Monday, December 28, 2009

The Ideal and the Real

I am by personality an idealist. I would like to have an ideal family, be part of an ideal church, have my finances in ideal order, have my theological thinking ideally aligned with God's complete revelation, and I want to be the ideal person.

But the reality is that none of that is so. I don't have an ideal family, we are dysfunctional to some degree like most families are. I have never been part of an ideal church, they have, like most families, been dyfunctional. My use of finances have not met the ideal presented in the books I have read. I know that my theological understanding of God is incomplete, and likely wrong on somethings (I just don't know where). I have not been an ideal father, husband, leader, friend, or anything else. I can't point at myself and tell the world, "be like me." That would not be a good idea.

I can look at myself and see my many flaws, imperfections, and weaknesses. I know how far I fall from the ideal. I've been a Christian for 30 plus years, in fact I've been an ordained minister for over 30 years, and I still have "gaps" in my life that discourage me at times. After reading thousands of books, after listening to thousands of tapes and CD's, and after being counseled and advised by some of the wisest and most profound Christian leaders in the world, I still have not arrived at the ideal. My progress could best be described as "three steps forward and one back." The truth is I have "shot myself in the foot" so many times, that I have considered writing a book entitled, "Walking with Jesus on Bullet-Riddled Feet."

I believe in the ideal, but I must live with the real. Reality is that I will never fully reach the ideal. Perfection is outside of my grasp in this life. But the reality is Jesus has lived the "ideal" for me, and all that He is and has done, is credited to me. I do want to move forward and experience more transformation in my life. But I can do that resting in the fact the Father loves me "warts and all." His love for me is not based on my achieving the ideal, its based on Christ having achieved the ideal, and I am "in Christ."

I am encouraged by the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 3, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining for what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (vs. 12-14).

Paul lived in reality about himself, but never lost sight of the ideal. Like Paul, I want to keep pressin' on toward the ideal, but living in the reality that Christ has made me His own.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Reelin' in the Years

For most of us, we mark time by the Christmas holidays. Christmas has a way of reminding us how fast the year has sped by, and how like the old Steely Dan song says, we are "reelin' in the years." A decade ago we were concerned about Y2K - a whole decade ago - but it seems so recent, like maybe a couple of years ago. Where does all this time go? It just dawned on me this morning that the 70"s will soon be four decades away in the rear view mirror. Am I really that old?

I don't know about you, but in my mind I stopped aging at about 30. Seriously, I still think of myself as around 30, and I have to remind myself that I'm 54 (I hesitated typing that!). In my mind, I have the same athletic ability I had then. Not that I was a great athlete, but at least I haven't diminished. But at times, my body tells me different. Like when I go to the health club and I see what these guys in their 20's or 30's are doing, and in my mind I'm with them, but in reality I'm with the senior citizens on the treadmill.

I don't like the fact that my hair is starting to get a little grey. Someone called it "salt and pepper" the other day. But I think that is an exaggeration. I see guys my age or younger, but I know they look older than me. I'm a young looking 54.

I love it when I hear that line that, "50 is the new 30." I want that to be true. I have so much I want to do and accomplish. And I refuse to let a "number" stand in my way. I want to be like Caleb, who refused to let his physical age stand in the way of his taking the mountain. I want to always be looking ahead with dreams and visions for the future. I hope to die with some dreams unfulfilled, because when we stop dreaming, we stop really living. I want to live life to the fullest, up to the very last minute.

In addition to all this, I want to be continually changing. I want to grow more and more in the image of Christ. Like Bob Dylan has said, "He who is not busy bein' born, is busy dyin'." I want to continue, to the very end of my days, experiencing the transforming work of Jesus Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit.

I like how Eugene Peterson in The Message has interpreted the words of the apostle Paul in Second Corinthians 4:16, "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace."

So we keep "reelin' in the years!"

Friday, December 18, 2009

Building Principles

For over twenty years I pastored a non-denominational "charismatic" church that ranged in size, over the course of that time, from 400 to 50 people. Prior to that I served on the pastoral staff of a church that averaged an attendence of 2,500 on Sunday mornings. These days I lead a small house church that averages about 15 people (and one dog) on Sunday mornings. I can honestly say that I have more personal fulfillment and joy with the house church than I ever experienced in my previous church settings.

