David Kenney

photo credit: Lomo-Cam

Sometimes when we turn something over we can see something new.

When we try a new approach

When we see things from a different angle

Sometimes to a have a new experience, it means trying a different side

John 21:1-7

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias (or the sea of gallilee). It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ”I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends (or Children), haven’t you any fish?” (notice he asks, expecting a negative answer)
“No,” they answered.

Jesus said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved (John) said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

This has always been a cool “last sighting of Jesus” story. It’s almost like an afterthought in the book of John, John is telling the Jesus story to you, and right before he finishes he says, “Oh yea, check this out… you gotta hear this..”

But the story is also filled with questions. It’s usually titled “the miraculous catch of fish” but you almost kind of wonder, was that really the miracle? And sometimes when we read this it feels almost like a teaching, or a parable… but it’s not.

□        Why don’t the disciples recognize Jesus?

□        Why does Jesus say to try to the right side of the boat?

□        And if the disciples don’t’ recognize Jesus why do they do what a stranger says?

□        Were there no fish swimming on the left side of the boat?

□        Only the right side?

□        Or were there no fish in the water at all, but when Jesus had the disciples switch sides, did the fish miraculously appear?

□        Or were there fish everywhere swimming like normal (because let’s face it, fish don’t swim only on the left or right side of anything – they are fish, “boat” doesn’t make sense to them) and then because Jesus commanded it, the fish just jumped in?

What kind of story is this?

It has been suggested by some that this is a moment of temporary disobedience in the disciples. That after a long weekend of garden, arrest, trial, flogging, execution, resurrection; the disciples have given up on the gospel and have resorted to their old way of life. As if after three years of walking with Jesus, Peter threw up his hands in disgust and said, “I quit, let’s go back to being fishermen.”

Early scholars blamed these fishermen for returning to their previous profession. One writer says, “The scene is rather one of aimless activity undertaken in desperation”

But I would argue, that you can’t really draw that conclusion from the text, the bible doesn’t say that. The text never says the disciples gave up a life of preaching and following Jesus. Sometimes fishing isn’t a symbol for anything… it’s just fishing.

Can’t a brother just want to fish?

Have you ever had such a crazy string of events, that you just have to do something relaxing, something familiar? Something normal for a change? Watch tv? Eat some ice cream, drive to the mall and look at shoes (so I’ve heard).

The disciples had a crazy weekend, filled with terror and tears – who blames them for wanting to go fishing?

Also notice the record of names – we have 7 men listed– had you ever thought about the fact that 7 of the disciples were fisherman? Why did Jesus call so many people from this one profession?

So we have these 7 men, they go out late at night and catch nothing all night long, something a professional fisherman would not want to admit so readily the next morning, and a stranger doth approaches and he says, “caught anything?”

“Nope.”

“Try the other side of the boat.”

Which to us sounds like a completely absurd request. Especially to a modern-day fisherman. Why would “side of boat” make any difference? A real fisherman would laugh at you for suggesting such a thing. Don’t you hate it when you have tried something over and over again and someone just strolls up and suggests the dumbest thing…

“Well did you plug it in?”

Yes…

But the suggestion to try the right side has some implications we’re not picking up on. The first is cultural…

It’s been thought  by some Greeks that the right side of the boat was the “lucky side” and that tying that side of the boat is like superstitious activity of wearing your lucky socks to a football game, or trying a particular “lucky pattern” at a slot machine, so a stranger yelling at you from shore, “try the lucky side” would not have been a strange thing to say.

The second is language…

The Greek word for – Right hand side is dexios meros. Dexios means “right” or “right hand” and is often used as a place of authority. We see this in verses like ..

Matthew 25:34

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

And the book of Hebrews often talks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God.

The 7 fisherman try it, they are successful and the bible says in verse

^v9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread (fish and bread? Who could it be?). ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.

So the miraculous catch is 153 fish. To me that doesn’t sound like a lot, I don’t know. Maybe if they were huge fish, I guess that would be cool. But 153 doesn’t sound like a thousand! Also 153 doesn’t sound “made up” either. I think a fisherman trying to embellish the tale would have made it sound more unrealistic.

But theologians will still try to find out what the number means, 153 must be significant. One ancient bible translator thought that perhaps there were only 153 types of fish that existed in the entire Sea of Galilee and therefore it was a symbol of reaching every tribe and nation in the world. (that sounds nice)

That’s kind of cool, but probably John mentioned the number as a matter of simple fact. With a group of men fishing, the common procedure would be for them to “one for me and one for you” count the fish they caught and then divide them equally to take to market.

Let me tell you what sparked this idea in me. I was reading my son a bedtime story and this is one of the chapters in his children’s bible that he likes. And as I was reading this to him and coming to the end… the ending picture hit me like a ton of bricks and I said out loud… “the gentles.” This is the gentiles. It makes the most sense. Let me show you turn back to…

Mark 1:16-18

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee (same place), he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ”Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

We see Jesus calling the disciples (and us) to be “fishers of  people.” (not fishers of men, the Greek word here is “antropos” meaning people, it’s the same place we get the word “anthropology” which is the study of humanity.

And this phrase “fishers of people” was not invented by Jesus; it had been used for years by Greek and Roman teachers. To be a “fisher of people” in that day meant to seek and to persuade others and to “catch” them with the truth. It was a philosophical phrase.

So certainly we can look at the miraculous catch of fish as being something “other” than a miracle story… it can also be a tie to this original call to be fishers of people. Jesus isn’t just giving them some fish and some income… he is reminding them of this very first calling.

“Come and I will make you fishers of people.”

It’s a miracle and it’s a teaching. It’s a miracle parable.

□        it’s a mirable

□        It’s a paracle.

Jesus calls them to be fishers of people, and for three years they begin a ministry not to the Jewish people, not in synagogues, but in the back alleys, the wells, the weddings and parties of the average person. Jesus’ “good news” was to save all anthropos – all of humanity.

A traditional fisherman tries to catch live fish and kill them to consume them. Fishing is about fooling the victims (fish) into thinking you have something to offer, but in reality it’s a lie… it’s a trick and the punch line is they’re dead.

But a “fisher of people” does things backwards. It’s a totally flipped around approach.

Christians seek to catch “dead fish” (people who are dead in their sins) a world caught in a rut, people tried and tired of their existence, who are looking for something new and untested, and spiritual, something wholly other….

And when they are caught in the grace of Christ, that’s when birth begins and they are truly made alive!

So here we have the fisherman and they are trying the things that they have always tried. In the same way, done the same way – and there is nothing – nobody to be caught.

The traditional, the “been there done that” is coming up with diddly squat.

It’s time to try new, it’s time to fish in a different part of the sea, it’s time to look to the “other side” because apparently, according to Jesus THAT is where the fish are.

Jesus comes along and says, try the “other side” – try the “right side” – the side of authority, the kingdom side – try things my way – try the Jesus approach… and see what happens?

153 fish.

There are fish out there.

There are people out there who can be lured in by truth, who are willing to be captured  by grace,  but who may not respond to the typical tried and true, normal, left handed,  approaches.

Are we preaching now?

Jesus called the disciples to be fishers of all people, and the early church began to flourish with the gentiles and those who had previously been on the outside. So perhaps when we look at this story and we see the net cast on the normal familiar side… nobody is biting, there are no fish there…. Either they have all been caught or they are not open to the story, and when we look at our churches and they seem to be neither growing nor shrinking, neither hot nor cold, we should be asking, well is it time to now throw the net onto the other side?

And what is the “other side” for us? And who are the people who live there? If the left side of the boat is familiar, then I would argue that trying the right side would be a place of questions and doubts and perhaps fear. It’s unexplored and it might be difficult to try.

You know when Peter says, “it is the lord” in verse 7, he says so not because he recognizes the Jesus, but because he recognizes the miracle.

Turn with me over to Luke 5:1-7

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (still another name for the Sea of Galilee), with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon (Peter), and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

So we have this miraculous story at the beginning and the John account at the end.  But here he doesn’t say “try the right side,” Jesus says “put out into deep water.”

“Deep” here is the Greek word bathos

It does mean “deep” as in of the sea, but it is also used as a metaphor in the Greek language to talk about the deep things of God. Isn’t that cool? Next time say to your friends, “Come let us talk about the bathos of God!”

To think of the vastness of God like the deepest darkest parts of the ocean.

In a presidential study in 2000, it was cited that 95% of the world’s oceans are unexplored. Meaning there is much in the deep that we are unaware of, have no knowledge of, and have never even seen.

How does Christ suggest that we catch fish? By trying his approach. By starting on the Jesus side of things, the righteous side, the side of authority, we find fish in the deep, in the areas that might seem unreachable and unknowable. In the darkness, in the shadows…

One British social reformer says it like this: “The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a Wilderness.”

And I would argue that Christ is calling us there; out into the wilderness.

And isn’t there a deeper thing going on this story? Isn’t it really about perception? Christ is calling his disciples to a new way of seeing things.

Maybe you have always seen and done things that same way. Always cooked meatloaf the same way (terrible), always drive to work the same way, always write with the same hand, always sleep on the same side of the bed, “Well we always do – two songs, announcements, offering, sermon, four songs.”

But Jesus comes along and says, “how about you try crossing the road to the other side, do the thing that is unexpected, the thing that breaks the status quo. How about you hold the church picnic… at a park instead of the church lawn, how about instead of leaving a bible track for your waitress you leave actual money…”

Because a watching world is expecting us to do the things that we have always done. Are we presenting anything that they haven’t seen? And is it because our perception is…. Well there just aren’t any fish out there?

We’ve tried it our way and come up empty…but Christ reminds us that there is a deep deep ocean out there, a place where he is, a place that is full and heavy laden with people willing to hear the truth.

