This is a video I ran across today by Tim Keller on the Missional Church. I thought it was really good, so have a look.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Day of Silence
Today is what is being dubbed as the "Day of Silence". It's a nationwide (maybe worldwide?) push to bring awareness to the harassment, violence, and name calling that homosexual students face. It's of course sponsored and promoted by many groups. It's also of course opposed by many groups. Students in school are going to be silent for the day as a way to bring awareness to the issue and show support for those who are gay. As a youth pastor, I get lots of email and things in the mail from Christian organizations all the time. Many have focused on this day and warned of the slippery slope that a day like this can be. They have talked about the "homosexual agenda" and the "indoctrination" of our students. Many of these organizations have encouraged active opposition to our schools, including keeping kids home today. I was asked what I thought about it recently.
To be honest, I think that most of these issues that come up would just go away and not be that big of a deal if we didn't have such strong reactions to them. It's like when your mom used to say "they only make fun of you because of the reaction the get - if you stop reacting, they will stop messing with you." While I'm sure that analogy has its limits, I kind of feel like this issue is one of those things. We make it into a bigger deal than it really is. Many of the organizations I heard from were really hyping this thing up. I don't know if they had their facts wrong or maybe just my community is different, but many of the things they were warning about simply weren't true. There was no forced participation, there was no disruption of class allowed, there was no school sponsored events. It's simply a student club led demonstration of silence. What kind of indoctrination happens from people being silent anyway?
At any rate, I wrestled with what the Christian response should be to something like this. I definitely think the Bible is clear about homosexuality - it's a sin. But I don't share the view that somehow homosexuality is worse than heterosexuality outside of its proper context of marriage. I see pride, arrogance, envy, materialism, injustice, self-righteousness, hate, racism, lust, and every other sin as being right there along side homosexuality. In fact in the Scriptures it seems like things like being disobedient to parents is listed right along side homosexuality as sin all the time. I wonder why there is such a strong reaction to this particular sin? I understand for many they see it as an attack on the family. But so is divorce, and pornography, and selfishness, and lots of other things that we don't get that riled up about.
In youth group this week, I led a discussion about all of this. Our students really seem to get it. Most of them would agree that homosexuality is wrong. They believe the Bible to be their authority on that. And yet, they see that anger and protests really aren't the best way to respond to things like this. For one thing, they simply reinforce the picture that Christians are against everything. There is very little we are known for being in favor of. But secondly, they understand that grace is big. It's really big. It's big enough to cover my sin, as well as the sins of others. They also realize that the Scriptures are pretty clear about who gets to judge people for their sins, and it aint us. The Scriptures are also pretty clear about loving people, and that it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance. I love to picture Jesus when he was confronted with people in sin. Take the woman caught in adultery for example. Jesus agreed that the law said she ought to be stoned for her sin. But in an absolutely brilliant moment he is able to point out to everyone there ready to kill this woman that they are all guilty of the same law. When they all walk away shamed, Jesus turns to the woman and says "where are your accusers?" They are all gone, the woman responds. And then Jesus says "Neither do I condemn you." Wow! That is huge! Of course it doesn't end right there, because Jesus, like he always does, is constantly moving people closer to the kingdom and to Himself. He loves us way too much to let us stay where we are at, or to let us continue the way that we are living. He tells the woman "Go and sin no more." It's beautiful really. I don't condemn you, but take a step forward. Learn to live life better. There is a right way to live. There are things that are true. But Jesus seems to invite people to discover that reality rather than condemning and getting angry with sin. More than anyone else, it's the religious people that Jesus seems to get angry with.
There are many other examples of Jesus doing this same thing. The woman at the well who was on her 5th man, living with him, not married, divorced 4 times. There's Zachaeus, who was a well known swindler and thief. In fact his story is amazing. Jesus simply says "I must eat at your house tonight." Instantly, Zachaeus is transformed, voluntarily repenting of his sin and making restitution with everyone he had stolen from.
Well this is a long post. But I hope that the church will become more intent on taking on the name of Jesus than we will be with pointing out sin. Jesus - "Friend of sinners." How great would that be?
To be honest, I think that most of these issues that come up would just go away and not be that big of a deal if we didn't have such strong reactions to them. It's like when your mom used to say "they only make fun of you because of the reaction the get - if you stop reacting, they will stop messing with you." While I'm sure that analogy has its limits, I kind of feel like this issue is one of those things. We make it into a bigger deal than it really is. Many of the organizations I heard from were really hyping this thing up. I don't know if they had their facts wrong or maybe just my community is different, but many of the things they were warning about simply weren't true. There was no forced participation, there was no disruption of class allowed, there was no school sponsored events. It's simply a student club led demonstration of silence. What kind of indoctrination happens from people being silent anyway?
