The Ways of an Abstract Random

“Not a Fan” Thought of the Day

2012-02-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

“Fans wantto follow Jesus, but not in a way that interferes with their lives. Accordingto some recent research I came across, sixty-five percent of American adultsbetween the ages of eighteen and forty-two, would agree with this statement: ‘Ihave made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important.’

Now on thesurface, that seems pretty good. Sixty-five percent is impressive, butaccording to that same research, these committed Christians lived a life-stylethat was quote ‘Statistically equivalent to that of non-Christians.’ So whenasked about their activities from the previous thirty days, Christians werejust as likely as non-Christians to have gambled, to have visited a pornographicwebsite, to have taken something that didn’t belong to them.

They werejust as likely to have gotten drunk and been involved with physical abuse. Theywere just as likely to have lied and talked badly behind someone’s back. See,they said they were committed, but they weren’t completely committed. Fans tryto compartmentalize their life.” –Kyle Idleman

When we doour own thing in spite of what Jesus has said about it, then we are acting likewe know better than Jesus. Think of a time in the past when you disagreed withJesus over how to live your life, and you did it your way. Recount what youdecided, why, and how it turned out.

This is whatthe Lord says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God,who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been likea river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:17-18)

Religion and the Gospel

2012-01-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

I found these comparisons between religion and the gospel in a book called Gospel in Life Study Guide: Grace Changes Everything by Tim Keller (page 16). Look them over and tell me what you think.

RELIGION: I obey, therefore I’m accepted.

THE GOSPEL: I’m accepted, therefore I obey.

RELIGION: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.

THE GOSPEL: Motivation is based on grateful joy.

RELIGION: I obey God in order to get things from God.

THE GOSPEL: I obey God to get to God, to delight and resemble him.

RELIGION: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or myself, since I believe, like Job’s friends that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.

THE GOSPEL: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while he may allow this for my training, he will exercise his fatherly love within my trial.

RELIGION: When I am criticized, I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a "good person." Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs.

THE GOSPEL: When I am criticized, I can take it. I struggle, but it is not critical for me to think of myself as a "good person." My identity is not built on my record or my performance, but on God’s love for me in Christ.

RELIGION: My prayer life consists largely of petition and only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of my environment.

THE GOSPEL: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with God.

RELIGION: My self-view swings between two poles: If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel insecure, inadequate, and not confident. I feel like a failure.

THE GOSPEL: My self-view is not based on a view of myself as a moral achiever. In Christ I am “simul iustus et peccator”—simultaneously sinful and yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time, neither swaggering nor sniveling.

RELIGION: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work or how moral I am, and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to "the other."

THE GOSPEL: My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for his enemies and who was excluded from the city for me. I am saved by sheer grace, so I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. It is only by grace that I am what I am. I have no inner need to win arguments.

RELIGION: Since I look to my own pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols. It may be my talents, my moral record, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them so they serve as my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, regardless of what I say I believe about God.

THE GOSPEL: I have many good things in my life: family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc. But none of these good things is an ultimate end for me. None of them is something I absolutely have to have, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despondency such things can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.

Learning to Love Others...Part 1

2011-11-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

Loving others is such an important part of being a Christian. We usually want to love others but how do we learn to love others? This is part of our journey. Jim Wideman writes a four part series giving some insights into this crucial part of our lives. This is part one.

Cultivating a Heart that Cares About Others

Everyone I know wants to be a success. The world’s definition of success is a lot different than God’s definition. God’s Word tells us that we achieve greatness by serving. Mark 10:43-45 says ...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The more I work with people the more I realize that both children and adults are selfish by nature. None of us have to take a class on how to put ourselves, our wants, and desires before others. We get that on our own just fine. It’s just the opposite we have to work at training both kids and adults to have and demonstrate a servant’s heart.

The only way I know to do this is to be intentional about cultivating a heart in
kids that cares about others. It all starts with giving them the word on the
subject. Proverbs 3:3-4 says “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind
them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win
favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Whatever we want kids to
do we must always start with the word. We build kids’ faith on a subject by
giving them the word on that subject so they can line up their thoughts with
God’s thoughts. Make sure that on a regular basis you teach kids about God’s
love for others. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says to “Do everything in love!” In that same
book back in chapter 13 and verse 1 it says “If I speak in the tongues of men and
of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

You just can’t separate loving God and not loving His people. They go hand in
hand.

http://jimwideman.blogspot.com/2011/11/cultivating-heart-that-cares-about.html

Women as Clergy

2011-11-02T09:53:00.003-06:00

Every once in a while, I will run into someone who does not believe that women should be pastors. Some quote Bible verses but others come up with some pretty crazy reasons. I ran across this blog from Dr. Tom Oord that pokes fun at some of those other reasons why women should not be pastors. Let me know what you think...

Why Men Should Not be Pastors

I find unconvincing the reasons people give for why women should not be ordained pastors or priests. For each reason, I can think of a corresponding reason a person might argue men should not be ordained.

A few years ago, I found a list of reasons why men should not be ordained. I posted the list on facebook this weekend, and I recieved a great response. I thought I'd post it here to provide a forum for folks to respond in greater length than what is possible on facebook.

These reasons are, of course, meant to be humorous. But they wryly reveal flaws in reasons Christians give for why women shouldn't be pastors or priests.

Ten Reasons Men Should Not be Ordained Pastors

10. A man’s place is in the army.
9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.
8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do other forms of work.
7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.
6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.
5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.
4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.
3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.
2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, change the oil in the church vans, and maybe even lead the singing on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.
1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

Conclusion

I sometimes take for granted how great it is to be a member of a denomination -- the Church of the Nazarene -- that affirms women in all levels of ministry.Since its inception more than 100 years ago, women have officially been accepted as equals to men in ministry.

Of course, some local Nazarene congregations don't do well at inviting women into pastoral leadership. The practice of some churches does not correspond with the denomination's official affirmation of women in ministry. But I remain hopeful that changes are coming that will rectify these oversights.

I'm especially interested in hearing any constructive or strategic suggestions for how Christians in any particular community might encourage congregations to affirm women in all levels of ministry leadership.

What Christians Should Know About Halloween

2011-10-31T13:35:00.002-06:00

What do you think about Halloween? I thought this was a good article about Halloween. It was written by Justin Holcomb. Let me know what you think. -Brian

Halloween is celebrated by millions of people each year with costumes and candy, and is the second highest-grossingcommercial holiday after Christmas. This festive day also carries a lot of baggage, however. Scholars Ralph and Adelin Linton write:

Among all the festivals which we celebrate today, few have histories stranger than that of Halloween. It is the eve of All Hallows—or Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day—and as such it is one of the most solemn festivals of the church. At the same time, it commemorates beings and rites with which the church has always been at war. It is the night when ghosts walk and fairies and goblins are abroad... We cannot understand this curious mixture unless we go back into history and unravel the threads from which the present holiday pattern has been woven.

The Origins of Halloween

Generally, it is agreed upon that Halloween has its origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer. Typical popular folklore suggests that Samhain was a festival based on human sacrifice. Recent scholarship, however, suggests that this is a caricature, based on Roman writers who had little evidence of actual Celtic practices and were more interested in decrying them as “barbarians” who needed to be “civilized” by the Romans.

