Fine Young Man

Chew on this one:

If we insist that we need laws or rules to keep us from doing the wrong thing and make us do the right thing, then…

we are really saying that Jesus’ love for us is not powerful enough to keep us from doing the wrong thing and make us do the right thing.

“We are ruled by Christ’s love for us” (2 Cor. 5:14, CEV).

Tonight in Gospel Transformation, we got into some sinking sand as we discussed the implications of not returning to law and experiencing freedom in Christ.

Wednesday night attendance was our example.

Suppose we take seriously the freedom we have in Christ. Let’s also suppose we choose to exercise our freedom by not coming on Wednesday night (this could be for a variety of reasons such as we don’t get anything out of it, I get off work too late, etc.).

Do we not reveal our heart by making that choice? Isn’t it the truth that we would rather not come on Wednesday night? If that is true, then doesn’t God already know it? The answer must be yes.

Why must we insist on rules and laws? Isn’t it because we fear the abuse of those things if we don’t insist on them? If I say that I do not have to assemble, am I afraid that I won’t? Another way of saying it is to say that only reason I come is because I have to or I must.

Here’s the danger of not taking the freedom seriously. The danger is that we won’t stop acting religious long enough to allow our heart to change.  One thing that might happen is that we stop attending for awhile. In that time, we might come to realize that we miss it or need it, at which point our heart is engaged again. Isn’t this what we mean when we say that Jesus is more concerned with our heart?

Of course, the opposite is true, too. We might also find during this time that we really didn’t want to go in the first place. We might never return. But again, isn’t this who we really are and doesn’t God know it anyway. I’ve heard this referred to as the “great gamble”. It’s a huge risk.

The reason we might not want to take freedom in Christ seriously is that we are afraid to find what is really inside us. That’s too bad because God wants to heal that too.

The discussion in Gospel Transformation last night turned to creating a culture of openness in our church family. We talked about trusting in the gospel so much that people could share stories of sin & struggle and stories of God’s work in their lives without fear of judgment and with full conviction that they would receive grace. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this desire verbalized and there was a lot of consensus about it tonight.

My mind immediately went to Sunday morning worship time and how daunting it would be to create that culture there. I’m not sure that’s the best place to provide grace and support for tough issues. Wouldn’t we be just as much a family if that kind of care was happening in our home groups? I think so.

However, I do think it is possible for culture to change to such an extent that it does affect Sunday morning, and I just heard a story about how that can happen the other day. A friend of mind who is a minister witnessed something happen at his church that suggested a change in culture. Here are a few ways that came about that might point us in the right direction:

1. Actions of the Leaders – It all started when my friend preached a series called No Perfect People Allowed based on the book by the same title. He is also the kind of person who will love, hug and reach out to anybody anywhere.
2. Artifacts - This may be a hard part of culture to understand, but every culture has physical or concrete features that symbolize the culture. If you align artifacts with new values, you stand a great chance of changing the culture. If I remember right my friend and his leadership made a very simple physical move – they began to dress more informally on Sundays. Dress became an artifact of the culture communicating “Come as you are” to any guests.
3. Rituals & Performances - Here’s what happened a few weeks ago. A young lady in an awful predicament responded to the message. She was broken. My friend announced that he was going to pray for her and he invited anyone who wanted to come down and gather around her during the prayer. Now get this: 75…75 people came down front! What just happened? They performed “no perfect people allowed”. Now, if that sticks and becomes a ritual, my friends, we have ourselves a cultural transformation in that church.

Those are some first stabs at it. What thoughts do you have about how we can create a culture of openness?

I had intended to post on the day I heard the sad news of Al & Tipper Gore’s separation. You can read an informative article about a sad trend called ’silver divorce’ here. When I think of Al & Tipper while they were on the national scene, I remember a charming couple, having fun and in love. I am truly saddened by the news of their separation, and I have a lot of questions of how a couple can walk away from a 40-year marriage. I just don’t know.

Last Saturday, with the ending of one marriage fresh in the press and in my mind, I was privileged to witness a marriage beginning. Our new youth minister, Brent, and his fiance (now wife), Terra, were married. It was beautiful, light and funny and filled with endearing moments. One of those was when the couple whispered personal vows to each other while laughing, crying and praying together. We didn’t get to hear what they were saying but we were blessed to watch as they shared their love with each other. I couldn’t help but be filled with hope that this marriage, beginning as it did so strongly in the Lord, would stand the test of time and be a witness to a watching world.

All this reminded me of something I heard Tom Wright say recently. In a chapel at Wheaton on the book of Ephesians (found here), he stated that marriage was a SIGN of the union of heaven and earth, and he stressed how important that SIGN will be in our emerging world. I like that thought. Strong, healthy, loving marriages will be a SIGN that heaven and earth are coming together and Jesus is Lord of them both.

Jesus said in John 7:24, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet
And whither then? I cannot say. – J.R.R. Tolkien

I’m in a love/hate relationship with options. I love to have options. When I do, I don’t feel stuck. I feel like if it gets too bad, I can just walk away. Options, like this, bring some measure of peace.

But, options also distract and often to the point that they paralyze. You dream about them, you play with them, you court them, and if you aren’t careful, they prove to be your undoing.

If I had to choose, I think I’d choose no options. I’d rather have a single path to walk, so that I could just get along with walking it. Deep inside I crave focus and purpose.

If I may paraphrase Jesus: “Father, if there are options, I want to know about them. But, if there aren’t, I walk the road before me.” There were no options. He walked the road.

Where does this road lead? I cannot say, but I must follow it.

Here’s Dad with some big catfish he caught.

I keep hearing comments about us needing to be more spiritual or grow spiritually. I think I know what people mean by that. No, I take that back, what do we mean by that? Do we intend to go through each day in a trance with God telling us every move to make? That’s not what I intend. Here’s my question: what does ‘more spiritual’ look like? What would we be doing if we were?

I asked the apostle, Paul, that and the answers I got were surprising. Take Ephesians for example. Starting in chapter 4, maturity is maintaining unity and loving each other. Maturity is using our gifts to serve others. Maturity is living our lives in the light of Christ’s goodness and grace, watching how we live and talk and think. Maturity is being a good husband or wife, parent or child, slave or master. Spiritual maturity is not some gnostic trance but working out the real-life implications of God’s grace in all our lives. If that’s what we mean by ‘more spiritual’ then yes, we need to be ‘more spiritual’.

I haven’t kept up with the news about Haiti or the Nashville flood. I have seen a lot of stuff on Facebook & Twiiter about both. It is all very encouraging to see the good reports of churches responding in the ways they are. I must confess, though, that I mostly want to retreat as if nothing is going on. I feel faint of heart at all the need that is present in our world. I can’t help but wonder, “If disaster hit close to our home, would our church be able to respond effectively?” Or would we collapse from the exhaustion of our busy lives and endless activity to ourselves?