At any rate, I wrestled with what the Christian response should be to something like this. I definitely think the Bible is clear about homosexuality - it's a sin. But I don't share the view that somehow homosexuality is worse than heterosexuality outside of its proper context of marriage. I see pride, arrogance, envy, materialism, injustice, self-righteousness, hate, racism, lust, and every other sin as being right there along side homosexuality. In fact in the Scriptures it seems like things like being disobedient to parents is listed right along side homosexuality as sin all the time. I wonder why there is such a strong reaction to this particular sin? I understand for many they see it as an attack on the family. But so is divorce, and pornography, and selfishness, and lots of other things that we don't get that riled up about.
In youth group this week, I led a discussion about all of this. Our students really seem to get it. Most of them would agree that homosexuality is wrong. They believe the Bible to be their authority on that. And yet, they see that anger and protests really aren't the best way to respond to things like this. For one thing, they simply reinforce the picture that Christians are against everything. There is very little we are known for being in favor of. But secondly, they understand that grace is big. It's really big. It's big enough to cover my sin, as well as the sins of others. They also realize that the Scriptures are pretty clear about who gets to judge people for their sins, and it aint us. The Scriptures are also pretty clear about loving people, and that it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance. I love to picture Jesus when he was confronted with people in sin. Take the woman caught in adultery for example. Jesus agreed that the law said she ought to be stoned for her sin. But in an absolutely brilliant moment he is able to point out to everyone there ready to kill this woman that they are all guilty of the same law. When they all walk away shamed, Jesus turns to the woman and says "where are your accusers?" They are all gone, the woman responds. And then Jesus says "Neither do I condemn you." Wow! That is huge! Of course it doesn't end right there, because Jesus, like he always does, is constantly moving people closer to the kingdom and to Himself. He loves us way too much to let us stay where we are at, or to let us continue the way that we are living. He tells the woman "Go and sin no more." It's beautiful really. I don't condemn you, but take a step forward. Learn to live life better. There is a right way to live. There are things that are true. But Jesus seems to invite people to discover that reality rather than condemning and getting angry with sin. More than anyone else, it's the religious people that Jesus seems to get angry with.
There are many other examples of Jesus doing this same thing. The woman at the well who was on her 5th man, living with him, not married, divorced 4 times. There's Zachaeus, who was a well known swindler and thief. In fact his story is amazing. Jesus simply says "I must eat at your house tonight." Instantly, Zachaeus is transformed, voluntarily repenting of his sin and making restitution with everyone he had stolen from.
Well this is a long post. But I hope that the church will become more intent on taking on the name of Jesus than we will be with pointing out sin. Jesus - "Friend of sinners." How great would that be?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Durham
We've spent the last week in North Carolina doing several different things. We flew out last week and stayed a day or so with Kimi's family in Raleigh. Then we borrowed a car and headed to Charlotte for the First Steps conference with the Baptist General Conference (now Converge USA). The conference was really helpful. It took us through all of the first things we need to be doing and thinking about as we begin to plant a church and all the way up through launch. I guess there's another seminar series called "Next Steps" that will take us through the first few years of the church. Kimi and I learned a lot, and got a lot of great ideas. It was also a bit overwhelming as I begin to realize how much work I need to be doing.
After the conference we headed back to Raleigh to spend a few days in the triangle area scouting out potential areas to plant, as well as potential areas to live. To be honest that was quite discouraging. It's really hard to understand why God has moved us in this direction. I mean, in some ways I think he let us choose, but in other ways it seems like he moved our hearts to this place. We do love the area, the weather, the people, the speed of life. I love the potential for ministry to college students and young families moving into the area. But we know almost nothing about the area - which makes it really difficult in picking a location. There's very little to guide us into that decision. I met a few pastors at the conference who are from this area and I hope to talk to them further to get their take on where we might want to be. I also went by an existing church that I have visited before. They are doing the kind of ministry I would love for us to do. So I asked them their opinion and they sort of pointed us in the direction of Durham. I couldn't tell if they were pushing me in that direction because they thought it would be a good idea, or because they just wanted me away from them. Who knows? At any rate, we spent the better part of yesterday just driving around feeling really discouraged. Nothing looked good to me. There was a lot of country places, established neighborhoods, and just not much that excited me. I kind of feel stupid for being here and planning a church in an area that I know nothing about. I'm sure as I talk to people and ask them questions they are thinking the same thing. But then we were able to pick up my sister in law's boyfriend who has recently bought a home in Durham. He knows the area really well and was able to give us a tour of the whole city including some neighborhoods that he thought we might like.