Or perhaps the deeper thing beyond perception is as simple as faith – when we commit to the tried and true, when we stand where it is safe and familiar. We stand on the side we have always stood on, we wear the same tie every Monday, we cook the same thing every Friday…

But God works on the side of the impossible, in the unseen places and it just takes our faith to cast our nets over to the other side and try things a different way.. to try things his way.

How do we show the world the bathos of God?

How do we look to the other side?

How do we visit the “right side” where Christ calls us?

Because I would argue THAT is what a watching world is waiting for. Is it weird to think that the fish were always there, but they were just waiting and hoping the disciples would notice them on the right side of the boat and to try something new?

Don’t you think that is what a modern world wants?

I think for so long we have thought our enemy was science or rationalism and we try to prove our faith to others. We try to show evidence for or against natural selection, we try to find proof in the pages of history and we seem to fall short of being able to prove God exists to an intellectual world.

Christ says, ‘throw your nets onto the other side.’

We don’t need to prove to them God made the world, or show them through facts and science that Jesus is lord. Science is the side that they know.

Show the world the Holy Spirit. Show them the power of God and the strength of God in your own life. Tell your stories about how you have seen God work with absolutely no rational explanation at all.

What God sounds more real anyway? The God you can prove with facts, or the God you shrug your shoulders at and say, “you know what, I have no idea.”

I think for so long our enemy as been evil. We try to rid the world of the devil, and darkness and we are so quick to pick up the sword and shield and we run off on our own holy crusade. But the true victor over darkness is a prince of peace – when was the last time we showed the world grace? Because I would argue the world has seen war, and violence and oppression and rule and government. But when was the last time it saw a Kingdom? But how often has the world seen forgiveness? What are the greatest examples of grace?

I think for so long our enemy has been immorality; and we tried to indoctrinate the whole world with our right morals and right living. But we don’t need to impose our faith on the world through protest and restriction. Convicting sinners of sin, before they can even admit there is a God is a loosing battle. Making the world snap to our way of doing things. I think Hate and boycotting is the side the world already knows.

Isn’t it time we showed the other side?

A church in New Castle Ohio has been picketing a local strip club for four years. They carry signs out front, try to keep the patrons from visiting by taking pictures of those who go inside and posting their license plates on the internet. And a month or so ago the owner and the girls got fed up and decided to turn the tables and picket the church. The girls wore bikini tops and had a barbeque and they sat out on lawn chairs and held up their own signs.

One girls sign read, “”If Pastor Bill is my ticket to heaven; I’d rather be in hell with my friends,”

The pastor responded by saying, “As a Christian community, we cannot share territory with the devil,” and he said. “Light and darkness cannot exist together, so the strip club has got to go.”

It sounds familiar. Its sounds like a story from any year, in any time in my life and it’s been tried and tried….And I am not going to criticize the church here or say they are haters, you don’t do something for 4 years because you hate it. I have read several versions of the story where people from this church have offered the girls help and support if they would just leave this lifestyle.

But sometimes as an outsider, it’s not as simple as strolling up and suggesting, “did you plug it in?” Lives can be messier and more involved than offering to mow someone’s lawn, or to pay for a few nights of babysitting.

So while it might be true that this church loves these girls and truly wanted to reach them and to put an end to this lifestyle; I would argue that Christians holding picket signs is a “side” the world has seen before.

One blogger tried to offer an “other side” approach he said, “how about everyone go to Applebees, order some potato skins, and work things out.”

Simple – delicious – I like it.

But it was actually a San Diego based ministry called JC’s Girls that ministers to women in the adult entertainment industry who got wind of this story and they flew out to Ohio to try an other side approach.

Two girls, Anny Donewald and Sheri Brown who are part of JC Girls first went to the strip club and spoke – and after that fist meeting 2 girls gave their lives to Christ.

Then the JC girls went to the church and spoke at the church. “It’s not our job to tell these women that it’s time to get out of there,” one speaker said during the sermon. “Just love them. (and) Let the Holy Spirit draw them out.”

And during the service, one by one, women from the church began filing into the street, hugging the strippers and apologizing to them, leaving both sides overflowing with emotion and tears.

“The girls who spoke to us really had an impact,” one church member said. “They made me realize I needed to be more compassionate.”

Pastor Bill was one of the last people out of the church. He went straight to a striper named Laura who was yelling at him, and crying through tears, “You think I’m a whore, I’m not. I’m just trying to take care of my kids.”

Pastor Bill offered his arms in a hug and Laura accepted.

This is what the other side of Jesus, the other side of grace, the other side of mercy, the other side of forgiveness and brokenness looks like. This is Pastor Bill, Anny and Sheri and then the Stip Club owner.

2 women from San Diego did in a weekend, what a Church community could not do in 4 years. How long do you hang your nets on the wrong side and shrug your shoulders?

I don’t care what you think, these 2 women are missionaries.

And they don’t fit the stereotypical picture of what a missionary looks or acts like, but our ocean needs more Anny and Sherry’s.

I think the side Jesus wants us to fish on is a side that asks us to hold people, and not signs.

I think someone should have tried the right side of the boat 4 years ago.

A third party from San Diego wasn’t tried.

Going into the strip club and talking to the girls on their own turf wasn’t tried.

An approach by someone other than a pastor in a pressed and collared shirt wasn’t tried.

The other side was tried and what were the results?

Salvation, forgiveness… And maybe… one day… 153 fish.

You see, the world expects us to meet in buildings.

They expect us to dress like Quakers

They expect us to start sentences with “well the bible says,”

They expect us to love babies, hate gays, send money to Africa, vote for republicans, have 2.3 children and listen to Jeremy Camp.

That’s the side that’s always tried.

But casting our nets to the other side teaches us that our fruitless labor is transformed by the presence of Jesus.

Our own efforts, our own style, our comfort zone, might be safe, and it might be familiar, but is it working? Or is Christ calling out to you from the shore?

On the right side there is fullness, victory, success fulfillment, peace, hope and abundance.
Because on the right side there is JESUS!

I love what Peter did. When the nets were full and about to break… He recognized that it was Jesus; and what did he do?

With no hesitation, no stopping, no blueprints or plans, no thinking… HE WENT OUT TO JESUS.
Forget the nets. Forget the fish. Forget the water.

Only one thing matters at this point… BEING WITH JESUS!

When Peter looked on that shore he no longer saw a stranger … he saw hope, he saw joy, he saw purpose, he saw meaning, he saw life, he saw truth!

And nothing on earth was going to stop him

I love what this writer says….

“Some people spend their entire lives reading but never get beyond reading the words on the page, they don’t understand that the words are merely stepping stones placed across a fast-flowing river, and the reason they’re there is so that we can reach the farther shore, it’s the other side that matters.” ~ Jose Saramago

People who fly to Ohio just to talk to stripers understand that Jesus matters

Peter didn’t abandon Jesus in a temporary moment of relaxation… he knew what matters.

Jesus matters.

[You can read more about the Ohio story -here]

photo credit: orphanjones

I have been a retail manager maybe 3 or 4 times for different companies. And in each one of those times it was never because a supervisor of mine took me aside and said, “Son, I like your moxy, I think you would be just dandy for our junior leadership program.”

Not once.

No, it was always because as a regular employee I would watch my managers and supervisors in their day-to-day work and I would think to myself… “I could do that. That work is not beyond my skill set – those men and women are not doing superhero work or rocket-science.”

So eventually I would pull a supervisor aside and ask if I could learn to do what it is that they do. Sometimes it meant learning on the job; other times it meant coming in on my own time – and eventually I bridged the gap between what they knew and what I knew.

Most of the time, the only difference between being a manager and being an employee was “knowledge;” and then with the knowledge, I had the confidence to act on that knowledge. And before long I was doing the work of a manager: which as most of you know, consists mainly of saying, “Hey, I really need you to come in to work tomorrow” and denying customers cash refunds.

So naturally I thought being a church leader would be the same process. I had already been a volunteer for several local churches, and I had been mentored by my share of youth pastors, so I decided it was time to bridge the gap between the “them” and the “me.”

I looked into the local Christian colleges and found at that there were 2 near me. Neither was accredited. So the next closest schools were Fuller in Pasadena or APU in Azusa, both in southern California; which was 6 hours away from me in Sacramento.

So I had to move, find a job, find an apartment, get married (well, that wasn’t part of it, but it was fun) enroll in college, study, graduate and become ordained. And really… after 10 whole years (that’s about how long it took me) the only thing I had at the end of it all of it was …knowledge.

I had 3 years seminary knowledge and a few months “Baptist knowledge.” And as of today, the story is still not finished for me. At this point in time, I am still NOT a pastor. I do not work for a church – In the end, all of my head knowledge did not land me a job.

And sometimes I really struggle to answer the question… am I a Christian leader?

Recently I had the opportunity to visit a local church where one of my old middle-school students was leading worship. Back in my days as a church volunteer, I was given 6 boys to shepherd and once a week they came over to my apartment for bible study, and Drew was one of the youngest.

So before the service has even started, Drew had the opportunity to introduce me to some people, and this is what he said, “This is David Kenney, he was my Pastor….”

And I could actually feel my heart race – my tear ducts swell up, my skin tense. Because he didn’t stop and correct himself or ever say, “Oh I mean he was just a volunteer.”

Long before I had the “right knowledge” that I thought; I needed, there was already a young man who thought of me as his pastor.

Christian leaders have always been these spiritual giants with mahogany desks and thousands of dusty books. They know words like immutability and exegesis and dropped names like Karl Barth and Ulrich Zwingli. The average pew person never even dreams of reaching that level of spiritual black beltedness.

But if it’s not about having the right knowledge or owning the biggest desk… what is it? And do those things have anything to do with what it means to follow Christ?

I want to talk about that tonight and I want to look at two popular approaches to Christian leadership: orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy.