According to historian Nicholas Rogers, “the pagan origins of Halloween” arise not from rumors of human sacrifice but from “the notion of Samhain as a festival of the dead and as a time of supernatural intensity heralding the onset of winter.”

Halloween has been rejected as demonic and pagan, subsumed into (medieval) Christian ritual, and accepted unthinkingly as harmless fun.

He continues, “In marking the onset of winter, Samhain was closely associated with darkness and the supernatural. In Celtic lore, winter was the dark time of the year when ‘nature is asleep, summer has returned to the underworld, and the earth is desolate and inhospitable.’”

In addition,

What was especially noteworthy about Samhain was its status as a borderline festival. It took place between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. In Celtic lore, it marked the boundary between summer and winter, light and darkness. In this respect, Samhain can be seen as a threshold, or what anthropologists would call a liminal festival. It was a moment of ritual transition and altered states. It represented a time out of time, a brief interval ‘when the normal order of the universe is suspended’ and ‘charged with a peculiar preternatural energy.’ These qualities would continue to resonate through the celebration of Halloween.

Halloween in the British Isles

According to Rogers, while Halloween derives its original “supernatural intensity” and “spookiness” from Samhain, most of the actual traditions and practices of the holiday developed out of the medieval Christian holy days of All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day. Early Christians in the 4th century began the practice of celebrating the martyrs of the early Roman persecutions. By the 9th century, these festivals were beginning to shift focus to celebrating the lives of saints instead. This festival was held on November 1 in England, but on April 20 in Ireland (disproving the popular view that a November date was picked to “Christianize” the pagan festival of Samhain).

By the end of the twelfth century, the linked festivals of All Saints’ and All Souls’, Todos Santos or Tots Sants in Spanish, or Hallowtide in English, were well-established liturgical moments in the Christian year. At the end of the Middle Ages they were among the most important. The feast of All Saints’ and All Souls’ was one of the six days of obligation, marked by high masses and prayers. It was a holiday that affirmed the collective claims that the dead had on the living. Its requiem masses also served as insurance against hauntings, for ghosts were generally ‘understood to be dead relatives who visited their kin to rectify wrongs committed against them while alive and to enforce the obligations of kinship.’ As night fell and All Souls’ Day arrived, bells were also rung for the souls in purgatory. These were people who were in a spiritual suspension, in an intermediary space between heaven and hell, for whom prayers and penance could be made for their sins before the day of judgment. In preparation for Hallowtide, churches made sure that their bells were in good shape, for in some places they were rung all night to ward off demonic spirits. (Rogers)

Over time, other rituals were added to the celebration of the Mass. For instance, “In England, many churches purchased extra candles or torches for the ecclesiastical processions of Hallowtide. Bonfires were also built in graveyards to ward off malevolent spirits.”

After the Reformation in the sixteenth century, the rituals of Hallowtide in England came under attack from Protestants because of its association with the doctrines of purgatory, saints, and prayers for the dead. Reformers “denounced purgatory as a popish doctrine” and “deplored the idea that the living could influence the condition of the dead through their prayers and rejected the belief that the saints could function as intermediaries between humans and Christ.” A back-and-forth ensued for decades as Protestant leaders such as Thomas Cranmer tried to abolish Hallowtide rituals and Catholic leaders attempted to revive them.

By the end of Elizabeth's reign, the official practices surrounding Hallowmass had been eliminated. Yet the more popular customs associated with the holiday did survive in some areas. . . [Around] 1783, Catholics continued to light fires on hilltops on All Saints' Night. In the more remote areas of the Pennines there were torchlight ceremonies to commemorate the dead. At Whalley, in Lancashire, near the forest of Pendle, families formed a circle and prayed for the souls of the departed until the flames burned out...

If many of the religious customs associated with All Hallows and All Souls had died out by the middle of the seventeenth century, it is nonetheless clear the days were still regarded as a time of supernatural intensity. On Halloween, as it came to be known in the eighteenth century, ghosts, spirits, and witches were likely to be abroad. (Rogers)

Over time, Halloween traditions developed apart from any religious connotation, though the initial religious celebration influenced the developments. Rogers explains, “The diversity of names associated with Halloween did not connote the declining fortunes of the holiday. In Scotland, Ireland, and even in some of the remoter areas of England and Wales, Halloween was robustly observed throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. At the time of substantial Irish and Scottish immigration to North America, Halloween had a strong tradition of guising and pranks, a fundamental aura of supernatural intensity, and a set of games and rituals that often addressed the fortunes of love rather than the prospect of death, or life beyond death.”

There is a big difference between kids dressing up in cute costumes for candy and Mardi-Gras-like Halloween parties, offensive costumes, and uninhibited excess.

It is important to note that this secular account of the history of Halloween seeks to vindicate the holiday from its Satanic and barbaric origins. While it may be the case that the dark side of Halloween has been overemphasized, Christians will still want to affirm that the holiday originated (at least) in pagan and mythical practices. The extent to which such practices can be categories as “Satanic” is a debate of semantics. Is Roman mythology “Satanic”? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Regardless, the origin of Halloween is certainly in the realm of non-Christian spiritualism. As such, Christians should be thoughtful in their approach to Halloween.

Halloween for Christians: Reject, Receive, or Redeem?

Halloween has an uneasy history with the church; Christians have not always been sure what to do with a holiday of apparently pagan origins. Is Halloween unredeemable, such that any Christian participating in the holiday will necessarily compromise their faith? Is it something Christians can participate in as a cultural celebration with no religious ramifications? Or is there the opportunity for Christians to emphasize certain aspects of our own faith within the holiday?

1. Halloween as “Devil’s Day” (Reject)

One of the most famous recent examples of Christian interaction with Halloween comes from Pat Robertson, who calledHalloween the “festival of the Devil.” As such, he claimed that participating in Halloween was a mistake for Christians and therefore wrong.

In rejecting this holiday outright, Robertson fails to ask the following question: To what extent does something’s evolution from pagan roots entail that its present practice is tainted? As Albert Mohler notes, there has been a shift in Halloween from pagan ritual to merely commercial fascination with the dark side. What Pat Robertson misses is that for most people in America, Halloween is about candy. A quarter of all candy sold annually in the US is for Halloween night!

Granted, dressing up as witches and goblins is a tricky issue, but to think that putting on a scary mask or makeup opens you up to the dark side is a bit naïve.

In addition, there are two built-in problems with a blanket rejection position. One is that those who insist on rejecting certain holidays are not being consistent. Should we reject other holidays because there is a propensity toward excess? In other words, if people are inclined toward gluttony on Thanksgiving or Christmas, shouldn’t those holidays be rejected as well? After all, gluttony is a sin. Second, many times the reject position assumes that the evil of the extrinsic world will taint the faith of a Christian. The idea is, “garbage in, garbage out.” But Jesus says the exact opposite is true (Mark 7:21-23). The fruit of our lives (whether in holiness or sin) is always inextricably tied to the root of our hearts. If our hearts are prone toward sin in certain ways, we will find a way to sin. Sin indeed corrupts but the sin is not so much “out there in the world” as much as it is in the heart of every person. The reject position falsely assumes sin is mostly what we do rather than who we are.

