tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59478329304487129792024-03-05T09:04:59.026-05:00Fragments On WholenessDaily, candid reflections on Christian lifetabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-72780890051236626242023-05-01T19:43:00.009-04:002023-05-01T19:51:00.495-04:00 LOVE IS A MAGNET<p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><i>“When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.” -Matthew 14:14</i></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">When The Well was temporarily closed for sixty-five days, the city stated the reason was that our ministry is a magnet that draws crowds of people who are homeless, which creates a nuisance for the city.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Wherever Jesus went, he drew crowds, and they did not just follow him into the countryside but into cities as well (see Matthew 8). In the exceptional series, “The Chosen,” Jesus had drawn such a following that the crowds following Jesus to be blessed by his words and deeds began to encamp around the city of Capernaum. Quintus, the Praetor of Galilee and Roman Magistrate of the city, grew increasingly concerned about “the homeless camp.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">While Quintus is a fictional character, he represents well the Roman position on the Jewish people of the first century, over which Rome ruled. They thought of the Jewish people as backward at best, vermin at worst. He began to have his soldiers patrol the city and tried to enact new ordinances to disperse the fledgling community.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The Scriptures attest to Rome’s displeasure of the crowds and their response to Jesus, as the chief priests and the Pharisees worry over Rome’s response if they allow Jesus’ ministry to continue: “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation” (John 11:48).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor who sentenced Jesus to death, for his part, had a long history of disliking Jewish crowds. History outside of Scripture records his horrific violence towards Jewish crowds. At least on one occasion, he had his soldiers draw swords on a crowd, but when they stuck their necks out in defiance, daring the soldiers to spill their blood, he realized a public massacre might cause riots, and Rome did not like uprisings. From then on, he kept his antisemitism more discrete.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">On one occasion, it is recorded that instead of publicly dispersing the crowds, he sent soldiers dressed as citizens into a crowd with clubs under their garments. In unison, they drew their clubs and began to beat others in the crowd to disperse them. His reputation got him in trouble with the Emperor, Tiberius, who told Pilate he was in danger of being deposed if he caused another riot, hence Pilate’s acquiescing to the crowds at Jesus’ trial. Regardless of his efforts to no longer cause such stirs, Pilate was eventually removed from his office. Likewise, Herod feared the crowds, as the Romans had (see Matt 14:5-14). Crowds represented the fear of the unknown, and prejudice guided the government in all its actions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Likewise, religious officials were scandalized by the crowds as well. Certainly, as already pointed out by John 11:48, they, too, were concerned about an uprising (see also 21:45-46, 26:5, 27:11), but, for the most part, their complaints of the people following Jesus differed from the complaints of Rome. They thought that Jesus surrounded himself with the unworthy: “ …the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Matthew 11:19). Matthew recorded these words not as his own description of the crowds but as they were seen by the elite.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">When Matthew described the crowds, he spoke of them as vulnerable and in need: “So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan” (Matthew 4:24-25).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Even the most undesirables, who put whole cities in jeopardy by their illnesses (think of the leaper that rushed into the crowd in Matthew 8:1-4 or the hemorrhaging woman who rushed into the crowd to touch Jesus’ garment in Mark 5:25-34), were welcomed by Christ. First-century Israel was under the thumb of Rome, overtaxed and suffering. So, the least of these among them were desperate, indeed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">This crowd that was drawn to Jesus wherever he went sounds awfully familiar to me. The sick, the displaced, the unwanted, the outcast, the sick, the mentally ill, and the lame. I have seen this crowd myself, and it is the crowd at The Well. Not all are as broken as these named in Scripture, but all who come to The Well have need. Like the Romans and the religious elite, many fear the gathering of the needy crowd for various reasons, and many want to do whatever it takes to disperse the crowd.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let me be careful not to suggest that our officials are Romanesque in their response. Surely, their new ordinances and actions are heavy-handed, and I think those who feel their actions unfair should speak truth to power and demand better. I think our leaders, unlike the mad Herod or the brutal Pilate, are reasonable, compassionate people. Much of what they are doing is responding to the overwhelming demands of a citizenry who is upset. What if instead of demanding the city drive out the homeless, the people cried out to the city to come alongside The Well to provide a place for those left out in the elements at night? What good could we have done together? What if, instead of putting the city officials’ feet to the fire of harsh demands, we put the wind in their sails to offer meaningful, life-changing solutions?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let me also be careful not to suggest that our concerned citizens have no reason to be upset. The violent spree that took place in Brunswick recently must be addressed. What I am suggesting is that the wrong folks were punished. What we should have demanded is that the state and city help us with our mental health crisis. There is still an opportunity for that now. Despite what some officials have said, nonprofits are not inundated with money to tackle the crisis. Citizens can still direct their concerns to our officials and give them thoughtful suggestions instead of vengeful ones.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Is The Well the magnet for vagrants and nuisances that we have been accused of being by the news media, social media, and those who accuse us from afar? The statistics do not seem to suggest so. I will not rehash all I have said in previous posts, but suffice it to say we are not drawing busloads of people from other states. We are not idling, as criminals come in to do as they will. We do see transient persons who make their way to us from other counties that kick them out, but those transients are just that, transient. They move on after a short while of receiving our hospitality. The average numbers of The Well have not changed over the years. Many, if not most, of our guests, are locals who fell on hard times. These people belong to our community, and we have no right to tell them they do not belong as our neighbors. In fact, we have a responsibility to them. They are ours.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, why does it seem that all of a sudden, we have so many more persons experiencing homelessness on our streets? Why, all of a sudden, did numbers of people begin showing up to congregate and sleep outside The Well? The cause might surprise some, and it might be even more surprising to hear that it is something that we at FaitWorks celebrate, even while we regret this community had no place to go other than our doorstep. Downtown Brunswick has been in the midst of a renaissance. Once empty buildings, storefronts, and homes have been revived, as the city improves with each and every day. We should have nothing but gratitude for the extraordinary efforts of our local officials, investors, and local business owners in this regard. I love working downtown. I love bringing my wife and children downtown for church, to eat, and to experience all sorts of wonderful activities. I can only hope we continue to grow.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yet, as with all things beneficial, save the grace of God, there is a price for us. As vacant properties began to be occupied, those places where persons experiencing homelessness stayed out of view of the public disappeared. Most of those in the crowds we now see on the streets are not new. They have always been here, but they cannot hide away anymore. They have always been our neighbors.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Jesus obviously placed heavy burdens on the cities and regions he visited by welcoming the crowds to come. I think he did this so that the public might see their neighbor in need, the neighbors the Scriptures commanded them to serve. Sure, at times, Jesus was able to take care of them on his own. He did feed the five thousand, after all, but he did not put a roof or tent over each of their heads. He did not always control the crowds. There were plenty of officials, as we have already noted, that blamed them for being a nuisance. There were even times when Christ, for his own sake, had to withdraw from the crowds so that he could rest, pray, and prepare himself for what was ahead (see Matthew 5:1, 8:18, 14:22, 15:39).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">He did not snap his fingers and fix all their problems. Surely, he was calling on The People of God to do their part as well, just as they had been commanded for thousands of years, just as we are called today. Just as Jesus did not solve all the issues for those who followed him, at least in terms of their earthly needs, The Well has not either. Like Jesus, we, too, await others to come alongside us and help. What if passers-by saw the crowds outside The Well as Christ saw the crowds that surrounded him? What if there was not just one Christ to serve them but many Christs? What if we, those who call ourselves Christians, "little Christs,” put our hands and feet into action?</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">We may come up with a million and one excuses not to help. Time and again, The Well has been accused of serving the wrong sort of people. Many tend to lump people experiencing homelessness into two camps: Those who need help but do not want anything but a handout and those who need help and will receive it when it is offered. People tell us we should refuse the former and receive the latter.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Christ never turned anyone away. There were some in the crowds who heard what Jesus had to offer and left on their own. Even the magnet of love has two poles, some will be attracted to respond, and others will be repelled by what love has to offer. Christ did not say, “You saw me naked, hungry, and thirsty, then you psychoanalyzed me to see if I was worthy of help.” Christ taught grace. Pure grace is “unmerited favor.” Love and grace do not have to be earned by the other. Love and grace are to be offered freely by the giver. It is God who will work in that grace to bring healing to those ready to receive.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">There are wonderful ministries that work on the model of helping those ready to move on. We cannot do without those ministries. But, we at The Well understand our calling to serve even those at ground zero, rock bottom. There are some in the crowd who will never be “ready” to move on. There are some without the mental capacity to do so. There are some so imprisoned by addiction that they cannot even muster the strength to become willing. Many have traumas that limit their capacity to think clearly about the next steps. We will not refuse them. Instead, we will await miracles. If that makes us wrong, so be it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">No one is without hope, but our community has a long way to go before we see a systemic effort to bring about the capacity to help the severely mentally ill and traumatized. The Well, of course, helps those who are ready. We see success all the time. We are also a life raft for those who cannot seem to escape the chaotic sea of trauma. For some, the helicopter is not yet coming. Many of our guests apply to receive assistance, and it is denied for bureaucratic reasons that I do not understand. Some apply for help, such as housing, and are approved but placed on years-long waiting lists. Our goal is to be there for them, to be that life raft as we pray for rescue. That life raft has been pulled out of the waters by the powers that be for now, but we are not giving up.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">We can and have done a lot, but we cannot do it all. We can do what we are called to do, be a hospitality center for all in need. Sure, if someone commits a crime or is violent, we have to ask them not to return, but otherwise, we will have some in our midst who seem stuck, and that is okay. We have seen some of our guests show no interest in moving forward for months, but after much love, something switches, and they are off to a better life. We are not there to judge, just serve. Ministries with other models are not being judgmental, but they are doing what they are called to do. Yet, even with all the organizations working to help those in need, there are still many suffering.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I know we should not dwell on the “what ifs,” but sometimes I wonder, what if, when people who felt disgusted saw the crowds outside our facility, they instead thought, “How can I be the hands and feet of Christ to them?” Maybe it is too late for that, at least for right now, but our friends are still out there, scattered, but out there. Let us love, and may our love draw those in need to light and life.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The Well is not the sort of magnet we have been accused of being, but perhaps, I hope, it is a sort of magnet. Perhaps many gathered around because Christ’s love for them was present. Crowds should come to Christ. When they do, they need a lot of help, a lot of grace, a lot of mercy, a lot of healing, and a lot of love. Jesus did not do it all alone. He assigned his disciples to the care of the crowds as well. Go, therefore, and serve.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-77000400001360284162020-05-30T16:38:00.001-04:002020-05-31T14:26:22.603-04:00Of Riots and Racism…<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
I went to the emergency care center, because I was having chest pains. That was when I was first told I might be dealing with an anxiety disorder. I first noticed the pains as I sat to read the Brunswick News and found myself engrossed by the front page story about a baby boy, Antonio Santiago, who was murdered in broad daylight, shot while the mother took him for a stroll. We were in the national spotlight then too.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I played the scene over and over in my mind in a futile attempt to make sense of a senseless act. I tried to switch gears to my work, but try as I might, my mind was caught in this loop, every few minutes jumping back to the infanticide.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I do remember looking out the large window pane of the coffee shop and noticing the bluest blue sky I’d seen in some time. The vibrant green leaves of the trees swayed, betraying the invisible sea breeze that swept through them. I imagined it had to be a perfect day out. I’m sure it was, but when I stepped out, my body was numb, my inner anguish occupied the whole of my senses. My body was trembling and I could not catch my breath.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I went home and collapsed on the floor, feeling the weight of my body with each gasp of air. I do not remember how long this episode lasted, but I eventually caught my breath and my chest pain dulled.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I told my wife that, while I was only in my twenties, I feared I might be having heart issues. My paternal grandfather had passed away at fifty-three from a massive heart attack. So, I’ve always been concerned. Yet, I also have the propensity to be a worrier, a quality from my maternal roots; so, I told myself not to be a hypochondriac and just ignore the pain. It was probably just a figment of my imagination. My wife wasn’t buying the line I was feeding myself and, after seeing me grab at my chest one too many times over the next couple days, she told me to stop being so stubborn and get to a doctor immediately. So, I went. The shortness of breath seemed to worsen as soon as I made it into the waiting room.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">My heart was fine, and other than having slightly high blood pressure, I was perfectly healthy. The doctor told me to go see my primary doctor, as my issue was probably anxiety related and a more long term solution should be sought in consultation with a physician who knew my background. I was in luck. That physician was my older brother, but, realizing I was not dying, it took me a few months before I explored the issue a bit deeper.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yet, with every national tragedy, I’d feel my chest tighten.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Since 2013, I have come to realize that I have been dealing with anxiety all my life. I went to see my brother, and my condition was no shock to him. He diagnosed my with panic disorder and anxiety (I am sure he would have more accurate terminology, but that is what I remember). He helped me develop an action plan, and I’m glad to say I now know how to manage my anxiety and rarely experience panic anymore. I now treat my mental health much like my dental health. Every day I choose to exercise mental hygiene and every six months to a year, I see a counselor to make sure I’m not missing any build up. I usually get the thumbs up that my regular care is working and move on.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">What happened on that beautiful September morning as I read the paper is something I know is happening again. At least I am more prepared this time around. At least I have the tools this time to prevent a panic attack, a phenomenon that used to leave me on the floor wondering if I was actually dying. As I read in horror the story of little Antonio, my sympathetic response system heightened my stress enough to uncover my lurking anxiety such that it was expressed in a tangible, physiological response. I had denied my anxiety any outlet for so long that it came out sideways. The panic attack that day shook me to the core.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As I read about George Floyd’s final moments, I had to take quick action to not be drowned by panic. Even so, my heart hurts, or, at least my chest. I can feel it. I’m not panicked, but I’m extremely upset.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As George Floyd struggled for breath, he cried out for his mother...his deceased mother. For a grown man to call out for his mom for rescue, he has to be desperate. For a grown man to call out for his deceased mom for rescue, he has to be broken. These officers did not just murder him. They terrorized him into fear and broke his spirit. Then they killed him in front of the world.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I’m undone.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But, I am no where near feeling what my black friends must feel. How so many of my black friends are still holding it together as much as they are is beyond me, not to deny their real pain and the brokenness that is hidden by the wall of social media. I can only pray that grace would carry me beyond my breaking point, as it must be for them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">At the risk of seeming to get off topic, let’s talk about the Corona Virus for a moment in order to talk about breaking points. Trying my best to set my personal feelings aside, I must, at very least, admit my surprise at how fragile our resolve has proven to be. While this enemy does not discriminate, we have taken it upon ourselves to politicize the virus. We have protested calls for precaution. We have blamed anyone and everyone. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Why?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">For lack of a better word, people feel “oppressed” by COVID-19 or at least by those they think are responsible for not responding how they would like to the pandemic. I’m not above being upset over everything that has happened. I’m not above wishing this never happened. In fact, I do not want to invalidate what we are all feeling. I may not agree with how some respond, but I will never condemn anyone for hating our situation and mourning all the losses we have had, both of life and of livelihood.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The virus has caused a blunt, dull, gnawing sense of fear. It has revealed our fears and has made us vulnerable. So, we tear at each other. I’m even willing to forgive irrational behavior, because we all have our breaking point. What would it be like to always feel this way? We have to move on. We cannot live in fear forever. It’s just too much of an emotional drain. Isn’t that our argument?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Y’all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Y’all!