want to believe that God can take the most humble of circumstances and give us meaning in the midst of them. Unfortunately, I fail to find words to encourage those who, through careless decisions in their youth or simple inability, have found themselves serving drinks and busing tables in their mid-forties. Certainly, God desires to use them, and we hope that faithfulness will move them to greater responsibility, but ever coming to believe that a swing shift at Dennys is God's plan for your life is a little hard to hope for. And that's in America--this gets harder in cultures where an American minimum wage is a staggering amount of money.
So, I believe there has to be a better answer. It is noble to suggest that service through the church holds a key element of the discussion and I believe there is some merit to the suggestion. Through the use of our gifts in ministry, we sometimes find the strength to endure and even thrive in a less-than-ideal career. But I think there's more and I stumbled upon it a few weeks ago in an accidental conversation with a small group from school.
Christians struggle a lot with issues of identity and we were assigned to discuss the meaningfulness of the distinction between naming Christians as "sinners who had been saved" or as "saints who sometimes sin." We were fully prepared to dismiss it as an exercise in semantics, until we noticed something about our own language. We have no idea what a saint is. Mind you, we're seminary students and we do get it, but the word saint has become so muddled with formal definitions and trivialization that it carries no really useful image for us. But, it did for Paul and as we looked more closely, we saw something significant, something purposeful.
Here's the introduction to one of Paul's letters:
And in itself, it is significant to see that Paul was casting a vision for the people who received his letters--he was ever so persistently reminding them that they were no longer mere sinners, mere commoners. And on its own merits, this may supply all the purpose that many Christians need, but it still is nebulous. It declares a new identity and many sermons have run afoul in seeking to define the new and noble usage of these now holy vessels, but this alone is merely a description and not yet a destination.
Here's where our real discovery was made. Again, the Greek is handy. We have known all along that those living under the Law in the Old Testament came to God on his own terms and they did so through the temple where he dwelled. More specifically, they came to sacrifice at the temple, and a physical manifestation, a presence of God, the Spirit of God, dwelled in the inner sanctum--the most holy place, the holy of holies. Right between the wings of the cherubim who perched on the Ark of the Covenant. The temple was the most sacred of all places on the earth.
These common people, these sinners, Paul now called holy. But more importantly, he called them the temple (1 Cor 6.16, 2 Cor 6.16, Eph 2.21.). They had indeed arrived at a new identity and a new era of human history. They were now the most holy places on earth. In them, the presence of God, the Holy Spirit would dwell. And that is where purpose is found. Here is the destination. It is the purpose of the believer to be the vessel, the tent, the dwelling of the Spirit of God upon the earth. He no longer resides on the top of an ancient box. He no longer demands that seekers come to Jerusalem and pay tribute and make sacrifice. Rather, he made sacrifice. Now he sends us out to the very ends of the earth and we take him along, broken vessels nonetheless. It is our duty, our role, our calling, our purpose. We are the bearers of God.
Wherever we are, whatever we do, we are to take Him there and hopefully, carefully, prayerfully, others may see Him inside us. We can do that. It really has little to do with us. He simply asks that we allow it to happen--that we remain ever-mindful of that which dwells within us. That we yield to the Spirit who fills us. Purpose. Even in India. Even in Peru. Even in Rwanda. Even in Dallas. Even at Dennys.
So, I believe there has to be a better answer. It is noble to suggest that service through the church holds a key element of the discussion and I believe there is some merit to the suggestion. Through the use of our gifts in ministry, we sometimes find the strength to endure and even thrive in a less-than-ideal career. But I think there's more and I stumbled upon it a few weeks ago in an accidental conversation with a small group from school.
Christians struggle a lot with issues of identity and we were assigned to discuss the meaningfulness of the distinction between naming Christians as "sinners who had been saved" or as "saints who sometimes sin." We were fully prepared to dismiss it as an exercise in semantics, until we noticed something about our own language. We have no idea what a saint is. Mind you, we're seminary students and we do get it, but the word saint has become so muddled with formal definitions and trivialization that it carries no really useful image for us. But, it did for Paul and as we looked more closely, we saw something significant, something purposeful.