Orthodoxy (theological rationalism) or “right thought.” It’s all about having the correct description of God and the absolute right definition of the gospel and election, and the afterlife, and end times, and justification, sanctification – you name it. People who follow the “right doctrine” approach believe that having the most “right beliefs” will lead to the very heart of God. “Everyone should think how we think,” is their motto.

Orthopraxy (theological ethics) or “right living.” These would be people who have a high moral system and believe in living in a “right” or “correct” way – and usually at the same time, they trying to evangelize others by imposing these same sets of standards. Similar to the vegans or food Nazis that want to rant on you whenever you (god forbid) try to eat processed food or a potato chip. “Everyone should act how we act” is their motto.

And many times as a Christian leader I feel like I fail in these two areas….

In orthodoxy I never feel like my theology is spot on, I am always learning something that changes what I thought was true yesterday. And certainly not all bible knowledge is useful. I once had a Sunday School teacher who felt it was a good idea to learn all of the books of the bible in order, but in the end of it all, all I learned was a string of words… head knowledge doesn’t always equal “obedient Christ follower.”

Other times I never feel like my orthopraxy is on target either. I will be out with my wife or a group of friends, or Wes and I will do something, or make some comment and I will get me the deepest darkest looks… “And you call yourself a pastor” they shake their heads. In other words, “whatever you just did… that probably wasn’t the best thing for you to do.” Or worse yet it’s the opposite (and I am so critical of this) that sometimes I simply do nothing at all and then it’s not my actions that are out of alignment, but my non-actions.

So there is this tension that exists as a Christian leader, what side do you fall on? Which is more important; orthodoxy or orthopraxy?

In John 14:6 Jesus makes his infamous statement, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

So arguably when I read this, I come to the conclusion that; if Christ is “the way” and he is “the truth” then you can not separate Christ’s teachings from Christ, just as you can not separate Christ’s ministry from Christ.  Therefore “Christianity” is about Christ – and not right beliefs, and not right actions. They may be byproducts of Christianity, but we can not mistake them for the founder of the faith.

Just a few chapters later in John at Jesus’ arrest, Pilate accused Jesus of being a King.

John 18:37-38

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked

The word Jesus and Pilate are using here is the Greek word Alathia (which means true in any matter under consideration, pertaining to God and humanity) In Roman mythology the Goddess of Truth was named Vertias and she was considered so elusive it was said she lived at the bottom of a great well.

Pilate… sees truth as elusive and unable to be known, so he asks a philosophical question, “What is truth?”

And the irony was “truth” the embodiment of all that is known was standing right in front of him

You see, God did not send us an orthodoxy or a paradigm or a religion for us to follow – he sent his son. So every time these questions come up for me; the implication of Christ’s claim is that all of life and all of truth is embodied within him.

Leonard Sweet says it like this: “Christianity has nothing to do with our vaunted religious subjectivity and everything to do with the greatness of God’s gift of Himself in the first-century Jewish rabble rouser named Jesus of Nazareth.”

The bottom line is: ethics, morality, doctrine and beliefs are all flawed. It is Christ, not religion that is truth, it is Christ, not religion that is perfect and it is Christ, not religion that saves us.

John Calvin said, “We ought to read the scriptures with the express design of finding Christ in them. Whoever shall turn aside from this object, though he may weary himself throughout his whole life in learning, will never attain the knowledge of the truth; for what wisdom can we have without the wisdom of God?”

But you may find G. K. Chesterson’s quote a little simpler, “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”

And I would argue that you can’t have a love affair with right doctrine or right ethics.

So what was the example of Christ as a leader? What does the bible say?

Well, if Jesus read Purpose Driven Church, he knows he first needs a mission statement – so look with me at Luke 4 and we will discover together what Jesus’ ministry was all about.

Look at Luke 4:14-21

Jesus  went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ”The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus began his ministry by reading his mission statement and that was – to preach the good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight to the blind, and release to the oppressed.

In other words, for three years his mission was to free the world from the things that bound them. Right? Because…

□        Deafness binds

□        Blindness binds

□        Sickness binds

□        Poverty binds

□        Guilt binds

□        Ignorance binds

□        And sin binds.

And I would argue that everything Jesus said and did – related to the Isaiah 61 mission statement. Jesus was a liberator. He was a redeemer. And certainly this is what the bible records Jesus was doing in his day-to-day ministry…

Matthew 9:35 says,
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

What Jesus said he would do – is exactly what Jesus did.

So what does the bible record Jesus’ followers doing? Turn with me to Luke 9:1-6

(Jesus Sends out the Twelve)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits…The disciples went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

So what we see the disciples of Jesus doing is the same thing we see Jesus doing.

Now go a few pages over to Luke 10:1-7 (Jesus Sends out the Seventy-two)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others …

(Hey, maybe if this program works for 12, maybe it will work for 72)

…and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves… “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

And verse 17 says, the seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Again, what we see the disciples doing is the same thing we see Jesus doing.

Well maybe that was a fluke, maybe it only worked because Jesus was around. What does the bible record the disciples doing after Jesus ascends to heaven? Turn to Acts 5:12-16

The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. .. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

We see the disciples continuing the work of Jesus – performing signs and wonders, healing the sick and evangelizing. A disciple of Christ was a follower, a person who lived the example that Christ had set.

So if a Christian is a person who follows Jesus and does what Jesus did, then what is a Christian leader? Well, I guess more simply you could ask “what is a leader?”

And I think at its simplest…

□        A leader is someone who points the way

□        A leader is someone who influences

Because a person who simply has wealth, power, or talent is not a leader; unless of course they can use those gifts to influence the lives of others. And the same could be said for knowledge, status and job title. Just because it says “pastor” on the door doesn’t make you a pastor.

And consequently just because it says “English teacher” on your door, doesn’t mean you aren’t also somebody’s pastor.

A Christian leader is someone who points the way to Christ

A Christian leader is someone who influences others to follow Christ.

And the only truly successful way I know to do this is to do it with your own life and by your own example.

John Piper says it like this “to the degree that you shape others toward the image of Christ you are a Christian leader.” I love that quote.

Shaping others…

Influencing others…

Pointing the way for others…

Remember my story at the beginning of how I became a manager? It literally had nothing to do with being noticed by leaders, and everything to do with me noticing leaders. It was their already lived out lives that I took notice of – and then tried to emulate.

I always get asked how come we don’t have any written words from Jesus like we do other religious or spiritual leaders, and I would argue that it’s because we follow a man not a doctrine. Christianity is based on Christ.

When it’s their turn, the disciples don’t turn around and copy Jesus’ right action or right thought… they just simply “do” what they see their Rabbi doing. And this is exactly the example Jesus sets for his disciples.

In John 5:16-19 we read

Because Jesus was doing these (unlawful) things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day (meaning the Sabbath), and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

What God does.. Jesus does…

What Jesus does… the disciple does…

And a leader shapes… influences and points the way….

When Jesus says that he is the “way the truth and the life” what he means is that he is the medium and he is the message. This is why simply right action and right thought don’t fully cut it. Because I believe you can “act Christian” without having the heart of Christ.

You can believe like a “Christian” without having the mind of Christ.

Being a Christian leader means leading through example, by leading through ones life. So first a Christian leader needs to have a relationship with the founder.
In Colossians 2 the apostle Paul writes these words…

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul lays out what is important here: complete understanding, knowing the mystery of Christ, and discovering all the hidden treasures of wisdom. This comes from a deep rooted, personal, loving relationship with Jesus.

But more interestingly, Paul says that his struggle is for the Colossian church and for the church in Laodicea. And Laodicea is actually the “they” that he has all of these hopes and dreams for.

Laodicea was only 9 miles from Colossae – so these 2 churches were pretty close. But what do we already know about the church in Laodicea when does it famously come up in scripture?

Revelation 3:14-19

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

So this is THE church that is neither one or the other, not black or white, hot or cold, they are middle, they are beige, they are bland, they are stagnant.

What do you think? Is this a church with direction? No, this is a community that has lost direction and is standing still. Paul writes…

v.17 “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

This is a church that is delusional, a church that is blind and living in a dream world. And Paul says, in his letter to the Colossians that he has all these hopes for them – that they may be

□        encouraged in heart

□        united in love

□        that they may have the full riches of complete understanding

(By the way – that’s the outcome of being a leader, when you can look at and recognize the potential growth within your area of influence)

But why does Paul wish all these things for them? It’s the second verse in Colossians 2

In order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ

Christian leadership is influencing, shaping and leading others towards Christ.

“to the degree that you shape others toward the image of Christ you are a Christian leader.”

Christianity is about Christ

As a Christian leader you should follow Christ with your life

Your life should point to Christ

Your life should be influenced by Christ

Christ should permeate from how you live and move and breathe.

And the sad part about Laodicea and perhaps the thing we are not always so quick to realize is this… farther down in Revelation chapter 3 is an equally famous passage.

In verse twenty. Jesus says…

v20

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Very famous passage, but tell me where is Jesus? Is he outside the door of the sinner’s heart as is presupposed in famous paintings? No. He is outside the door of the church of Laodicea.

And why would Jesus be outside the door of a church? Well, we don’t know all the particulars, but I would argue if Jesus is on the outside then he is not … on the inside.

Meaning the church has become about self, about membership, about money, about building, about bulletins, worship-style, fellowship time, children’s programs, how the kitchen is cleaned, how the parking lot is utilized, what color the paint is in the sanctuary, what times services are, and all the other “stuff” that can blind us, bind us and immobilize us…from following the truth and the life…

And as much as we are all leaders and influencers in our homes, small groups and inner communities, we are also leaders of the Church. As much as we follow Christ in our personal life, we are also a team who follows Christ collectively and leads others to follow Christ collectively.

The church has its own versions of right action and right thought – the idols we make of how we think church “should be” or what a church “should do” – we spend so much time on church, that we sometimes lose focus of Christ.

Before I wrap this up, I want to go back to what I was saying earlier about orthodoxy and orthopraxy, I don’t want you to leave here thinking I have tossed those to the wind or tried to convince you that they are not important.

