Archive for December, 2005

Wednesday, December 14

Published
by
Mike
on December 14, 2005
in General
. 33 Comments

Grades are in! What a great feeling for teachers. There are lots of wonderful moments in a semester for an adjunct professor, but that’s one of the best ones.

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From N. T. Wright’s book on Paul:

“For some, alas, the very phrase ’second coming,’ and even perhaps the word eschatology’ itself, conjures up visions of the ‘rapture’ as understood within some branches of (mostly North American) fundamentalist or evangelical Christianity, and as set out, as a popular level in the ‘Left Behind’ series of novels by Tim F. Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, and the theology, if you can call it that, which those books embody. That scheme of thought, ironically considering its fanatical though bizarre support for the present state of Israel, is actually deeply un-Jewish, collapsing into a dualism in which the present wicked world is left to stew in its own juice while the saints are snatched up to heaven to watch Armageddon from a ringside seat. This is massively different from anything we find in Paul . . . .”

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So have others seen “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by now? What did you think?

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My positions on pertinent things:

peanut brittle: pro

fruit cake: con (unless it’s 99% bread and nuts and 1% fruit)

shopping online: pro

shopping at the mall: con (however I DO like supporting local merchants, so I’ll usually do it anyway)

being at Grandma and Pa-Pa’s house: pro

traveling up I-35 with half a million other cars and semis: con

N. T. Wright on Paul

Published
by
Mike
on December 13, 2005
in Books and scripture
. 23 Comments

Rarely do I sign up for Amazon’s SEND-ME-THIS-BOOK-AS-SOON-AS-IT-COMES-OUT list. But with N. T. Wright’s new book on Paul — well, that’s different.

For those who don’t know, Wright is a leading New Testament scholar. To get a feel for the breadth of his writing, check here.

The book continues his ground-breaking work on Paul, offering fresh insight into the way in which his letters seek to form a people in the Way of the Messiah.

Have you ever come across the phrase “the new perspective on Paul”? Most haven’t, I’m sure. But here’s a bit of a summary.

The “old perspective” on Paul reflected the anxiety of Martin Luther over salvation. This view heavily impacted NT studies for centuries. It says that Paul was writing because of the problem of legalism: people trying to earn salvation by their works. So he writes about “the righteousness from God” that is given “by faith in Jesus.”

The “new perspective” goes a different direction, though–one that I think better reflects Paul’s concern in his letters. This says that those concerns about legalism were Martin Luther’s in the sixteenth century, but not Paul’s in the first century. They involve a stereotype of Jewish religion that just doesn’t fit. Of course every religion has some who seek to earn salvation, but that’s not the view of the Old Testament nor of the best part of the Jewish heritage.

What Paul was primarily dealing with wasn’t legalism but inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God. His questions (especially in Romans/Galatians) were more like these: Has God been faithful to his promises to Israel? Will Israel’s faithlessness nullify the promises? Can Gentiles be included? If they can, how can Jews and Gentiles be one? If the Jews have rejected the Messiah, is there any hope for them?

Part of the problem comes in translations that reflect the Lutheran perspective (like the old NIV, though there are significant improvements in the Today’s NIV). E.g., rather than translating a Greek phrase as “the righteousness from God” it should likely be “the righteousness of God”–referring not to the way people become Christians but to God’s covenant faithfulness. And rather than translating another Greek phrase as “by faith in Jesus” it probably should be (at least most of the time) “by the faithfulness of Jesus.” (A good place to see the difference this makes is in Romans 3:21-25.) I.e., the Messiah is the faithful one who has made it possible through his life and obedience to death for the promises of God to be kept.

In other words, the central issue isn’t, How does one become a Christian? (Answer: by faith rather than works.) Rather, the central theme is, How has God been faithful to his covenant in bringing together one people in the Messiah?

Sorry, this is shorthand. The book is brilliant. If you haven’t done much work in this area, it will be slow, slow sledding. But there are pay-offs on nearly every page.

By the way the full title is Paul: A Fresh Perspective. I doubt that the subtitle is an accident. In other words, it isn’t the “old perspective,” for sure. But not exactly the “new perspective” (as led by Sanders and Dunn). This is a “fresh perspective” in which he points to the missional impact of what God has done to bring together a people, the restored “Israel,” through the Messiah.

There are great sections on the Spirit, on the place of Israel today and in the future, and on the eschatology of the Left Behind books. I hope to get to those later.

But honestly — isn’t this more than you want to know already? Whatever happened to guacamole recipes and how to teach a kid to throw a curve?

Supporting Our Marriages

Published
by
Mike
on December 12, 2005
in family and marriage
. 39 Comments

George Barna has documented this fact: the divorce rate in this country is the same for people who claim to be Christians as it is for people who don’t claim to be Christians. (I just read a summary of a Barna report that now says it’s higher for Christians, but I can’t locate that report.)