2. Can Halloween Be Received and/or Redeemed?

The Christian church has tried to deal with Halloween in many ways throughout the centuries. It has been rejected as demonic and pagan, subsumed into (medieval) Christian ritual, and accepted unthinkingly as harmless fun.

An informed understanding of the history of Halloween and the biblical freedom Christians have to redeem cultural practices (1 Cor. 10:23-33) leads to the conclusion that Christians can follow their conscience in choosing how to approach this holiday.

Just how Christians ought to go about redeeming or receiving Halloween is still a tricky subject. In order to navigate the waters successfully, one must always distinguish between the merely cultural aspects of Halloween and the religious aspects of the holiday. In the past the church has tried to redeem the religious aspects of Halloween by adding a church holiday. But again, this is a questionable area. It seems that Christians can easily receive (with wisdom) some cultural aspects of the holiday, and there is some potential for the pagan cultural practices to be redeemed—but care must be taken. There is a big difference between kids dressing up in cute costumes for candy and Mardi-Gras-like Halloween parties, offensive costumes, and uninhibited excess. Therefore it’s naïve to make a blanket judgment to reject or receive Halloween as a whole. There should be no pressure to participate, but for those Christians whose conscience permits we should view it as an opportunity to engage wisely with our culture.

For those who are still bothered by Halloween’s historical association with evil spirits, Martin Luther has some advice on how to respond to the devil: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn.” Perhaps instead of fleeing the darkness in fear, we should view Halloween as an opportunity to mock the enemy whose power over us has been broken.

Our Divine Distortion by Carolyn Arends

2010-11-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

We can't see God clearly without Jesus. O come, Emmanuel.

Carolyn Arends | posted 12/18/2009 10:06AM

When I found a brand new lap-top for half price on eBay, I told my friend and musical colleague Spencer about my bargain of a find. He was worried: "Usually when something's too good to be true …"

"I know," I replied impatiently, "but the seller has a 100 percent approval rating."

"Be careful," warned Spencer.

"Of course," I assured him, annoyed. I wasn't born yesterday.

I sent the seller $1,300 and discovered in very short, sickening order that I had fallen prey to a classic scam. A fraudster had hacked someone's eBay identity in order to relieve easy marks like me of our money.

I felt an absolute fool—and didn't want to tell Spencer. The next time I saw his number on my caller ID, I didn't answer. I could just imagine his "I told you so."

Soon, I was avoiding Spencer completely. And I started to resent him. Why did he have to be so judgmental? Why couldn't he be on my side? Why was I ever friends with that jerk?

Eventually, we had to fly together to perform at a concert. "Whatever happened with that computer thing?" he asked an hour into the flight. Cornered, I finally confessed my foolishness, dreading the inevitable response. But as soon as I told Spencer about my mistake, a strange thing happened. The enemy I had turned him into evaporated. Spencer turned into Spencer again, my teasing but deeply empathetic buddy.

As embarrassed as I was by my eBay error, I felt even dumber about the way I had allowed my shame to distort my perception of a best friend. If my hand had not been forced, I would have remained estranged from him indefinitely.

I've always considered myself perceptive, but the longer I live, the more I discover my susceptibility to misinterpretation. This is true of the way I view my friends, truer of the way I see my enemies, and perhaps truest of the way I perceive God.

I was raised to understand that sin's gravest consequence is the way it forces God to perceive me:God is holy, I'm not, and there's no way he can even look at me until I have the covering of Christ's blood. In my teens, I clipped a poem out of a youth magazine in which the poet asks—and answers—a pressing question: "How can a righteous God look at me, a sinner, and see a precious child? Simple: The Son gets in his eyes."

But what about how I look at God? I've often been oblivious to one of the most insidious byproducts of the Fall: Sin affects my perception of God. Or, to turn a phrase from that poem, the sin gets in my eyes.

Before Adam and Eve had fallen for the first lie, they basked in God's company. But after a few bites of forbidden fruit, they no longer looked forward to seeing their Maker. When he came calling, they hid.

Had God changed? No. Adam and Eve's brokenness altered their perception of God, not his character. Ever since, we humans have been letting our shame poison our understanding of God. He becomes an ogre, or a bookkeeper, or maybe just a disinterested, detached monarch.

Many of us unconsciously relate to God our Father as a Godfather—there's a lot he can do for us when he likes us, but don't get on his bad side. So we avoid him. And the longer we refuse to take his calls, the worse the distortion becomes.

But here is some good news: Jesus is the antidote to our misperceptions. When we speak of the Incarnation, we acknowledge that Jesus is "God con carne"—God with meat on. Our questions about God's character—Is he really about mercy, justice, and a love that just won't quit?—are answered in the person of Jesus.

In one sense, Adam and Eve were right to fear facing God. The consequences of their choices were painful. But even God's seemingly harshest judgment—banishment from the Garden and the Tree of Life—was rooted in love. If the first humans had accessed eternal life in Eden, they would have remained in their brokenness forever. God chose another way—a death and resurrection way that would cost him much—because he was and is and always will be with us and for us.

Christmas clarifies this resoundingly. That's why every time the angels announced Christ's birth they said, "Do not be afraid." Yes, we should fear sin's consequences. But we need not fear the perfect love of a God willing to come and shiver in our skin to save us.

We do not have the power to change God's character. Our Father is our Father. Always has been, always will be. But we will never see him for who he really is until the Son gets in our eyes.

Go to ChristianBibleStudies.com for "Restoring Our Vision of God," a Bible study based on this article.

The Drunk and the Hypocrite

2010-11-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Switchfoot's Jon Foreman on what churches can learn from bars.

I’ve played music in churches and bars all my life. In many ways, these two gatherings are very similar. Both sets of “regulars” are looking for meaning, carrying out a ritual of sorts—hoping to find purpose, something that makes sense of the pain.

At first glance, it might seem the Church is a better place to look for hope than the bottom of a bottle. Every day, alcoholism and drug abuse destroy families, ruin careers and wreck communities. On the other hand, theological beliefs and misunderstandings have been blamed for divisions, divorces and wars around the world. The trouble with each institution lies within us. True, alcohol feeds a different fire than pietism, but neither a drunk nor a hypocrite look very good in the daylight.

We carry our problems into the church the same way we carry them into a bar—they just react differently in each location. Unfortunately, the sins that exist within the walls of the Church are harder to spot.

Pride, for example, can hide incredibly well in the religious community. I rarely hear the words “I don’t know” uttered at church. And yet the triune Creator of time and space will always be wrapped in mystery and holiness. Why not start in the seat of humility? Surely all of us have gotten a few things wrong in our attempts at Christianity.