The Hebrew prophet Micah says in Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

What does God want from you? Three things: to act, to love and to walk.

In the Shema – Deuteronomy 6:5 says

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Three ways to love God: with your heart, your soul and your strength.

So the Hebrew understanding of knowing and following God is not a two-fold process is it? But in fact a three-fold process. And that kind of makes sense when we are talking about our God doesn’t it?

An unknown work published in the 14^th century records these words, “Only to our mind is God incomprehensible, not to our heart.” (The Cloud of Unknowing)

I grew up in the church and very early on I learned that when the bible said two people “knew” each other that was “bible code” for “sex.” When Adam knew Eve… I read between the lines and I certainly didn’t imagine they were shaking hands. “Good to know you.”

So the Hebrew understanding of “knowing God” goes beyond simple head knowledge, or acts of obedience. It also moves within this third realm of the heart, with love, with knowing and feeling God move.

This gives us the realm of “Orthopathy” or “right feelings.”

And the problem for most of us is… “right feelings” sounds weird to us. The bible has several passages that talk about the inclination of a person’s heart, or the bend of wickedness within each one of us to sin, so it doesn’t seem natural or right to follow our feelings…

But the question then becomes, well if we are so sinful that we can’t trust our feelings, or our love, then why do we think we can follow our minds in orthodoxy or our strength in orthopraxy? If we are corrupted, aren’t we corrupted through and through?

Because it’s not only feelings that can get us into trouble. I would argue that when we rely on any one of these 3 we become less the disciples we were meant to be. If we were all orthodoxy we become like the Pharisees sitting and judging on our high horses and failing to be followers of the risen Christ. There is no love in us and there is no movement in us and like our books we age with dust and our lives amount to nothing but knowledge.

If we devote our lives to orthopraxy, we become tireless activists hoping to change the world by our own strength. If we only devote our lives to orthopathy then we becomes like the hippies of the 60s and 70s and we view everything as good or God, or mystical or spiritual and we fail to properly judge and edit what is right and wrong.

A true disciple of Jesus would “follow” Christ the way that the 12 did. They listened to his teachings, the went out into the world and did what he did… and third, they knew him… personally. They loved him.

You know maybe that’s all that it is… if the bible says “faith hope and love and the greatest of these is love…” why reject orthopathy? When perhaps it is the simplest answer to our questions on Christian leadership.

Our most famous passage John 3:16, says God gave the world Christ out of a love for the world.

Paul writes a similar thing in Philippians 2:1-8

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!

Here Paul lists the characteristics of Christ’s love for the world, and he says these were Christ’s strongest attributes; humility, sacrifice, selflessness, servanthood, meekness, and weakness.

These are all submissive words. These are all relationship words, marriage words; because the church is the bride of Christ.

Christ loves his bride – He doesn’t talk bad about her, he lifts her up, he sacrifices for her and in turn the church submits to him. The church has no room for any other loves but Christ.

Jesus loves his church and we love him.

And we in turn love the Church, because Christ loves the church.

Orthopraxy can easily become about how much I have done.

And Orthodoxy can easily become about how much I know.

But Orthopathy tempers those both with love and reminds us that

□        It’s really about a relationship with the Rabbi

□        It’s really about a bride and a groom

□        It’s really about a mission to free the world.

Jesus says in John 13:34-35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So love for the disciple is not only important, it’s essential. And it’s not simply a love without definition – but it’s a higher standard – to love others as Christ loved.

Shakespeare wrote “love comforts like sunshine after the rain.” Love has no limits, dimensions or comprehension, it is blind and also a many splendid thing, it goes beyond action and knowledge and is the author of silly songs, it makes us act like we are fools, love liberates the slaves and it destroys barricades, it’s the universal language, love has been said to conquer all, and that it lifts us up where we belong….and a wise man once wrote “love is all we need.”

You see a love affair needs love and the bottom line is: you will influence the lives of others when you love them.

Somewhere in the middle of acting justly and loving mercy and walking humbly lies what it means to be a disciple.

Jesus’ mission statement was outward focused and love centered. And for 3 years he loved a world so much that he gave himself to liberate it from chains and shackles; and his disciples knew him and loved him so much that even after he left, they continued his work.

If I ask myself the question, “Am I a Christian leader” I have to also ask… am I continuing that same work of Jesus?

[LAST] [NEXT]

photo credit: MAMJODH

So in the last post we talked about the famous picture of Jesus knocking on the door of your heart – but that idea leads us to another good  idea to talk about – pictures of Jesus.

A few years ago I started a Jesus myspace account (which reminds me, I have like 800 friends requests to approve) and so far the page has around one hundred and thirty thousand friends. So as the page grew and grew, I knew that I would want to have pictures that represented Jesus in every skin tone and representative of all cultures; and for the most part, people understand what I am doing, but every once in a while I get comments that say…

“Jesus wasn’t black”

or

“Jesus wasn’t Chinese.”

And while it’s true Jesus probably appeared on Earth as a thirty-something middle eastern man, I guess everyone has their own subconscious picture of what Jesus looks like. Some think of Jesus as the mystery figure knocking on the door of their heart, others think of Jesus as a famous actor. We all like to “picture” Jesus with particular traits and features that make us feel comfortable. We all like “our Jesus” a certain way.

The authors of re-Jesus think that this projection ends up biasing our “whole” view of Jesus. If we think of Jesus as kind to children and loving, our picture of Jesus doesn’t include all of his other aspects.

In the movie Talladega Nights there is a great example of this…

Cal Junior says, “I like to think of Jesus as an Ice Dancer, dressed in an all-white jumpsuit, and doing an interpretive dance of my life….I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T-Shirt because it says I want to be formal, but I’m here to party….I like to think of Jesus like with giant eagles wings, and singin’ lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with like an angel band and I’m in the front row and I’m hammered drunk!”

There is an old saying, “God made us in his image and then we returned the favor.”

But maybe part of the journey to finding our way back to the real, actual Jesus is to vandalize our inner portraits of Jesus. “One of the best ways to expose our co-option of Jesus to our own personal, religious, and cultural agendas is to interpret the many images of him that we entertain.” (page 92)

For instance: there is nothing wrong with “beautiful Jesus” but let’s not forget that in the gospels we read about a man who was frustrated with the religious system, disappointed with his own disciples, annoyed by religious leaders and angered by people taking advantage of the poor.

Pictures that make Jesus spooky and spirit-like, leave out the fact that he was also very human; we read in the gospels where he slept, ate, cried and bled.

But on the other hand, “ordinary Jesus” doesn’t portray Jesus as Messiah or King of our lives. He doesn’t look like a man who could have walked on water or multiplied food.

Lately a popular image of Jesus is to paint him as the revolutionary, and while this might be closer to the truth, it does leave out the Jesus who was meek and soft spoken, who loved children, his disciples and his bride; the church.

And so the problem with all these painting is that… well… no one image can capture everything that God is, not even everything that Jesus was. And movies are no better, there have been some great actors and some terrible ones, but still nothing (at least for me) that truly captures the word in flesh that dwelt among us.

Maybe this is one of the reasons God didn’t want any graven images made in the first place (Exodus 20:4). Aside from the fact that most idols are silent stone or wood, even the most skilled artisan can’t quite capture God’s likeness. It’s like asking a painting that I have made… to turn around and paint a picture of me… using the same colors I used on it.

It’s not possible.

“We need to get back to the daring, radical, strange wonderful, inexplicable, unstoppable, marvelous, unsettling, disturbing, caring, powerful God man. The communities around us are crying out for him…they are searching for the promised one, the one who offers them peace. The church needs to find itself in league with this Jesus, staring at him and in amazement saying, as Peter did with a trembling voice, ‘What kind of a man is this?’” (page 111)

photo credit: Emery Co Photo

“You are the bride to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ. You must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to know Him, and your union with Him will make you one, and your oneness with Him will allow you to be identified with Him, His purity allowing God to interact with you, and because of this you will be with Him in eternity, sitting at His side and enjoying His companionship, which will be more fulfilling than an earthly husband or an earthly bride. All you must do to engage God is be willing to leave everything behind, be willing to walk away from your identity, and embrace joyfully the trials and tribulations, the torture and perhaps martyrdom that will come upon you for being a child of God in a broken world working out its own redemption in empty pursuits.” ~ Donald Miller

Read the whole article here: The Gospel is not a Formula

photo credit: Big Richard C

So you know how you pray that God can use you at your job? That maybe one day you might be able to share your faith with a friend or colleague? Yea, we’ve all prayed that prayer.

So anyways, walking out to the parking garage, what does this girl want to talk to me about?

Ghosts.

Yes, ghosts. She believes in them – actually she believes there are a few ghosts AT OUR WORK; ghosts that “haunt” key places at my job – and she was serious. So, I mean, I listened, I talked to her, I asked her questions…

“Why do you think there are ghosts in the world?” I ask.

“They stick around because they have unfinished business,” she says.

“So anyone with unfinished business becomes a ghost? I guess we’re all doomed to become ghosts then, because nobody dies when they plan. It’s not like I can know when I am going to die, and quickly tie up loose ends before it happens.”

“That’s why I do my best to not have drama with anyone, and I tell people that I love them.” she says.

Good come back.

“But isn’t that always the thing you hear from mediums,” I ask. “Those people channel the dead and the toubled soul never talks about unfinished business, they always say they are in a ‘better place’ and they ‘love everyone.’ The ghosts never – ever say, I hate it here and I hate all of you.”

“I don’t believe in psychics.” She shakes her head.

“You don’t believe in psychics, but you believe in ghosts?” Now I am shaking my head. “What about Whoopie?” I laugh.

She laughs too. “Whoa, that’s weird,” she stops short. “Patrick Swayze is a real ghost now.”

…. and scene.