Without stomping on those who’ve already suffered through divorces, isn’t there a way we can address this? Is there a disconnect between our calling to follow Jesus and the high failure rate of our marriages?

Doesn’t the demand for family-friendly legislation and family values lose some steam when the people who claim to be Christ-followers have a higher divorce rate than those who don’t?

How can the church be hard on divorce while being gentle with those who have suffered through divorces? (They don’t need to suffer again, made to feel like second class citizens of the kingdom!)

What’s the disconnect here? And how do we help local church leaders who are forced to deal with these issues all the time? Honestly, it’s one of the most difficult parts of being a leader.

What I’m especially interested in is how the church, the community of believers, can be more helpful in supporting one another’s marriages.

These ten thoughts come to mind quickly:

1. By faithfully holding marriage in the realm of discipleship (i.e., we keep our vows as a part of living out the deep inner goodness that comes from following the Way of Christ — Mt. 5:31-32);

2. By refusing to make marriage a place where all needs are supposed to be met (which is idolatrous and forces it to bear a load it can’t);

3. By learning to be more open with one another — confessing, sharing, and praying — so that we aren’t afraid to say “we need some help”;

4. By fostering a greater sense of “first family” where the church — married, divorced, single, children — is seen as our primarily relationship;

5. By reminding each other that we relate to each other in marriage as brother and sister in Christ as well as husband and wife;

6. By offering whatever resources are available for prevention and intervention: wise elders, insightful therapists, caring friends and guides;

7. By encouraging each other openly to resist materialism and out-of-control debt;

8. By opening ways for conflict and conflict resolution that involve true listening, affirming, exploring, and forgiving;

9. By helping people to pursue a path of spiritual formation, expecting people to change through time into the image of Christ; and

10. By keeping alive and open the stories of older believers who can share their journey, thereby offering hope and guidance for troubled times.

What other suggestions do you have?

A Magical Musical

Published
by
Mike
on December 11, 2005
in Highland
. 4 Comments

This afternoon was a Christmas program I’ll never forget. A child at our church who has Down’s and is the embodiment of Christian love was in the musical. The whole thing. She sang, she signed, she invited us to the newborn King. As the father of a daughter who was mentally handicapped, I can’t tell you what that means to me!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Published
by
Mike
on December 10, 2005
in movies
. 13 Comments

We went to see “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” yesterday on the opening day. Good job, Grant, on grabbing those Fandango tickets ahead of time!

It’s amazing. Unbelievable. Not quite “Lord of the Rings,” perhaps, but not far behind.

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read about Narnia; when Lucy backs into the land through the wardrobe, just see if you don’t feel a surge of emotion.

And it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve imagined Aslan walking to the stone table; when he is mocked, tied down, and stabbed, just see if you don’t wince with memories of the central story of Christianity. (Much more powerful to me than “The Passion of the Christ.”)

I’m so glad this wasn’t made a decade ago when it might have seemed cartoonish. The technology is incredible.

Megan’s Grave

Published
by
Mike
on December 9, 2005
in Megan, grief and memories
. 27 Comments

Megan’s grave.

There is this wonderful country cemetery just outside Neosho, MO, where generations of my family are buried. But when my daughter died in November of 1994, we couldn’t bury her there. It was just too far away.

I know that may be hard for some to understand, because we couldn’t visit her,anyway–at least not like when you visit someone in the hospital.

But we still did need to visit her . . . to drive out to the little plot of ground where she was buried.

It was/is holy ground. When my daughter’s body was lowered in that spot (just outside Abilene on 277 — Elmwood Cemetery), it was a cold, rainy day. I remember hating that it was so wet and cold. She liked being warm and snuggling. I wanted to put some plastic over the fresh dirt to keep the rain off (but didn’t).

For the first few months, we drove out there often. Nearly always we went separately, lost a bit from each other in our grief. Then as the months rolled into years, our visits were less seldom but still regular.

Now, eleven years later, I rarely go to Megan’s grave. There are the three regular dates, of course: Easter (most important), Valentine’s Day (when I lay roses), and November 21 (the date of her death). There are other times, like when visitors come to town and want to drive out there. And usually when I’m doing a graveside service at the cemetery, I’ll stop by on my way out.

But for the most part, the need to visit has diminished through the years.

It is still holy ground, however.

Parish Hermitage

Published
by
Mike
on December 8, 2005
in friends and spiritual formation
. 24 Comments

All signals in my life have been pointing to one thing: that I need to go deeper. Deeper in prayer, deeper in scripture, deeper in heart, deeper in insights about my emotions (and why I do certain things), etc.

