Archive for October, 2007

The Kingdom of God

Published
by
Mike
on October 15, 2007
in General
. 54 Comments

Repeat of an earlier post . . .

The primary message of Jesus of Nazareth was the kingdom of God. It lies right at the heart of what his life and his message were about, according to the gospels. As his public ministry was launched he said, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Many of the stories he told were introduced with these words: “The kingdom of God is like . . . .”

Those words undoubtedly got the attention of his listeners. Most of the Jewish sects were eagerly awaiting the kingdom of God, though they were conceiving of it in very different ways. They anticipated the day when God would break in, defeat the hated Romans, and restore the land to his people.

The framework for this teaching goes back to the Old Testament, of course. There we learn that God is the King of the universe.

For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth. . . .
God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
(Psalm 47:2, 7)

For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
(Psalm 95:3-6)

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
(Psalm 103:19)

This God who created everything is the King of kings. No wonder so many of the prophetic visions anticipate a day when his rule will extend throughout the world. (See, e.g., Isaiah 11:6-9; Micah 4:1-4; Isaiah 65:17-25; and Daniel 7:13-14.)

What hope! A day is coming when the wolf and lamb will feed together, when infants will not die, when weeping and crying will be heard no more. The Shalom of God in its fulness!

Then John the Baptist comes announcing the nearness of the kingdom (Matthew 3:2 - “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”). And Jesus builds his teaching around that conviction.

The kingdom, we learn, isn’t what many of the Jews thought. It isn’t a political kingdom (John 18:36). Rather, it is the dynamic presence of God in Jesus Christ. “Kingdom” refers to the rule of God, to his sovereign reign in this world.

And in Jesus this kingdom was (is) present. He healed the sick, saved the lost, gave sight to the blind, and invited the poor. The reign of God was breaking in. The future had arrived to reverse the curse and to set the world right as God had intended it through the life and ministry of Jesus.

His stories and teaching pointed to a very different kind of kingdom than most of the Jews expected — a kingdom that was inverted, where the poor are blessed, the sinners are received, the dead are made alive, and the last will be first.

They shouldn’t look for armies and thrones and political borders, he told them. “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21).

He came reversing the curse and taking the world back to the way God intended in creation. That’s the kingdom, or rule of God. So he taught his disciples to live with the perspective of the kingdom. That’s what the Sermon on the Mount is: living in light of the inbreaking reign of God. Living in harmony with God and with others and with the world God created and blessed.

He taught them (and us) to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It’s been widely recognized that these are parallel requests. He’s praying for the kingdom to come — or in other words, for God’s will to be done in this realm called earth just as it is in God’s realm called heaven. We’re praying for the rule of God to come more and more and, in essence, we’re reporting for duty to be a part of this. We’re offering our lives in confession, repentence, faith, and mission.

Some have thought we should no longer pray the Lord’s Prayer because the church has been established. But to reduce the dynamic concept of kingdom to the church is a serious mistake. The church enters the kingdom of God; the church receives the kingdom of God; and the church announces the kingdom of God. But the church doesn’t exhaust the kingdom of God! So we continue praying as Jesus taught us for the kingdom to come, for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. As long as there is evidence of the curse, as long as the wolf and lamb aren’t feeding together, as long as infants are still dying, as long as there is weeping and crying, as long as there is war, as long as there is hatred, bitterness, and resentment — it’s still safe to pray this prayer.

The future reign of God has broken in through the presence of Jesus. And yet . . . it hasn’t arrived in its fullness. We are living “between the times” — between the incarnation/death/resurrection of Jesus and the coming consummation that we await.

Paul’s writings carry that important tension concerning the rule of God. Sometimes when he refers to the kingdom he’s talking about a present reality (Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20), while at other times he’s referring to a future hope (1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 15:24, 50).