</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Y’ALL!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">This is what the black community has said to us about racism for decades upon decades. They cannot live with the nagging fear any more. Something must give. And many white people have just said, “I’m sorry, but what can I do?” We signal for the black community to get back in their lane. We do not want to share their burden. So, we pretend we have nothing we can do. They have told us they cannot go on forever, but now that racism has caused irrational response, we act like we cannot understand why in the world some would riot.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Hell, we think we can overcome a virus with pure American resolve or delusion. We think we can tell a virus to go away by sticking our fingers in our ears and yelling, “la, la, la, la, la” , but we cannot deal with the disease of racism? One is outside of us. One is a matter of individual and collective will. But we will tell an actual virus, “No,” before we tell a disease of the heart “no”?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">One may kill our body. The other will kill our soul.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">My point is this: we have all learned recently how horrible it is to have an ongoing threat loom over our lives. We want to deny it a place, if only by the most ineffective means of ignoring its reality. The threat of COVID-19 has made us act irrationally., with protesters threatening police in front of government buildings. But, the black community is just supposed to live with the threat of racism and play nice, because “we live in an imperfect world”?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And if they act in a way we do not approve, we just say, “This won’t solve anything.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Come on!</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">We can do better than that.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Maybe we do not have to approve, but we can offer something better than parental finger wags and patronizing moral platitudes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I know my words are harsh. Not all will feel they are ignoring the issue. I know. I am so glad many of us are speaking out, some of us as a continuing effort and some of us for the first time. Don’t be offended if you don’t have to be. But, I’m angry, and I’m angry with my own sin. I’m not just speaking out. I’m speaking in. I have caught myself saying, “that makes no sense,” when, in fact, while it is not justifiable, it is understandable. I’m just uncomfortable. Plain and simple. I hope voices such as those of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Killer Mike find purchase for the black community in their pain. As for white people, we should leave it to those leaders. As for us, we have to ask, “Can we do better to prevent such conditions?” That is the question Dr. King asked us all those years ago. It still hangs in the air.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Deep breath.</i> That is a technique I use.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let’s continue.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I know what it is like to live with constant anxiety. Yet, my anxiety is a disorder. It has no external cause. It’s conjured by my mind that has to remain constantly disciplined to remain in tact. The fear and anxiety of the black community is real. My fear is irrational, and by telling myself such, I save myself a lot of grief. But, a black person cannot do this, lest they risk their lives by doing the very thing that saves mine. If they pretend their fears are unfounded and let their guard down at the wrong time, it is over. We have proof.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Living in constant fear takes a toll on the body. I was told I had to get over my constant fear, lest I continue to damage my mind and body. So, I do. But, our black friends cannot. Until the external problem is resolved, the inner conflict will persist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Only when white people are freed from hate and prejudice will black people be freed from violence that inevitably swells from such hate and prejudice. Our salvation is their’s. Maybe you are like me and do not allow racism in your life. Or, at very least I should say, you work, like me to find it where it lays in hiding and attempt every chance you see it to root it out. That is good, but not yet good enough. I have to work to root it out of my culture as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I have low grade pain in my chest today. I know why. A young black man was hunted down in my local community where I serve as a pastor and was shot with buck shot. He was rounded up by circling vehicles, one man even hopping in the bed of the truck with his weapon to get a better vantage point like I did when I would hunt rabbits growing up. Ahmaud was hunted like an animal, and I cannot imagine his human fear, realizing his life was coming to a violent end. A black woman was shot in her bed as her home was mistakenly raided in Kentucky, the only other state I have called home. A black man in New York was threatened by a white woman who used his skin color to incite conflict, putting his life on the line, because she felt called out. And, in Minnesota, a black man begged for his life, called out to his deceased mother, and was robbed of breath as he was being terrorized, and this is just another wave.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">How can we tell the black community to calm down and catch their breath as the waves keep crashing in on them? My father was a lifeguard, and one lesson he taught me early on was to be wary of a drowning victim. As they struggle for their life, they will often irrationally attack those who try to aid, clawing to get to the surface. The black community is catching wave after wave. Drowning in hate is ever much drowning as is drowning in water.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And you want to know something that breaks my heart: I get to choose to feel this pain. My anxiety has taught me that I can often choose when and where I hurt. Since I’m not black, I have the luxury of waking up each morning and choosing to care or not. That is a terrible privilege, and, make no mistake. It is privilege.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I do not condone riots, but, if I lived in such fear every day, I might give into the fear. Some of us could not even handle masks and social distancing, and so these people threatened action, as they wore military style gear and carried rifles. But, we just scoffed at them. Oh, look at Bubba trying to act all big and bad. I am afraid that racism has taught us to be afraid of angry black people, because we do not see the anger as human, as we do Bubba's. Bubba is just being Bubba, but that black man better calm down, because he is making me uncomfortable.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If we condemn riots, then let us act to end them. Let’s end them by tearing down the conditions that cause people to act irrationally. Deny racism its place. Protect your brothers and sisters in their distress. This is what Martin Luther King, Jr. asked of us decades ago. We have had enough time to consider his plea. Now, let’s respond.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Listen.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Vote.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Demand justice.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And, do not let up. Things may seem to get back to normal for those of us who do not live in this fear all the time. It will be easy to lose our resolve. As I said, it is thin for many anyway.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If chest pain is all I can count on to keep me focused, I do not want to be healed of my pain. I will chose to hurt and know that is not enough.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-41014354510458072002020-05-15T13:20:00.003-04:002020-05-15T13:44:25.444-04:00The Theology of Why I Can’t Just Shut Up (about racial injustice) <div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>to loose the chains of injustice</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i> and untie the cords of the yoke,</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>to set the oppressed free</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i> and break every yoke?</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Many of us are asking, "What can we do about the tensions in our community?”</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Many Christian leaders in my area and all around the nation have been calling for deep self-reflection in light of the current tragedy that has struck our hometown. As I look at my own indignation, I realize there is much still needed to be worked out in my own heart as it pertains to my own brokenness. I suspect that will always be the case.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Indeed, in Matthew 7, Jesus calls out the hypocrites who would try and remove a speck from their brother’s eye while having a plank in their own. I am not so sure racism and injustice is a speck in the eye of our community (as much as it is a deep wound), but I take the point. Virtue signaling means nothing if your life is not active with removing your own investments into injustice, as well as with working to repair the pains of those in need.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, I heartily agree. We have to start with ourselves. We cannot give what we do not have. If we do not allow God’s grace to move through us, then how can we extend grace outwards? In fact, if we try to “fix” others, and we do not see our work, not as our own, but as an offering of God's grace through us, then all we are doing is assigning blame and guilt and acting superior when we ourselves are just as blameworthy and guilty.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Having said all of this, it is simply not enough to stop with ourselves.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I wonder if, for some, the call to “work on yourself” might sound like the ticket needed to say, “Well, who am I to speak out for the pain of others? Who am I to call out for change? Who am I to act as if I have any right to speak?” Can some simply use this as means to remain uninvolved?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I do not believe for one second that this is what these pastors have in mind, but I have been tempted many times by this sort of thought myself: Give up on speaking out, because it causes so much of a stir, and I hate when others are disappointed with me or find me foolish. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Oh, how I have felt so foolish in ministry. I must confess: Almost every time I am on the Navajo Reservation, I think to myself, “What right do I have as a White Christian to teach the Native Americans anything? Has not horrible injustices befallen these people by others just like me?”</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Indeed they have. But, I have to ask, am I out there for the same reasons?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I do not go to “fix” people. I do not go, because “my way” is better. I do not go because I am worthy. I do not speak because I have what it takes. I am humbled to brokenness each time, and I pour myself out knowing how foolish I feel, because it is where God has sent me. It is what I am called to do.</span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And I feel foolish each time I come home and try to explain what our government has done and continues to do to the Native Americans. I cannot tell you how many times I have been told, "That just can't be right. Someone needs to let congress know." Trust me. They know, and they keep upholding the policies that cause the problem. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I have been told many times, as I have spoken out for racial injustice over the years, that I should worry about myself and not imagine I have some superiority to tell others in my community what they should do.</span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I don't feel superior. I feel broken. I feel guilty. I feel a need to confess and to repent and to do all I can to right the wrongs that, perhaps we did not create, but continue to be upheld by our culture and government. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">What I want to say is that as a minister, I am keenly aware every week of my inadequacies as I stand before the congregation to speak. I already know I do not have the right. I do not need to be reminded. But, I have to speak out anyway, because God makes His self known through His people. If no one speaks up, how will we hear? I speak, not my words, but, as best I can, I speak upon His. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I am not worthy, but I am called.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I actually reached out to one of my pastor friends, after he posted on social media about the need for self-reflection, to make sure I was correct in my assumption that he was not just asking us to stop calling out for public repentance. If he was, I was not going to try and correct him, but ask him where my thinking was going wrong, because I feel Scripture demands something more. </span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">His words rang so true. He said that the very reason he was calling for much self reflection is exactly because those of us who have been silent for a long time must begin to speak up, and we will not be able to do so without doing some really tough work. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">What I hear now from these pastors who are calling us to self-reflection is that becoming the people who can rightly speak up means we have to be the people who put in the hard work of self-denial, confession, repentance and so forth <i>so that</i> we can clearly understand what it is we are demanding when we do not speak from some pedestal, but as one amongst the crowd, just as guilty, but wanting redemption and reconciliation. </span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, let us not let the message to remove the plank from our own eyes to be taken out of context, as justification for not speaking out. Instead, as this pastor friend is pointing out, we simply cannot have one without the other.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">There are two sides to any coin:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Working to be a moral individual without caring for others is religious preening.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Speaking up for others without facing one’s own moral failings is mere virtue signaling.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I wonder also, if the idea of repentance for a community of people is simply too foreign for the American Church. In the Old Testament, calls for national repentance, for community change, were much more the norm than individual reform. I wonder if our individualism has lead us to make our faith too much about ourselves as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let’s look at a couple of Scriptural examples of what God requires of His people, not just as individuals, but as a community: <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Learn to do right; seek justice.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i> Defend the oppressed.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Take up the cause of the fatherless;</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i> plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>-</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In Ancient Israel, and the Ancient Near East in general, the people lived in tribal societies that centered around a Patriarch. Patriarchy created major blindspots in the governing systems of the day, leading to oppression. In Patriarchy, the eldest living male was responsible for the protection and provision of all in the house. His land was the source of their income. What crops they grew and what herds they raised would secure the whole family. All in the house would find their care given to the father and he would dispense that care as he saw fit.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">There was no military in the early days of tribalism. The men in the household and allies from other households, under their own patriarch, were the military. So, if you needed to fight a battle, the father was lead charge. There was no police, no judges or jury. If you were wronged or did wrong, the father was in charge of your justice. Either vindicating or punishing you, depending on the case. There was no private wealth. Your inheritance was held by the father. So, your protection and provision literally belonged to the patriarch. Your entire life was tied to him.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, what happened if the Father died. Easy enough for the sons. They would inherit and take charge, and, then they would have the care of the house under their charge.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Now, what do orphans and widows and aliens have in common in Ancient Israel: each had no connection to a Patriarch. Think about what these titles imply and this is obviously the case.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">What if a woman or child lost all the men in the house to something like war or famine, like Naomi and Ruth? As a woman or orphan, if there were no men left, you were left destitute, just as we see in the Book of Ruth. Only if another man was willing to take you in did you have provision and protection. While men always had access to their father’s wealth and land, women, orphans, and aliens did not (Men could lose their land in hard times too, but there were laws that would return the land to the family after a time).</span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, who are the orphans, widows, and strangers the Bible keeps telling us about? Why are they oppressed? It is because their cultural and governing systems did not have adequate measures to care for them like it did for men. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, in the Bible, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger are figure types. When God tells us that our faith should lead us to seek justice for the orphan and widow and stranger, He does not just mean orphans and widows and strangers. He was speaking in terms the ancients understood. These were the leading figures of the oppressed, marginalized, and forgotten…</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">God is a God for all the oppressed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Sure, many times orphans and widows and strangers are in need today, but, in our nation, they can go on to become millionaires with the right conditions. That was not the case in Ancient Israel. So, in our nation, who falls through the cracks? As God demands: </span><i style="text-align: center;"> "Defend the oppressed," </i><span style="text-align: center;">we have to figure out who that is, and, then, we must do it. </span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>If we do not believe anyone is systemically oppressed in our society, as has been told to me many times lately, then we somehow find our nation more just than Theocratic Israel, the Nation of God, ruled by God, Himself. Even as their King, God was saying there was work to be done to fix injustice. Our nation has done so much for so many, perhaps creating better opportunity for an abundant life than ever before, but I am sure we have not created the perfect Kingdom of God here quite yet, have we?</span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> It is not enough that we are individually moral people. No. God demands we cry out for the needs of others, that we speak truth to power.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let us look to one more example before we are finished. It is a long passage, but, trust me, it is worth considering. It is quite shocking to find a God who is angry with a people who seek after Him day-to-day, but He is. We must see why:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>For day after day they seek me out;<br /> they seem eager to know my ways,<br />as if they were a nation that does what is right<br /> and has not forsaken the commands of its God.<br />They ask me for just decisions<br /> and seem eager for God to come near them.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,<br /> ‘and you have not seen it?<br />Why have we humbled ourselves,<br /> and you have not noticed?’</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please<br /> and exploit all your workers.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,<br /> and in striking each other with wicked fists.<br />You cannot fast as you do today<br /> and expect your voice to be heard on high.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,<br /> only a day for people to humble themselves?<br />Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed<br /> and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?<br />Is that what you call a fast,<br /> a day acceptable to the Lord?</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:<br />to loose the chains of injustice<br /> and untie the cords of the yoke,<br />to set the oppressed free<br /> and break every yoke?</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Is it not to share your food with the hungry<br /> and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—<br />when you see the naked, to clothe them,<br /> and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Then your light will break forth like the dawn,<br /> and your healing will quickly appear;<br />then your righteousness will go before you,<br /> and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;<br /> you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“If you do away with the yoke of oppression… (Isaiah 58:2-9a)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Israel is described as a people who personally seek God’s face and favor. The religious individuals are trying to be moral in their personal lives. <i>“Day after day they seek,” </i>and God detests this, because, as a public, they are hateful to one another and they ignore the needs of the oppressed: <i>“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers…Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.”</i></span><br />