In response to this, I just spent the last couple days at the Parish Hermitage. Eddie Parish is a dear friend and has been a trusted spiritual guide through the years. A Ph. D. in psychology from Florida State and a former faculty member in ACU’s marriage and family program, he and Judy now run this retreat center between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

I couldn’t have spent a couple better days. The hermitage is located on 24 wooded acres, nestled against a classic Louisiana bayou. The idea is to combine reflection and prayer with nature and relationship. People who go are invited into the Parishes’ home each evening for dinner with them and their children.

Though Eddie is a therapist, it doesn’t feel like therapy. He and I sat a couple hours each day, visiting and praying while we looked out at the woods and the water. We just talked, tried to pay attention to clues, and sought to envision a future that is deeper. I had plenty of time to read, pray, think, and walk alone.

I don’t need to write here about all that came out. That’s personal and it’s still in process. But I’m very thankful for the experience. If you have any interest, you can read more here.

Getting home yesterday was a bit of a challenge. All flights on AA out of New Orleans were cancelled, so I went standby on Continental to Houston and then snagged a flight home last night.

Better Than Radio City

Published
by
Mike
on December 6, 2005
in Highland and missional
. 10 Comments

I’d be embarrassed to tell you what we paid for tickets to see the Rockette’s Christmas program at Radio City. But it really was wonderful.

However, it isn’t the best Christmas program I’ve seen this year. That would have to be the one performed this past Sunday by the children from our neighborhood. With a stage full of angels and shepherds, the children sang, prayed, and read scripture, powerfully telling the story of Jesus’ birth. Sure there were a few unexpected moments — like one of the angels bursting into tears for her mother — but that was part of the power of the event.

Hundreds (500? 600?) attended, about half Highland members and about half neighbors from the Colonial Apartments and Freedom Fellowship areas around our building. When Jayma sang the song about how children around the world imagine Jesus in different colors, I couldn’t help but notice the great diversity in the audience (and the diversity with the dolls the younger angels were holding).

We’ve watched Lindy grow up at Highland and when she sang “Welcome to our World,” it was very moving. Later in the assembly her dad baptized someone from the neighborhood who’s been coming for quite a while now. (And, of course, it was in her mom’s heart that God placed much of this dream six years ago.)

As I wrote recently, “location, location, location.” What a joy to be in a spot where God wants us — just to be able to see part of what he’s up to!

Harvest Boston

Published
by
Mike
on December 4, 2005
in missional
. 15 Comments

I am pumped about the plans a young Highland couple, Chrissy and Steve Holt, have in the near future. I’m going to include below some words they’ve written about “Harvest Boston,” but you can read much more at www.harvestboston.blogspot.com Feel free to ask any follow-up questions. I’ll ask Steve to check in with the comments and respond. When I hear them talk, I think I envision the future look of the church: small groups that leak into the crevices of our cities, participating in the work of God that’s already breaking out.

If the fact hasn’t been clear all along, it should be now: North America is a mission field. Some estimate that the number of un-churched in the United States and Canada exceeds 250 million people, which is now the third-largest un-churched population in the world. In a post-Christian society – which the West is quickly becoming, if it isn’t already – slow change in the church will spell almost certain death. Healthy and mission-centered communities of Christ need to begin forming and reproducing at an unprecedented rate just to keep up with the millions born, the millions immigrating, and the millions leaving Christian churches in the United States every year.

New England is one of the most un-churched regions in the nation. Both hailing from the East Coast originally, Chrissy and I decided to join God’s work in Boston, Massachusetts, beginning in the summer of 2006. We believe God has set us aside for simple, relational evangelism and church planting in New England. Our hope is that the Lord will use the Holts to facilitate the planting of a vibrant family of Jesus Christ within close reach — culturally and geographically — of every Bostonian. That means every diverse neighborhood, people group, and family system has the opportunity not only to hear the gospel of Jesus, but to join a community of Christ-followers not unlike themselves and committed to Kingdom expansion.

Is this a lofty goal? You bet. But so was Christ’s commission to “…make disciples of all nations…” in Matthew 28. I think a more appropriate model for our ministry may be in Luke 10, however:

“The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them on ahead in pairs to all the towns and villages he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: ‘The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields. Go now, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don’t take along any money, or a traveler’s bag, or even an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. Whenever you enter a home, give it your blessing. If those who live there are worthy, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. When you enter a town, don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide you. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. If a town welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you and heal the sick. As you heal them, say, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’”

Until God leads us in another direction, we believe we are being sent out like Jesus sent the seventy-two: as a pair. This does not weaken our team; instead, the smaller size strengthens our team, makes it more mobile, and fosters a united vision that is more difficult in larger teams. We are not going this alone, however. Edification and community are vital in the lives of missionaries, especially in large, unfamiliar cities. We were blessed to meet several other church planters on our research trip in April who are in the Boston metropolitan area, and have even become friends with a team of several Harding University students who will begin their ministry in Boston next summer. Our future Christian community and accountability network seems to grow each day as we learn of more and more that God is doing on the East Coast.

