Archive for March, 2006

Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Published
by
Mike
on March 21, 2006
in Books
. 35 Comments

An excellent new book on church leadership has just come out called Like a Shepherd Lead Us: Guidance for the Gentle Art of Pastoring. It contains seven essays written by four Highland members — Jeff Childers, Randy Harris, Mark Love, and David Wray — and by Randy Lowry, Rubel Shelly, and Greg Stevenson.

Each chapter is strong, but I want to spotlight two.

First, Jeff Childers’ essay “Moving to the Rhythmns of Christian Life: Baptism for Children Raised in the Church” is worth the price of the book. He faces the difficulty of applying texts that referred originally to conversion out of complete ungodliness to our situation where children come from second-, third-, and fourth-generation Christian families.

Anyone else every felt a bit weird singing “years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified”? I’m sure that was meaningful to the author of the hymn, but it doesn’t really describe my journey. I’ve failed plenty. But I didn’t have years of not caring that Jesus was crucified.

It’s the same challenge with finding language to describe the baptism of our children. How do we apply lost/saved, darkness/light texts to a situation where immersion is more of a marker on a journey than a dramatic, sudden turning around?

Here’s a taste of Jeff’s chapter:

“Preaching that emphasizes the importance of conversion is appropriate–perhaps more so than ever given the post-Christian society in which we find ourselves. However, I must admit that I feel uncomfortable trying to convince my eleven-year-old son that he must give up his reprobate life of sin. After all, he has been raised by Christians in a Christian environment, and has been practicing the ways of Jesus for years. Even in two or three years I doubt — indeed, I dearly hope — that there will be no need to persuade him to forsake debauched habits, confess the depths of depravity, and turn from hardened ways of shameful living. Yet this is precisely the sort of assumption that seems to guide the way we handle baptism for children raised in the church, as if baptism ought to mark their radical repentance and conversion just as it does for people long steeped in sin. Because of our revivalistic traditions of crisis conversion we typically feel the need to create for our children a crisis conversion experience. We stage youth rallies or encampments and bring in speakers especially skilled at stirring up adolescent emotions. The aim is to get youngsters to repent and convert in a heartfelt way. In such a climate, it takes only one or two conversions to start a trend; soon, they fall like dominoes, swelling the number of camp baptisms to a respectable level.

“I realize that all people become sinners and need forgiveness. But to treat children preparing for baptism as if the only way to get ready is by owning up to their sinfulness is to ignore a basic truth: that different people come to baptism in different ways.”

The other chapter I want to spotlight is Greg Stevenson’s “The Church Goes to the Movies: Standing at the Intersection of the Church and Popular Culture.”

I think Greg is going to be a helpful guide to many of us through his new blog. (Check it out!)

Here’s a sample of the balance you’ll find in this chapter (and, I’m guessing in future blog posts):

“Unfortunately, we Christians have become so suspicious of Hollywood as a rule that we have largely chosen to opt out of this conversation. We prefer to complain and point fingers at the people who are out there in the culture generating spiritual discussion instead of choosing to add our voice to that conversation. If the church is to communicate its relevance in a media-saturated culture, it must adopt a more balanced attitude toward television and film. The church certainly cannot ignore what is bad or immoral, but it should also be willing to embrace what is good and even to recognize that good and bad frequently coexist within the same film or show. The church should be willing and able to become a part of the cultural conversation, not in a finger-pointing way, but in a way that engages people in honest and constructive dialogue over what they see and watch.”

Monday, March 20

Published
by
Mike
on March 20, 2006
in General and sports
. 9 Comments

We finally made it home last night. American Eagle cancelled our flight from DFW to Abilene, but then they told us the good news: they could guarantee us seats on the next available flight–which would be Tuesday. Apparently everything else on Sunday and Monday was sold out. So we rented a car and drove back.

Chris and I are keeping the brackets, and we count ten upsets (defined as a team beating someone at least five rankings higher) so far:

A&M (12) over Syracuse (5)
Northwestern State (14) over Iowa (3)
Bradley (13) over Kansas (4)
George Mason (11) over Michigan State (6)
Montana (12) over Nevada (5)
UW-Mil (11) over Oklahoma (6)
Georgetown (7) over Ohio State (2)
Bradley (13) over Pittsburgh (5)
George Mason (11) over UNC (3)
Wichita State (7) over Tennessee (2)

So we’re down to 16 teams with two 7s (Wichita State and Georgetown), an 11 (George Mason), and a 13 (Bradley). Love it.

Tulsa workshop this weekend. Lots of preparation left to do!