Here's the introduction to one of Paul's letters:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,It's not important that Paul addressed the Ephesians, it's that he called them saints. He does the same thing to the Romans, the Corinthians (2nd), and the Philippians. But, in 1 Corinthians and Colossians, he says something different, at least in our translations. There he calls them holy, one time as nouns, the other as verbs. Greek comes in really handy in places like this. Holy as a noun, holy as a verb and saints are all from the same basic word. They all mean holy. Paul calls the Christians this name over and over because he was intentionally re-forming their identities. What had once been common people, he now called "holy, set apart." These people had changed--they had become something new. Where saints no longer stirs us, this still has meaning. We are the set apart. We have been given purpose--no longer as common things but now as articles for noble purposes.
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
-Eph 1:1-2
And in itself, it is significant to see that Paul was casting a vision for the people who received his letters--he was ever so persistently reminding them that they were no longer mere sinners, mere commoners. And on its own merits, this may supply all the purpose that many Christians need, but it still is nebulous. It declares a new identity and many sermons have run afoul in seeking to define the new and noble usage of these now holy vessels, but this alone is merely a description and not yet a destination.
Here's where our real discovery was made. Again, the Greek is handy. We have known all along that those living under the Law in the Old Testament came to God on his own terms and they did so through the temple where he dwelled. More specifically, they came to sacrifice at the temple, and a physical manifestation, a presence of God, the Spirit of God, dwelled in the inner sanctum--the most holy place, the holy of holies. Right between the wings of the cherubim who perched on the Ark of the Covenant. The temple was the most sacred of all places on the earth.
These common people, these sinners, Paul now called holy. But more importantly, he called them the temple (1 Cor 6.16, 2 Cor 6.16, Eph 2.21.). They had indeed arrived at a new identity and a new era of human history. They were now the most holy places on earth. In them, the presence of God, the Holy Spirit would dwell. And that is where purpose is found. Here is the destination. It is the purpose of the believer to be the vessel, the tent, the dwelling of the Spirit of God upon the earth. He no longer resides on the top of an ancient box. He no longer demands that seekers come to Jerusalem and pay tribute and make sacrifice. Rather, he made sacrifice. Now he sends us out to the very ends of the earth and we take him along, broken vessels nonetheless. It is our duty, our role, our calling, our purpose. We are the bearers of God.
Wherever we are, whatever we do, we are to take Him there and hopefully, carefully, prayerfully, others may see Him inside us. We can do that. It really has little to do with us. He simply asks that we allow it to happen--that we remain ever-mindful of that which dwells within us. That we yield to the Spirit who fills us. Purpose. Even in India. Even in Peru. Even in Rwanda. Even in Dallas. Even at Dennys.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
The Epithet of Hananiah
I've been reading a lot in the Old Testament lately. I admit that some was for a class, but as I journaled the reading, two passages lingered. The first is Job 28:
These words are stunning and beautiful. If I were a miner, I'd write them on my hat, perhaps on my tombstone. The passage ends with an assertion:
That last verse is the ringer--it ties Job to the entirety of the Torah. Somewhere in evangelicalism, we have lost a bit of the fear of the Lord. Sure, we shun evil, but we miss out on the fear thing. We spend our effort explaining how we don't really have to fear Him, how he loves us and we just need to respect him. But that's not entirely true. I'm excited about Narnia coming out in theaters because it will give us a good way to talk about this--it's no coincidence that Lewis used a lion to represent Jesus, and there's more than the lion of Judah going on. Aslan is kind. Aslan is good. And yet, Aslan is fierce. He is not to be trifled with.
That's what I love about this other passage. I don't mean this in a morbid way (previous posts aside), but someday I hope that the epithet Nehemiah gives Hananiah will be true of me--even placed on my tombstone:
28 "There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
4 Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
far from men he dangles and sways.
5 The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;
6 sapphires come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon's eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.
9 Man's hand assaults the flinty rock
and lays bare the roots of the mountains.
10 He tunnels through the rock;
his eyes see all its treasures.
11 He searches the sources of the rivers
and brings hidden things to light.
12 "But where can wisdom be found?
These words are stunning and beautiful. If I were a miner, I'd write them on my hat, perhaps on my tombstone. The passage ends with an assertion:
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And he said to man,
'The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.'"