Logistically, when we arrive in Boston I will work full-time and Chrissy will begin a MBA program in non-profit management at a local university. My undergraduate degree is in print journalism, so I am currently seeking writing or editing positions with companies or weekly publications. Chrissy’s heart is in managing an existing non-profit organization or helping to establish a new one. Because we do and will not separate our lives from ministry, we believe the evangelistic connections we make will come in the natural rhythms of our lives: in work, in study, and in play. For this reason, our church form will take a simple, relational structure. We believe “authentic faith communities” will pop up wherever we intentionally announce the kingdom of God, whether in our home, the home of a neighbor, on a lunch break at work, or in a local coffee shop. Our formal missions training has largely been in forming spiritual friendships that lead to the establishment, nurturing, and reproduction of house or “simple” churches. We believe this form is especially functional in a densely populated urban center of North America like Boston.

Our ultimate aim is not to baptize as many people as we can or even to plant a single church, but to be a part of the in-breaking of the reign of God wherever we are — work, school, home. We want to serve people, declaring to them the coming of a “new order” — the reign of God — and invite them into the exciting existence of living in full participation with and submission to that reign. This is a kingdom life that values justice, service, sanity, spiritual disciplines, hospitality, community, non-violence, and mission, among many other things. We believe the kingdom life described above, the life described in the book of Acts, will be good news — “gospel” — to a widow neighbor, a newspaper editor, or maybe a MBA student in Boston.

Offering Invitations

Published
by
Mike
on December 2, 2005
in Church and politics
. 51 Comments

I read about half of N. T. Wright’s new book, Paul in Fresh Perspective, yesterday. Wow. The man is a force of nature when it comes to New Testament scholarship. More about it later.

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All right. Why I quit offering invitations years ago.

Has it ever hit you that the early church very likely didn’t end their house church gatherings with an altar call? As far as we know, no one came to the front, filled out a card, and said, “I haven’t been the example I should be.” The nature of their gatherings, however, offered ongoing chances to encourage each other, confess to each other, and pray for each other.

And through the vast majority of church history, the assemblies didn’t lead up to an invitation.

It’s tied into frontier revivalism. As the church pressed forward, the assemblies became focused on a time of response. Basically, worship gatherings became revivals or, as Churches of Christ have preferred, “Gospel Meetings.” (By the way, here is a good time to say I get weary of the discussion of whether our assemblies are for worship or for encouragement. They’re for both. Just because Paul points out that worship has broader implications in a Christian’s life doesn’t mean there isn’t something called worship that focuses on adoration of God and re-formation of God’s people.)

To me, this is a cultural thing that just doesn’t fit most of the time. It’s not the big ending, the reason for gathering.

In my mind, the big assembly isn’t the best place — most of the time — for the kind of responses you occasionally hear. That’s best made in smaller settings: with covenant groups, small groups, accountability groups, Bible classes, etc. Someplace where a group gathers around a person and commits to help them (and be helped by them) over the long haul.

And baptism? We have lots of baptisms. But they aren’t usually because people hear one message and walk to the front. It’s because they are in the process of being formed in the Way of Jesus, and baptism becomes an obvious part of that journey. Were there ever baptisms-on-the-spot in the NT? Yes, but not in the gatherings of the churches in response to an “invitation” (as far as we know).

The point of the sermon isn’t to see how many can walk to the front. It’s to continue moving people along into the story of Jesus, forming them into a Way that is counter-cultural.

If you preach on “loving your enemies,” e.g., the goal isn’t to have people walk down the aisle, make a confession, and then dismiss. The goal is to rattle people, shake them, and immerse them again into cruciform living. Hopefully it sends them out into families, small groups, and Bible classes to be stirred by the implications.

This isn’t to say that I never offer invitations. And it isn’t to say that my way is the right way.

I have noticed that when you get outside of Churches of Christ and a few other revivalist-based denominations, you don’t find many invitation songs. You do find constant invitations to continue pursuing the Way of Christ, however!

I very much like the movement now toward offering times of prayer, where people can bring prayer concerns (for repentance, for healing, for intercession) to leaders of the church. We’ve found that to be a very valuable time on Wednesday evenings, especially those evenings when people are invited to be anointed with oil. (More on that some other time.)

Again, this isn’t me telling others how to do it. Just a bit of insight into what I’ve been thinking.

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Yesterday my friend Mel Hailey made his formal announcement that he’s running for the state legislature. You can read about him at www.melhailey.com. He is chairman of the political science department at ACU, an elder at the University Church, and an incredible man. His wife, Jan, is a Bible faculty member at ACU and one of the best women you’ll meet in your life.

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Now . . . back to soccer.