A couple years ago I wrote a short piece for our group entitled "Building Principles." It addresses how we need to relate to one another and build relationally. I present it here to provide you with an understanding of what I believe should be the context that all churches should function from in terms of the way we relate to one another.


Building Principles


We believe God is love, and He expresses Himself in our acceptance, forgiveness, understanding and personal encouragement of one another. We believe that no one has entered our life by "accident," but that God has sovereignly brought people into our lives for His purposes.

We believe in loving one another unconditionally, as God does. Our friendships are real and the sharing of our faith is relational. We don't use people to build the church, we use the church to build people. We don't judge, lest we be judged. We forgive and release the past. Our present relationship with God is what matters. We are a safe refuge for those needing healing, and for those damaged by religious legalism or manipulation.

We believe that God's strength is manifested in human weakness. The Book of Second Corinthians says, "We glory in our weakness, that the power of Christ's grace may rest upon us." Therefore, we make no pretensions of self righteousness. We do not expect the perfection from each other that belongs to God. We seek progress, not perfection. We support recovery for those who struggle with addiction. We cheer each other on towards wholeness and a closer connection with God.

We believe in Christ's forgiveness for our sins, past, present, and future. We celebrate communion to commemorate this gift of salvation by grace. We remind each other that God the Father has accepted us, and that we need not live in guilt and shame. Christ suffered once for our sins that He might bring us to the Father. We do not earn our salvation by keeping legalistic rules, but by faith in what Christ Jesus has done for us.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Jesus, Friend of Sinners

I have said, "Most of my friends these days are felons, ex-felons, or preachers." This always seems to get a laugh, but it is literally true. I do have friends that fit none of these categories for sure, but having spent the past 30 years of my life in ministry I have alot of friends who are pastors, teachers, evangelists, theologians, and missionaries. This accounts for those being labeled as "preachers."

But for the past couple years a good portion of my time has been spent with men who are behind prison bars. These men are from various socio-economic classes and ethnic groups. There are doctors, businessmen, ministers, lawyers, truck drivers, chefs, waiters, barbers, and every other profession (legal and illegal) among those I teach and fellowship with. I have friends who have been drug dealers, gang leaders, tax evaders, and simply those who "crossed over the line" and found themselves on the other side of the law. I am not ashamed to say that I have friends who have murdered, stole, conned, cheated, and defrauded. I have friends that are registered sex offenders. I have friends that have been shot in drug deals, shot people in drive-byes, run from the police, the feds, and the county sheriff. I also have friends that are more dangerous with a computer than a 9 milimeter pistol.

Outside of the prison, many of my friends are those dealing with addictions. Many of these men have been in prison at one time or another. They come from every walk of life. One is a former art dealer from Hunington Beach, California, another an Alaskan crab fisherman, another who is a gourmet chef, and another who is a West Point graduate. Some are dealing with alcohol or drug addiction, others sexual addiction, and some with anger.

These are my friends. These are the people I "hang-out" with. These are the kind of people Jesus was around. He was called "a friend of sinners" and so He was. I, for one, am glad that He is a friend of sinners, otherwise He wouldn't hang out with me. I'm a sinner and a saint. I'm a Pharisee in recovery. I have known the prison I built with my own sin. I've been addicted to my selfishness.

Johnny Cash was once asked, "Why do people like your songs about prison?" He responded by saying, "Because everyone can relate to being in prison. We have all created our own prisons and been prisoners."

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Book Review of "Deep Church"

If you are not aware of the current controversy that is reigning in the evangelical world over the "emerging church" this book will not only inform you, but provide you with a perspective of a "third way," which holds to orthodoxy but addresses the concerns of the postmodern generation. I personally, found this book to be the most balanced and insightful response to the controversy that I have read. I have recommended it to my friends on both sides of the discussion, because I do believe that it articulates the balance that is necessary. One only needs to look at the comments of those who have endorsed this book, which include Mark Driscoll, Rob Bell, Tim Keller, and Tony Jones, to know that this book has struck a cord.

The author, Jim Belcher, is a P.C.A. pastor and church planter, graduate of Fuller Seminary, and a true insider to the beginnings of what later became labeled "the emerging church." The title for the book is taken from C.S. Lewis, who used this term in 1952, when he was defending supernatural revelation against the modernist movement. It is a way of expressing "mere Christianity." His call in this book is to return to the "Great Tradition" expressed in the Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds, which bound the Church together for centuries.