An Interview With Dr. Jackie Halstead

Published
by
Mike
on March 18, 2006
in family
. 12 Comments

Today I’m posting an interview with Dr. Jackie Halstead on family enmeshment. She is the chairman of the Marriage and Family Institute at ACU and is known for her compassion, her insight, and her devotional to spiritual formation.

1. Jackie, recently I wrote on this blog about enmeshment, and it drew a lot of interest. Could you tell us what we mean by an enmeshed family?

The term “enmeshment” refers to the level of connectedness of a family. There is a continuum from “disengaged” (low level of connectedness/high level of separateness) to enmeshed (very high level of connectedness). The more enmeshed a family, the more control and interaction between family members. The ideal is a balance between separateness and connectedness.

2. Why is it that these families sometimes appear to be so healthy but can be quite toxic?

Before I answer this, let me comment on the natural progression that occurs within the above-mentioned continuum. When children are young, parents are doing what is called “parenting to protect.” There is, of course, a high level of connection and the parents are extremely involved in all aspects of the child’s life. This must occur in order for the child to develop in a secure and emotionally stable manner.

As the child grows older, the parenting strategy moves to a “parenting to prepare” style. Parents begin to prepare the child to launch. In a healthy family, there is a gradual separation that occurs. This separation teaches the child independence and confidence in their ability to live their own life. This is the stage at which enmeshment begins to be problematic. Some parents have a difficult time making the shift from “parenting to protect” to “parenting to prepare.” What appears to be a close family may in fact be a family that is having difficulty with the launching phase. These parents are overly involved in all aspects of their children’s lives when in fact they should be letting go of some areas. This control can cripple the young adult in one of two ways. Either they become overly dependent and have trouble making decisions and living on their own, or they must make a drastic break (typically through rebellion) in order to separate from the control.

3. Any tips for parents who are trying to create an environment where children can depend on them but aren’t enmeshed in the system?

First, take it to the Father. As with all aspects of parenting, we need his guidance on a daily (sometime moment by moment) basis. He knows better than any of us how to be an effective parent. Next, a key to healthy progression is developing a confidence in one’s child. When raised in an affirming, encouraging environment, a child will naturally begin to become independent at an appropriate time. They may not make the exact same choices as the parent, but that is as it should be. A parent must allow a child to be their own person. This does not mean to withdraw one’s guidance, but to encourage the child to think for themselves. Finally, it is helpful to educate oneself on the developmental stage of a child. This can be accomplished through reading, talking with other parents, and spending time with your child and their friends.

All parents have a tendency to want to shelter their child from the world. Regardless of the level of enmeshment, it is never too late to help one’s children become healthy independent adults. The paradox is that as the children achieve a healthy level of independence, they are much more apt to desire a close relationship with their parents that far exceeds the benefit of an unhealthy dependence.

Final Four Picks

Published
by
Mike
on March 16, 2006
in General and sports
. 59 Comments

No money. (wink, wink)

But leave your picks here. Put the team you think will win first, the team you think they’ll play in the final game second, and the other two final four teams after that.

Like this (my picks): DUKE, UConn, UCLA, Ohio State

Another 50th

Published
by
Mike
on March 16, 2006
in General
. 13 Comments

Last summer we celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. This week, during spring break, we’re in Ohio to celebrate the 50th of Diane’s parents. Twenty-three of the twenty-five in their immediate family (everyone except the med student–who’s doing his surgery rotation–and his wife) are here. Congrats to Joe and Shirley McKee!

Tuesday night we had a beautiful snow and more is supposed to be on the way tonight.

What a great serendipity to be able to visit with Guilford and Pat Rice and Arthur and Sherry Shearin this morning–friends from our College Church years. They’re up here for the Harding chorus’s spring break tour. Guilford has been driving the Harding bus for over 30 years. He’s a legend. And Arthur said this is his 38th year to make this trip (count four as a student) — which is hard to believe, since he still looks 45. Sherry was important to us as one of Matt’s elementary school teachers.

Pat was one of the guardian angels God has sent into our lives. She was a safe place for Matt and Megan to go when Diane and I needed a break. As a nurse, she knew what Megan needed medically. But much more than that she (and their daughter, Laura–now a missionary in Uganda) was the embodiment of God’s love to our two little ones. And we’ll never forget it!

Anyone else had a Pat Rice in their life?

The B-I-B-L-E #6

Published
by
Mike
on March 15, 2006
in faith and scripture
. 27 Comments

Here are ten things that amaze me about the Bible.