That last verse is the ringer--it ties Job to the entirety of the Torah. Somewhere in evangelicalism, we have lost a bit of the fear of the Lord. Sure, we shun evil, but we miss out on the fear thing. We spend our effort explaining how we don't really have to fear Him, how he loves us and we just need to respect him. But that's not entirely true. I'm excited about Narnia coming out in theaters because it will give us a good way to talk about this--it's no coincidence that Lewis used a lion to represent Jesus, and there's more than the lion of Judah going on. Aslan is kind. Aslan is good. And yet, Aslan is fierce. He is not to be trifled with.
That's what I love about this other passage. I don't mean this in a morbid way (previous posts aside), but someday I hope that the epithet Nehemiah gives Hananiah will be true of me--even placed on my tombstone:
7 After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed. 2 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Courage
I was just writing on another blog about Elijah and the whole fed-by-ravens incident (1 Kings 17). I really wish God told us how long it took for the brook to dry up, because I think we miss some important things in the passage. It's easy to look from a distance and imagine Walden pond and a content and reflective Elijah sitting back, smoking his pipe as the sun set, awaiting the arrival of the ravens. I doubt it was like that. We have no picture of his life before, but I'm pretty sure things turned lonely and monotonous very quickly. And these weren't eagles dropping by with fresh rabbits. I'm not sure if ravens capture living animals, but if they do, I imagine they look more like rats than rabbits. Otherwise, I'm wondering what kinds of dead meat God would allow them to bring. Obedience costs us something.
The problem I face here in Dallas, is that I continually re-evaluate the price. It was easy to obey God when he first pushed us this direction. Two-and-a-half years in, it gets a little drought-like from time to time. We try not to talk about it on the blog, but sometimes the financial issues are completely defeating. We're not starving--we still eat out more than we should, but it's hard not to when Wendy is so tired. In essence, she lives life like a single mom so I can be in school. We often re-evaluate how quickly she should return to work, but that line of thought fails to address the reality of our schedules.
Sometimes I'm lazy and undisciplined. Sometimes I'm exhausted, but most nights I get about two hours with my family and then disappear to study or be undisciplined in an effort to try to study. I usually don't use the two hours as well as I would like. I'm certainly not the servant they all need right now. On Wednesdays, I drop the girls at school and don't get home until after bedtime. The next morning, I leave for class before they get up. That's about 36 hours without seeing them. Sundays are better because I come home during the afternoon. I know: whine, whine, whine--everybody's got it hard. We're really thankful for Fridays and Saturdays right now. I usually remain confident that we're in the right place, but Wendy told me tonight what the girls were getting for Christmas and I trembled in my resolve. Sometimes it's all I can do to stick out this plan.
Obedience costs us something, but I wonder how long that stream lasted.... I fear that ours will be dry for years and I wish I knew when the ravens were coming.
The problem I face here in Dallas, is that I continually re-evaluate the price. It was easy to obey God when he first pushed us this direction. Two-and-a-half years in, it gets a little drought-like from time to time. We try not to talk about it on the blog, but sometimes the financial issues are completely defeating. We're not starving--we still eat out more than we should, but it's hard not to when Wendy is so tired. In essence, she lives life like a single mom so I can be in school. We often re-evaluate how quickly she should return to work, but that line of thought fails to address the reality of our schedules.
Sometimes I'm lazy and undisciplined. Sometimes I'm exhausted, but most nights I get about two hours with my family and then disappear to study or be undisciplined in an effort to try to study. I usually don't use the two hours as well as I would like. I'm certainly not the servant they all need right now. On Wednesdays, I drop the girls at school and don't get home until after bedtime. The next morning, I leave for class before they get up. That's about 36 hours without seeing them. Sundays are better because I come home during the afternoon. I know: whine, whine, whine--everybody's got it hard. We're really thankful for Fridays and Saturdays right now. I usually remain confident that we're in the right place, but Wendy told me tonight what the girls were getting for Christmas and I trembled in my resolve. Sometimes it's all I can do to stick out this plan.
Obedience costs us something, but I wonder how long that stream lasted.... I fear that ours will be dry for years and I wish I knew when the ravens were coming.
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