Belcher was very helpful for me in this book by examining the use of words. For example, when Brian McLaren uses the term "postmodern," he is not using it as an expression denoting the "rejection of absolutes." Unfortunately, this has been what some have heard. On the other hand, when Chuck Colson speaks of postmodernism, he is speaking of a philosophical perspective that has rejected any moral absolute foundation. Therefore, though McLaren and Colson may be using the same word, but their meanings are totally different. In the same way, the labeling of "emerging" or "traditionalist" can be very misleading. Not all those who have been labeled as "emerging," are the same, any more than those labeled "traditionalist" are. There is a wide range of perspectives among both groups.

Belcher addresses the concerns expressed by postmodern Christian leaders, acknowledging the true legitimacy of those concerns. Likewise, he addresses the concerns that many traditionalist leaders have about some of the theological issues raised by some of these emerging leaders. In all this the author points to a "third way." He holds the line on orthodoxy, while at the same time values innovation. He shows that the answers are not always "either - or" but often "both - and."

I highly recommend this book to you if you are a pastor, church leader, or a thinker. It is well worth your investment.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Narrative and Meta-Narrative

A few months ago, I took a course in "contemporary family counseling." This course dealt with various approaches to family counseling that are currently in use. One such approach is "Narrative Therapy," which is based on the premise that "people live their lives by stories" and "families are formed, perpetuated, and transformed by the stories they share." This perspective is significantly important as we understand the influence of postmodernity upon our culture. In this way, narrative therapy departs from the scientific reasoning of modernity and embraces "narrative reasoning" (which is an important conceptual idea in postmodernity). This approach emphasizes understanding and interpreting our lives through our stories and substories, through which we find meaning in life.

As a believer, this approach intrigued me because of its parallels with Biblical teaching. To begin with, the Bible is primarily a collection of stories that have been handed down generationally to enable us to understand and interpret the larger context of our own lives. In this the Bible provides us with a "meta-narrative," the "big story" from which we are to view our own story. To illustrate, the big story is the story of the forest, while your story is the story of a tree within the forest. Your story must be understood within the larger context of the forest.

The Biblical story is the story of a Father and His Son, that is the meta-narrative. My story, and your story, must be understood in the context of this meta-narrative in order to understand and properly interpret our individual stories. Your life story is that of an "epic journey," with various twists and turns, plots and sub-plots, new characters appearing and older characters departing, there is tragedy and comedy, there is mystery and romance. But none it has ultimate meaning apart from the larger story - the meta-narrative. We lose our sense of meaning and purpose in life when we fail to see it, in the context of the meta-narrative.

Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Peter, James, John , and Paul are all part of the meta-narrative. But then again, so are you. Your name and your story may not be part of Scripture, but you and I are still part of that big story. The big story is not all about you, but you are in the story. Your story is a story within the big story.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Son of Man

Recently, while teaching through the first epistle of John, I was once again struck by the importance that John, and the other New Testament writers, place on Jesus' humanity. The Gnostic error that John confronts is that of "docetism," a term derived from the Greek word meaning "to appear." The docetists stated that Jesus only "appeared to be a man." John even refers to this error as "the spirit of the Antichrist" (See I John 4:2-3).

I find it interesting that in our day, we who defend the divinity of Christ, do not seem to place equal importance on defending Christ's humanity. Yet, the message of the Incarnation is about God becoming fully Man. Though Jesus did not cease being fully God, He became fully Man.

The title by which Jesus most often referred to Himself by was "the Son of Man" (a Messianic title first used in Daniel 7:13). By this title He was identifying Himself with Adam and consequently with all of humanity. The Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, took upon Himself a human nature, becoming clothed with flesh and became the Son of Man. He did this not only for the purpose of becoming our redeeming substitute, bearing the wrath of God the Father, thus paying the penalty for Man's sin, but to reveal what it means to be truly human. He shows us what it means to be human in the way God originally intended. Humanity apart from the Fall.

Only recently did I grasp the importance of Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan river. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, yet Jesus had nothing to repent of. He was the sinless Son of God. Why then did Jesus insist on John baptizing Him? Because baptism is an act of identification. When we are baptized we are identifying with Christ (Rom. 6:1-14). Likewise, through baptism Jesus identified with us. He who was unfallen, identified with our fallenness.