1. Even though there is much “variety” in scripture (ever gotten whiplash reading Ecclesiastes after the this-world-makes-sense wisdom of Proverbs?) and even though the books in scripture came over hundreds of years, it contains an overarching theme, a narrative unity. It speaks with profound insight about creation, the fall, Israel, Jesus, the church, and the final consummation.

2. It speaks both simply and deeply, to child and to scholar.

3. While it keeps being claimed by groups who laughingly think they’ve figured it all out, it keeps resisting, plunging us to deeper insights and mysteries.

4. It doesn’t seek to prove much. It is a book of confession and proclamation more than it is a book of apologetics. It doesn’t try to prove that God created; it confesses that God created. It explores the implications for this world since God created (and since he delivered from bondage . . . and since he restored after the exile . . . and since Jesus was raised from the dead . . . ). It’s an inside job from those who are already on a journey of faith.

5. It isn’t embarrassed by faithful exploration of difficult questions. Words of doubt and lament don’t get edited out (unlike in many contemporary churches).

6. It permits the writers to explore faith through their own expressions (see #2 in this series). It doesn’t share our need to work out all the jars and clashes.

7. It points consistently to God, insisting that he–in all his glory, power, and mystery–has ways that are not our ways.

8. It seems to know me. It speaks to my life with profound insight.

9. It refuses to be the object of our desire. Some people saw the signs of Jesus (especially in John’s gospel) but never looked much beyond the signs to the one who performed them. (”My, my, really good wine,” said the wedding planner, smacking his lips.) Likewise, too many Christians develop a passionate devotion to the Bible as if it were part of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Bible. Like the index finger of John the Baptist, it points beyond itself.

10. It insists that I decide. It’s not JUST history; it’s not JUST prose and poetry; it’s not JUST insightful and true. It demands that I listen, decide, commit, and act.

The B-I-B-L-E #5

Published
by
Mike
on March 14, 2006
in Books, faith and scripture
. 27 Comments

Today, I want to quote a couple women whose writings have inspired me.

First, Barbara Brown Taylor:

For all the human handiwork it displays, the Bible remains a peculiarly holy book. I cannot think of any other text that has such authority over me, interpreting me faster than I can interpret it. It speaks to me not with the stuffy voice of some mummified sage but with the fresh, lively tones of someone who knows what happened to me an hour ago. Familiar passages accumulate meaning as I return to them again and again. They seem to grow during my absences from them; I am always finding something new in them I never found before, something designed to meet me where I am at this particular moment in time.

This is, I believe, why we call the Bible God’s “living” word. When I think about consulting a medical book thousands of years old for some insight into my health, or an equally ancient physics book for some help with my cosmology, I understand what a strange and unparalleled claim the Bible has on me. Age does not diminish its power but increases it. . . .

The word of God turned out to be plenty strong enough to withstand my curiosity. Every time I poked it, it poked me back. Every time I wrenched it around so I could see inside, it sprang back into shape the moment I was through. In short, the Bible turned out not to be a fossil under glass but a thousand different things — a mirror, a scythe, a hammock, a lantern, a pair of binoculars, a high diving board, a bridge, a goad — all of them offering themselves to me to be touched and handled and used.

And then this wonderful story from Kathleen Norris’s Amazing Grace. She tells of a Saturday evening when she and her husband were eating at a local steakhouse and struck up a conversation with “an old-timer, a tough, self-made man in the classic American sense.” They had known him casually (”he knew us as oddball writers, misfits in the region”), but this evening, probably because he was about to enter chemotherapy, he was more talkative.

Out of the blue, Arlo began talking about his grandfather, who had been a deeply religious man, or as Arlo put it, “a damn good Presbyterian.” His wedding present to Arlo and his bride had been a Bible, which he admitted he had admired mostly because it was an expensive gift, bound in white leather with their names and the date of their wedding set in gold lettering on the cover. “I left it in its box and it ended up in our bedroom closet,” Arlo told us. “But,” he said, “for months afterward, every time we saw grandpa he would ask me how I liked that Bible. The wife had written a thank-you note, and we’d thanked him in person, but somehow he couldn’t let it lie, he’d always ask about it.” Finally, Arlo grew curious as to why the old man kept after him. “Well,” he said, “the joke was on me. I finally took that Bible out of the closet and I found that granddad had placed a twenty-dollar bill at the beginning of the Book of Genesis, and at the beginning of every book . . . over thirteen hundred dollars in all. And he knew I’d never find it.”