I guess in my mind, I could not believe that a college educated, bright person believed in ghosts; or that she was living her life in a way so that she would have a peaceful spirit when she died, so that she didn’t ‘become a ghost.’ But as I finished walking back to my car, I wondered…

Well, how much different do I look to people who don’t believe in “god?”

Could’t you say the same thing about me? Technically, I am a bright, “college educated” person, and I believe in an afterlife and “life beyond the grave.” And to a point, maybe I also believe Patrick Swayze is… a spirit of sorts…

But my point is, how more foolish do I as a Christian look to an unbelieving world? Maybe the moment I share my faith with someone, I will be just as fearful the person on the other side of the conversation will be thinking… “wow, he believes in God? What a wacko. That’s just a childhood fairytale.”

Of course, I didn’t do that to the girl I was talking to, we just talked and walked, I never once said that I “didn’t” believe in ghosts or psychics; and I certainly didn’t cast aspersions on her beliefs.  And maybe you’re thinking that I missed my opportunity to talk to my friend about what I believed.   We were laughing and having a good conversation, I just didn’t feel it was the time to bust out the four spiritual laws. But I guess at that moment, I thought it was better just to listen, to take some time and realize that the rest of the world doesn’t live in the bubble that I live in.

Since I have been at my new job I have

• overheard 2 guys on the bus talk about Norse mythology..
• One girl talk to me about apocalyptic style movies..
• A disgruntled Catholic tell me that she is a “good person” and that’s why she doesn’t go to church.
• And another disgruntled Catholic tell me that his Pastor Uncle wants to offer him “first communion” before he dies.

So I am beginning to see that even though there may only be “one answer” for a broken unbelieving world… there certainly seems to be more than one way to introduce Him.

You can’t just segue with, “You know I also believe in a man who came back from the dead, and his friends thought he was a ghost...” Conversations like that sound so forced and motive-driven.  So what is so wrong with just listening and laughing and walking along? Is it bad that I didn’t just seize that moment and begin with “two thousand years ago, in the tiny city of Bethlehem..?”

Don’t misunderstand though, I still hope that I planted a seed there, but perhaps a different seed than you might expect. Maybe instead of being the “Christian guy” who wants to convert her for badges on his Jesus belt* maybe she will instead remember me as the “funny guy” or the “guy who listened to her talk about ghosts.” And maybe that’s a weird thing to want to be, I don’t know.  Maybe I’d rather build a trust with her first, a real friendship that has some depth to it, so that the day I do share my faith with her – there is a solid ground to stand on.

You know.. these unbelievers.. they walk among us. They are everywhere and no two of them have the same story, the same past, the same beliefs or the same history with religion. So I don’t believe one cookie-cutter bible track disguised like a dollar bill is going to be the “fix” for what ails ya.

Before I go and get all Jesus-y on you, I’m going to listen to your ghost stories.

* I currently do not own a badge-laden Jesus belt.

photo credit: Frank Reyes

Today I have a guest writer for my blog… my wife. She head this “brain drop” on paper and she had me read it this morning. It’s basically a stream of consciousness of a lot of her thoughts and feelings these past months and it’s I’m sure very personal – but she is the other half of me – and her struggles are my struggles, so here it is…

Tomorrow is 6 months to the day that I ended my ministry position at our last church.  It has simultaneously gone at lightening speed and a snail’s pace.  I feel like it was just last week that I was preaching, saying good-bye and packing up my house to put into storage, and also it seems like so long ago.

So now a week after my 35^th birthday I think to myself.  What was I like 6 months ago? Have I changed in this blink of a eye?  Well yes, many things have changed…and yet when I really think about what has changed…it seems like nothing has really changed that matters.  And isn’t that what we did this whole adventure for?  Change that matters.  Well who should it matter to?  I didn’t have a bad life 6 months or even a year ago.  I don’t think I could have imagined that I would be here; sleeping on an aero bed in my mom’s den with my husband and 2 year old son only 2 feet away.

I didn’t think that I could do without all of the “things” that made my life so enriched.  And really when I was packing up that house, I certainly made decisions about what to pack and what to bring.  I was thinking in the short term.  I was hoping that we would be here for only 3 months or so.  I would have wished that we would have hosted our own Fourth of July party for a new congregation…in a new home.

I didn’t wish for D-land work schedules, Rubbermaid tubs and no leads.  I packed my sports bra!  I thought I would have time to exercise and finally be thin and fit.  I thought that I would cleanse my body and my mind of the “whatever” that was the change.  I thought the transition would be over quickly and now it feels like this in a band aid—that isn’t being pulled off quickly.  Instead it’s slowly being peeled back and that there will be a residue of gook stuck on me.  So in the midst of this….I examine my life.  How am I different?  Are those changes really good?

1. I have a new phone
2. I play Foursquare on that phone
3. it doesn’t ring as often
4. That makes me evaluate how many of the phone calls I used to receive were actually from people who cared.
5. I used to ask people for things
6. I don’t HAVE to go anywhere
7. My bank account is much slower
8. I enjoy cooking dinner
9. I love my mom’s kitchen
10. I read blogs
11. My life is informed by new people as a result, I have learned so much.
12. I have made really good food
13. I have made really good ice cream
14. I don’t follow recipes, even if I have time.
15. I make up recipes.
16. I made up my own pattern for pajama pants.
17. I want to re-fashion a T-shirt
18. I’m wearing a smaller size jeans.
19. I tell way less people what to do on a regular basis.
20. I share a bathroom with David
21. I wish I didn’t pack my cricut machine
22. I don’t know what I would have done with it…but it would have been fun
23. I thought I would become a graphic design master…and I not getting better at it.
24. I like yoga, but I don’t have the drive to do it on my own
25. Yet I think I will do a yoga class as whatever church we land at.  How hypocritical?
26. My eye was twitching from stress and caffeine, but now I wear glasses as a precaution.  I can’t tell if they help.
27. Even though I have no place to be and no real constraints on my time, I still can’t spend time with the friends I want to.
28. I understand how difficult it is to find a church.
29. I have changed my perception of where I want to live, I’m not as picky
30. I am still anxious about arriving somewhere
31. I don’t read my Bible more.
32. I listen to Frank the Podcast
33. I dream about vacations to take
34. I am aware of life more.
35. I notice plants and flowers
36. I love the farmer’s market
37. I have a desire to grow things
38. I want to design more when we have our own place
39. I would start a business
40. I am more debt free—only student loans.

What would you say?  Can you see a difference in me?  Does it matter what you think?  Do I only care about the changes that God sees?  Or is that the opposite of what really matters?  God loves me unconditionally no matter what I do.  His love for me isn’t based on how much I read the Bible or whether or not I’ve fasted successfully.  Those are expectations that I have put on myself.  Those are expectations that the world has put on me.  And I am a horrible example of Christ if you don’t see something redeeming in me.  How is it that I can “Be” Christ to others… AND….be the recipient of Grace and Mercy from Christ that other see?  Christ was the giver….yet he also received from the Father.  I want to be WITH God.  I want to be the same as I was…and that I am…and new all at the same time.  I want to keep the best of all I have been and am and will be, but in a new place.

I want to enjoy this time and I don’t know if I am.  I enjoy the walks to the Post Office and the ritual of walking regularly.  It makes me feel like a NYer.  I don’t want this to be stick band-aid gook.  Why is the band-aid on for so long?  Is there something that I’m learning in this time that I need for the next stage?  Will the next step be so busy and crowded with life and people that I will long for this quiet lonely time?  Will I be cold and freezing?  Will I be cramped and in a junky kitchen?  No matter.

• When our time started I was measuring the length in the boxes of diapers that we bought.  I’ve lost count
• Perhaps it was going to be the orchids blooming and dying.  There is only one left.
• Is it a number that we are waiting for…. Like $8000 in savings? Or for me to lose 20 lbs?
• Is it so that my mom can have time to spend with us before we go far away?
• Is God letting me see the Jacaranda trees and swim in the ocean and have one more summer before I leave?
• Is it none of those things?
• Does GOD really have a place that he has chosen for us?
• Does it work like that?
• Is it bad that I question and doubt these things?
• When will this end?
• If I ask these questions and finally release all the anxieties will it all just fall into place?

Like when I was waiting to get married and fall in love.  Is it like that, when I finally met David and our relationship happened, it just progressed…and yet it was too good to be true and like it wasn’t really happening all at once.  We waited for so long to meet each other, because we weren’t “ready”…but then when we did it was good.  Is that what’s happening; are we waiting because a church isn’t ready?

Can you hurry it up God?

[LAST] [NEXT]

So I have been following the progress of the new Pirates of the Caribbean film.  A lot of production work has been starting so there is some movement on the internet to watch and keep track of. And in case you didn’t know, the movie is set to release on May 20, 2011.

Well that date has become interesting to me lately, because in my web surfing, I stumbled upon another “big thing” coming on the following day May 21, 2011.

The Second Coming.

Yes, apparently Harold Camping , also called “the Bible Answer man,” (no, not Willie Aames) has predicted that Jesus will be coming back for his elect in less than a year and then the official “end” of the world will be later that same year in October. All of this comes from his new book, Time Has An End.  And ironically this is not the first time the Family Stations broadcaster has made an end-times prediction. His earlier book 1994? predicted the end of the world on September 6, 1994; but according to wikipedia NOTHING happened that day.

In Camping’s defense his book in 1994 DID say that the end of the world “might also happen” in 2011 – so his bases are covered and we can’t exactly scream “false prophet” and point fingers just yet. And you can do your own web research on these claims to be sure, but initially you might be thinking… well didn’t Jesus say…

Matthew 25:13 So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

And earlier in 24:36 However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

These would seem to imply that nobody (oudeis oude) knows when Jesus will return. And both verses use the word hēmera for the word “day,” which can either mean a literal day or the “last day.” This would seem to imply Jesus was saying that nobody would be able to predict the end of the world.