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Let me just make this clear: This is a nation whose individuals often seek after God as part of a personal religion, but God is angry at them, because, on a national level, they mistreat each other and wrong the oppressed. Think about that...</div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>God’s favor is not upon them in their religious worship, because they have not yet realized that love for God demands love for neighbor. It is not enough to personally care, but the people must act for restoration. Then, and only then, will there be healing in their nation. Only then will their light rise. A people cannot be truly moral, until they learn to love one another, until they work for justice and reconciliation. Our nation will continue to struggle, as long as we do not have the courage to live in public ministry that works for social holiness.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I do not cry out because I am not guilty. I am. I do not cry out because I am superior. I am not. I only cry out, because the justice of God demands it. I cannot be silent. I cannot simply be happy with my own redemption. I must care that others suffer and many because of silent Christians. They suffer as I spend all my time “working on myself”, concerning myself with my individual morality. That is not enough. God demands our social holiness as the people of God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Do I feel foolish? Yes.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Do I know some will think I am a virtue signaling, preening idiot? Yes. Many have already told me think so very recently.</span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Do I need to work on myself? Let me count the ways. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Do I know God still wants me to speak up and to act? </span>Of this, I am most certain.</div>
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tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-19618505345174555882020-04-17T14:51:00.000-04:002020-04-18T08:55:05.768-04:00Our Painful Longing For Normalcy: A Grace That May Alert Us to Deeper Wounds.<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<b><i>Longing for normalcy may be an indication that we have been broken and lonely far longer than just during our current situation.</i></b></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I got a message the other day from a Christian thinker who said that there may just be too much noise from Christian voices on social media now. Perhaps, but isn’t it just like the church to start out with godly intentions and then begin to second guess ourselves. I agree, though, that this can be an issue, when, at times, not only are there a lot of voices, but the messages of the voices are competing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Having said this, I am noticing something a bit different as I listen to the noise. Maybe it isn’t just noise, but harmony. I began to write this post several days ago, but got bogged down trying to explain why I not only think theologically slowing down is a good thing, but that the data is bearing out that we should. I decided to take a break from this post and to write one merely on the data and the issues the data illuminates. That way, any future posts can just refer to the previous blog post when I want to stress the seriousness of this virus.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">From that first day, I wanted to speak on solitude and had Psalm 46:10 on my heart: “Be still and know that I am God.” Wouldn’t you know it, since that verse was laid on my heart, I have seen it countless times on social media. Moreover, I have also seen it in the context of what I want to talk about: Being aware that our aversion to solitude and our desperate want for normalcy may be an indication of something broken in us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">When I have seen these posts, I have not read or watched much farther than just the first few lines or sentences, as I am trying to hear my own thoughts at the moment, but, it is encouraging to me that so many people are hearing the same thing. It is a testimony. There is a harmony for those who are listening. I think it is divine.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>****</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I think we can all say that we want things to be different than they are at the present moment. Moreover, I think many of us would say that we wish things were “normal.” Perhaps we should all wish this illness to be behind us, but I see a lot of consensus that going back to “normal” may not be exactly a goal worth striving for. I am part of those that feel this way.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Regardless, many of us want life to be unimpeded by this illness, and some may wish to rush a bit too fast, because of a sense of restlessness. Whether we are stir crazy, worried about the economy, or unhappy with our leadership, the fact of the matter is that we will almost certainly be in the same situation of restricted life for several more weeks.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Assuming we hold the course that most medical experts think is best, if you have to do this much longer, do you think you will be more settled than when this all started, accepting the inevitable, or do you think your resolve will begin to or, perhaps, continue to falter? I have felt times of great peace and times of heightened concern and anxiety.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Do you think you will come out of all this changed for the better, or are you just looking forward to it all being over?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>For the Christian, our life should, during the good and the bad, always be growing in the likeness of Christ. In other words, we cannot just ride this out until we get back to normal. That would be an abuse of our time. We might not be physically able to do much in the way of ministry, but we can all be growing by listening and abiding in God.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yet, many of us are saying, including myself, “I can’t wait for things to get back to normal.” This is, of course, a very natural response. Stability and normalcy is not a bad thing, but obsession with it, which is what might be causing some of our discomfort, can lead to less than sanctified thoughts and actions. I do not think it is pleasing to God to wish our life away, but, instead, it is honoring to find in all things reasons to press more into Him and to be shaped by what He is saying to us in every moment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If God is speaking to us in every moment, should we wish these moments by? Or, should we be still and listen?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I think a lot of us are realizing that the call to, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), is much more difficult than we might have once assumed. The Psalmist is telling us to stop all the striving to overcome the world, because only God can overcome.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Can you be still and trust God to overcome? That is not an easy question to answer right now.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Many of us are not so much concerned with God overcoming the world (or the nations), as much as we are longing for things to just be the way they were a couple months ago. We can take Russian interferences and North Korean aggression and Iranian instability and refugee crises of all kinds. Mass shootings were starting to just become statistical analysis for some, many who are trying to explain away the numbers of this virus as well.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Can we go back to those simpler times?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yes, that is a bit of sarcasm, but not to simply to be morose. This, this we can all personally feel and measure for in our own lives and we don’t like it, but I fear it can merely be because it is an interference and not that it is a life taker. This situation should be giving us perspective. Do we want to simply go back to “normal”? Is it enough for you and for me to have the simpler pain and sufferings of the world that seemed a bit more distant?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I am hoping I will not be lulled back to that Siren’s call again to allow “good enough” to be “good enough.” If you and I are privileged to come through this unharmed, then I pray to God we do not come out of this the same as the day we entered, or worse, more bitter. What will it say of a humanity or community that we weathered a pandemic only to rush back to normalcy and, once there and only once there, we were again content, or as content as we usually have been. Oh, God, have mercy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But, the overwhelming want for normalcy has the terrible capacity to lead us right back to this place.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let’s explore at least one possible meaning of “I cannot wait to get back to normal” that might impede our Christian growth. What is it about normalcy that you miss? I think many of us would say that the answer is obvious that we rightfully miss each other in a time of isolation. We miss the rhythms of life to which we have grown accustomed. We might even say we miss the hustle and bustle. This just feels so lonely.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But, let’s ask a deeper question: What do we miss in the presence of others and the presence of the crowds? Again, the answer seems easy: We all want personal interaction.What’s so wrong with that? Even the introverts of the world need personal interaction, and to think this is not true is to misunderstand introversion. We are all social creatures. So, sure, we all miss personal interactions, but, again, what is it about even this that we miss?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">What if tomorrow everything was back to normal by some miraculous means that we all took for granted? How good would it feel to just go to a busy coffee shop and not speak a word, but just be surrounded by humans once again? I think it would be pretty nice, even if that was all I got. I actually enjoy sitting with a cup of coffee and studying while people move all about. There is nothing wrong with this, unless, of course, this is all we really need from each other, artificial greetings and being surrounded by the din of noise that business brings. Now, I am getting more to my concern: What if we find that much of the reason we miss people is the same reason some people find it impossible to sleep without a the drone of the television at night?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">What if we miss people because we do not like being alone with ourselves, or, worse, with our God? Is the presence of other people, at least in part, a distraction of noise and motion that keeps you from really thinking about actual people and how we might serve them? In other words, do the crowds help distract us from the people that make them up? Does our business of life keep us from having to face the real questions of life and how our life might be best used? These are questions of ministry. If we never ask them, are we in ministry at all?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Being around people does not mean you are not alone. It may just make isolation unnoticeable. Perhaps, paradoxically, we enjoy being alone, but need the crowds to feel lost. Solitude exposes us before God in stillness.</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">It is actually pretty easy to be lost in the crowd.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Our culture is addicted to constant stimulation. I know that is part of what I miss about my routine. I spend a lot of time in my thoughts, but, at times, it is easier to just drown them out: In those times, I do not ride in the car in silence. I have the news on. At work, I socialize and study and write and have meetings. At the gym or on a run, I pay attention to the work or the music in my ears. I can easily come home and hop on facebook or turn on the television until it is time to eat, shower, and go to bed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">A full day with no stillness is an easy day. For those of us that like to stay busy, this can prove a difficult moment, and while missing routine and personal contact is perfectly normal, if we cannot find any peace without such, that is a sign of a real problem.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>For those of us who are not essential, we are finding more and more time to be still, and many of us may find we do not like it. Even for those of us who do have normal quiet times, these times often have their limit. We can spend time with God, but we don’t have to spend <i>too</i> much time in the stillness. Quiet time can just be another part of the busyness if all we do is go through the motions.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, think about it: Are you getting to know yourself more in this time and using the stillness to draw closer to God, or are you simply obsessing with “getting back”?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Are you replacing the distraction of busyness with the distraction of anxiety and worry. What sort of distraction is that, you may ask? Anything that keeps us from the stillness can be a distraction.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, again I ask, why do you want to be around people?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Will it be because you actually admire humanity and long to truly love people in person? Sure, we all have family and friends that we are close to, but what many of us are admitting is that we<i> just </i>want to be out in society again.Have we turned people into tools of distraction? Are we finding that objectifying people is not only something people do when they lust, but something we can do in all sorts of relationships? In our consumer society, going out is not a mere social exercise, but a way to be inundated. Everyone moving around like a heard, surrounded by marketing and flashy things, is mind numbing, and many of us like that.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If we can get lost in the crowd, are we feeling far too exposed in solitude?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">People use to go out to shop on the weekends and dress to the nines, why? Think of all the memes of people who go to Walmart in pajamas. I am not a big fan of laughing at others, even when they have no shame. We should not take dignity from others, even if they do not afford themselves any, but that is not my point. Perhaps the lack of dressing up has a deeper meaning about where our society has headed over the years than simply Wal-Mart brings out the crazy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">We dress up when we plan to “see” people. So, if we do not dress up and head right out into public, it means we do not really plan or want to be seen. We can go right out into society never intending to have any social interaction beyond moving through the crowd.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Consumerism has been given a bad name in some circles for various reasons, but it is not the act of going out to shop that makes us consumeristic. Being merely consumeristic is being consumed by consumerism. It happens when we go out to shop simply to be consumed (taken in by) fleeting distraction. So, not only does going out now mean getting lost in the crowd, but also it means to have our mind lost in the distractions of objects, shiny new things.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The reason people used to dress up to go shopping is because they had an expectation to be seen. They wanted to be seen, and not merely in the sense that they wanted to be noticed for being fashionable. No. People thought of going out into society as a way to connect, a chance to have an unscheduled conversation with whoever might be likewise out-and-about. Tomas Merton, a well known Trappist Monk, once said:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The saints are what they are, not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everybody else…*</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Before we rush back into public, maybe we should use this time to find stillness and allow God into our hearts to bring about a love we are missing, as uncomfortable as that might be. Then, when God’s love flows through us, being back in the center of people to love will be all the sweeter.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If we come out of this and return back to a life of routine and the only thing we can say is that we are glad things are back to normal, we have wasted our time. I think many of us, including myself may find some conviction in all of this. We may be learning that, perhaps, we are not so much looking to grow in this life, but often merely seeking to be stimulated. Scripture refers to this as life in the flesh. If all we want to do is entertain ourselves, we live in the flesh, but if we truly want to connect, that is a sign of love, and love is the very reason we are here. Love of others is the answer out of our self-centered distraction.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3-5).</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">There is a practical side to all of this. By looking to others and their concerns, we move away from the heart of sin, which is selfishness. Acts of service and affection towards others can be a means of grace by which God sanctifies His people. We are then freed from a life that needs to be satiated to a life that finds fulfillment in love, whether that love is experienced in the stillness of God’s presence or in the communion of others. A spiritual life is one that seeks love, and that is always found when we seek to truly connect with others beyond self. Love God. Love others. That is the law of love. Again, Merton says:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love…Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name…If, therefore, I do anything or think anything or say anything or know anything that is not purely for the love of God, it cannot give me peace, or rest, or filament, or joy.*</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Are you learning to become your true self as you sit in the stillness and find yourself exposed to the Love of God? Are you, like me, a bit uncomfortable in the stillness? It would be easy to feel guilty if this is the case, but what if this is always the case for those who learn to grow in sanctification? Who could ever be exposed to the Love of God in their stillness and not find places where God’s light exposes sin, which is selfishness. Instead of running from the discomfort, let it expose and change you.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">God is not trying to make you feel guilty, but if we merely run away, that is all we will ever feel. If we stay, we find that God will move into our brokenness and begin to heal it. When humans sin, it has always been our tendency to hide. What we might find is that we feel most hidden in the crowd, but now we are exposed. Don’t run. He is not in the stillness to bring you guilt, but to bring you humility and love. He is there to give you more Christ, so that Christ’s love might live and work through you and you might be more you than you have ever been.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">*Merton, Thomas, New Seeds of Contemplation. New Directions, 1961. Pp 57, 62</span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-16647403746510117732020-04-16T20:04:00.002-04:002020-04-18T11:20:46.983-04:00Notes On COVID-19<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><b>NOTE ONE</b> addresses the <b>current data</b> and some possible issues in the data. This data changes day-to-day. I will try to update my comments from time-to-time.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><b>NOTE TWO</b> briefly addresses some of my <b>preliminary views upon arguments against current measures</b>: “quality of life” arguments, “alternative measures” arguments, and “conspiracy theories.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>***I am in no way an expert. All the data used is from sources that can be easily found by the general public. I am open to correction and only offer this for thought. Since this is a novel situation and newer data is coming out daily, I may find need to adjust this blog as I see fit. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>NOTE ONE: The data</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Seasonal Flu and H1N1</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i> Mortality Rate</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We are well on our way to meeting and far surpassing <a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> the death toll of an average year of seasonal flu</span></a> (from a total of eight years, the average is approximately 38,000 US deaths per year), <a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">the current estimated deaths of COVID-19 in the US being around 60,00</span></a> by mid-May, which is better than first assumed and attributed to the measures we have now taken as a society. This is admittedly virtually the same number of deaths of the highest flu year estimates of the last decade ( approximately 61,000 in 2017/18), but the highest flu year was a) a huge outlier (surpassing the next closest year of 2014/15 by 10,000 deaths) and b) a year in which no social distancing or shelter orders were given nation wide. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Moreover, it is fact that the US death toll for this virus has far exceeded that of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemic.html"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">most intense 12 month period of H1N1</span></a> in the US. With minimal math, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm" target="_blank">CDC's reports</a> average out as follows: The flu mortality rate is somewhere between 0.04% to 0.1%. As of writing this blog COVID-19 official numbers on mortality rate bear out to be around 4.5%. Even if testing is inadequate and many, many more sick persons should be added to lower this percentage, the actual death toll is evidence enough that we should not think of this as another common illness. Maybe one day it will be, but it is not at the moment. </span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-kerning: none;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica";">Rate of Infection (R0) / Morbidity Rate</span></i></b><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-contagious-r-naught-average-patient-spread-2020-3" target="_blank">difference of the rate-of-infection between seasonal flu and coronavirus</a> is alarming. R0 is the rate at which the virus spreads from an infected person. Currently, the assumed rate of the coronavirus, with little or no prevention measures in place, is in the range of 2.0 to 2.5. Seasonal flu is assumed to be 1.3. Taking the low number for coronavirus, a difference of .4 seems negligible. That is only because humans do not often think clearly about exponential growth.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Taking the fairly set R0 of 1.3 of seasonal flu and the low end R0 of 2 for coronavirus, we can demonstrate the exponential spread by raising both numbers by the 10th power, which would represent ten steps from patient 0. Taking seasonal flu R0 1.3 and raising it to the 10th power (1.3</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>10</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">) would mean that in 10 steps the virus would go from 1 person to around 14. Yet, for the coronavirus R0, 2</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>10</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> would suggest that in 10 steps the virus would go from 1 person to 1024. 1,000 people in ten steps is a drastic difference.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> (If we go with the higher number of 2.5, the number of infections goes to approximately 9,500 in just ten steps)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Adjustments</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The same data points can be added to other, less meaningful sets of data, to make all sorts of arguments, but what is certain, unless one just does not want to research, is that these deaths are real. While no sets of data are perfect, these numbers are cause to suggest we should be proactive in some serious ways, and to be outraged by flux in real time data is unreasonable. First, the flux may only be perceived. Second, the information is coming in daily from all fifty states, all gathering data from countless local sources. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Being surprised, for example, that doctors give more than one cause of death (COD) is not a a sign of conspiracy. Doctors have always been able to give primary, secondary, and tertiary causes of death (for example, if someone under duress due to COVID-19 actually dies of a heart attack, both are listed as a COD). This is not a conspiracy, but a sign of many layman’s ignorance to proper medical procedures. Likewise, while some reports of <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/nyregion/new-york-coronavirus-deaths.html" target="_blank">“non-confirmed” COVID-19 deaths being added</a> to the overall NYC COVID-19 death toll </span>are concerning, this is not a large scale plot by the medical community trying to unduly worry the rest of the general public. These numbers will continue to be adjusted up and down over the coming weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If we are willing to admit that the rate of illness should be higher because of inadequate testing, we also must be willing to say the same for the rate of death. That is exactly what NYC medical and governmental officials have done. Comparing the expected mortality rate of NYC to the new projections, the new adjustments does not seems to be some extraordinary inflation of the numbers. The count is not including all who have died in this time period, but those who were <i>listed as moist likely dying of the virus </i>without a corresponding positive test. This means that people that were known to be exposed and high risk who died before tests were available are now being counted, as they should be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>NOTE TWO: Alternative Measures:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Now that we are moving towards a proposed phase program, the below will address the theoretical idea of whether or not we could have done this differently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Quality of Life</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">First, let me admit, it is simply too narrow-minded to say that all those concerned with losses in our “way of life” are merely coldhearted and self-centered, unconcerned for actual life. We know, for example, that a good economy is one factor, although certainly not a sufficient factor, for quality of life. If quality of life goes down, it can impact our lives far into the future, which might better survive and thrive in a good economy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Even so, we are facing a <i>real and present threat </i>that must supersede theoretical projections. While I understand how one might wish to consider all factors beyond the immediate threat, hard and fast, even caviler declarations have arisen, which suggest our way of life always overrides actual lives. When the only argument is that more lives will be affected than will be lost, such assertions are cold and inhumane, lacking sacrificial quality. Loss of life is almost always more tragic than loss of quality of life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Christians should remember that quality of life issues are what are often used to combat pro-life arguments. If we are to be consistent, we must side with life over perceived future quality. When at an award ceremony this year an actress proudly suggested she chose to terminate the life of her unborn child so that she could attain the quality of life she had been pursuing, many Christians scoffed at how selfish this statement was, and rightfully so. Consistency might demand we not demand our desired quality of life, if it means it risks the loss of life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Epidemiological Ineffectiveness</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There is the added belief that our government is making a mistake in its handling of the situation as it pertains to epidemiology. In other words, the measures are not only economically stressful, but medically ineffective. If what these people are saying is that, while the virus is serious, there are other measures we should be trying, I will only say that the burden of proof is on these naysayers. I am not an expert, and it surprises me how many people think they are. Only time will tell if our efforts are successful, and even then, we will never actually know if we practiced the most effective measures. Initial reports, however, do suggest we are tamping down the curve and lowering morbidity rates with our current efforts. The real question is, however, are we actually lowering the mortality rate or merely delaying it? I still think we have to try to act in some way. I will further elaborate below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Conspiracies </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The mixed signals from leadership are not helping. That is for sure. However, neither are outrageous conspiracy theories posted online as alternate “perspectives” very helpful. That our nation is looking into whether or not this could be man-made is not the conspiracy I am speaking of, by the way. Instead, I find the idea that this was a state-planned, totalitarian effort by any body in our nation, to be quite outrageous. Laymen suggesting with absolute confidence that there are better ways is destabilizing enough. The numbers suggest we have to do something, but turning this into a hyper-politicized issue will only cause some to choose to respond with ideology and not with measured thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Adding to disunity by saying that this virus is <i>not</i> a real threat is absolutely nonsense, but, as is already evident, it is not beyond the scope of widespread acceptance from ideologues who do not know what confirmation bias is or care to find out. The facts show that this illness is serious. If it were just another, mere “flu-like” illness, I wonder how to then explain the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/10/831875297/burials-on-new-york-island-are-not-new-but-are-increasing-during-pandemic" target="_blank"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">increased use of mass graves in New York </span></a>or <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/detroit-area-hospitals-need-refrigerated-trucks-coronavirus-dead" target="_blank"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">bodies being piled in spare hospital rooms in Detroit.</span></a> That is antidotal, I know, but the numbers in the above section are not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>So, what do we do?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Unless one is an expert or, at very least, a very studied and practiced researcher, proffering alternatives based on the acceptance of conspiracy or hoax theories is simply oppositional and divisive. What numbers can be researched by everyone are the ones which concern rates of illness and mortality, and these numbers can be compared to influenza and like illnesses. If we had all the time in the world, we could explore the countless theories, but the best we can do now is look at the current facts and act decisively. Since most of us are not experts, it is probably best to listen to our officials and not fringe opinions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Conclusions</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I will conclude by saying, as I have before, I am not certain our measures will prove ultimately successful. There are theories of resurgence and the like. I am not arguing our government is making the best decisions. If you know me, you know I am not a blind supporter of government. Yet, I do think we have to do something. I do hope that flattening the curve, while it might not reduce the number who will get sick, will give the medical community a) time to await the production of adequate supplies, b) a better head start on research for ongoing exposure, and c) the time needed to not find themselves overwhelmed all at once. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Regardless, I am no expert. So, I will listen to experts and those in authority. I also want to go on the record to say that I am concerned that the government might end measures too soon. I do not think the government is infallible and that there is never cause to oppose their action. But, in a society such as ours, we do this by voting, not by disobedience that puts others’ lives at risk. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">I hope that this illness does not impact us as much as the numbers suggest they could. I hope that those who look at the alarms from the medical community and scoff will get what they want in terms of lower numbers than some are assuming. But, make no mistake. This illness, as the data given in this article has already shown, has already been worse. If no more deaths happen as of this moment, this disease has already matched the average loss of lives from seasonal flu, and that is with all the measures we have taken that are never taken to mitigate flu. Sadly, this will not be the last day of deaths, and we have to continue to take this illness seriously. This is not just an academic thought exercise that is up for debate. This is a life-and-death, and any caviler attitudes in the face of such are immoral. </span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-28607341668410244882020-04-10T15:33:00.000-04:002020-04-10T20:30:34.948-04:00Dear Pastor, Do Not Give in To “Christian” Bullying and “Lack of Faith” Claims<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
Easter is just a couple days away, and most of us pastors and leaders will be doing something we have never done on Easter Sunday: We will be staying home, or we will be preaching to an empty sanctuary. Easter is the greatest day of the year. In years past, I would have said, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” but that is exactly why many of us are choosing to miss. We are doing this, not for ourselves, but for the sake of a suffering world. We are, as good Christians, trying to deny pain and evil its place before those we serve, not only locally, but, by not risking spreading disease to our own, we likewise show the world we respect and love them as well. But, as in any time of great tension, when we have to make high stakes decisions, undue criticism is finding its way into our midst, whether it be by email, phone, or passive aggressive Facebook posts. I say unto you, </div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">When this pandemic was drawing nearer and nearer, I did what I am geared to do. I studied. I went to those persons who have proven over and again in my life to be level-headed and informed to see what they were saying, and I did not like what I was seeing and hearing. My first concern was for the most vulnerable in my life. Of course, as the experts were suggesting then and now, in this case, the most vulnerable are those who are elderly, have compromised immunized systems, or both. We have a lot of elderly in our local church, but, I knew in this case, I had leaders to help me with this decision. As for my work on the Navajo Reservation, I am one of the top decision makers. I had to make a call. We were about to take a small group to the reservation, and in June I was supposed to take a group of around forty. After calling my brother, a medical doctor, and my partner in ministry, who lives on the reservation and works for the health system there, I made the call. The trips were off. I tossed and turned that whole night. I was heartbroken.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Then, our local churches had to make a decision. The facts were not as clear as they are at the moment, and I do not hold it against anyone at that time for being conflicted about the possibility of closing in-person worship. I knew what I thought was right and what my Senior Pastor thought was right, but I also knew other well-thought-out Christians were not on the same page. What if College Place closed its doors and other churches remained open, and it turned out we were wrong? Would that make us look unfaithful. But, as a pastor, I knew what I was going to fight for: I was not then, and am not all that much now, concerned about my own well-being, or those of my wife and children. We are not “at-risk,” but a great majority of the congregation we serve is. Fortunately, we did not have to plead our case, because our Bishop made the tough call for us. He was brave enough to take the blame when he could have left it up to us. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Even so, I knew people were disappointed, and it breaks a pastor’s heart to know his or her flock is hurt and that some are disappointed in us. I was even accused of just not wanting to work, and that brought out a fleshly anger in me. I knew I was prayerfully thinking this out. I knew this would make more work on me in a lot of ways. And, what I knew (that this person who made the accusation could never know) was just how long I pleaded and wrestled with God before He gave me a local church to serve. Not wanting to come and preach on Sunday is not a part of me, not at least in this part of my life. In the two plus years I have served locally, I have only missed one Sunday of church. Even when I was not at the local church, I was on the reservation working. I only recently took a vacation with my family in which I did not leave early to be back for Sunday, not because the church I serve would not have let me off, but, because I wanted to be present as a pastor. </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Tensions were high, and a lot of my fellow Christians disagreed with me in the early phases. None should feel badly at all. I am not claiming to be smarter or wiser or more anything. I have connections that helped me be better informed early on. I think a lot of people would have felt the same if they had the same access. I was blessed, but it did feel lonely.</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Now, however, the facts are much clearer. We were being told early on by some, even by very reputable sources, that this was no different than the common flu. We were reminded that H1N1 came and went as a pandemic, and we did not shut down the country. The CDC estimates that from April 2009 to April 2010, that around 12,469 deaths occurred (with a possible range of 8,868 (low)-18,306 (high)). This number is an estimate, which obviously includes all confirmed cases, but also factors in possible undiagnosed deaths from H1N1.</span></div>