Isn’t it pride that causes divisions among us? When we begin to slander other believers in the name of God, we know we’ve gotten off course. Did our Master’s words fall on deaf ears? “Love each other as I have loved you.” “Let them be one, Father, even as we are one.” These are not optional thoughts on how things could be done, but rather prerequisites for entrance into Kingdom of Heaven life. Unity is serious business. The Church is called to be one even as the triune God is one. The comprehensive salvation of our planet is built on the final unity of the Church and her God: the bride and her Savior.

Unfortunately, unity within the ecclesial community is the exception, not the rule. It’s to our shame many folks looking for hope find more grace at the local bar than the local church. When we speak with a fire and anger that burns differently than the fresh air of the cross, we do the Gospel a disservice. We know deep down something is wrong. So we revolt against those fiery speeches. We say the method needs to change. We call the old model irrelevant. And yes! The fresh winds of the Spirit are ready to blow upon us, let us pray for new tongues of the same eternal flame.

And yet if I speak with the tongues of angels and of men but have not love, it profits me nothing. If I rise up against the cheesy Christian T-shirts but have not love, it helps no one. If I hate the legalistic hatred but have not love, it builds nothing. Has the enemy tricked us into a new form of legalism? Is not our judgment committing the same offense? Ah, we may have found a way, but it is not love.

Walking the line between the clubs and the Church, I’ve been misunderstood by both sides. I’m sure you’ve felt the same thing: people throw rocks at the things they don’t understand. But it hurts worst when it comes from well-intending brothers and sisters, the folks who are purportedly filled with the love of Christ. Our knee-jerk response is to retaliate, to fight back. And the cycle begins again. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. God will take care of the speck in my neighbor’s eye. The more faith I have in Him and His strong voice, the less I have to yell. The more faith I have in Him, the freer my hands become to serve those around me.

Washing feet is not extra credit. We are called to bear each other’s burdens. Unity is a miraculous achievement, but it’s intended for this side of the grave. Unity is the transforming work of the power of the cross in our lives. In the dark, blood-stained shadow of the cross, our boasting is laughable. Our differences are minute. Take another look at the cross. Look at how much He loves you. Look at His surrender, His sacrifice. Unity comes into focus only when we realize the magnificent grace of the Savior.

Let us acknowledge our neediness, our beautiful desperation. Yes, our unanswerable, aching, longing poverty is a prerequisite for the balm of salvation. We, the people—the failures, the losers, the outsiders—we have found our King. Christ, the King of the fools; the Lord of the sick, broken souls like us. Let us remain in continual awe of the love we have been shown. And let us love! Let us celebrate the reckless love of the one who risked all that we might be loved. And let us follow in the path of a God who loves us. The tax collectors and the rabbis. The prostitutes and the Sadducees. In the bars and in the churches. Yes, God even loves Christians.

Jon Foreman is the co-founder and lead singer of the band Switchfoot and lead singer of Fiction Family. You can follow him on Twitter @jonforeman. This article originally appeared in RELEVANT.

Thoughts about some cool Latin phrases

2010-11-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last week was crazy busy. In the midst of the busy week, I started a new class. It is much deeper than my last class. But God has a way of connecting things. We looked at three Latin phrases: Imago Dei, Imitatio Dei, and Missio Dei. Here is the basic idea without going too deep into it.

We are created in the image of God, the imago Dei. Within that image, we have a drive to not just obey God but imitate God, imitatio Dei. The problem we run into is that there are lots of ideas of God, even biblical ideas of God and that affects the way we see God and the way we live our lives in imitation of God. For instance, if we see God as primarily a God of justice then we will live our lives seeking justice. If we see God as a God of judgment, we will live our live in judgment of others. If we see God as primarily a holy God- separate from his creation, we will live our lives trying to be holy and separate from this world.

So what is the right idea of God? Well since God is a Spirit, we can only know him as he reveals himself to us. What better view of God to see than God incarnate, Jesus. In fact in John 17, Jesus says that He is about his father’s business- his mission is God’s mission. What is that mission? In Luke 19:10, Jesus tells us that He has come to seek and save the lost. His life shows his love and compassion for not just the religious elite, but others- tax collectors, fishermen, non-Jews, and even Samaritans. He teaches about a God who is always seeking the lost- parables such as the lost son, the lost sheep, the lost coin. He is even willing to die on the cross to save the world from their sins so that they might begin a relationship with God.

We could say that Jesus embodies the view of God of the missio Dei, the missionary God. If that is truly the primary image of God, then we can find that the image of God within us would find meaning in the same kinds of things. We would imitate God in the same kinds of ways. And yes, we see in the biblical accounts that we as the body of Christ are called to be agents of God and reach out to others in bringing them back to be the people of God. The missio Dei, the missionary God, desires for his people to be part of his mission- reaching out in love and compassion to those who are far away from Him.

This is the God that we serve. What is your response to the missio Dei? How is it different from the way we normally view God? Is this a God that you feel is worthy of your worship? Will you follow Him?

Ed Stetzer - Calling for Contextualization: Part 8 Ruining and Recovering Relevance

2010-10-19T12:01:00.001-06:00

I thought this was a great article in balancing relevance with the gospel. Check it out.

Ed Stetzer - Calling for Contextualization: Part 8 Ruining and Recovering Relevance

Halloween Fun

2010-10-18T10:44:00.001-06:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Age of I'll Think About It

2010-09-11T11:55:00.001-06:00

I found a video this week that really caught my attention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7MdYV8gRws

I have been struggling with this. I think in the modern age, we struggle with applying truth to our lives. We live in the age of Enlightenment where reason and science is king. We as a race think we are such hot stuff being able to figure everything out with our great minds. But most of the time, we settle with just thinking about things. We stop short of doing.

Think about our modern church services. Most of the service is given over to this scholar who has done a lot of studying and knows lots of stuff, supposedly. He or she speaks and if it stimulates our brains and gets us thinking then we have had a great service, right?

But then what does the rest of our week look like. There have been studies done that compare the lives of those who go to church an hour a week and those who don’t. They were not able to find any significant difference in their lives. Isn’t that sad? Now the studies did show that life change did happen in those who also engaged in a small group during the week- which gives us a really good reason to push our fun and faith groups. But I think we have some work to do here.

I am definitely not down on church. Please don’t misunderstand me. I believe what the Bible teaches that as Christ works through the church that real hope is available. But we need to make a choice why we go to church. Is it just to think about things and forget about it during the week? Or is it to allow the truth to invade our life so that God can transform us? Yes, we are all growing and none of us has arrived. I am with that completely. But don’t you think we should have just a little bit higher expectation?

A great example of this is in the buzz around this church in Florida who want to burn the Koran. Have you heard about this? Quoting a story by CNN:

In protest of what it calls a religion "of the devil," a nondenominational church in Gainesville, Florida, plans to host an "International Burn a Quran Day" on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The Dove World Outreach Center says it is hosting the event to remember 9/11 victims and take a stand against Islam. With promotions on its website and Facebook page, it invites Christians to burn the Muslim holy book at the church from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Do they read the same Bible as us? Are they choosing to live a life of love and let their lives be a light to the world around them, as described in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:1-2)? Are they following the words of Jesus in Luke 6:

²⁷"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Where does that come into play in their lives? What are their actions telling the world about Christ? Is the logic that if we show them that we hate them then maybe they will leave us alone? Is this going to somehow help reach them with the gospel? “Oh man, I didn’t realize that Quran was a bad book. Of course I will come and follow Jesus.” I just don’t see the logic.