We laughed over this with Arlo, and he began talking about the interest he could have made had he found that money sooner. “Thirteen hundred bucks was a lot of money in them days,” he said, shaking his head.

The B-I-B-L-E #4

Published
by
Mike
on March 13, 2006
in scripture
. 29 Comments

A fourth shocking discovery was this: the Bible didn’t come rolling off the presses as a single volume.

When we walk into Barnes and Noble, there are scores of Bibles. You just have to figure out which one to buy. It’s easy to assume that it’s always been that way.

So it’s a bit of a jolt when you first realize the obvious: that the Bible is a collection of “books,” and someone had to organize that collection. When you begin digging, you realize that there isn’t a formal recognition of the 27 books of the NT (these 27 and no others) until the fourth century. It was the church that was deciding which gospels and letters should be included in the canon and which ones shouldn’t.

Some of the books we cherish — Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, Revelation, for instance — had a hard time finding their place. As an example of why this happened, the early church struggled with not knowing who even wrote Hebrews. Also, a few other books were accepted by some but rejected by others and did not finally make it into the Christian canon.

(For an account of the forming of our biblical canon, you can begin at Wikipedia. To go indepth, a book like Bruce Metzger’s The Canon of the New Testament. I’d also recommend that you get ahold of the wonderful book God’s Holy Fire, written by Ken Cukrowski, Mark Hamilton, and James Thompson, all biblical scholars teaching at ACU.)

For many years, the gospel message was passed on orally. People told the story of Jesus and of the early church as they had witnessed it or as they had heard it from witnesses. There were likely three decades between the death/resurrection of Jesus and the appearance of the first gospel.

As the gospels and letters were written, they were eventually shared between churches. (Keep in mind there were no printing presses, and you couldn’t just cut, paste, and forward!)

Then, our brothers and sisters had to decide which gospels and letters had the ring of authority about them. Which actually came from the apostles? Which ones had spoken with an authoritative voice?

Some people would prefer not to think about this. It’s so much easier to just imagine that all 39 books of the OT came together, followed centuries later by the 27 books of the NT. Then you’d feel more justified with all of the cross-referencing and proof-texting.

So what do we do with this?

Here’s, again, where my statement of faith comes. I obviously can’t force anyone to believe this. But I have trust in the working of the Spirit of God through the people of God. I have confidence that God was working among the churches as they debated, prayed, and sought to discern which gospels/letters were “in” and which were “out.”

To build on that, I like these words from N. T. Wright (in the brilliant new book The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture): “But canonization was never simply a matter of a choice of particular books on a ‘who’s in, who’s out’ basis. It was a matter of setting out the larger story, the narrative framework, which makes sense of and brings order to God’s world and God’s people. . . . It was the canonical scriptures that sustained the early church in its energetic mission and its commitment, startling to the watching pagan world, to a radical holiness.”

More in this little series later, but I want to end today with this prayer that Wright says has been prayed in his church for centuries:

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which thou hast given us in thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The B-I-B-L-E #3

Published
by
Mike
on March 10, 2006
in faith and scripture
. 47 Comments

A third shocking discovery of my early life was this: the Bible wasn’t written to me.

It did not come as an 1141-page book (if you have the right copy) addressed to me.

It was written, instead, to the Israelites, to the Corinthians, to the Christians in Matthew’s community, to Titus, to Timothy, to Christ-followers in the seven churches of Asia Minor. And those “books” or “letters” were later handed on to others who handed them on to others and so forth. And eventually they were handed on to me.

So in one sense, I’m reading someone else’s mail.

In the first piece in this series, I wrote about the shock of learning that the Bible has to be interpreted. I was focusing on what the Bible meant. But today I’m talking about what the Bible means.

To me, even more disconcerting than learning that the Bible requires translation and interpretation to try to figure out what it meant was the discovery that once you do that you have to attempt to figure out how it still speaks today.

For example . . .

Here are a few passages from Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Tell me which of these only applied to Timothy and his church and which ones also apply to us.

Stay in Ephesus.

I urge you . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone–for kings and all those in authority . . . .”

I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands . . . .”

I want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elagorate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds . . . .”

I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be quiet.

An overseer is to be . . . apt to teach . . . .”

Women who are deacons are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty . . . .

Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Isn’t it obvious that women should not take any leadership roles in an assembly? Well, isn’t it also obvious that they shouldn’t wear clothes from Neiman Marcus (or Dillards . . . or K-Mart — depending on what your personal definition of “expensive clothes” is)? And isn’t it quite clear that we should never give financial assistance to a widow who’s only 59?