Meanwhile, we continue to yield our lives to the reign of God. We seek to be used by him as lights in the world. We wait, hope, long, groan, pray, and work. We keep one eye on the task before us, knowing that the reign of God is present in Jesus Christ, and we keep one eye peeled for the future act of God when the dead will be raised, all tears will be wiped away, and God himself will be in our midst (Revelation 21-22).

Finally, these words from William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas’s book Lord Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer & the Christian Life:

The kingdom of God that is coming, here, not here, present, not fully present, is a banquet, a great party thrown for outsiders who, before Jesus, had no place in the promises of God to Israel. By an amazing act of generosity, Jesus has made possible a party to which even Gentiles like us have been invited. The kingdom of God is a party to which all of the good people refused the invitation so the host went out and invited all of the bad people. The kingdom of God is a party for a bunch of people with whom we wouldn’t be caught dead spending a Saturday night, had we not also been invited.

This is one of the reasons why being in the church can be a real pain, considering the sort of reprobates Jesus has invited to the party, the party that is called kingdom of God.

We are able to live hopefully in a fallen-yet-being-redeemed world because of the One who has taught us to pray “this way.” As Christians, to us has been given the grace to know that we live between the times, having seen the fullness of God in Jesus Christ, yet also knowing that all the world is not yet fulfilled as God’s world. That tension, stretched as we are between what is ours now in Christ and that which is yet promised, is our role as God’s people. We, you and I, are living, breathing evidence that God has not abandoned the world. We are able continually and fervently to pray that God’s kingdom come because we know that God’s will has been done. We are able to be honest about all the ways in which this world is not the kingdom of God in its fullness and to hope for more because we know that God’s will has yet to be done, God’s kingdom has yet to come. We are able to live without despair in the world’s present situation because, even in us, God has claimed a bit of enemy territory, has wrestled something from the forces of evil and death. That reclaimed, renovated territory is us.

Edward’s Syndrome

Published
by
Mike
on October 11, 2007
in faith
. 20 Comments

Here are a couple powerful stories of families who lost children born with Edward’s Syndrome:

Eliot Mooney

Copeland Farley

Watch, weep, hope, pray.

Youth Ministers and Gospeled Change

Published
by
Mike
on October 11, 2007
in Church, Church of Christ, justice and scripture
. 67 Comments

A couple recent pictures of Reese Kathryn Cope:

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I’ve written before about my appreciation for youth ministers. That appreciation continues to grow as I hear stories of youth leaders who are instilling a deep sense of justice and compassion in their teens. Someday we may look back and realize that there was a dramatic shift in our churches — a shift that focuses more on God’s work to restore the world (in all ways). And we may realize how much of that took place from the teaching and modeling of youth workers.

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Insightful words about the gospels from N. T. Wright:

“No historian, no reporter, nobody ever tells things ‘just like they happened.’ All stories about all events involve the story-teller in selection, collection, arrangement and hence ‘interpretation.’ That doesn’t mean the whole thing is a pack of lies. It just means there is no such thing as a point of view which is nobody’s point of view. Nobody is ever a fly on the wall. All storytelling is story-telling with a purpose. The Gospels are no exception. To read the Gospels, then, we must continually be alert both for the question ‘what is this telling us about Jesus?’ and for the question ‘what is the evangelist trying to say, through this tory about Jesus, to his own contemporaries?’”

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My name has finally been removed from the www.foracappella.org site. It took quite a while for someone to figure out that I didn’t endorse the statement there. Hmmmm. Hadn’t read my blog, I guess. Keep hoping they’ll take down the scandalous articles that indicate instrumental music is a matter of salvation and fellowship. I’ve read some comments indicating that no one should bother to say anything about it. But those comments are wrong. That teaching is heretical. It reduces the gospel and throws up barriers that shouldn’t exist. Neither singing a cappella nor with instruments is heretical. Teaching that one or the other is necessary for salvation and fellowship is heretical.

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I’m expecting a short World Series, aren’t you? It’s hard to imagine either the Rockies or the D’backs matching up well with the Indians or Red Sox.