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Today, as of typing this, 18,034 people have died a confirmed death from COVID-19. Even with self-quarantine measures in place, this disease has surpassed the <i>estimated deaths</i> of a year of H1N1 with no mass quarantines. With the death toll being well over 1,000 a day in the U.S., this means that by tomorrow, we will almost certainly surpass the most liberal CDC estimates of 52 weeks worth of non-quarantine H1N1 deaths (again, the high range being 18,469 <b>EDIT: Indeed, we have now surpassed that number, just a few hours later in the same day as me writing this: 18,699</b>). In just 16 weeks since the first of the outbreak has reached the US, COVID-19 has proven to be way worse than H1N1. Even if the numbers drop drastically in the next few days, this is still true, considering the measures of prevention we have taken that we did not with H1N1 and that we are talking confirmed vs estimated at this point. This is simply not another flu.</div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yet, I am still seeing social media posts from fellow Christians calling this pandemic a “Democratic political hoax” or a “conspiracy." They stand on the graves of the dead, mass graves in New York mind you, and mock this situation. <i>“But, the vast majority who get sick only have the most mild and sometimes no symptoms at all.</i>” Fine. But, Christians have never been called to simply care about the majority. We are called to look out and protect the least of these. </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I think we can learn something from the “conspiracy" and “political hoax” rhetoric. We have, for far too long, practiced hyper-politicizing. When we have to make every issue fit into an ideological category, we forsake critical thinking and even ethical thinking. Because some early on in high leadership and on certain media outlets promoted this as a hoax, those who are ideologues that touted these claims can not back down, even when the leaders and media have done so. Our President, after getting better information, has changed his tone. But, the rock-ribbed ideologues, many Christian, cannot admit that they were misinformed, which was not their fault early on, but, now, is willful blindness.</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As I told a fellow Christian I respect deeply early on when we did not have all the data: There was an infinite set of data out there in the beginning, and I was looking at different points of data early on that made me lean this way. If I did not have that data, I would have taken his same position. As a matter of fact, when I first heard of the Corona Virus, I assumed it would be something like Ebola, a horrible tragedy I would be privileged to watch from afar. I do not think many of us from day one said, “Oh, batten down the hatches,” and I do not blame anyone who may have been a few weeks behind me in changing his or her mind, just as I did. But, those who are trying to make pastors and Christian leaders feel guilty even now for calling off assembly are becoming more and more culpable. I find the continued promotion of conspiracy and hoax rhetoric, as well as the continued claims that we “lack faith,” to be coming close to evil, if not already there. This is becoming willful obstinance and an ethical breach of the command to love neighbor.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I have thought about how or even if I should respond, and this blog post is my answer. I asked early on, “What am I trying to accomplish?” At first, I passed by the “hoax,” “conspiracy,” and “lack of faith” claims, because I did not want to stir a pot. I would have only been assuaging my need to respond for a sense of catharsis. However, now, I am seeing more and more people admitting they are having a hard time with all the noise and backlash. I also know that many pastors do not have the support structure that United Methodist connection provides. We have a whole network of pastors in our same boat having to weather the storm, and our episcopal leadership is having to take the flack for making the call. Sure, we feel it locally as well, but at least we have each other.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Some leaders feel more alone. I want to say to you that if you in good faith decided to protect your flock, you have countless pastors who stand with you. Do not grow weary. As leaders, we have an added obligation to stand firm. When we start giving in to those who would bully us into risking the lives of our members for claims of lack-of-faith, we run the risk of being a part of the damaging of our collective resolve. If we do not stand firm and show that we are at peace, if we give into fear and coercion, we may make others give way too, and this will not only divide our churches, but our nation as well. We are in this together, and, as the church, we should lead the way in being a sacrificial people. </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">So, what of the theological claims? I will not address them all, but I will try to address the ones I have seen that seem to be the most stinging. (Let me say I will not be addressing the “alternative” medical advice that is out there. I am not an expert; so, I am listening to the CDC’s and the Governor’s orders, and the case I am making is that this is a justifiable position for Christians. Will the government get this right. I do not know. I pray they do. So, to be clear, this is not a case for how effective the measures are. That is a different issue that can be addressed another time. Flattening the curve does make sense to me, however. This is merely a discussion against the idea that attempting to avoid the congregation being exposed to illness is an act from fear and a sign of "lack of faith.") So, back to theology:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“…not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The writer of Hebrews was addressing theological concerns in this letter, and the writer’s concern was that persons were not gathering together because of discrimination and tension. Some felt that others were inferior and not worth gathering with in worship. Perhaps Jewish faithful were having a hard time accepting Gentiles and vice versa. This was not a matter of the church not gathering over safety concerns. This is much more particular. It is about division in the church. Those who claim pastors are inferior for lack of faith are the ones forsaking the assembly, not because they do not wish to attend, but because they wish to meddle and divide. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In fact, we see often in the early church, even when persecution was heading their way, they dispersed their gatherings and fled to safer places. We shall discuss this more in a moment, because I think that persecution is, perhaps, the only legitimate reason a pastor may justifiably risk the overall protection of the church (if the members are in agreement), and even then, we see, in places around the world today, Christians under persecution are still trying their best to stay safe by being hidden. Do we call their hiding a lack of faith? We who have not even bled yet should think twice before we judge the persecuted (Hebrews 12:4). </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br />Peter said this in the the Book of Acts after being told he could not proclaim the name of Jesus or preach His gospel. In this instance, Peter is suggesting God’s command to preach the Gospel overrides the command not to do so, because the two are mutually exclusive.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">We can choose to think of following the government mandates in a few ways. We can say that not gathering at the church is a lack of faith, or, we can say, because the church is not defined by the building, the church can serve in many ways. Not going to the building in large numbers can be seen as a way to protect the most vulnerable that God cares for.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">That is how I understand my role as a pastor. I am to protect the flock, and never to encourage them to place themselves in harms way, unless it is unavoidable and would compromise their faith. I have faith in God that He has asked me to lead for a reason. If we were being asked to renounce our faith or be harmed, that would be a test of faith that would need us to consider choosing a willingness to be hurt for the faith (if there were no other options). Be mindful, the church has not just understood the option to stand firm in the face of violence as the only alternative to not renouncing faith under threat. They also fled and proclaimed elsewhere. Again, I will return to Christian action in light of persecution in a moment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But, this is not a persecution issue. Since we are not being persecuted, I think we need to think of what Paul teaches in Romans 13:1-7. God asks us to obey the authorities and tells us <i>it is a sin not to do so</i>. We do see in the Book of Acts that Peter decides to disobey the authorities when they tell him he cannot preach the Gospel, but, again, here Peter is being asked not to do <i>any</i> ministry. We as the church can do a lot of ministry outside the building and still follow the rules that our authorities give. So, I think Romans 13 applies to us. Romans says if we disobey, then the authorities have the right to punish us. What if we listen to our authorities and have to not do church gathering for a couple of months, but do other ministry and in so doing, we preserve for future ministry? What if God is trying to get us out of our building to be faithful out in the world?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">We know that people throughout the Bible showed faith by not denying God and being harmed for it. They died as martyrs, and we have the utmost respect for them as the church. But, when we know harm is coming and it is not a matter of man trying to stop us from preaching, but our standing firm is simply a matter of trying to prove faith, Jesus says we are not to test the Lord our God (Luke 4:12).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>What if the test of faith is asking the question, “Can we still be faithful to be in ministry without our church building and big gatherings?” Can we do ministry in new ways for the sake of the least of these? Will we be able to say in this time, "God’s grace is sufficient when we are made weak” (2 Corinthians 12:9)?</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“Running away is a sign of a lack of faith.” (Not in the Bible)</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Instead the Bible says:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.</i></span></div>
<div class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” (Acts 8:1-4)</i></span></div>
<div class="p6" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Now, what about the persecuted? Do not the martyrs standing up for faith shame us for our fear? If we are fearful, then yes. But, if our concern is that we could protect each other and still remain faithful, then, by all means, we should. So, here in Acts, up unto this point, the church had been assembling at the synagogue, but, at this point, due to concern for their lives, they <i>chose to disassemble </i>and scatter. Even though they would have been justified to die for their faith, the church did not see this as the only option for “proving” faithful. Instead, they chose to preserve, even forsaking their assembly<i> for a time</i>, at least as long as it took them to flee to the places they would then go and preach. The martyrs did not die so that we might hang our heads low, but they sacrificed so that we might continue in ministry.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s2" style="background-color: white; font-kerning: none;">This pandemic is sending us out. We are still preaching. We have forsaken the assembly, not out of discrimination or fear, but out of love of neighbor. Stand firm in this truth. Do not let the bullies bring you down with their overbearing yoke of religion. That is what the Pharisees did to the people of their day. Let us choose life. Let us choose love. Let us stand and have a peace in the midst of the storm. Remember that </span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Christians set up the first hospitals, not because they lacked faith that God could heal, but they knew He could heal and heal through proper care that medical practice provides. Let us serve the medical healers by giving them the space and time they need to do their healing work.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">You are not only called to feed your sheep, but to protect them.</span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span>
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As for those of you who are not mandated to stay home, but stay in the work force to provide for the rest of us, you are doing your part too, and I thank you! </span></div>
<div class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Blessings,</span></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Rev Tab Miller</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I will add further resources as I collect them:</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p7" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 233); color: #0000e9; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="s3" style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mAM2GlXqA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mAM2GlXqA</a></span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-89313817145805561292017-09-27T13:22:00.003-04:002019-07-11T18:50:37.356-04:00Thoughts On Current Outrage Surrounding The NFL<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I am
on vacation in the beautiful, North Carolina mountains, and, because I have no
guilt wasting time on vacation, I dedicated an exorbitant amount of time
tilting at windmills on Facebook yesterday, and I rode away into the night
feeling as valiant as Don Quixote himself. Dang it feels good to be a gangster.
Am I right, Quixote?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Now
I sit writing an article for my blog that I don’t have much intention in ensuring
a lot of people read. Again, this is just some catharsis with no guilt for
wasting time. I must admit, most of my blog posts are like this. Anyway…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I
say most of this in jest, of course, because I have had several occasions in
which someone has told me that my thoughts helped him or her and brought his or
her thinking around on whatever happened to be the topic at hand, and I too
have had moments like this myself. I’m just trying to be honest with myself. I
know for the most part, my Facebook posts and blogs will do little to change
the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I’m
ok with that. Yet, I will add this: When I do have something burdening my heart
enough that I write about it on my blog, you can be assured that it is
something that I pray about and work at solving in ways I find more meaningful
than simply jotting down some thoughts online. When I say I do not think my
words will change the world, I do not suggest I do not want the world to
change, and I do work on doing my part in being a problem solver.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Now,
onto the matter at hand:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
hot topic yesterday was, of course, the NFL allowing its players to take a knee
during the National Anthem. What are we to make of all of this?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I
can say this: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We won’t properly make
heads or tails of this event if current emotional outrage drowns out reasoned
discussion</i>, and I see it on both sides. One side is saying, “You disrespect
men and women who have died for you, you ungrateful piece of trash,” while the
other side screams, “You are a racist pig wanting to silence minorities and you
can’t even think your way out of a wet, brown paper sack.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
That
is our first problem. People do not know how to disagree.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak, slow to anger… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>James 1:19<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
takes time to understand an argument, but, in our culture, we take the shortcut
of asking ourselves, “On what end of the political spectrum would this fall?”
If the issue falls on the other side from where we stand (as we perceive it) it
is automatically bad, and if it falls on our side (as we perceive it) it must
be defended at all cost. No time to think in a fast paced world. We must make
quick assumptions. We must prejudge.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
So,
whatever side one falls on, if one’s initial response is to quickly pick a side
and call those on the opposing side “fools,” “idiots,” “trash,” “ingrates,”
“morons,” or a bunch of other words I saw but won’t repeat here (let’s not
forget Son of a bitch, coming from our most hallowed of public offices,
however), then we have a problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
They
may be acting foolish, but have we even tried to first be listeners of their
grievances? Have we been slow to anger? Again, people on both sides have been
guilty of this. I cannot say that within my heart, I haven't had a few names for
people, and for that, I am sorry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But I say to you that if you are angry with a <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">brother</span> or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you
insult a <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">brother</span> or sister, you
will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">fool</span>,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. Matthew 5:22<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
key to being able to learn is to avoid anger. I have to admit, this is hard.
When issues of justice are at stake, sometimes it is not possible to go all
Spock, full of reason with a great measure of detachment, but it is worth
trying. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Let’s
begin with the major claims being made:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
On
the one hand, and this narrative has changed very little, except for a little
twist after POTUS called those NFL players who continue to kneel “Son of a
bitch,” those NFL players taking a knee have consistently said that they are
trying to bring attention to the fact that the nation, which is supposed to be about
“liberty and justice for all,” is failing certain peoples. Admittedly, it did
shift a bit in recent days to include a protest against Trump for his calling
certain NFL players a derogatory phrase. But, the central message remains
intact.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
There
are two groups of people: Those who have heard and believe this is, at least
for the most part, the intended message. Then, there are those who refuse to
believe the express explanation and suggest this is all about disrespect for
the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
(Now,
give me time to be fair to all sides, as far as I think I can be without
betraying my own beliefs, before giving up on me in the paragraphs ahead.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is a matter of proper dialogue and debate to give the benefit of the doubt to
the person when he or she says, “This is what I mean.” Until it can be shown
otherwise, not with small anecdotal evidences, but clear proof that an ulterior
motive exists, it is proper for debate to let someone’s words be his or her words.
Understand those words and attack them, not some made up conjecture. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
On a
number of occasions, the players have expressed that they mean no disrespect to
the service men and women, nor are they trying to be unpatriotic. They are
trying to do something for the nation (call out injustice within) not do something
against it (support anarchy). The whole idea of kneeling was an attempt to show
deference for the service men. When Colin Kaepernick first began this protest,
he sat during the anthem. He then consulted a peer who had served in the armed
forces and this peer told him that taking a knee would be more respectful for
service men, while still getting his point across. He did just that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
That
is the narrative.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
On
the one hand, to say this has absolutely nothing to do with the anthem and flag
is misguided. The protest time was carefully picked to make a very pointed
point about our nation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What
these players, however, wish to say is that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they
believe in their hearts</i> that the flag represents more than the military, as
it should. They are not protesting these men and women who fight for the flag,
hence, the knee instead of just sitting. They are protesting a certain part of
our nation’s current state. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Along
with partly being a symbol of the military, the flag represents the entirety of
the country and her people (“And for the Republic for which it stands”), and
these men do not think our nation is living up to the ideal of “liberty and
justice for all.” In other words, they are not<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, in their hearts</i>, trying to pull the nation down, but to call her
up to what she is supposed to be about. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
So,
yes, the flag and anthem are a part of this, but they are saying that those who
are calling them out for being unpatriotic are missing the point. I think this
is a fair argument on their part, especially in light of recent events in which
many who now cast blame on the kneeling players were making a similar claim
just a month prior:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Consider
the phrase I used a few times: “in their hearts…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
One
month ago, people were saying: “In our hearts, the confederate statues
represents something deeper than the hate you are making it out to mean,” and
they wanted this argument to be heard.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Presently,
many of these same people are saying: “I don’t care what you say is in your
heart when you protest, I say it is hateful towards the military.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
We
cannot have it both ways.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
all the flag can represent for a person is our military, then that person is
dangerously conflating the two. The military does not own the flag. The
military serves the nation for which it stands and protects her in service. Do
I stand in honor of these men and women? Yes, I do. But, if it is demanded of
me to do so in a compulsory manner, then there is a problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
When
we begin to demand people act and behave as we wish, we begin a slippery slope
to all sorts of chaos. Remember, Richard Dawkins is leading a massive movement
of secularists who believe religion in all forms is dangerous and therefore
should be prohibited. When we tell people how they should express their deepest
beliefs through certain prohibitions (I prohibit you from kneeling), then we
join the ranks of people like Dawkins. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Now,
for a moment, let’s switch gears.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
On
the other hand, to be completely shocked and angry that some people would take
offense to the mode of protest is a bit misplaced as well. Many persons were
raised to believe that patriotism is one of the greatest positions one can take
in this life, short of their allegiance to God. (I happen to think these come
too close to each other sometimes, but that, again, is the topic of another post).