This really isn’t anything new, though. As we looked at last week in church, Paul, 2000 years ago, proclaimed the value in women and yet we just recently as a country allowed them the right to vote. Did we not have this Bible the last 2000 years? Did we just discover it or something?

I could throw in evangelism into this discussion- you know, sharing your faith. That thing that we all know Jesus called us to do but no one wants to do. It makes us feel better to send in money instead, let the missionaries do it. Of course, if I talked about sharing our faith you would think I was promoting our upcoming fun and faith groups so I won’t talk about evangelism…for now.

How about the issue of slavery? How many years did Christian plantation owners in this country fight off giving slaves their freedom. They did use the Bible in the 1900s, didn’t they?

Do we really try to apply what we have discovered in the Bible? Or are we okay with just floating through life with just mental stimulation? Something that I am thinking about...but also hope to DO something about in my life.

Brian

What Does "Get Organized" Really Mean?

2010-03-02T12:57:00.001-07:00

This is an article by David Allen that goes well with my sermon on stress from Sunday. Let me know what you think.

What Does "Get Organized" Really Mean?

You are disorganized if you need something somewhere that you don't have or have something somewhere that you don't need. If you have a phone and discretionary time (and you want to be productive), you need to have easily viewable the complete list of every single phone call you need to make. Otherwise you don't have the information you need, in the format you need, to remind you of what you've agreed with yourself you need to be reminded of, when. If you are trying to prepare a lovely five-course dinner but the kitchen counters are still full of last night's dishes, you're not organized. There's stuff in the way that you don't need. In either case you're not organized—at least as much as you could be, from your own perspective.

An exercise I've done in my seminars is that I've had everyone reach into their purses or wallets and get something that doesn't belong there permanently and which has been there longer than a few hours (besides money). Almost all have at least one thing in that category—a receipt, a business card, a scrap of paper with scribbled notes, an old parking ticket. These are things whose location does not map to their meaning to the person who has them. If the item has no further usefulness, it is trash, but it's not in the trash. Often it is something they need to store somewhere else—it is reference, but it's not appropriately accessible as such. Sometimes it's something that they need to do something about, but it is not in a place to remind them to do it. There is lack of coherence between what the thing is and where it is.

Lots of folks contend that their "stacks" are what they want and that's the best way to be organized. But most piles that people have around them have a blended mixture of stuff to read (actions when they have time to read), stuff to store away that they want access to (reference), stuff to throw away (trash), and stuff they still need to decide what to do about (in-basket). The background stress from those constipated stacks generates a psychic callous—we stop noticing the piles, at least enough to really do something about them.

But, to be exact, with those stacks, you could conceivably be "organized." It's all relative—if you truly have decided that fifty pounds of miscellaneous paper material piled up all around your office is reflective of what it really means (these are all things that I just want to feel slightly pressured by but not actually do anything about, that I want to be able to find in a relatively short period of time, if I have to), then you're organized. As a matter of fact, you'd be disorganized if you actually changed anything about those stacks.

So, how does the meaning of something translate into organization? Pick up anything around you that you're wondering what to do with, and apply a simple set of formulae:

I don't need or want it	=	trash
I still need to decide what this means to me	=	In-basket item
I might need to know this information	=	reference
I use it	=	equipment and supplies
I like to see it	=	decoration
When I could possibly move on it, I want to see the action as an option	=	next action reminder, reviewed when and where it could be done
I need to be reminded of this short-term outcome I've committed to	=	project list item, reviewed weekly
I need to have this when I focus on a project	=	support material
I might want to commit to this at any time in the future	=	Someday/Maybe list item
I might want to commit to this on or after a specific time in the future	=	calendared or "tickled" item incubated for review on a specific future date
I want to achieve this "bigger" outcome	=	goals, objectives, visions that you review on some longer interval (a.k.a. your higher level Horizons of Focus)
It's something someone else is doing that I care about	=	item on Waiting-For list, reviewed at least weekly
I need to consider it when I do certain recurring activities	=	item on a checklist

Test these against anything you find lying around you in work or life that you think you need to know how to organize. Organizing tools should not be so mysterious—they are merely to support these various functions.

This is simple common sense. So why do so many people feel like they need to be more organized? Because most avoid deciding what so many things actually mean to them, which makes it impossible to know what to do with them. And what's even thornier is that even if they "get organized" according to these simple criteria, it is highly likely that they can become disorganized rapidly. Over time (and often not that much time) things change in meaning. The magazine is no longer the current issue, the project is no longer something we're committing to action, and the good idea isn't so good any more. So even if we get our ducks in a row, they wander off of their own accord. Being organized is a dynamic process, demanding consistent reevaluation, rethinking, and renegotiating the relevance of things in our physical and psychological environment.

We don't tell people how to get organized. We only assist them to marry what things mean to where they are. Simple, tricky business.

"We must strive to reach that simplicity that lies beyond sophistication."

-John Gardner

A Believer's To-Be List

2010-01-27T11:41:00.001-07:00

Philip Yancey posted this on 1/01/2001. I thought it was really good.

Steps to a fresh start with God

When I turned 50, I had a complete physical checkup. Doctors poked, prodded, x-rayed, and even cut open parts of my body to assess and repair the damage I had done. At the same time, I scheduled a spiritual checkup, too. I went on a silent retreat led by a wise spiritual director.

In those days of solitude, I pondered what I needed to change to keep my soul in shape. The more I listened, the longer grew the list. Here is a mere sampling, a portion of a spiritual action plan for my next 50 years.

Question your doubts as much as your faith. By personality, or perhaps as a reaction to a fundamentalist past, I brood on doubts and experience faith in occasional flashes. Isn't it about time for me to reverse the pattern?

Do not attempt this journey alone. Like many Protestants, I easily assume the posture of one person alone with God, a stance that more and more I see as unbiblical. The Old Testament tells the story of the people of God; Jesus' parables unveil the kingdom; the epistles went primarily to communities of faith. We have little guidance on how to live as a follower alone because God never intended it.

Allow the good -natural beauty, your health, encouraging words- to penetrate as deeply as the bad. Why does it take about 17 encouraging letters from readers to overcome the effect of one that is caustic and critical? If I awoke every morning, and fell asleep each night, bathed in a sense of gratitude and not self-doubt, the in-between hours would doubtless take on a different cast.

For your own sake, simplify. Eliminate whatever distracts you from God. Toss catalogs, junk mail, and book club notices in the trash. If I ever get the nerve, my television set should probably land there as well.

Find what Eric Liddell found: something that allows you to feel God's pleasure. When the sprinter's sister worried that his participation in the Olympics might derail his missionary career, Eric responded, "God made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure." What makes me feel God's pleasure? I must identify it, and then run.