Kimi and I both were really discouraged, like I said. So I talked to my mom, and I texted Jordan and asked them both to be praying for us. Very quickly things began to turn around. As we started into Durham things started looking quite different. We saw some neighborhoods that we loved. We went up by Duke University and that was quite exciting. There are college students all over the place. As we came out of Duke and entered the downtown area I started getting really excited. In the downtown area there is a huge push to revitalize the area. Some parts of it are really run down, but other parts have been restored. The area reminded me a lot of Portland which is an area I really love. Central to the city is the stadium for the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team. It seems as though this is a big deal to the city. That's exciting to me, seeing as how I love baseball. I was excited by the thought of a church in the center of downtown, partnering with the city in the restoration and revitalization of the people of Durham. I see so much potential here and I'm really excited. It's close to the university, close to some really rundown areas and people that could really use the hope of Jesus, and in a downtown area where the city is practically begging for people to be part of the restoration process. I begin to get visions of a church that is intimately involved in the community and making a real difference there. The other thing is that I saw very little being done by any existing churches in the downtown area. I think this could be a great place for us to be.
I still plan on seeking the advice of local pastors and ministries, but I am grateful for God answering our prayers and beginning to awaken our hearts to this place. I was really feeling lost and discouraged, and I believe the prayers of so many helped to change that.
Is this the beginning of what is to come? I hope so. I hope it is the place where we can emphasize our theme of belonging, believing, and becoming.
After the conference we headed back to Raleigh to spend a few days in the triangle area scouting out potential areas to plant, as well as potential areas to live. To be honest that was quite discouraging. It's really hard to understand why God has moved us in this direction. I mean, in some ways I think he let us choose, but in other ways it seems like he moved our hearts to this place. We do love the area, the weather, the people, the speed of life. I love the potential for ministry to college students and young families moving into the area. But we know almost nothing about the area - which makes it really difficult in picking a location. There's very little to guide us into that decision. I met a few pastors at the conference who are from this area and I hope to talk to them further to get their take on where we might want to be. I also went by an existing church that I have visited before. They are doing the kind of ministry I would love for us to do. So I asked them their opinion and they sort of pointed us in the direction of Durham. I couldn't tell if they were pushing me in that direction because they thought it would be a good idea, or because they just wanted me away from them. Who knows? At any rate, we spent the better part of yesterday just driving around feeling really discouraged. Nothing looked good to me. There was a lot of country places, established neighborhoods, and just not much that excited me. I kind of feel stupid for being here and planning a church in an area that I know nothing about. I'm sure as I talk to people and ask them questions they are thinking the same thing. But then we were able to pick up my sister in law's boyfriend who has recently bought a home in Durham. He knows the area really well and was able to give us a tour of the whole city including some neighborhoods that he thought we might like.
Kimi and I both were really discouraged, like I said. So I talked to my mom, and I texted Jordan and asked them both to be praying for us. Very quickly things began to turn around. As we started into Durham things started looking quite different. We saw some neighborhoods that we loved. We went up by Duke University and that was quite exciting. There are college students all over the place. As we came out of Duke and entered the downtown area I started getting really excited. In the downtown area there is a huge push to revitalize the area. Some parts of it are really run down, but other parts have been restored. The area reminded me a lot of Portland which is an area I really love. Central to the city is the stadium for the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team. It seems as though this is a big deal to the city. That's exciting to me, seeing as how I love baseball. I was excited by the thought of a church in the center of downtown, partnering with the city in the restoration and revitalization of the people of Durham. I see so much potential here and I'm really excited. It's close to the university, close to some really rundown areas and people that could really use the hope of Jesus, and in a downtown area where the city is practically begging for people to be part of the restoration process. I begin to get visions of a church that is intimately involved in the community and making a real difference there. The other thing is that I saw very little being done by any existing churches in the downtown area. I think this could be a great place for us to be.
I still plan on seeking the advice of local pastors and ministries, but I am grateful for God answering our prayers and beginning to awaken our hearts to this place. I was really feeling lost and discouraged, and I believe the prayers of so many helped to change that.