The church not only has to seek–in community through the leading of the Spirit–to discern what the text MEANT; it also has to try to figure out what it MEANS today. Why don’t we wash feet? Why don’t we greet one another with a holy kiss? Why do we think it’s all right to help a widow in need, even if she’s just 35?

Because we have struggled to discern what in scripture was “cultural” (in the sense that it applied only to that situation — because in another sense it’s all cultural) and what was intended as permanent.

Scripture wasn’t written for me.

And yet . . . in another sense, it IS written for me. It speaks afresh.

In one of his brief homilies based on OT texts, the writer of Hebrews begins by quoting Psalm 95 (Hebrews 3:7-11). It’s an old hymn of Israel that speaks about something that had happened hundreds of years before–the testing at Meribah and Massah in the desert. When the psalmist referred to those old events recorded in the history of Israel, he thought they spoke a new word to his people: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as YOU did in the rebellion.”

To be technical, THEY hadn’t rebelled. Their ancestors had. But he was thinking of the people as a community that cuts across the decades.

When the writer of Hebrews quotes it, he thinks it’s as current as the morning news. “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘today.’”

The actual event happened about 1300 years before Christ (give or take, depending on how you date the exodus). Psalm 95 was written hundreds of years later. The Hebrews writer applied the word in the first century. And his words and the words he quoted are still relevant and insightful in 2006.

No wonder he ended this homily by reflecting on scripture: “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the toughts and attitudes of the heart.”

So is the Bible written for me?

No. It came initially to others in real live situations. So anything I apply must come by application as discerned by the community of faith.

But yes. It comes as a guiding document for the church, seeking to lead me to Jesus.

Scripture is old/new, ancient/current, used/fresh.

Welcome to PreacherMike.com

Published
by
Mike
on March 9, 2006
in General
. 28 Comments

Greetings!

Either you have successfully updated your bookmarks and found your way here, or you used the old mikecope.blogspot.com address and found yourself miraculously swept through the ether and wound up here anyway. Whatever the case, we’re glad you’re here.

Cat With A Fruit HelmetSome of us have been trying to get Mike to switch from the old Blogger setup for some time. Google, the owner of Blogger, is a very useful tool, but sometimes we must rebel against the Empire. Launching out into the World Wide Web with your own “dot com” is one way of rebelling. Whereas Mike used to have one room in Blogger’s multi-roomed mansion, he now has a cottage all of his own.

This is beneficial for two reasons. First, with his own hosted blog, Mike now has room to store podcasts and sermons (podcasted sermons or sermonized podcasts), for you to download. Don’t go rushing off looking for them quite yet. They’re not there. But at least now, he has the room and the ability to do so. Second, with a unique URL, a website’s exposure is increased exponentially. This isn’t to say that Mike’s blog wasn’t popular before now, but with this migration to the standalone site, Mike can now be reached by a wider audience. And that’s a good thing.

Third (and this one just came to me): no more “.blogspot.com.” That just gets annoying after a while, doesn’t it?

Anyway, now that you’re here, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the layout. The list of links directly beneath the header will always help you find your way back to the front page, or to Mike’s profile (in progress), or to the Archives page. If you know exactly what day a post appeared, Archives are a great way to navigate to them. Or, if you aren’t exactly sure when a post appeared, you can always use the search box in the sidebar on the right-hand side to try and find them.

Leaving comments is relatively straightforward. Type the name (or your “nickname” or your “handle”) that you want to appear with your comment on the “Name” field. Enter a valid email address (which only Mike has access to, and won’t be shared with any third parties) in the “Email” field, and if you want, enter the URL to your own blog, or to your Blogger profile, in the “Website” field. Type out your comment, hit “Submit,” and you’re done.

The little ovals in the blue title bar of each post are used to collapse or expand the post itself. This is either incredibly useful, or incredibly pointless, depending on your point of view. In the Archives, for instance, it is helpful to view them all collapsed, so you can see a large number of posts all at once. Use them if you’d like, or ignore them.

Mike’s new blog is graciously and professionally hosted by WebbleYou, a webhosting company that is run by a middle-school science teacher and vocational church planter. He offers the best rates on the whole Internet, so if you’re experiencing some envy over Mike’s Blogspot-free existence, check out WebbleYou, and ask for Justin.

If you have any problems with the site, don’t tell Mike! He’s still getting his feet wet with WordPress, but feel free to contact me through my site.

Happy Blogging!

[And, the cat-helmet picture is staying up until a) Mike tells me to take it down, or b) figures out how to delete it himself!]