Nobody *

In a 1994 interview, Camping admitted that he does not know Greek or Hebrew and typically uses a concordance for his bible studies. If he ever has questions about original languages he asks a friend of his. So when asked about these passages and how they relate to his prediction, Mr. Camping commented that those verses were directed to “non-believers” and that the bible gave him the 2011 date through a course of study and prayer (I may be paraphrasing).

Either way, this prediction has stirred the typical pot of “oh no he didn’t” and “you better get ready,” and I guess we will all know the truth on Sunday May 22. But, I assume  Jerry Bruckheimer and I will probably be watching the Pirate weekend ticket sales totals from his recent release on that day.

The apostle Paul wrote to the chruch in Thessolonia

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.

In fact, I don’t know how skilled you’d need to be in Greek to decipher these texts – I think the point scripture is trying to make is “don’t get too worked up about the second coming, or when it will be.”

And for the most part, most Christians won’t even hear about this prediction and the rest won’t even care. May 22 will come and go and Harold and his disciples will write it off somehow so that it doesn’t discredit his reputation, I’m sure.

But… this whole discussion reminded me of a passage in the book of James.

James 5:7-8

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Here James is comparing the Lord’s return to a farmer’s crop harvest. How does a farmer wait for his crop to yield? Wouldn’t you say he waits with hope and anticipation? Each year the crop grows and ripens and is ready to be pulled and James says we should be looking forward to that day…

So are we? Are we looking forward to THAT day? Or are we looking forward to the big church barbecue or are next sermon series? How would our plans change or what programs we developed if we were looking forward to Christ’s return?

So as far-out as Mr. Camping’s prediction might be, what if we just decided to live like he was right?

How bad would it be to live like Jesus was coming back next May? What would you change, how would you live, what goals would you begin to set for yourself?

You may just decide to stress less about certain aspects of life… you’d be surprised how quickly your worry levels fade when you adjust what is truly important to you.

But what happens if we live like Christ is returning on May 21 and it comes and goes?

What do you do on May 22?

My suggestion would be to go see Pirates of the Caribbean and rejoice that we were given another year to live for the Kingdom.

* 220 Dates for the end of the world… and counting.

photo credit: amsfrank

What are your thoughts behind the Pastoral bookshelf? I mean, what am I supposed to do with all of my theology and church books? Sure, I read them, but afterwards they go up on my shelf to sit.

Once in a while I will go back and pull references for either a lesson, or a sermon idea, but for the most part my books just gather dust.

One day, when I have an office in a church, my books will sit proudly behind my desk. I only think that, because that is what I see in other pastor’s offices. I’m sure the idea is that you want people to come into your office and say, “Wow, this guy has read a lot of books.”

But how confident would you feel if your pastor had three huge mahogany bookshelves and they were all empty save for one book on its side?

The thing is, the books that I love have great ideas and have helped shape my theology, but surely only snippets and sound bites still resonate within me. From just reading a book a single time, I have not been able to commit to memory anything that that they said, or truly absorb the mass of their content.

So how much different are they than say the latest Steven King novel?

I have been toying with the idea of going back to a few of them. I want to read the books that have meant the most to me at least one more time; and hopefully this time I will either discover if the book really did have meaning to me, or if it was just some flash in the pan.

But let’s go back to that earlier idea of the one lone book on the bookshelf…

I mean what if that book was the bible – how would that speak to you as a disciple?

Maybe it says your pastor took the time to get to know and read the one book that really matters.

Isn’t the bible the book that all other books are about?

That’s the other thing that bugs me; sometimes I feel like I read “books” more than I read the bible. I usually justify it by saying that I have read a lot of the bible and that I am now “studying” the bible by reading the commentaries of others… but I’d much rather be a person who knows how Paul interpreted Christ than say… Brian McLaren (no offence, Brian).

Maybe for me, my books aren’t just commentary but assurances that my ideas and discoveries aren’t just my own. Perhaps if I only read the bible, and never heard a thought from an outside source, how I would I know if my ideas were sound? When I read Brian McLaren I will think to myself, ‘yea, that’s what I believe as well’ so then both reader and author have united behind the idea.

Maybe the bookshelf in my office does not just represent the books I have read, but also the men and women who share my theology.

And I guess my last thought is about the complaint that ‘Pastors steal all their ideas from books.’ This is the idea that the Pastoral bookshelf becomes more a source of inspiration than listening to the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard that complaint, because I have also thought it. And I suppose it could be true, but it’s really not my place to judge is it?

I would like to think that the Holy Spirit speaks through the authors I read as well as the bible as well as through friends and prayer. Truth be told, a Pastor steals all their ideas from the Spirit and from the word of God. After all, “there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-14)

And while we are talking about it, I’d love to see your bookshelf. The comment section would be a great place to post links to your bookshelf pictures (hint hint).

I really don’t know why I am putting this up today, or what significance it has. It has significance to me and my family, so I am hoping it will for you as well. A long time ago when I was still a boy, my family’s church adopted a Vietnamese family who came over to America after the war. It was the church’s intention to help the family adjust to life in America and to be a strong Christian influence in their lives.

Through a series of events, the “Vietnamese family Project” was abandoned, but my parents continued to be their friends; so much so that I even remember family vacations that included the Nguyens. They had two boys (as did my parents) and a live-in Grandmother and they always had the best food.

As my parent’s children got older, we lost touch with the Nguyens and their two boys, but my Dad has always stayed in touch; even through recent marriages and the death of the Father – Locke.

Now an empty nester, the Mother of the family, Ha, recently wrote a letter to my Dad and he forwarded the letter to me. In the letter, (which I am enclosing for you to read) Ha tells my Dad why she is relinquishing all her worldly possessions and becoming a Buddhist nun.

And I guess I am writing this because.. well, you don’t always reach people for Christ. They don’t all become Christians. Not every person you pray for, have hour discussions with, adopt and bring into your life will one day say the sinner’s prayer.  There is no magic to evangelism or even being the best example you can be.. sometimes it never happens. And this isn’t to say that it’s beyond all hope – certainly anything can happen and God does use all things for his glory – for certain.

I just… well, wanted you to read the letter of a lady who has been the recipient of an entire Church’s outreach program, been adopted alongside my own brother and I as family members, been within the influence of a strong Christian family for years and years… and who still chose something other than Jesus.

Charles –

I became a Buddhist nun since last December, right after my son’s wedding. To become a nun, I have to partake in a ceremony where I take vows to leave my family, not to possess wealth, to be a vegetarian, to have only 3 robes (and 4 pairs of pajamas)  I am not allowed to wear makeup and I will have to live in the monastery (except for a few ladies who are over 62 and who will have the option to live at home). I must agree to keep the 10 precepts including rules not to kill, not to Steal, not to Lie, not to have sexual conduct, not to drink alcohol, and not to participate in any entertainment; and of course my hair must be SHAVED OFF!

I am very happy. I lost 10 lbs thanks to a very strict schedule (like getting up at 3am, eating only breakfast and lunch, and no more food until the next day.)

Why do I sacrifice worldly pleasures for the ascetic lifestyle? I have nothing to be depressed about. I just earnestly want to look for the truth; and the answers to the questions: Who am I really? Where do I come from? And where do I go when I die?

I remember you and I used to discuss religion, and you tried to explain the Bible to me. Do you remember? I guess I am the type of person who can’t merely take a leap of blind faith. I have to understand everything, accept and experience it.  You always told me that Jesus was in us, and not necessarily in the church buildings.  I agree, but can you see exactly where Jesus is in you?

Well, I can see Jesus in me now.  But, I can only learn and experience him through Buddhism and meditation. Buddhism answers all of my questions so well and so scientifically; and I believe that I now have the detailed map to go home. I just have to start my journey, it will be a very, very long journey, but I don’t mind, as long as I know that I am heading home, no more being astray. I am very happy and peaceful.

Attention become aware of see

The more I see, the more I become aware of all the things I observe.

Ha

One last thought from me.

Sometimes when I tell the story of how I became a pastor, I actually include a piece about the Nguyens. I remember driving in their backseat on a double family outing and for some reason I was in the backseat of their car.  The eldest son and I were in the backseat and not to surprisingly we were sharing the various stories of our faith. After a long and winding story (or argument I can’t remember) from me, Ha turned back from the front seat and said, “David you should become a pastor.”

This was way back when I still wanted to be Spiderman or James Bond when I grew up – “pastor” was not even on my radar until that day. But she was one of two very important people who cast me off on this journey. And so even regardless of the choices she is making for her own life, I owe her my deepest thanks for the nudge that she gave to me.

I love the movie Office Space….well, who doesn’t? It’s been a cult-classic since 1999. The struggle of the blue collar office worker who adopts an “I don’t care” attitude towards his company and infects his corporation with a Macintosh virus.

Is that even possible?

There are so many great lines from the movie; and everyone has their favorite.

“You’ve been missing a lot of work lately…” “Well I wouldn’t say I was missing it….”

I know people who have been Lumburgh (the coffee drinking boss) for Halloween. And even thought it didn’t exist before the movie, Swingline now carries red staplers as part of their inventory.

Every once in a while the show comes on TV and it’s always entertaining to sit and watch a of couple scenes. How do you beat a cast like Jennifer Anitson, John McGinley (Perry from Scrubs) and Diedrich Bader?

Anyway…

So the movie got me thinking the other day, Office Space is very funny, but I bet a lot of people think about the church that way. I mean, feeling unchallenged, unmotivated, just “phoning it in.” If I got called into the board room, what would I tell the “Bob’s” if they questioned me?

“I’d say in a given Sunday I probably do about 15 minutes of real, actual worship.”

And if we were to question people as they passed by us on the way out of service, would they have a hard time answering, “Exactly what is it that you do here?”

For some of us it’s been our tradition, (or habit) for so long that I am sure if without challenge and effort, could easily feel like going to “work.”