Hebrews 4:15 tells that, "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." This means that the One who sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father, fully identifies and understands, what it means to live in this fallen world. He is in touch with our reality.

Therefore, let us remember in this Christmas season that He is truly the Son of God and truly the Son of Man.

Sexual Addiction

In the past two weeks the media has given a great deal of attention to Tiger Woods and his alleged sexual transgressions. If the news, gossip, rumors, or innuendos are in any way true, it appears that he is dealing with sexual addiction.

For over the past two years I have facilitated a recovery group for men dealing with sexual addiction. The group runs the gamut from those addicted to pornography, to homosexuality, to those who have had adulterous affairs. Our group has been small because so few want to acknowledge this kind of addictive behavior, until it is forced into the light. The reality is that sexual addiction is far more prevalent that drug or alcohol addiction. It is generally easier to conceal, and there are many Christian men, including leaders, who are secretly addicted. The scandals that we are all aware of, over the past twenty years, testify to this fact. Statistically, over 25% of the pastors in the U.S. acknowledge that they are addicted to internet porn.

I would encourage anyone dealing with sexual addictive behavior to seek help in breaking this bondage. Guilt and shame are the tools of the enemy that force this behavior into the "shadows." Only when we are willing to expose it to the light can this bondage be broken.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Redemptiveness of God

One of the things I have learned on a very deep level over the past three years is the fact that God is a redeemer. God has revealed Himself throughout the Scripture as a redeemer, it is His nature to redeem, and all that God does flows out of His agape love with the purpose of redemption. I think that I could prove that Biblically and theologically. But I also know it experientially. Knowing truth experientially moves it from the realm of theological theory, to the realm of deep-seated reality in our lives.

I have not only experienced great failure in my life, but I have also experienced God taking that failure and redeeming it, using it for His purposes and working it for good. Is that not what Paul tells us when he writes, "This we know, all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28)? We generally apply that truth to adversity, trials, and suffering. But it applies to our failures as well. Are our failures not included in the "all things?"

Did God work David's moral failure for good? Was David a better man after his sin with Bathsheba? Psalm 32 and 51 show us the brokenness of David's repentant heart. God worked David's failure for good. Not only his good, but for the good of everyone of us who have turned to these psalms for strength in the midst of our brokenness.

Did God use Peter's denial of Christ for good? Was something broken in Peter that needed to be broken? Did God redeem it for good?

God often uses our sins and failures as the means by which He draws us into greater intimacy with Him. I have found this to be true in my own experience. Failure shows us our own weakness and moral corruption. It forces us to face the reality of ourselves, and it brings us to the foot of the Cross.

In addition, God takes our failure, as he did Peter's, and uses us to "strengthen our brother" (See Luke 22:31-32). Our failure becomes the "fertilizer" that God uses to grow a new ministry. God sends us to those who must traverse the valley of darkness that we have walked through. God brings our failures full circle, if we allow Him, as He turns a negative into a positive. That is the redemptiveness of God.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

"I" Trouble

A journalist once asked Mother Teresa, "What do you think should change in the Church?" She responded by saying, "You and I."

Last week I was sharing with a group of prison inmates what I have observed over the past three years working with addicts and those incarcerated in prison. I said, "My observation is that both groups are selfish and always will do what is to their personal advantage. Prior to ministering to these groups, I pastored churches for over 25 years. I found that they were selfish and would always do what was to their personal advantage."

I was making the point that all of us, because of sin, are selfish, self-centered, and always looking for what benefits us. We are by nature, "takers' not "givers." The root issue, which I dare say is not often addressed in the Church, is that we all have "I" trouble. Greed, lust, pride, contention, addictions, and all other attitudes and sinful behavior are only the outworking of our self-centeredness.