Always "err," as God does, on the side of freedom, mercy, and compassion. I continue to marvel at the humility of a sovereign God who descends to live inside us, his flawed creatures. "Quench not the Spirit," Paul says in one place, and in another "grieve not the holy Spirit of God." In so many words, the God of all power asks us not to hurt him. Do I show that same humble, noncoercive attitude toward people of whom I disapprove?

Don't be ashamed. "I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul told the Romans. Why do I speak in generalities when strangers ask me what I do for a living and then try to pin down what kind of books I write? Why do I mention the secular schools I attended before the Christian ones?

Remember, those Christians who peeve you so much- God chose them too. For some reason, I find it much easier to show grace and acceptance toward immoral unbelievers than toward uptight, judgmental Christians. Which, of course, turns me into a different kind of uptight, judgmental Christian.

Forgive, daily, those who caused the wounds that keep you from wholeness. Increasingly, I find God uses our wounds in his service. By harboring blame for those who caused them, I slow the act of redemption that can bring healing.

My spiritual checkup offers one clear advantage over my physical checkup. No matter what I do my body will continue to deteriorate, but, spiritually I can look forward to growth and renewed vigor as long as I listen and then act on what I hear God saying.

Odd Thoughts from Pastor Brian

2010-01-01T10:35:00.001-07:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I have some odd thoughts. Since I get lots of forwards that seem to be odd, I thought I could join in and send out my odd thoughts as well...just to torment you! Feel free to click the delete button or even respond. Here's my first one of the year.

At the New Year's Eve prayer service last night, I shared a true story about a boy named Eliot who lived on this earth 99 days before going to see Jesus. In some ways it was a sad story but in other ways it was very enlightening. The parents of Eliot celebrated each day with him as a gift from God. They celebrated his birthday each day at the same time- praising God for His blessings.

The full story is found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

This story has been stuck in my head ever since. A couple of questions that bounce around in my head:
Do I praise God not only when the good things happen but when the hard things happen as well?
Do I consider each day I have with my loved ones as a gift from God or do I take some of those days for granted?
The last one that really has been sticking with me- do I begin each new day with praise to God for His many blessings? Or maybe a better question- what am I doing on those days that I am not?

The truth is that just like many of you, I try to spend time each morning expressing my thanks to God for all His blessings, spending some time in His Word, and committing myself to His use that day. I have my good stretches and my bad stretches. Sometimes I just get into a big hurry or I'm running behind and I skip it. The idea that I have been struggling through is what is my thought process when I miss. The truth is that I either just blow it off or I spend a few moments justifying my actions with myself before I move on past. Now if I had made an appointment with a human being, I would have called and re-scheduled or at least called and apologized. Do I touch base with God? What am I saying about my relationship with God when I don't? What am I saying about how much I value Him? What kind of things do I make more important than Him when I do skip? I think I need to take this more seriously.

Along the same lines, I find it odd when people apologize to me when they miss church. Okay, I understand that I have put a lot of time into preparing for the service and they want to support me. I appreciate that. But as the body of Christ, we work together to lift up Jesus Christ, the Head. We can do that during the week, yes, but corporate worship is that one hour a week that we come together as the whole body and worship God- one hour in the 168 hours He blesses us with each week! Do we also apologize to God when we miss? He is the One we have gathered to worship. He is the One who we have put something else in front. Do we apologize to the rest of the body- whose job it was to bring Him praise and they were left to do it without all the parts? I really have no desire to bring guilt onto anyone- but I would encourage us to think about what we do in the bigger picture of things. Is our God real to us? Do we think about what our actions really say?

As I begin this new year, my desire is to treat God with my actions as if He is real- because He is real even when my actions don't show it.

On the journey together,
Brian

545 People

2009-09-09T22:28:00.001-06:00

An article worth pondering...

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-pickingthing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

Journal for August 22, 2009

2009-08-22T13:31:00.001-06:00

It has been a crazy summer-

A week in Billings for District Assembly.

A quick trip to Fruitland for my 20th High School Reunion then to Kuna for a couple days.

A couple weeks in Florida for Disney World, General Assembly, the beach, and my grandma's 90th birthday.

A week with the Kuna teens helping the Cody Church with some outside projects and Vacation Bible School.

A week at kids camp as the speaker.

We have had lots of visitors as well: the Bullards, the Seaneys, the Shauls, the Raineys, the Algers with all the Kuna teens, the Higgins, Wendy's sister and mom and next weekend is the McCurdys.

I am sure I missed a few things in there but that should be close.

Journal for June 4, 2009

2009-06-05T08:49:00.001-06:00

Things haven't been real exciting around here the last few days- mostly rain. Since this is the first week that the kids have been out of school, it has been a slightly different schedule. Taylor had a basketball camp in Powell (about 30 minutes away) Monday through Wednesday. He only knew one other kid there but seemed to have fun and got a lot out of the camp. A couple weeks ago, I took some of my birthday money and Taylor chipped in some money and we bought a basketball hoop for the driveway. Taylor has spent a lot of time out there as well.
We are expecting company today. Ernie and Ginny Thompson are coming from Boise to help us organize our upcoming Lay Witness Mission. They will be meeting with our church on Friday night to help us understand what Lay Witness Mission is all about and how to have a successful one. It should be an exciting adventure that will require a lot from our church family.

Journal for May 31, 2009

2009-06-02T10:53:00.001-06:00

Today was a great day with the church family. Erin did a great job in her first week in playing piano during worship without LaChelle. The message this morning was from Luke 12 and emphasized serving by growing God's kingdom as we wait for Jesus' return. We also had a couple of visitors that I think added a lot to our worship time together.

Tonight, we finished our last week in the Experiencing God study. It has been an incredible journey as we learned how to see God at work and join Him. It was also incredibly long. I think we started last October or so. We celebrated by going to Dairy Queen and enjoying fellowship with friends.

Journal for May 30, 2009

2009-06-02T10:47:00.001-06:00

Taylor had 2 games today. It was a beautiful day and I thought for sure I was going to get burnt to a crisp. Fortunately, the clouds rolled in after the first game and it was a nice overcast day. Taylor's team lost both games and were pretty frustrated with each other. Taylor pitched 3 innings in one of the games. I think he pitched great, he only walked 1 batter- but the defense was not doing real hot in helping him out. It was just the way the day was going.

Journal for May 29, 2009 Part 2

2009-06-02T10:30:00.001-06:00

We went to a drive-in movie in Powell tonight. We almost got there late because Ginger (our gps) got us lost. It was the first time the kids had ever been and the first time for me in a long time. We watched Star Trek. I think a couple of people fell asleep so it must be more comfortable than in the regular movie theater. You can' beat $10 for 6 people though. And getting to bring your own food in.

Journal for Friday, May 29th

2009-05-29T16:57:00.001-06:00

This morning I went and prayed with a man from our church who was having shoulder surgery. I always enjoy these opportunities as a pastor. I think I enjoy them because the people I visit seem to enjoy me being there. It is a great opportunity to meet a real need in their life.

Our kids had their last day of school today. They are already stir crazy. They were a little somber though still excited. Abby was crying last night because she would miss not seeing her teacher. Sydney was reflecting on the last day of school from last year- saying good bye for real because we were moving away. I am glad our kids have tender hearts.