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I’ve been concerned about the need for the recruiters of Christian colleges to give the same perspective to potential students that the leaders on campus are providing once the students get there.

E.g., if a Christian college has banned people from speaking on its campus, that’s fine. The administration certainly has a right to do that. But wouldn’t it be ironic if the admissions people wound up recruiting from the congregations where those ministers work? Are they making it clear that they would like the students to attend even though the ministers they’ve grown up with are aren’t welcome?

Or let’s suppose that the administration generally believes that something like instrumental music will condemn you. Wouldn’t it be dishonest if the recruiters went to students from instrumental churches and encouraged them to attend, leaving the impression with the students and their parents that they are brothers and sisters in Christ who are in full fellowship?

The point is that there needs to be a consistent message between the policy and practices of the administration and the impressions given by the admissions counselors.

Vegas Central

Published
by
Mike
on October 9, 2007
in Baseball and sports
. 25 Comments

I know you’re waiting for my predictions before you place your bets. So here they are.

Red Sox over Indians.
Rockies over D’backs.
Red Sox over Rockies.

Take it to the bank.

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Just in case you didn’t know, the Cowboys are 5-0. You know you’re on a roll when your QB throws 5 interceptions and you still win.

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Here was my evening: the Yankees lost . . . the Cowboys won with two seconds left . . . and my granddaughter was in our arms. Now THAT is a good evening.

Zoe 07

Published
by
Mike
on October 8, 2007
in Baseball
. 19 Comments

Was fun to connect with several of you at the Zoe Conference in Nashville this weekend. My time was shortened because of Chris’s football game Thursday night and preaching at Highland on Sunday morning. But still, it was excellent. Lynn Anderson was pumped by the stuff that Brian McLaren did. I’m anxious to get into his newest book.

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In the first 11 games of the playoffs, the four teams I picked to win their series were a perfect 0-11. That’s right. Not one single win. Three of the teams I picked (Cubs, Phillies, Angels) went out in three games. Finally, last night the one team I would have been happy to see swept won a game to keep me from being 0-12.

So . . . I’m sure you’ll be glad for the Yankees/Indians series to end so you can see my next round of predictions and place your bets!

Don’t Take My Predictions to Vegas

Published
by
Mike
on October 5, 2007
in General
. 26 Comments

So far in the playoffs, if you took my predictions and decided to go the exact opposite way, you’re doing very well.

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Last night’s freshmen football game was in Midland. That’s two trips to Odessa and one trip to Midland. Oh, the sheer beauty of I-20! But we’d go to El Paso if that’s where we were playing. Those moments don’t come back around.

Playoffs

Published
by
Mike
on October 3, 2007
in Baseball, justice and sports
. 42 Comments

Yankees vs. Indians. Yankees
Angels vs. Red Sox. Angels
Rockies vs. Phillies. Phillies
Cubs vs. D’backs. Cubs
Yankees vs. Angels. Angels
Phillies vs. Cubs. Phillies
Angels vs. Phillies. Angels

Now . . . you?

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If you haven’t been to Larry James’s blog recently, check out this wonderful piece. Also, for a bit of irony, check this out.

A Time to Speak — Christian Chronicle Ad

Published
by
Mike
on October 1, 2007
in Church of Christ
. 386 Comments

First, here are my thoughts on instrumental music vs. a cappella music.

But this isn’t about the issue of a cappella music, per se. It’s about the two-page ad in the most recent Christian Chronicle entitled “A Time to Speak.” If you haven’t seen it, you can read a similar version here.

There are some differences. For example, the ad online says, “We, as a group of younger ministers, present this article to the public to affirm that we stand firmly united for a cappella singing.” Then there is a long list of names of people from ages 17 to 77.

In the Chronicle ad, it says, “We, as a group of ministers who are age 55 and younger, present this statement to the public to affirm that we stand firmly united for acappella singing.” The list of names of “preachers already affirming this statement” in the Chronicle has expunged the names online of those who are female and those who are over 55. I counted over 300 names, though I only recognize four or five. (I don’t mean that to downplay the individuals — I just mean that I don’t know them.)