George MacDonald saw this as the "darkness" that mankind dwells in, and Christ came to deliver us from. He listed 12 points of darkness that are revealed by these inward attiudes:

1)I am my own. My own king and my own subject.
2) I am the center from which go out my thoughts.
3) I am the object and the end of my thoughts; back upon me as the alpha and omega of life, my thoughts return.
4) My own glory is and ought to be my chief concern.
5) My ambition, to gather the regards of men to the one center.
6) My pleasure is my pleasure.
7) My kingdom is as many as I can bring to acknowledge my greatness over them.
8) My judgment is the faultless rule of things.
9) My rights are - what I desire.
10) The more I am all in all to myself, the greater I am.
11) The less I acknowledge debt or obligation to another, the more I close my eyes to the fact that I did not make myself; the more self-sufficing I feel or imagine myself - the greater I am.
12) I will be free with the freedom that consists in doing whatever I am inclined to do, from whatever quarter may come my inclination.

Did Jesus come merely to take us to Heaven when we die? Or, did He come, as well, to deliver us from the self-destructive darkness that we live in and bring us into the light?

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Serenity Prayer

For over the past three years I have been part of a Christian 12-step recovery group. I have found my involvement in this group to be one of the most beneficial things in my life. One aspect of this has been my learning and adopting the "Serenity Prayer" as part of my devotional life. Most people are only familiar with the portion of the prayer that says, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." But in actuality the prayer is longer and addresses other issues for experiencing peace and serenity in our daily lives.

Though the authorship of the prayer has been disputed, Reinhold Niebuhr is generally acknowledged as its originator. Niebuhr was one of the most significant theologians of the 20th century, and played a major role in the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The full version is as follows:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as the pathway for peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

I have found this prayer to be helpful for me to focus upon the present, and shed the anxiety of the "what-ifs" that can plague our mind when it dwells in the future. In the past year, through the use of this prayer, and the ministry of others, I have been less burdened with worry. When anxiety does begin to rise up, this prayer helps "center" me back on Jesus and resting in Him.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Identifying with Humanity

Matthew tells us that Jesus saw the multitudes of people and "felt compassion" for them (Matt. 9:36). The Greek language indicates He was moved intenally, meaning that there was a physical, "gut-level" response. (This is why the KJV uses the term "bowels of compassion.") Jesus' physical body responsed to the emotion He experienced looking at humanity.

As I think about that, I realize that is not the way I feel when I look at the crowds of people going into Wal-Mart, or gathering at a football game. Most of the time, my attitude has been one of complacency rather than compassion. Unlike Jesus, I mentally "distance" myself from most of humanity and feel nothing for them at all. (I know, I know, that as a follower of Christ I am suppposed to care.) Jesus identified with fallen, sinful, weak human beings. But I, who am fallen, sinful and weak, often disassociate from the rest of humanity. Not unlike the Pharisees of Jesus' day, who in their self-righteousness "viewed others with contempt" (Luke 18:9), the "us against them" attitude (which is worse than complacency) at times has taken over.

But God has a way of bringing us to the end of ourselves, and exposing our weaknesses, our fallenness, and our sinfulness to ourselves, and sometimes to others. It is then that I am forced to embrace not only my humanity, but I find myself having compassion for others. My compassion for others grows, as I consider my own condition.

I like this quote from Eugene Debs: "Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it;while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Introduction

I have entitled this blog "Follower of the Resurrected Nazarene," because that is what I seek to be, a follower of Jesus. The reality is that some days I am more successful at following Him than others. My journey has had mountain tops and valleys, success and failure, joy, pain, suffering, and times of confusion. But I continue on in faith, and the joy has outweighed the pain.

I have been involved in, and identified with, a number of "movements" and "streams" within the evangelical world. I have come more and more to detest the labels that separate us from other believers and create a polarizing atmosphere. I am theologically eclectic because I do not believe that any group, denomination, movement, or theological system has possession of all the truth. I affirm the Apostle's and Nicene creeds without reservation. I believe in the continuation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but I don't like to be labeled as "charismatic." I believe in the essential elements of reformed theology, but I don't like to be labeled as "reformed." I believe in the core doctrines that define evangelicalism, but I have been helped by reading and listening to those who are Orthodox or Roman Catholic. I believe in what has been described as a "generous orthodoxy."

On Sunday mornings I lead a "house church," but during the week I work closely with a very traditional Evangelical Free church, where I teach at least a couple times a month. I am friends with people of all kinds of denominational backgrounds and theological perspectives.

I would describe my ministry these days as being "a shepherd to the weak in the valley of darkness." My ministry is primarily focused toward those in prison, and those dealing with addictions. I am teaching in prisons about four times a week, in addition to leading a recovery group for those dealing with addictions of various kinds.