We are planning to have a family "out of school" party tonight. We may end up going to Powell for dinner. I think we might go to the drive-in theatre there. The kids have never been to a drive-in theatre. I haven't been to one I think since Kit and I went with my grandpa when we were kids. It should be fun.

Wisdom from Fellow Pilgrims

2009-04-14T09:42:00.001-06:00

He suffered for the sake of those who suffer, he was bound for those in bonds, condemned for the guilty, buried for those who lie in the grave; but he rose from the dead, and cried aloud: Who will contend with me? Let him confront me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I, he said, am the Christ; I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one, and taken men up to the heights of heaven: I am the Christ!

— Melito of Sardis

Man Up, Christians

2009-04-01T09:13:00.001-06:00

Resisting the health and longevity gospel.
Mark Galli | posted 3/26/2009 09:34AM

Most of us who like to rag on the absurdity of the health and wealth gospel are, I dare say, devout adherents of a sister faith: the health gospel. Take out wealth, and we're okay with being materialists. And I speak autobiographically.

Tuesday's Washington Post announced, "Daily Red Meat Raises Chances of Dying Early." That got this steak lover's attention. Apparently the National Institutes of Health got together with the AARP and conducted a Diet and Health Study. They started in 1995, and began following over half a million predominantly white people from the ages of 50 to 71. Not surprisingly, nearly 48,000 men and over 23,000 women died in the following 10 years.

What did surprise some was the finding that, taking into account smoking and physical activity, those who ate the most red meat—a quarter of a pound a day—were more likely to die during the study, and most of these died from heart disease and cancer.

Even an amateur scientist can question some of the methods and conclusions of the study (e.g., one can assume that diet and habits and genetics may offer more insight as to why red meat eaters in their later years are susceptible to heart disease). But despite my skepticism, I'll probably eat less red meat than ever (after already cutting back!). Because now every time I sit down to a polish sausage or hamburger, I will not be able to count it as joy. The New York steak sitting gloriously before me will not signal a gift of God but a temptation of the Health Devil and the Grim Reaper.

This latest study is one of many that have bombarded us for decades. The bottom line is that food of all sorts—but especially food that we have traditionally enjoyed the most, the lusty foods dripping with sweetness and fat—is now seen as a threat.

A threat to what? Well, longevity. Most of these studies are about discovering the relationship of a food or nutrient to death. Yes, concerns about disease and health are part of the package, but the ultimate concern is about extending our days. The goal of the scientific health community seems to be to flag foods that cut life short, because, as we all know, the idea is to live as long as possible.

Now, as soon as we put it that way, we begin to suspect this might not be a completely noble idea. That suspicion is heightened when we realize that what we do not see proclaimed in newspaper headlines are studies that show the relationship of food to happiness: "Study shows that people who eat red meat daily, followed by a dish of ice cream, tend to be more mellow hours afterward."

This fixation on food's relationship to death is but another sign of our culture's deep fear of death. The subtext of these studies is "Eat and exercise like a Spartan now, and be active and alert into your 90s—and with Viagra, anything is possible!"
This addiction to longevity is especially evident in the area of medical care—and not just among those who have no faith, but especially among the most devout.

A week ago, the Los Angeles Times reported that a new study shows that "terminally ill cancer patients were nearly three times more likely to go on breathing machines or receive other invasive treatments if religion was an important part of their decision-making process." This was true even though such treatments didn't improve a person's long-term chances.

In other words, it was the most religious who seemed to want to hang on to life the hardest, no matter the prospects. The writer, Karen Kaplan, bent over backwards to be charitable about it, saying, "And for some, extending life by days or even hours buys precious time for prayers to be answered." She then quoted the Rev. Percy McCray Jr., director of pastoral care and social services at Midwestern Regional Medical Center: "They're giving God every opportunity to operate as they believe that he can or will, which obviously leaves the door open for miracles."

Nice try, but the reason we seek invasive, risky treatments is to get our miracle—so we can live a few years longer.

Some of the devout argue that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our bodies. Yes, up to a point. But it seems clear that the height of discipleship is to put our bodies at risk for the gospel, no? If Paul's priority was to steward his body, I don't think he would have put himself in situations in which shipwrecks, beatings, and hunger were a regular part of the regimen. And throughout the church's history, saints (the exemplars of faith) end up sickly, thin, ragged, and exhausted, and die prematurely precisely because they "left nothing on the floor" when serving God and others.

I wonder sometimes if stewardship of our bodies—from keeping fit to living long—has become another way of trimming the hard edges off discipleship. So tonight, do I work out and burn some calories and lower my stress levels, or volunteer at the homeless shelter? Given our busy schedules, that is often the real choice we face, and sadly many today think of them as equal and worthy obligations.

Some of us alter diets and endure invasive surgery because loved ones have pleaded with us, saying they love us and want us to be around for a long time. But what love do these loved ones practice if they badger us to forgo that which would bring us joy unparalleled:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

So said the apostle Paul, but his line of thinking is increasingly foreign to us.
John Foxe, in his classic Acts and Monuments, said that when Protestants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were being marched to their deaths under the persecution of Mary Queen of Scots, Latimer encouraged his martyr mate, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man."

Today he'd say "man up." And he'd remind Latimer that the point of our sojourn on this planet is not to live long but to live well.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. He is the author of the just released A Great and Terrible Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Attributes of God (Baker). This column is cross-posted on his blog.

Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today.

Who is Jesus?

2009-03-31T09:50:00.001-06:00

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
— C.S. Lewis

Why did Jesus have to die?

2009-02-18T13:52:00.001-07:00

From C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity (Fount Paperbacks, 1977):

We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity. That is what has to be believed. Any theories we build up as to how Christ's death did all this are, in my view, quite secondary: mere plans or diagrams to be left alone if they do not help us, and, even if they do help us, not to be confused with the thing itself. All the same, some of these theories are worth looking at.

The one most people have heard is the one about our being let off because Christ volunteered to bear a punishment instead of us. Now on the face of it that is a very silly theory. If God was prepared to let us off, why on earth did He not do so? And what possible point could there be in punishing an innocent person instead? None at all that I can see, if you are thinking of punishment in the police-court sense. On the other hand, if you think of a debt, there is plenty of point in a person who has some assets paying it on behalf of someone who has not. Or if you take "paying the penalty," not in the sense of being punished, but in the more general sense of "footing the bill," then, of course, it is a matter of common experience that, when one person has got himself into a hole, the trouble of getting him out usually falls on a kind friend.

Now what was the sort of "hole" man had gotten himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realising that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender - this movement full speed astern - is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good man to repent. And here's the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person - and he would not need it.

Remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of death, is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off of if He chose: it is simply a description of what going back to Him is like. If you ask God to take you back without it, you are really asking Him to let you go back without going back. It cannot happen. Very well, then, we must go through with it. But the same badness which makes us need it, makes us unable to do it. Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another. When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters: that is, it forms the letters because you are forming them. We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it. Now if we had not fallen, that would all be plain sailing. But unfortunately we now need God's help in order to do something which God, in His own nature, never does at all - to surrender, to suffer, to submit, to die. Nothing in God's nature corresponds to this process at all. So that the one road for which we now need God's leadership most of all is a road God, in His own nature, has never walked. God can share only what He has: this thing, in His own nature, He has not.