Furthermore, they were told that any deviation from standing with hand over
heart during the pledge and the anthem is disrespectful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
very intent of picking the time of the anthem as the time to protest was meant
to cause a stir. So, that people are stirred up is understandable. What then
needs to happen for those who would want to say, “Wait a minute, just hear
clearly the reason for protest out before you get too insulted,” is for these
persons to be very patient in giving this message. It may take a bit of time
before the others can calm down. They were provoked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
people are purposefully provoked, then the ones provoking might have to take a
few lashes if they want to be heard.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is not a terrible move to provoke people. Jesus was provocative, and he
explained himself to those who truly wanted to learn. So, if you are going to
poke the bear, be ready to explain yourself when he comes out mad as a hornet,
and don’t be surprised that you may have to spend a little time calming the
bear down (and not in a patronizing way either).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
isn’t fair to be provocative and then say, “What are you mad about?” On the
other hand, it is not unreasonable to do something bold to awake the giant,
either. Again, you just have to take the time to receive a little lashing,
before you can be heard saying, “Let me tell you why I woke you up. I need you
to hear something, and I could not get your attention nicely. I mean no
disrespect, but I could not get your full attention any other way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Could
there be a better way? Maybe, but the point now is that it has happened, and if
they stop now, the naysayers are going to do their “I told you so" dance… It’s
a pickle for sure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Now
to my final two thoughts:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
you are the sort of person who will say, “I hear what they are saying, but I do
not believe them.” In other words, you say that you have listened, but there is
really nothing of substance to their grievances (i.e. minorities are not
oppressed in any way), I would ask, have you done any research, or are you just
not willing to believe our nation could overlook people? Having that sort of
faith in our government then means you should never complain about anything
going on in congress. If they have our best interest in mind at all times, then
do not complain about healthcare, taxes, or abortions. Just read a little bit
of history, and remember that the ripples of history don’t disappear the day,
week, year, decade, or even century after they were made. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If I
can say that my success is in part due to what my ancestors did way back in the
1700s, then others can say that oppression that only ended decades ago has some
bearing on their life now. Furthermore, it is not just about what happened
then. There are still injustices today (link below).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, if you are the sort of person who would
say, but they are rich and therefore have no right to complain. They should be
grateful. I would warn that this comes very close to racism. “You can’t
complain about minority injustice, because we gave you the ability to play
football….” Really? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Did
you hear that Saudi Arabia finally passed a law allowing women to drive? I
guess those women have nothing more to complain about. They should be grateful
to their benevolent nation, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
For
more on minorities and injustice read this: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
https://chartwellwest.com/2017/09/27/__trashed-2/<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally,
if your love of tradition outweighs your willingness to listen to the other
that is a huge conflict, especially for the Christian. If your love of country,
flag, and anthem, means you cannot stop for a moment and listen when someone is
saying they are in pain, you need to take time to reevaluate your priorities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Pain
often expresses itself in nasty ways. Think of a loved one who has gone through
a mental breakdown. If their pain is expressed in shouts and screams that you
do not like and may think are unwarranted, would you then say, “I will not
listen or try to help.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I am
not saying that the pain of the minority community is equal to the above
illustration. I am saying that, even if some do not like how it is expressed
(by what mode and through which representatives), that should not mean we allow
our anger at what might be perceived as an insult to control our response,
which should always be first motivated by loving patience and a willingness to
listen, despite what the other is doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Otherwise,
tradition undermines love:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment
of God in order to keep your tradition! Mark 7:9<o:p></o:p></i></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-48565484295825614062017-01-29T16:49:00.001-05:002020-05-10T10:40:41.801-04:00Now That Something Has HappenedI will not be sharing this to social media. The arguments have become too deafeningly shrill to add to the noise. This is more for my own mental therapy. I will add to this blog as I continue to think about this issue:<br />
<br />
Just a few days ago, the "Muslim Ban" was just a rumor, but now there has been an executive order signed. Now, America is in another fierce debate on what this all means.<br />
<br />
The issues get muddy quickly when dealing with complex politics like this. What exactly does the language of the order mean? What is the full future intentions of the executive branch? How does this compare to past administrations?<br />
<br />
I do not have the expertise or the emotional energy to say much more, but I will say two things:<br />
<br />
1. No amount of comparison to Obama should matter. To so many, nothing Obama did was good enough. So, it cannot now be a litmus test for this administration. Saying, "Well, Obama did something similar" is more than too late.<br />
<br />
2. In a recent National Review article, it was argued: "He backed down dramatically from his campaign promises and instead signed an executive order dominated mainly by moderate refugee restrictions and temporary provisions aimed directly at limiting immigration from jihadist conflict zones." This was said in an argument stating that people are overreacting.<br />
<br />
First of all, this is his very first action as President towards refugees. Thus, this cannot be called a step-back from his promise, but a step towards. He has only drawn closer to his (and this is a funny, but telling word choice) promise.<br />
<br />
Second, from where I'm sitting, it seems that the only people satisfied with this argument as excusing these actions as "not that bad" are those who already supported Trump's position towards refugees before they knew the details of the order. Retrospectively arguing for the now "moderate" step that has been made seems short-sighted, and here's why:<br />
<br />
This man DID say he wanted a COMPLETE BAN ON MUSLIMS (in reference to refugees in particular). So that people are frustrated that he has made this new order on top of the already extensive vetting process already in play and see this as a slap in the face of refugees isn't something being pulled from thin air. People are only assuming he is trying to do what he said he would.<br />
<br />
I'd rather be quick to defend the refugee over the most powerful man in the free world, or his ego, or my own<br />
<br />
We can sugar coat as much as we want, but there will come judgement one day. I sure hope I am not found as reasoning away the greatest commandment to love God through loving the other. If this makes me foolish and places my family and me in harms way, I will leave our life and fate to God, our Father.<br />
<br />tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-37191495945029248062017-01-25T10:04:00.001-05:002020-05-10T10:40:41.622-04:00Thoughts On Possible Refugee Ban<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Today,
Trump is set to visit The Department of Homeland Security. At the moment, most
people are focused on what it is he was so adamant about during his campaign,
the building of the wall. However, this will not be his only agenda, as he
signs several more executive orders during his visit today. One additional
promise from his campaign may come to be today: <a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/report-trump-about-ban-muslim-refugees">the
complete shut down of accepting Muslim refugees</a> into the United States.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
it is happening today, there is not much we can do to either promote or hinder
this agenda. So, we might as well spend some time in reflection. What might it
mean to follow through with this ban? What follows now is a series of
considerations. I will not be solving the issue, nor do I claim to be doing so.
In this regard, may this be a meditation, not an argument. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
First,
let’s consider the major factor that causes most advocates to support this
agenda. We may call it xenophobia, Islamiphobia, racism, or the like, but the
truth is that, while these might be, for some, the means to fear, it is not
simple bigotry that motivates people. Indeed, it is fear, and we cannot pretend
that there are not some legitimate reasons for fearing the presence of more
Islamic peoples in our nation. Terrorism is a real threat, as we well know from
our own recent history and from current European events, but is it such a
threat that we are warranted in our shutting out countless innocents, because
of the threat that some individuals with ill intent might sneak in with these
innocents.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
This
might seem to move off point a bit, but, since it is inevitably where the
discussion leads, we must face how radical Islam came to be, because some will
say, “Well, it is not our fault radicals exist, and while I feel sorry for the
people in areas they already infect, we cannot allow them to infect the U.S. This
has nothing to do with the U.S., we are a Christian nation, and, since these
people are Muslims, they are part of the problem, since it is Islam that
creates radical Islam.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Is
this a fair and accurate consideration?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is true: We make a mistake when we assume radical Islam is not related to
religion, as if it is only a political movement using Islam as an excuse to
commit its atrocities. Islam’s eschatology is intrinsically tied to political
power. There is no doubt that many of Islam believe that the Islamic world must
take over the entire globe, politically, for their desired end to take place.
Whether this should happen through terrorism, war, or diplomacy is up for
debate within the Islamic world:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The reality is that the
Islamic State is Islamic. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Very</span>
Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely
from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the
religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even
learned interpretations of Islam.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Virtually every major
decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in
its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates,
stationery, and coins, “the Prophetic methodology,” which means following the
prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the
Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn’t actually a
religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be
combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back
foolish schemes to counter it.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5947832930448712979#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Likewise,
we make a mistake when we assume radical Islam is not related to political
unrest, much caused by the United States (as well as other Western powers)
imperial presence in the Middle East. Our interventions have caused upheaval in
the region over and again, one example being our covert actions in Iran, which
eventually helped spark the rise of the Shia Islamic Republic and thorn in our
side Iran has recently come to be:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency coined a term for
it: Blowback. The explosive boomerang that governments throw when, either by
propaganda or through covert military operations, they deliberately stoke the
flames of ethnic, religious or nationalist rivalries for political gain.
Faustian monsters are created who then threaten to overwhelm the very
governments that gave them birth. Blowback was first used by the CIA to
describe unintended consequences of their covert activities in Iran in 1954.
The agency warned of the possible repercussions of the coup d’état it had
engineered to overthrow the elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5947832930448712979#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Moreover, when we began to support
unrest in Afghanistan to frustrate the Russians, we caused much fear in the
region, and refugees began to flee the region. Just like today, they were
gathered in large camps away from their homeland, where they were left to their
own devices. Just like the current situation in Greece, the refugees grew
increasingly disgruntled, as no one came to their rescue. It was this unrest
that radicals used to recruit once normal Muslims to their cause. At the same
time, the U.S. was funding and arming these radicals, creating movements that
still exist today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Yes, radical Islam is an Islamic problem,
created, in part, by Islamic people, but it is also a U.S. problem. If we are
really worried about the rise of radical Islam, perhaps we should consider how
not accepting refugees create hotbeds, like the ones in Greece at the moment.
These hotbeds of unrest and desperation are perfect harvesting fields for the
radical movements like Isis. By bringing in the innocent, we protect them from
desperation, which leads to radicalization, and, in turn, protect the
global community, as well as the U.S., from avoidable, rapid growth of
radicalization.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Now that we get the practical out of
the way (practical from human, political perspective), let’s talk about the
sacred, sanctified approach (what is practical from a divine perspective). </span>Without considering the <a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/what-bible-says-about-how-treat-refugees">overwhelming
biblical data</a>, which calls us to care for the refugee, consider this:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">As Christians, we must think very
carefully about how we treat the refugees for the sake of our witness and
mission. Yes, we must be prudent, but we cannot let fear control our treatment
of those in need. A lesson from Christianity’s past here in the U.S. might help
us to think more clearly about our situation today. It is not a perfect
analogy, since our approaches are different in each case (the first case being
direct contact, the second being complete avoidance), but they come together in
their motivation and (possible) consequence:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">For many years now, I have been traveling
to and from the Navajo Nation to share the love of Jesus Christ, and, to be
quite honest, there is a part of me that feels like a fool every time I go,
because I know the sad history of the tradition I carry on of "sharing the
Gospel" with the Native Americans. Our nation, wanting to control the
situation with the Native peoples we feared, justified its actions by
proclaiming the Native as "dangerous." So, the white man slaughtered
thousands. Who were the dangerous ones again? After we had broken the backs of
these tribes, we placed them on reservations and Christian boarding schools
were then established. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">"In the name of Jesus", it
was these schools' job to kill the culture of the people. The tribal children
would be punished if they did not comply. They were not allowed to speak their
language. They were not allowed to see their parents for many months at a time.
If they tried to escape they would be hobbled. And all of this was done by
Christians "sharing the Gospel."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Generations later, I have been called
in the name of Jesus to share His love with the Navajo, and each time I am out
there I have to face the consequences of what my brothers and sisters in Christ
did many years ago in the name of fear. I have to see the hurt still in many of these precious
peoples' eyes. I have to remind myself each time that what sets me apart is
that I'm not out there to take anything but to give my all. I am out there
simply to love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Christian community was too
willing to be motivated by fear of “the other” to treat them like human beings.