Is this the beginning of what is to come? I hope so. I hope it is the place where we can emphasize our theme of belonging, believing, and becoming.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
For Sale
Today we signed the paperwork to put our house up for sale. It's been an insane couple of days of cleaning, fixing, and grooming. We leave tomorrow for a conference in North Carolina, so the goal was to get it on the market before we left. There are still a few things to do, but I think we're going to make it. I just don't know whether or not it's going to sell for what we would like to get out of it. It's already listing for way less than I had hoped, and the realtors seem to be preparing us for the worst. But, God is good - and He has called us to move and I know that He will provide for us and take care of all the details. The house is actually in the best shape it's ever been in. It looks really good right now - so I hope that someone jumps at it. It would be weird if it sold immediately though, because we aren't ready to move until August. It would quite a hassle to move in with someone else and to put everything in storage until we are ready to go.
I'm looking forward to this week in NC. Going there this time I will be going with a totally different set of eyes. I will be seeing it as a place that I am moving to, not just a nice place to visit. We hope to look at some houses while we are there. The conference should be great too. According to the brochure we have it should answer lots of the questions that I have right now. Questions abound right now. There's so much uncertainty about life here, life there, and everything in between. I wonder about money, about the move, about starting a church, about developing friendships, about a launch team, and so much more. God gave me some great encouragement this week though by getting to spend a few hours with Tony. He is praying hard about joining our team and it looks like God is moving him in that direction. I love Tony's heart and I am excited to hear him talk about things that are on my heart too. It seems like God is speaking to him in much the same way He has been speaking to me.
I'm looking forward to this week in NC. Going there this time I will be going with a totally different set of eyes. I will be seeing it as a place that I am moving to, not just a nice place to visit. We hope to look at some houses while we are there. The conference should be great too. According to the brochure we have it should answer lots of the questions that I have right now. Questions abound right now. There's so much uncertainty about life here, life there, and everything in between. I wonder about money, about the move, about starting a church, about developing friendships, about a launch team, and so much more. God gave me some great encouragement this week though by getting to spend a few hours with Tony. He is praying hard about joining our team and it looks like God is moving him in that direction. I love Tony's heart and I am excited to hear him talk about things that are on my heart too. It seems like God is speaking to him in much the same way He has been speaking to me.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Following Jesus
I recently finished this book by N.T. Wright. In case you don't know, N.T. Wright is a theologian and an expert in New Testament theology. This particular book is amazing. In it, he paints a picture of authentic discipleship as it is shown to us in the New Testament. The first half of the book there are chapters detailing specific books of the NT and their particular take on who Jesus is. The second half of the book seems to deal more specifically with what it looks like to follow this Jesus in true discipleship.
I don't know that I have the time or space here to talk about the book fully, but I will highlight a few things that really stood out to me. At one point Wright points out that the most common command in Scripture is 'Don't be afraid, Fear not.' He says that until we learn to live without fear, it won't be easy to follow Jesus (66-67). Fear motivates just about everything we do. It's why we dress a certain way - fear of being laughed at, and our desire to be accepted. How much time do we spend in fear about money, employment, our children, our futures, our decisions, etc.? Behind them all is the fear of death. What would it look like to live life without fear, and without a nagging sense that everything is about to go horribly wrong? Believing in the resurrected Christ means believing that everything is going to be OK. That belief is simply incompatible with fear. I want to learn to live without fear - but I am certainly not there yet.
Other chapters in this book that stood out to me are the one on Temptation, and the chapters on Hell and Heaven. All three were quite thought provoking and I'm sure I will spend more time digging in to them and thinking through them. At any rate, I'd highly recommend this book. It's a short read, about 100 pages. But it is packed with some great stuff.
I don't know that I have the time or space here to talk about the book fully, but I will highlight a few things that really stood out to me. At one point Wright points out that the most common command in Scripture is 'Don't be afraid, Fear not.' He says that until we learn to live without fear, it won't be easy to follow Jesus (66-67). Fear motivates just about everything we do. It's why we dress a certain way - fear of being laughed at, and our desire to be accepted. How much time do we spend in fear about money, employment, our children, our futures, our decisions, etc.? Behind them all is the fear of death. What would it look like to live life without fear, and without a nagging sense that everything is about to go horribly wrong? Believing in the resurrected Christ means believing that everything is going to be OK. That belief is simply incompatible with fear. I want to learn to live without fear - but I am certainly not there yet.
Other chapters in this book that stood out to me are the one on Temptation, and the chapters on Hell and Heaven. All three were quite thought provoking and I'm sure I will spend more time digging in to them and thinking through them. At any rate, I'd highly recommend this book. It's a short read, about 100 pages. But it is packed with some great stuff.