But the surprising thing of the movie, is that the main character, Peter Gibbons, decides that from now on, he’s just “not going to go.”

He’s not going to quit mind you….

He’s just not going to go in anymore.

So later on when he’s questioned by a team of efficiency experts, Peter is open and honest; he’s candid about his work flow, his bosses, and what is asked of him… and in a way, he becomes more confident in all respects.

He asks Joanna on a date

He takes down his cubicle walls… with a drill.

You could almost say his “outlook” has totally changed.  The more you think about it, there are so many great parallels.

Maybe you are sick and tired of the way you have played church your whole life? You’re asking if this all that there is; all that you can look forward to?

Would your church care if one day….you decided not to go anymore?

And what would change if you decided to be honest about how you felt? What would happen if you were unafraid? What walls need to come down there?

Granted, what Peter did was outside the norm, and some of the things that he did were slightly illegal. It is a movie after all…..meant to entertain and make us laugh.

And no, this is not another “feel bad because you don’t do enough in your church” article, (I hate those). I’m just looking down the road a bit and feeling like I am probably going to sit in this pew for another forty some odd years (God willing) and I don’t know how I feel about that. I don’t want to become like Peter to the point where one day I wake up and I simply don’t want to go anymore.

So hopefully the answer lies somewhere in the middle; I don’t want to not care about attending church, but maybe I need to stop caring about some other things….maybe it’s what people think, or what people expect of me, or what limitations I feel that I have.

Maybe once I become more uninhibited, and once I let go…worship will become more… well, just MORE.

I mean, we should think this out first, don’t you think? Not make any rash decisions.

First I’m gonna go out to dinner, and then I’m gonna go back to my apartment and watch kung fu. Do you ever watch kung fu?

I love kung fu.

Inspired by Adam Smith’s blog this morning… “This post will probably make me seem really OCD, but I want/like things a certain way.”

• I have to sleep on the left side of the bed, regardless of how the bed is turned or facing
• I have to be the last person to check locks on cars and houses – and if someone asks, “Is it locked?” I check again even if I am sure.
• Everything I own needs to be in a “box” and every file on my computer needs to be in a “folder.” I don’t like things just lying around.

And if I could change one habit of mine, it would probably the nervous twitch I have of removing my wedding ring, turning it over and replacing it (and my wife would agree).

These little ticks and compulsions help bring comfort through the day, even the things that I do without thinking about it, for some reason they ease my nerves. If I don’t do them.. I feel it.

It’s weird isn’t it?

Too bad I can’t have those same impulses when I forget to pray. Sometimes I can go the whole day, lay down in bed and then realize…. I didn’t pray all day.

Why isn’t that a habit yet?

How come my body doesn’t ache when I forget to talk to God?

Instead I have to create reminders for myself in the form of books, prayer beads and sometimes even calendar or email reminders. To replace a natural impulse, I have to in essence tie a string around my finger to help me remember.

I wonder how God feels about that? I’d be hurt… It’s how my wife feels that I can’t remember her birthday or Mother’s Day (yes, I forgot this year). And it’s certainly not because I don’t love her, or that she is not important to me… but for some reason – there are important things in my life – that slip my mind.

Does God, like my wife, get hurt when I forget?

If I am made in his image, does that include feelings like neglect?

Instead of being a man of impulsion, i’d rather be a man of prayer.

Today’s Monday morning question: Who is Satan?

In my theology, I always come back to the devil; and it’s not because I am obsessed or anything, rather I get bent out of shape whenever I hear pastors furthering the idea that the devil (or Satan) has “power” or “control” or is involved in your personal life ruining your marriage or giving you acne.

Because I would argue that we were all taught the right things about God, but we were not taught the right things about Satan; and sometimes these two “teachings” butt heads and don’t make sense.

Who is control of all things?

God

Who is in control of evil?

(be careful before you answer)

True, there is a lot in scripture that concerns the devil, but there is also a lot of “stuff we say” that has nothing to do with the devil. We just read into verses and “certain words” and just ascribe the devil to them. This is bad bible study and that makes bad theology.

The Serpent Confusion

I will go so far as to go out of my way to NOT SAY that Eve was tempted by the devil. Why? Because the bible doesn’t say it. It says “the serpant.” Not once does the bible EVER say that Eve was temped by Satan. In fact, one of the main authors of scripture to write about the devil is Paul and when Paul retells the Genesis story he says,

2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

I have to believe if he thought the serpent was the devil, he would have said so. In fact the next time we see an animal talking in scripture is Balaam’s “donkey.”  And the bible says in Numbers 22:28 that “the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth.”

Check your own theology before you go and ascribe power and will to the devil.  Who has control over creation? God or the devil?

The name Lucifer

Are you Catholic? Do you only read the King James bible? Can we all agree to stop using this word? Lucifer is a Latin word that means “light bearer.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” but that costume is not his name. The bible does not call him Lucifer… the bible isn’t written in Latin… let’s not ascribe non-biblical titles to him. You can call him Mr. Poopy Pants… but please don’t say, “his real name is Lucifer.”

In Hebrew he is called haSatan (meaning ‘the challenger) and in Greek he is diablos (accuser) so at BEST his name implies he is a prosecuting attorney.

The Problem with “Day Star”

Another reason for this is the mis-translation of Isaiah 14. (I don’t believe this passage is about the devil, it says very clearly it is a passage about the King of Babylon). Again this is an example of bible scholars making this about something that the bible does not say. Ascribing the term “day star” to Satan stands you on dangerous ground when you consider these verses that are talking about Jesus.

2Pet 1:19

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Rev 2:28

I will also give him the morning star.

Rev 22:16

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

Listen to your own words when you sing All Hail King Jesus:

All hail King Jesus
All hail Emmanuel
King of Kings
Lord of Lords
Bright Morning Star
And throughout eternity
I’ll sing Your Praises
And I’ll reign with You throughout eternity.

Who is the bright morning star you are singing about?

The Devil as God’s arch-nemesis

In fact the Jewish understanding of the devil is far different from the Christian view (because they don’t have the new testament). But let me argue for their side for just a second… I would say that a typical Hebrew knows their Old Testament (torah) pretty well wouldn’t you? And the Old Testament descriptions of the devil don’t paint him out to be the devil Christians fear. Listen to how one Hebrew blogger writes it.

Judaism does not believe in the devil, but we do believe in Satan (who more properly should be called “the Satan”). As this demonstrates, the Jewish view of Satan is very different than the Christian one. Here’s a summary of the Jewish view. The word satan means challenger. With the leading ha- to make haSatan, it refers to /the/ challenger. This describes Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man’s challenges. Satan works for G-d. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it can be a meaningful choice. Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God’s opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God’s opponent would be considered overly polytheistic–you are setting up the devil to be a god or demigod.

In other words; Christians today set Satan up to be this “force” that is out of control. But again, check your own logical theology.  Do you honestly believe something could exist that runs rampant in God’s creation without His consent or control? You either believe God is in charge and control of all things and that His will is done “one earth as it is in heaven” or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways.

The Devil controls demons or that the Angels are now demons

Where is this in scripture? I can’t find it.

Revelation 12:9 and Matthew 25:41 say that hell is for the devil and his “angels.” Not the devil and his demons. In fact if you look at scripture, it’s God who sends demons (1 Samuel 16) and God who tempts people to do evil (2 Samuel 24) and God who tells Satan what to do (Job 1-2; Zechariah 3:1-7).

Doesn’t that support the idea that God is in control of all things?

Who is in control of evil?

The idea that the Devil was made as an angel who later “rebelled,” (which would mean he sinned and has a will) or that some angels “crossed over” and joined the devil and became demons implies that God creates junk. How did God make angels “with wills” who could rebel against him? Satan and these angels would have to be the dumbest creations God ever made. Doesn’t it make more sense that God “made” these beings “this way?”

We want to make it the fault of the creation because we can’t understand why God would make a being whose purpose is to lie and deceive… but for me it makes less sense that a “beautiful angel” left the presence of God to become a “villain.”

Check your own theology. God made all of creation and he is in control of all of his creation – the Devil and his angels are created beings.

Do you honestly believe if the devil was a thorn in His side.. or was ruining His plans… God would keep him around? Satan’s purpose is not to “keep you out of heaven” or to give your computer a virus. The devil can only do what God allows him to do.

God is in control of all things.

This is what we mean when we say “God is sovereign.”  1, 2

To be sure, I am a novice theologian. I have not devoted enough time to this study, this is only my beginning work, but I would love to hear your thoughts or where you think I have it wrong.

The Rabbis teach a midrash on the Genesis narrative where Adam is watching the animals parade by him one by one and he is deciphering a name for each one.

“Bear”

“Duck”

“Iguana”

God strolls by and sees the good job Adam is doing and noddingly approves as the last few animals go by. “I am almost done,” says Adam. “Just this last animal here.”

“Cat” says Adam a-matter-of-factly

God takes a second look and furrows his brow, “Wait!” says God. “I didn’t make THAT.”

…And so the joke is… Cats are the spawn of the devil.

The End.

I have a cat, but I still think the joke is funny. The only reason I bring this up is because my Dad went to church this past Sunday and his Sunday School teacher taught in class that animals have souls (like people do) and it therefore qualifies them for heaven.

Now, I must have been the worst seminary student of all time, because I either skipped that day – or fell asleep in lecture hall because I missed that whole discussion.

“Where is that in the bible?” My Dad asked me; and you know us pastors – we have to have an answer for everything.

I know Adam was made with a “spirit” or “ruach” which is the word used in scripture to denote the breath of God; and I have heard this message taught as a reason why we (humanity) are separate from the rest of creation; although I don’t know what to do with passages like…

Genesis 1:30
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground–everything that has the breath of life in it–I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Genesis 6:17
I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.

Genesis 7:15
Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.

This same word “ruach” is used to describe the animals.