We cannot do the same today to the innocent among the Islamic nations fleeing
danger. Christians cannot allow fear to motivate how we treat “the other” now,
lest we damage our relationship with these peoples for generations to come. If
we refuse them rescue in their time of need now, (what else are Christians here in times such as these than offering such hope) how will we ever hope they
will trust us in the future, when we finally realize they deserve love and the good news of the Kingdom as well? What if, wanting to share the good news with
Muslims, today and in the future, our missionaries find that it is they who are
really feared, because the Muslim knows we have considered them as we do wild
animals, less than human? What we are willing to do to humans we devalue is
clear, and, knowing this, those we mistreat may now and forever refuse us
access to their hearts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">I hope I never do anything in this life
to make the work of the church harder for the generations to come. We cannot
allow history to repeat itself over and over again. We must lay down our lives
as Christ. This is the ultimate principle as we see in Acts 5:17-42. When there
is a choice between proclaiming the love of Christ with great danger of losing our
lives or avoiding the situation altogether, we must proclaim the good news. Allowing fear to motivate us has no
place. National protection is an added layer to the issue for sure, but
supporting the total ban of Muslims, which inevitably leads to the ignoring of
the innocent refugee God cares so much about, is, in my mind, equally dangerous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Again, we have to be smart about this,
but we cannot simply use our fear to dismiss the oppressed for whom we are
called to care. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">We must love, because he first loved
us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">"But the lawyer wanted to justify
himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Luke 10:29<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5947832930448712979#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 9.0pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"> Wood, Graeme, March 2015: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5947832930448712979#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 9.0pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"> Ramachandra, Vinoth. (2008). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues Shaping Our
World.</i> Downers Grove: IVP Academic. pp. 17<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-71940606072067650012016-07-11T15:44:00.000-04:002016-07-11T15:44:04.776-04:00Jesus, Race, and Culture:<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Should The Church
Confront Racial Issues?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a lot of pressure on the church today (especially
upon pastors) to speak to the cultural issues with which we are currently
struggling. Part of the issue for pastors is that there exists a multitude of
opinion in the church upon these issues and how they should be resolved, if in
fact they can be. Most of these differences have not arisen out of theological
considerations, but out of political concern. Speaking about politically charged
issues is a precarious situation for pastors to say the least, but is it an
excuse to avoid the conversations?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another pressure on pastors is that major sects of the
church have historically avoided concrete, political rhetoric altogether, and
some, both within and without, believe this is the way it should be. Does the
church have a voice in the realm of politics, or does our separation of church
and state preclude us from any influence? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do we have biblical warrant to speak to the area of culture
that includes politics?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a broader cultural scale, recent arguments have arisen in
which people are debating whether or not people of various groups have the
capacity to understand the feeling, concerns, and overall experiences of
another group. Can the church be truly multicultural? Does our message truly
create transcultural conversation and healing, or are we doomed to continue to
talk past each other, at least on this topic?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is there any biblical precedence for speaking to each other
about our own cultural (specifically ethnic) understandings, and will people be
able to hear?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alma Mater</i>,
Asbury Theological Seminary rereleased <a href="http://www.seedbed.com/racial-reconciliation-and-the-gospel/?inf_contact_key=7f6e993367723b7ce6d842303e8b87fd367d2b37fc0099e0087f240075671471">a
video</a> in which Pastor Lisa Yebuah argues from Paul’s statement to the
Church at Galatia (in which he states that in Christ Jesus there is no longer
“Jew nor Greek,” v 3:28) that since barriers have been broken by the cross we
can begin to hear across old walls. I love this thought. We must encourage the
church to have real, authentic conversations so that we all can repent from our
old ways and live in newness together. Faithfulness to the gospel recognizes
our ability to hear and understand our brothers and sisters, no matter their
particular affiliations in other communities. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my recent book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Other Side</i>, I speak about learned behaviors and the possibility to overcome
prejudice:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
For the child, noticing someone
else is different is first a matter of curiosity. Negative bias is introduced
when this child perceives a negative attitude in those he or she most often
imitates. The child does not become malicious at this point. He or she is
simply following a basic rule of survival: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
others in my community recoil from this type of person, thing, or situation, I
should too.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
If prejudice can be ingrained at
such an early age, we might fear that there is little hope of overcoming our
prejudices unless we begin by admitting that none of us are immune to receiving
or perpetuating, consciously or subconsciously, negative stereotypes. We do,
however, have another mechanism in learning about others that may move us
beyond learned biases: an uncanny ability to empathize through the vicarious
experience of placing ourselves in another’s shoes. When we have the
opportunity to learn of others through hearing their stories and placing
ourselves in their shoes, learned biases are diminished if not destroyed, and
we learn, instead, to care.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arguments or mere dialogue concerning the views of others
will not get us to where we need to be if they are divorced from the prompting
to step outside of one’s own preconceived ideas and into what it might be like
to walk in the other’s shoes. Having the gift of “the mind of Christ,” it is
possible to consider others before ever considering the needs and concerns of
self (see Philippians 2:1-5).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet, is there any concrete biblical example of using empathy
to promote understanding of the other? Can we use racial differences as a
learning tool?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus seemed to think so. In fact, in a very subversive
manner, Jesus forces some of the religious elite in the Jewish community to do
just that as he taught the parable of “The Good Samaritan,” found in Luke
10:25-37:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: 3.0pt;">
On one occasion
an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I
do to inherit eternal life?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: 3.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is written
in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and
with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
“You have answered correctly,”
Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
But he wanted to justify himself,
so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
In reply Jesus said: “A man was
going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They
stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.<b> </b>A
priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side.<b> </b>So too, a Levite, when he came to the
place and saw him, passed by on the other side.<b> </b>But a Samaritan, as
he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put
the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.<b> </b>The
next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after
him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense
you may have.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
“Which of these three do you think
was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
The expert in the
law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
Jesus told him,
“Go and do likewise.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this text, some of the religious elite of the Jewish
community, a community who highly valued their own ethnicity and import of
their specific knowledge, confronts Jesus. Specifically, a lawyer, an expert in
Torah, challenged this Rabbi, another expert of Torah from another angel, to
ask the key to right living.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus expertly draws out of the lawyer the key to right
living and challenges him upon it: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Do
this (what you just claimed to be right) and you will live.” </i>However, as
soon as Jesus challenges him to do only that which the lawyer had already
admitted was the ethical way of life, the lawyer begins to make up excuses and
counter argues his own point, by asking, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“When
is enough, enough?”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus then launches into his subversive illustration. He first
has the community see themselves in those who encounter a terrible situation.
First, a gang on a very well known and dangerous road robs and beats an unnamed
traveler. Even though the man is unnamed, it seems Jesus is most likely
referring to a Jewish person. Everyone listening would be able to empathize
with the beaten man. As the man is lying in road left for dead, two persons of
the Jewish religious community pass him by. Again, everyone would have
recognized the two well respected people types here. They are feeling the
finger of blame being pointed at them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then Jesus talks about an “other,” a Samaritan. It is no
secret that in this day, there existed a lot of racial tension between the
Jewish people and the Samaritans. Why this tension existed is a lesson for
another time. From an early age, Jewish people were conditioned to dislike the
Samaritans. So, Jesus makes this member of the “out group” the hero. He is
challenging racial norms in the day. Here is what they would assume to be a
religious mutt acting in accordance with ethical living.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His final question is one that forces the audience to
consider empathy, not just of the beaten man, whom everyone feels sorry for, of
course. Instead, his question has them consider the three passers by, including
this “unworthy” Samaritan. Who among these men did the right thing? In other
words, how do you understand their actions? If in their place, what would you
do?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The lawyer is forced to answer, and his reply is telling,
“The one who showed him mercy.” The lawyer cannot even bring himself to say,
“The Samaritan was right.” Instead, he simple refers to him as “one.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus was intentionally being political, showing the hypocrisy
of the elites in society. (Remember that for the Jewish people specifically;
there was no difference between religious leaders and political figures, at
least for their own local context, which Jesus uses here.) Jesus confronts
their racism and forces them to see the humanity in the other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No servant is greater than his master, and if Jesus shows us
an example of leading through hard conversations concerning race relations and
doing right to others, we too must speak of these things. No matter what others
in our church say about our right to speak on these issues, no matter what the
world believes is possible or impossible for racial healing, we must trust our
leader, our King, and the King and head of the church was one willing to break
down barriers through hard discussions upon race.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I, for one, choose to follow Jesus. I will listen to my
brothers and sisters who happen to come from other backgrounds. I will validate
their concerns. I will try and help them see my concerns as well, and together
we will serve those beaten up by a world that wants to rob them of their
dignity.<o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-33886958864442900292016-07-07T14:28:00.003-04:002020-05-10T11:14:08.013-04:00Thoughts Upon The Deaths of Sterling, Castile, and Others<div>
<b>This article was originally published in July 2016, almost four years ago. All portions now in bold font are added to update this article for current events. I mention the original post date, because of current reactions in our community to a new video that has emerged of what appears to be Ahmaud Arbery walking around a construction site allegedly moments before he was killed. Some are suggesting that those who have cried out for justice for Ahmaud will have to scramble to "justify" this new evidence. I will not have to make such an adjustment, and I think many who have been asking for justice have felt the same as I have felt for some time concerning the death of men of color under circumstances that do not warrant killing. I present to you now my thoughts from 2016 to demonstrate how I have felt for some time and will add my thoughts to current events at the conclusion of this post.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
From July 2016:</div>
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43 year old Eric Garner is killed by law enforcement when he is placed in an illegal chokehold on July 17, 2014. His infraction, selling cigarettes illegally. </div>
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What I repeatedly saw over the following days:</div>
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The bottom line: If this man were not breaking the law in the first place, this would never have happened. </div>
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This is a bad bottom line. I personally have broken the law on several occasions, many times while having a gun in my possession, and I have never once felt like my life was in danger, even in the presence of law enforcement. </div>
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Let me be clear. I do not under any circumstance condone my past behaviors. Having said this, I have never deserved death for any earthly law I have broken.</div>
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For example, (in times past) I have broken the law several times while hunting, either by hunting without a proper license or by hunting over the limit (I no longer participate in such actions, by the way). There have even been times while hunting illegally that I have been stopped by law enforcement, gun in clear view. </div>
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As I saw law enforcement approach, I hid the evidence of my criminal activity, not because I was afraid of the officers, but because I didn't want to pay a fine. I got away with it too. Many times, it even felt like a game, and I have heard many other hunters brag about their run-ins too. Even if I had been caught, my worst fear was the chance of a huge fine, never death. </div>
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Hunting a federally protected bird without proper documentation is every bit as illegal as selling cigarettes without a license. Yet, I was never approached in a hostile manner. The officer did his job, and did not find my infraction. If I had for some reason been killed in this altercation, my fault would have been found, and I am willing to bet not many people would have said, "Oh, well...He shouldn't have broken the law." </div>
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Certainly, no one should ever feel above the law, and we should all expect repercussions if we fail to obey, despite any sense of injustice for being detained, but in many situations, death is unwarranted, despite laws being broken. Bottom line. </div>
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Why is it that I have never been afraid, I wonder. Am I too naive. Or was my assumption that I would only be fined at very worst correct? What makes me different from Garner. I think it's obvious. </div>
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July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling is shot several times at point blank range while being pinned down by two male police officers. While his gun was in his pocket, he was killed for allegedly posing a threat to police. During the video, it is clear that Sterling did not have his weapon in his hand. His only visible infraction was resisting police. </div>
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What I have repeatedly seen over the past few days:</div>
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The bottom line: Be respectful. Do not resist any of law enforcement's commands. </div>
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This is a decent bottom line, but again, it is not a line that justifies death. Just like my willingness to break laws, I have felt justified in being obstinate before a police officer. </div>
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In college, I was pulled over for illegally passing in a turning lane. It was late. I was heading home after hanging out with some of my friends and was pulled out in front of by a driver who was either drunk or just a jerk. The driver was weaving and braking in front of me erratically. I decided I should go around and got in the turning lane several hundred feet before I should have. </div>
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The police officer (a black officer) pulled me over. I did not even give him time to speak before I was out of my car yelling about how he let the other driver get away. I never once showed an ounce of respect for him, and remained belligerent until he left. I could have easily been said to have been acting threatening. </div>
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He just rolled his eyes at me and gave me my ticket. If he had cuffed me, I would have deserved it. Not once did I ever consider my life in danger. Not once. I felt free to be a colossal jackass. </div>
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Certainly we should all give the police force the high respect they deserve for doing a job that benefits us all, even while putting their lives on the line, but being a jerk does not justify being killed by another. </div>
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Why did I feel free to behave in such a way without any since of threat? I felt I had the privilege to do so. And I got away with only a ticket that I latter was able to have dismissed. Why am I any different from Sterling? I think it's obvious.</div>
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On the following day, July 6, 2016, Philando Castile is shot several times and dies during a routine traffic stop. According to his girlfriend, who was also in the car, Castile informed officers that he was a licensed carrier and had a gun in his possession. As he reached for his wallet the officer panicked and shot Castile several times. </div>
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What I have seen today:</div>
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Bottom line: Anyone with a gun should expect an altercation with the police. It makes them uncomfortable. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
This of course applies as well with the Sterling case. Perhaps gun possession does have such ramifications, but this is a debate to be had in the realm of gun control, not justified police shootings. If we as a nation are willing to say it is a RIGHT to possess a firearm, then the presence of such an arm is lawful and should have no bearing in any case, unless the gun is clearly being used in a threatening manner. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Again, I am a gun owner. I have never felt like this has put me in any danger with the law, because I have a right to my weapon. It has no bearing on my activity, lawful or otherwise, unless I am using it in an unlawful manner.<br />
<br />
I have been pulled over and stopped with a weapon in my possession, but I never felt afraid. Why am I any different from Castile? I think it's obvious.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Final thoughts:<br />
<br />
In so many cases, not even these arguments can apply. But, many are so willing to try to assign guilt to the victims, because we can't understand why it should be any other way. It is hard to think things like this can happen, but they do. We cannot ignore this any longer</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Over my lifetime, I have considered myself a conservative. Today, however, it is the conservative voices that are stinging the most. I am not betraying the conservative community by looking clearly at these situations and calling them, at least in light of the given arguments, unjust. There are justifiable reasons for law enforcement to use deadly force at times, but these arguments are not those reasons. Don't blindly fight against something that could be used against your worldview, just because it is used as such. Be willing to be thoughtful and nuanced. Decide conservatively, because you believe it is right. Don't decide what is right because it is labeled the conservative view. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Also, I highly respect our officers. We can call individuals and systemic issues out without betraying our well deserved respect for police.<br />
<br />
Having said all of this, I still feel relatively safe today, not despite our police. I still don't feel threatened as many in the black community do. I am privileged in this way. I honestly can't imagine what it must feel like not to have this security, and I do regret this.<br />
<br />