When I first read it, I had serious questions about the Chronicle’s advertising policy. The Chronicle has in recent years been such an effective tool for unity and missions. Why would they accept an ad like this? Does it promote unity or disunity? Does it force ministers to sign or resign from some churches? Would they receive a similar ad from those who also think it’s “time to speak” — but who disagree — complete with their own set of names?

I had a wonderful conversation with Lynn McMillon today, however. He assured me that the Chronicle has a brand new advertising policy. Something like this won’t appear there again. Congratulations to the Chronicle staff and board for reconsidering.

The ad directs people to the www.foracappella.org website. Here is a section from one of the articles the site includes to set us straight:

Some suggest that whether or not one uses instrumental music in worship really doesn’t matter. Since we all are imperfect and stand in the need of the grace of God, whether we use instruments is a moot question. They believe they can continue using the instrument without losing favor with God. Any issue that involves sin is a “salvation issue.” When people persist in sin and do not repent, they put their souls in peril (Heb. 10:26; 2 Pet. 3:9; Luke 13:3,5). The question here, then, is the use of instrumental music in worship sinful. Based upon the Scriptural evidence we have examined, we believe it is sinful to go beyond the authority of the New Testament and use musical instruments to worship. Some might use it for a time and then repent; surely God’s grace will forgive them in response to their repentance. What will happen to those who will not repent?

This is what’s most disturbing. I keep trying to convince young ministers that there aren’t many who think this is a salvation issue — but maybe I’m wrong! Perhaps some of those listed on the planning and advisory committee can assure us that this article is improperly placed on the website.

My dear friends, if the use of instrumental music will send a Christ-follower to hell, then we’re all going to hell. Over something. We’re all wrong about something!!

Those words above show that the deepest need is for us to understand what the gospel is.

Nearly as disturbing are these words from another recommended article:

Should those who oppose the use of instruments, then, extend their fellowship to those who do? Fellowship implies approval. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul addresses the question of fellowship with the man who has his father’s wife. He says that even the pagans do not approve of such behavior. For the Corinthians to continue to fellowship him would be to send a message of approval for something even pagans condemn. Paul then commands them to withdraw from him. Paul also writes in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 that “if anyone does not obey our instruction in this epistle, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.” To associate with those who have strayed, Paul says, is to send the message of approval of what they do. In the same way, John tells Christians that if someone “comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him” (2 John 10). Again the point is clear, to extend fellowship implies approval. This does not mean, of course, that we can have no contact with such people, but does mean that we do not extend to those who are engaging in a practice which is not in harmony with scripture the same fellowship we would to those who are in such harmony.

The world is disoriented, hurting, and lost. God is seeking to restore and repair what’s been broken. And someone is paying for a two-page ad in the Chronicle for this?

One of the most gifted young ministers I know in Churches of Christ sent me a brief email a few days ago. It said, “Yup. I’m out.” I hope he won’t leave. But if he does, I understand. And I know he’ll still be a powerful servant in the kingdom.

Reading the OT From a Christian Perspective

Published
by
Mike
on October 1, 2007
in General
. 6 Comments

“This passage [Gal. 3:15-22] has much to teach us about the security of all who believe the gospel. They are all members of the true people of God, irrespective of racial background. This is a lesson the church still needs to learn. It also helps us to understand something of how to read the Old Testament from a Christian point of view. The Old Testament was God-given, and remains part of Christian scripture; let there be no doubt about that, no attempt to make Paul say anything else. But, precisely because of the Christian story of God’s dealings with his people from Abraham onwards, the regulations designed to keep Israel as it were in quarantine are now set aside. Not because they were bad, ill-judged, unnecessary or not intended by God; but because they were good, vital, effective and have now completed their task.”

- N. T. Wright