So it would seem that the animals also have the “spirit of God” in them? But, I don’t know where the step from “spirit” to “soul” comes in; and I also don’t know a bible verse that specifically says, “only created things with souls go to heaven and other created things without souls do not.”

And I guess this would raise other questions like…

Do flowers go to heaven?

Insects?

What about microscopic organisms?

But…does it really matter? I’m serious. Who cares? I have enough worries keeping my own spirit in check, now I have to worry about Fluffy and Spotty?

On the other hand, if God wants a heaven that is filled with animals – that’s great.  Who am I to say who makes it into heaven and who does not? Because we all know that heaven must have a stable since Jesus is coming back on a white horse, right?

Of course, if an animal does sin (can animals sin?) then they must confess that sin and accept Christ as their savior since Jesus did say that the only way to the Father was through him (John 14:6).

I guess part of me wants to understand why these questions even come up? People with pets want assurances that their beloved shih tzus will be with them in paradise I guess. But what about all of the dinosaurs, wildebeests and Polar bears? Are they going to be in heaven? And what about the “bad animals?” Is Scar going to be in heaven?  I mean after all he did covet his brothers Kingdom and then Murdered him for it (whoa, much like Cain and Abel).

Do you see how these questions end up raising more questions each one more ridiculous then the next? I wish it were not true, but it’s not just something that we as Christians do. When the Hebrew scriptures say that something was done with “the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19. Exodus 31:18) the Jewish Rabbis will ask.. “What finger did God use?”

By the way, don’t ask that question to a bunch of middle schoolers. You won’t get the answer that you are looking for.

The Rabbis then answer their own question.

“It must have been God’s pinky finger,” they concluded; and to this day many Jews will raise their pinky finger when reading the Torah and then kiss the finger when the reading is done.  Even now many Jews still practice finger-kissing-bible-reading, but they don’t even know why.

Too bad the early Catholic church didn’t catch wind of this whole soul/spirit “pets in heaven” argument a little bit earlier – they could have been selling indulgences for pack mules and parakeets. Although it seems now they are letting them come to church.

I guess my point isn’t about pets or heaven or pinky fingers, but just the questions we ask of scripture. Take for instance the second coming; I mean Jesus said himself that nobody would know the hour when he would return (Matthew 24:36-37) but how much paper is wasted over people trying to answer that question? Because let’s face it, when every last person is in heaven and we’re all holding hands and singing bringing in the sheaves, is one of us going to be raising our hands saying, “I knew it, I told you so?”

I doubt it.

Do dogs and cats go to heaven?

Which finger does God use?

These aren’t the questions we should be asking of scripture. I find that the best questions are still the simplest ones anyway. And a careful reading of the scriptures will already reveal that the most important questions have already been asked.

Who then shall be saved?

Who is my neighbor?

What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

My life needs to start with the answers that Jesus has already given for those questions, before I can start thinking about whether my gerbil will be with me in paradise.

* today’s blogcast was dedicated to my 2 dogs Fluffy and Spotty

I started reading Ed Dobson’s book The Year of Living Like Jesus and so far I am really enjoying it. And this is in no way an early critique or slam on the book or the author, but my mind began to race last night and I had to jot a few things down. I think most of us would agree that as “Christians” we are also followers of Jesus; and I think we end up living somewhere between those two titles.

I once heard that being a Christian was the equivalent of calling yourself a “little Christ.” I have not researched that, it could be complete hogwash, but regardless of the word’s etymology, I think that’s what we always associate it with. So laying in bed the other night I began asking myself.. ‘What am I supposed to be? a little version of Jesus? Or someone who follows him?’

In my book, Ed Dobson is trying to decipher how Jesus ate and what he wore, and while I realize this will not be the sum of his book and nor do most Sunday morning bible-toters take it to this extreme, I still think these same conclusions are reached when we ask the question, “Well what did Jesus do?”

In an earlier post I commented about how a particular pastor was governing his church based on how Jesus “did it.” But I am coming to think that this is not the best criterion. I would argue that if we spend our days pouring over the gospels we will in fact learn to identify the heart of Christ (no question) but if we seek to emulate what he did, or perhaps copy the cultural norms of his day – that is where we begin to miss the point.

To make my point I need to go backwards in my argument just a little…

The gospels are filled with the life of Christ before the cross. And sure there are some chapters about his post resurrection appearances, but there is not a lot there. So if we are in fact “followers of Jesus” then that means we follow the resurrected Christ, not the Jesus of the gospels.

“But David,” you ask. “Aren’t they the same person?”

Great question kid in the back row, you should speak up more.

Well, of course they are the same person, but in another way they are not. There is one huge difference…. the Jesus before the cross was an observant Jew who lived by the Jewish law and probably the cultural norms of his day. But the resurrected Jesus lived in a world where the temple curtain was torn – and THAT is the Jesus we follow today.

So I think when we ask “What did Jesus do”  - we are evaluating a Jesus who ate kosher, observed Sabbath, and lived in a world where women were pack mules. But when Jesus rose from the grave – he abolished all of that.

So in your walk with Christ which Jesus are you following? The Jesus before the cross or after?

In the book of Exodus Moses asks to see God’s divine nature and God says, “Why do you want to see me?” But rather than showing Moses all of his glory, God decided to put Moses in the cleft of a rock and as he passed by. “You can see my back” says God. (Exodus 23)

Nice.

No, you can’t see my glory, but I will show you my backside, says God. And what scholars actually think God was saying was not that Moses would be seeing God’s literal backside, but actually the place where God had just been. In other words God was saying, ‘No, you can’t see me – but I will show you where I was.’

And I would argue this is how we sometimes follow Jesus.

Because in following Jesus we should be behind him on the road – where he is right now. We should be following a resurrected Christ out into the world and out where he is ministering. But I think we get too hung up on “where he was” that we spend all of our walk stuck in Nazareth.

You and I are followers of the resurrected Jesus. So when you slip on your sandals and adorn your talis, make sure that the footsteps in front of you are fresh.

Today is Earth Day so I decided to repost an article I did for Relevant Magazine way back in 2007. I went back over it and reworked a lot of it, so consider it an Earth Day article “recycled.”

April 22 is Earth Day, despite the fact that DramaRama thinks Earth Day was yesterday. Which brings up a good point; the whole idea of Earth “Day” as only one specific day of the year is a little bit ridiculous. It reminds me of the other pseudo holidays like administrative assistant day, or talk like a pirate day. On those days we buy someone a card and flowers or we wear an eye-patch, and then we just go about our normal workday.

And I would argue that Earth day is probably not much different. But we really should appreciate and respect our assistant’s every day, right? So, the same should probably be said for the planet that we live on. How can we only set aside one day to be “aware” that we all live on a chunk of rock that needs our love?

More and more I am coming to the realization that as a Christian, it is not only my responsibility to be conscious of my impact on the environment, but to be conscious of my witness as a child of God. This past year I moved from a city that recycles my garbage for me to a city that has me separate the plastic, paper and glass. Before 2010, it was never a visual thing for me; I just threw it away and somebody else took care of it. But these past few months, I have had to be the one that was conscious of the part I was playing – and I guess I am always surprised at what can be done.

In Genesis 1:28, God tells humanity; “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (TNIV).

Now, in our English language, I think the words “subdue” and “rule” comes with a sense of freedom to discipline or tame something. The verse sounds like God is giving us free reign to do whatever we want. But there are not many places in scripture where God says, “Eh, do whatever you want.” Are there?

And if we were to look in our Bibles just one page over, the Lord gives this command again, but He uses an extended instruction. Genesis 2: 15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (TNIV).

There are two Hebrew words here: The first word is ’abad; it means “to work or serve.” It carries with it the idea of cultivating a garden. The second word, shamar, means “to exercise great care over.” Now go back and start at the very beginning of Genesis and read the whole account again. Look at the attention God gives to each day of His creation.

God creates an entire ecosystem of intricately designed plants and animals that operate within a solar environment, and then He hands the entire thing—His great masterwork—over to the people as His “gardeners.”

So now in 2010, if I profess to be a child of God and a person who is obedient to scripture, what kind of witness am I to the world if I am just as guilty of wasting water, paper and electricity? Am I the caretaker that God has designed me to be?

Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Living green is really something we can all do, and the great thing is, even one person can make a difference. And for those of us who are parents, we can begin to help train the next generation of consumers.

So here are 20 really easy things we can all do to decrease our ecological footprint on the earth.

1. Lower your thermostat and buy a programmable thermostat.

2. Reuse your water bottle. Avoid buying bottled water. (In fact, reuse everything at least once, especially plastics.)

3. Check out your bathroom; use low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets.

4. Start a compost in your backyard or on your rooftop.

5. Buy foods locally. Check out Eat Local Challenge and FoodRoutes to get started. Buy locally made products and locally produced services.

6. Buy foods in season.

7. Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. You’ll find more on energy-efficient products and practices at Energy Star.

8. Turn off lights and electronics when you leave the room. Unplug your cell phone charger from the wall when not using it. Turn off energy strips and surge protectors when not in use (especially overnight).

9. Recycle your newspapers.

10. Car pool. Connect with other commuters at eRideShare.

11. Consider a car sharing service like Zipcar.

12. Ride a bike.

13. Walk, jog, or run.

14. Go to your local library instead of buying new books.

15. At holidays and birthdays, give your family and friends the gift of saving the earth. Donate to their favorite environmental group, foundation, or organization.

16. Get off junk mail lists. GreenDimes can get you started. They’ll even plant a tree for you!

17. Buy products that use recyclable materials whenever possible.

18. If you use plastic grocery bags, recycle them for doggie poop bags or for small trashcan liners.

19. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Given a choice between plastic and paper, opt for paper.

20. Buy locally. Find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food near you at LocalHarvest.

* More tips can be found at http://www.divinecaroline.com/22355/28177