But supposing God became a man - suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God's nature in one person - then that person could help us. He could surrender His will, and suffer and die, because He was man; and He could do it perfectly because He was God. You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us; but God can do it only if He becomes man. Our attempts at this dying will succeed only if we men share in God's dying, just as our thinking can succeed only because it is a drop out of the ocean of His intelligence: but we cannot share God's dying unless God dies; and he cannot die except by being a man. That is the sense in which He pays our debt, and suffers for us what He Himself need not suffer at all.

Kurtis the Stock Boy and Brenda the Checkout Girl

2009-01-29T12:53:00.001-07:00

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn't possible.

He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids with us."

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.

Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities - just like her first husband and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary - - - he had a different mindset.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added two more kids. So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.

It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He has also been the NLF's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Go Cardinals!!

A Fun Relient K Version of "Sleigh Ride"

2008-12-09T09:08:00.001-07:00

Relient K - Sleigh Ride from gotee on Vimeo.

Communion Snack

2008-12-02T09:22:00.001-07:00

My cousin's daughter Kathy usually stays in children's church on Sunday mornings, but one Sunday she went with her parents to the regular adult service. When Communion was served, she turned to her mother and whispered loudly, "The snack in children's church is much better. And we get a lot more juice."

—Elizabeth Charles Gomes, Wyncote, Penn., Today's Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart."

A thought about love...

2008-11-28T10:43:00.001-07:00

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements, lock it up safe in the casket of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable. The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is Hell.
— C.S. Lewis

A Good Science Discussion

2008-11-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion...' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'
'Absolutely.'
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'
'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'
'Yes'
'Are you good or evil?'
'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha, the Bible!' He considers for a moment.
'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'
'So you're good!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'
The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?'
The student remains silent.
'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'
'Err...yes,' the student says.
'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student falters. 'From God'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'
'Yes'
'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
Again, the student has no answer...
'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'
The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?'
There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues on to a second student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'
'No sir. I've never seen Him.'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'
'No, sir, I have not.'
'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ , or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own.
'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'
'Yes.'
'And is there such a thing as cold?'
'Yes, son, there's cold too.'
'No sir, there isn't.'
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.
The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees.'
'Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold.
Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'
'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'
'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word.'
'In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So are you making a point, young man?'
'Yes, professor! My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'
The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?'
'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains... 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.'
'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.'
'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'
'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.'
'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.
'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.'
The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter.
'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.'
'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lecture, sir?'
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?'
Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it everyday It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'
To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.
God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart.
It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'
The professor sat down.
PS: The student was Albert Einstein!

The Bear and the Atheist

2008-11-18T07:48:00.001-07:00

An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all the "accidents" that evolution had created. "What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to look, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran away as fast as he could up the path.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the grizzly was closing. Somehow he ran even faster, so scared that tears came to his eyes. He looked again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding, and he tried to run faster. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but the bear was right over him, reaching for him with its left paw and raising its right paw to strike him.

At that instant the atheist cried, "Oh my God!"

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don't exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light and said, "I would feel like a hypocrite to become a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?"

"Very well," said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed its head, and spoke: "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful."

—Source unknown

Break Dancin' with the Kids!

2008-10-31T09:25:00.001-06:00

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Exploring on Mondays

2008-08-19T10:19:00.001-06:00

We have been exploring the last 2 Mondays. The pictures from the trips are on Facebook. Yesterday we went to what is called the Devil's Kitchen. It was really hard to find because there were no signs and it was literally in the middle of nowhere. We found a museum that had a hand-written map that was not very clear. We eventually made it there. It was so quiet it made your ears ring. There were absolutely no sounds at all. It was a beautiful place as well.

We got installed!

2008-07-29T11:08:00.001-06:00

We were officially installed on Sunday. It felt good to finally have that done. We have been working steadily on the parsonage yard and the painting and decorating of the inside. We want to start having people over this week. The weather has been warm but not as warm as Idaho. We also have a fire burning up near Yellowstone. You can see that in the picture. We also have gone on some bike adventures as a family. I have found out that the kids (and the mom) don't like dirt trails.
Pastor Brian
www.codynaz.com

Trying out Google Apps

2008-06-15T20:50:00.001-06:00

One of the experiments I have been playing with is Google Apps. Google Apps allows you to manage your domain in a number of ways. A domain is a purchased online name, in my case it is codynaz.com. Google Apps allows me to hand out as many codynaz.com emails as I would like- for instance, pastorbrian@codynaz.com. The emails are all part of the gmail system, so everything is online. I have been looking for a way to get rid of Outlook so I can keep track of everything from whatever computer I was on. Because Google Apps is part of the Google system, it tracks your email and contacts. You can also track your tasks in gmail by using a free program called Remember the Milk. It has a module that hooks right into gmail. Gmail is also handy because it has a built in chat and talk mode. Google Apps also allows you to share calendars, spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations, and word documents- without having to have any programs on your computer itself. It is meant to be a collaboration tool. You can keep the sharing just within your domain or share to the public. Google also manages your blogs, photo albums, blog reader, groups, and you can develop your own websites as well. The list goes on and on - and the cool thing: because the church is non-profit, all the applications are free. I am still trying all these things out. I would love to find a church using Google Apps to how they use them.

Big changes happened today

2008-06-08T22:55:00.001-06:00

Today, the Big City team decided to go it without me. It was so weird not being involved and just getting to mingle and enjoy the kids and other people. They did do a great job, though. I was very proud of them. They will do an awesome job! I did have a few kids say good bye today since they will not be here the next three weeks. That was very hard. :(
On the Cody project this week, I am finalizing the order for the needed software for the network at the church. It is unbelievable the price break that non-profits get on software. The price for Microsoft Office and Vista Business is less than a fifth of the price compared to what you would buy it normally. If you are a church and you don't know about saving money on software, please contact me so I can fill you in on the details. It is amazing.

Big City Team Update

2008-06-04T23:46:00.001-06:00

We met with the Big City Team tonight. We talked through the transition and who was going to do what. What an incredible team! They are excited and ready for this new adventure. Great days are ahead for them. I am going to miss our times together and the fun we have every Sunday. They are so talented and dedicated to the cause of seeing kids come to Christ and grow in Him. I really believe they will continue to push the ministry in Kuna to new levels. God will continue to bless the Kuna church and their kids. Praise the Lord!

We are moving!

2008-06-04T23:12:00.001-06:00

Yes, it is official. The Knights are moving to Cody, Wyoming. I will be starting in a new role for me as the senior pastor. We are in the process of packing up and trying to sell our house. Our last Sunday in Kuna will be June 29th. Our first Sunday in Cody will be July 13th- Abby's birthday. We plan on beginning to load the trailer on June 30th and be in Cody by July 2nd or so. There will be a lot of tears as we leave the place we called home for the last 14 years.