<b>On February 23, 20202, Ahmaud Arbery walks into a construction zone and looks around. All news reports say that he did not steal anything at the time. Guess what? Yep, you guessed it. I have done this exact same thing. It is sort of an unwritten rule that no one is going to freak out if a person wants to see a home under construction. I have done it, and have not never felt as if I had done anything wrong. I have even been looking about when a member of the construction crew has showed back up. He did not even bat an eye. I was not chased down by citizens who felt that they were the judge, jury, and executioner. Why am I any different from Arbery? I think it is obvious.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>If you think this was a crime...</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Let me say this to the Christian community in particular and to Americans in general. It is from the Judeo-Christian foundation of thought upon justice that we have established the ideals of allowing punishment to fit the crime, that no cruel and unusual punishment shall be permitted for any crime. The Scripture applies the code: "An eye for an eye" in the OT. This is because, in this time, ancients often thought crime should be met with a more severe punishment to teach a lesson. Steal from me, and I not only come after you, but I cut your child's hands off. The Bible's law code of an eye for an eye softened the measure of the time by saying the punishment should fit the crime. For a nation, that is still a fairly good rule. Yet, for Christians, Jesus says that while we have heard the Scripture say "an eye for an eye," He commands of His people even more mercy. "When struck on the cheek, turn the other." </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Do not be one of these people who say, "Well, you play with fire, you get burned." That is not who we are. Have the mind of Christ. He was not just being idealistic. He was telling us what God's heart asks of us. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I am still not convinced Arbery did anything wrong, but, even if he had, the punishment by vigilantes was extreme, cruel, and unjustifiable. I did not have to "come up" with this as a justification. I have felt this way for some time, and many who have been calling out for justice have likewise been of this mind for some time. </b></div>
</div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-14653174977617833272015-08-28T12:26:00.002-04:002015-08-28T12:26:30.916-04:00Charity Starts (And Often Ends) At Home<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I
have not been reading Galatians in my current studies, and to be quite honest I
have not read Galatians in some time. But, I have had one particular verse in
Galatians ringing in my mind lately. I thought at first that my involuntary
mental recitation of this verse was something akin to not being able to shake a
catchy tune that repeats over and over in the halls of the mind like a broken
record, nothing more than a mental glitch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Yet,
it persisted beyond the normal mere annoyance should:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of
all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Galatians 6:10).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
was really the last bit that was the loudest: “especially those of the family
of faith.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
After
about three days of waking up with this verse on my mind, I finally asked God
if He was trying to teach me something. Yes, I am stubborn that way. It took me
three days. As soon as I asked that question, I was struck with another
question: “What do you think about this verse?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I
paused, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what do I think?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
To
be honest, once I thought about it, I realized the verse did not sit well for
me. I was a little perplexed. Perhaps this is why I could not let it go. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
According
to Jesus, His gospel is “good news to the poor.” His gospel is “release to the
captives.” His gospel is “sight to the blind.” His gospel is “freedom to the
oppressed.” Full stop (see Luke 4:18-19). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
Christ’s target audience is the poor, the captive, the spiritually blind, and
the oppressed, and it is His injunctive to us to spread His good news, it seems
to me that the ripest harvest would not be in the church were everyone is
already, as we in the church would put it, saved. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, we should, when we have time, check in
on each other, but shouldn’t we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">especially,
</i>to use Paul’s word, focus on the lost, the needy, and the dying. The saints
already have eternal life don’t they?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Paul
has it all backwards. He says help all, but especially those “in the household
of faith.” I fretted over the question for a few more days, and prayed about
for even more, and I finally began to feel a sense of clarity. I thought about
my hypothesis a bit more, and grew more and more encouraged by what I found to
be a prayerful, biblically consistent conclusion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
As
my thoughts were beginning to set in my mind, I wanted to make sure I was not
chasing a white rabbit; so, I ran to five of my favorite commentaries to see if
those theologians I so admire had come to the same conclusion I had. If so, I
would know I was in good company. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
To
my frustration, it seems that there has been some small debate upon what Paul
means by “the family of faith.” Some notable Christians, namely a few of the
Magisterial Reformers like Luther and Calvin, claim that Paul is referring back
to an earlier comment he made about support for the ministers of the church
(see 6:6). Others suggest that this phrase might have been an early church
expression for one particular church, the church in Jerusalem. So, Paul is
somehow talking about smaller churches paying apportionments to their leaders
or their home base in Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Both
of these arguments are unsatisfying. It is much more plausible to think that
“the family of faith” means the whole family, all the believers, the universal
church. While there are some theologians who think otherwise, it seems that the
majority of theologians lean in on this more universal interpretation. So, the
straightforward interpretation I have been working with seems to also be,
according to majority consensus, the right interpretation. But, this direct
interpretation does not answer the deeper question, “Why?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
If
Paul had, in fact, a more particular group in mind, we could more easily
extrapolate the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why.</i> For example, if
he was speaking of ministers, we might say, he says take care of all, but
especially your minister, because Paul believes the minister’s job is of utmost
importance to the mission of God. Paul could be making a subtle argument here,
one that a lot of ministers might like if it were true, that ministers are the
linchpins for success in a church’s mission. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Likewise,
if Paul would have been speaking of the Jerusalem church, we could have assumed
that Paul had a more centralized and institutionalized view of the church than
we might have assumed, and he would be explicitly arguing their import. While
we might have a satisfactory answer to the why, if Paul were here being more
specific, it seems he was not.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
However,
if he were being universal, as I am presently arguing he was, why would he tell
us to care for all people, but especially the already saved? Again, shouldn’t
our largest efforts go to “saving souls”? That seems to be the suggestion of
the evangelical church today, but my question here exposes my prejudiced
notions that I am importing into the text, prejudices I have developed as a
product of the evangelical movement (a movement, mind you, of which I am proud
to be a part, and that is why I offer critique).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I
had been assuming a dichotomy between the primacy of taking care of the family
of faith and evangelism to the lost. But, is that a necessary assumption? Are
they really two separate things, having little to do with one another? Paul
does not say, “When God gives you the opportunity to help whoever needs help,
do so, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but </i>before all else, help
those who are saved.” Instead, he says, “Help all, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i>especially tend to the needs within your own community. The
conjunction shows that Paul does not see these two in conflict, but in direct
relation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What
might that relation be? Let’s explore:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
In
my last blog, I went into detail about the cultural nature of the church; so, I
won’t go into as great a detail here. Suffice it to say that I find in Christ’s
vision for the church a culture making community. According to Jesus vision in
Matthew 5: 14-16 and elsewhere, Jesus sees the church as a community who lives
together in such a way that people leave the culture of the world for the
culture of the Kingdom (see this practically expressed by the early church in
Acts 2:42-47). Blessing comes to the many who are lost when they see a new
alternative embodied by the church and they repent from their worldly ways in
order to become a part of the family of faith, an alternative community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Although
this is Christ’s model for effective evangelism, I grew up learning and witnessing
a somewhat different paradigm, one that made a clear distinction between the
gathering together of the saints (going to church) and the proclaiming of the
good news to the lost, (evangelism), perhaps, for example, telling a coworker
about God. Our mission to save souls was something we were merely preparing for
and learning about in church. Real change happened when individuals found
themselves applying what they learned out in the “real” world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The modern
church that I grew up in had, at least to a large degree, lost it cultural
calling, and moved to a new model of church, one in which congregants attended
programs to learn how to evangelize. However, for Jesus, it is precisely by
being the church that people come to know the Father. In the modern model, the
church’s job is merely to critique the world, to tell them where they are going
wrong, but in Jesus model, not only is the world challenged to face their own
sin by the church, they are then provided a cultural alternative to leave the
world and join a new movement, the church. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
(I
must brag that my home church, where I first saw this as a real issue, is now
becoming the church Christ envisioned. They have a robust understanding of
outreach, which invites people to the community to hear the good news, while
taking care of their physical needs, which is not in addition to, but is the
physical manifestation of the good news.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
As
it stands now, the churches in America are often not a culture themselves, an
opportunity for others to leave the world for a completely new way of living.
Instead, the church is just one cultural product of many within the larger
American culture. We do not see ourselves as set apart. If we only tell people
where they are going wrong, but leave them to figure out how to change in their
current context, never giving them a chance to join a whole new community that
is going in the right direction together, we leave them in their guilt with
little knowledge of where they might find hope. The world sure won’t help them
out. They will try to live holy all on their own if church is nothing more than
a set of programs. So, what is the church supposed to look like? I think it is
to look something like China Town. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
Bible tells us that Christians are to be a community in, but not of, the world.
We are told that we are citizens of a Kingdom in which we are not yet fully
living as we find ourselves in this present world. In the meantime, we are to
represent our Kingdom to the nations we find ourselves in. Like China Town, the
church cannot but help finding herself in a larger context, a larger community,
that in some ways, she must live and cooperate with. China Town is physically a
part of New York City, but it is very much not culturally synonymous with the
American town.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
residents of China town have a deep sense of belonging to a place that they no
longer find themselves in, a homeland. They have a deep longing to provide for
themselves and represent for any visitors the culture of home. The “city upon
the hill,” the “holy nation,” known as the church likewise finds itself
longing, driven even, to provide a sense of home, a sense of the place of our
citizenry, the Kingdom of God. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Through
providing our unique culture, we challenge the ways of the culture around us,
the ways of the world, and our critique is not in what we say, but simply in
how we live our lives. We are a people called to provide new hope, Kingdom
hope, to the most marginalized of the world. If this is so, we must embody such
a reality within our boarders, so to speak, as to provide real tangible hope. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
James
asks what good is it if we tell people that they can have peace, but we do not
then provide that peace. How many times have people been promised a better life
if they would simply accept the invitation to come to church. They walk in the
door and are greeted with countless smiles, handshakes, and hugs, but no real
practical day-to-day help. Sure, people ask about their eternal security, and
when the person says they are willing to follow Jesus, we make sure they
receive baptism, and we pat ourselves on the back with a job well done. Mission
complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They go home to face the same
miseries they had before coming to church. The promise of hope largely echoes
empty in their mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
This
should not be so. If we are going to call people out of the world and promise
them a better life, a life where your neighbor will look out for you, we must
be in line with James. We cannot say, “Now have it.” We have to provide it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Could
this be why Paul implores us to take care of everyone as the opportunity
arises, but especially those within our own community? Could it, instead of
preferential treatment, which is what was disturbing me when I first explored
this verse, be about practicing what we preach? If we were demonstrating that
within our own culture, those in need find true, practical help, both
physically and spiritually, could it be that more of the poor, the captive, the
blind, and the oppressed would believe us when we say we care, that God cares,
and come running to the body of Christ to find themselves wrapped in the arms
of Christ? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Note: I do not want to prolong this blog
any more than I already have, but I do anticipate a complaint I want to
address. If you are thinking, “Your model of the church seems to deny the need
to “go and tell” the good news, I want to speak to this, if not, skip this
parenthetical. When I analogize the church to China Town, I might mislead one
to think I see the church as stationary, a place people pass through or by to
see the truth embodied. The analogy does fail me there. When I say the church
is itself the central testimony of Christ, what betrays us here is the modern
model of the “come and see” church, instead of the “go and tell” church. As it
stands, for people to see the church as a cultural community, they often have
to walk into a building. But, the directive from Christ is “go and tell.” This
is not for individuals alone, as if they are to receive training in the walls
of “church” to evangelize, and then they are to leave the “church” in order to
do so. This was a directive to the group of disciples. The church is not
stationary. It is the community itself, wherever the community finds itself. We
have a means to collect together in very public ways, and we are not confined
always to our building. If we switch from a “come and see” model to a “go and
tell” model, living as a community very much in the public sphere, this rebuttal
becomes irrelevant.) <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
charity we express at home often gives people on the outside a reason to
finally come home too. We are to help all we can. Inviting them to taste and
see the Lord is good, inviting them to be a part of our family, but we must be
sure we are actually practicing being a family so that they can see value in
accepting our invitation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
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Hope
is a wonderfully amazing thing, and it can change lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-37785094800248930542015-08-25T20:50:00.004-04:002015-08-25T20:50:57.539-04:00Church Responsibility and Social Decline<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><o:p> </o:p></b><b><i> A Fuller Picture</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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It
is interesting to note that Jesus’s story, just like all stories, has many
angles by which it can be viewed, and in searching all the available angles,
the student can develop a more robust understanding of the gospels, that will
not only help us live like Jesus in regards to our main work of evangelism, but
in all areas of life, which helps round us out as mindful Christians in
whatever area of decision making we find ourselves in. If we cannot live like
Christians in any one area of life, we cannot live like Christians in any, for
Christianity is not a limited set of principles, but a way of living.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As
an example of the diversity of these angles, take a look at the circumstances
that dictate the beginning and end of Jesus’s “natural” life, that is His birth
and death.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If
we want to highlight the supernatural nature of the Christ, we could take a
divine view, and examine the revelation that Christ both entered the world and
existed in the world in dependence upon the Spirit of God. He was conceived by
the Spirit (Matthew 1:18) and went to the grave with faithful confidence upon
the fact that the Spirit would raise Him from the dead (Romans 8:11). This
certainly sets Christ apart as special and more than a mere human.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On
the other hand, if we want to highlight the fact that Jesus came into real
human history and His life was subject to real human realities, because,
although He was not merely human, He was fully human, we can note that the
circumstances of His birth, such as its happening in Bethlehem, were, at least
in part, dictated by an Empire under which His people, the people of God, were
subject (Luke 2:1-7). We may also note that His death was administered at the
hands of the same Roman government, as well as His own local government (Luke
23:13-25).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
So,
while He lived under the direct influence of the Spirit, He also lived and
moved with the culture around Him, including the government.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In
looking at these two events out of many others just like it, we come to see a
fuller view of Christ’s experience in which Divine and human will shape His
experience, so that He may empathize with our own human experiences as they are
pushed and pulled by the natural and supernatural. Just as was the case in the
life of Joseph, God shows His sovereign rule in that, while the push and pull
upon Jesus life by human authorities might have had an effect, their nefarious
purposes were thwarted, because what they intended for evil, the Father used
for good. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Contextualizing Messiah <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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We
have presently considered what good can come out of continuing to search the
provided angles of a biblical story until we have a robust view, but what
happens when we do not, and instead focus too heavily on one aspect of a story?
We end up with a warped theology. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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For
example, what if we stopped short of looking deeply into Jesus’s nature and
circumstances, His being divine and living day-to-day by full submission to the
Spirit of God and His being fully human, genuinely interacting with the culture
around Him. When discussing which of these facets we most often over emphasize
at the expense of the other, N.T. Wright states:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We have been so concerned to let the gospels tell us that the
story of Jesus as the story of God incarnate that we have been unable to listen
more carefully to the evangelists telling us which God they are talking about
and what exactly it is that this God is now doing… For far too long now
Christians have told the story of Jesus as if it hooked up not with the story
of Israel, but simply with the story of human sin as in Genesis 3. (1)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In
other words, we do not take serious enough the fact that Jesus in fact belonged
to Israel, and all that came with her, including government and politics. When
we blow the nature of Christ so far outside the realm of humanity, we lose the
ability to relate to Him. His injunctions seem ideal, unreachable goals to give
us a sense that the world should be better, even though it is decidedly not. We
give up on the call to live holy and perfect lives as our Father is perfect,
and we make the seeking first of the Kingdom about keeping our theologies in
the clouds instead of about practical, ethical ways of living that are in
direct and stark contrast to the norms of the world and culture around us so as
to witness to the nature of our Kingdom yet to come, as we live as resident
aliens in a foreign land. It is as if, instead of a providing us a way to live
now and on into eternity as His people, Christ came to provide a fire escape
that we will only follow when our lives are over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It
is certain that if we had to err in our understanding, we would rather devalue
His humanness for the sake of His divinity than the other way around, (although
we should not think this is without a very high level of theological danger). In
the end, however, it is best not to be confused at all. Jesus is the very real
Messiah of Israel, and His cultural belonging to that nation, and not just to
humanity in general, helps us better understand God, since Israel has always
been the people through which God works to bring about His blessings. Israel’s
experiences open the doors to all sorts of theological quandaries that are only
answered in Christ, from the most important of issues to the most seemingly mundane.
Therefore, how Jesus chooses to fulfill this long expected goal of Israel’s
Messiah, with all its very specific objectives, should teach us something of
His nature and, therefore, more about our own as His people seeking to follow
His leadership.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mediating change through example and
not force<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Jesus
enters an Israel, not at the peak of her existence, as in the times of David,
but perhaps at her lowest. Even while there were many setbacks due to various
disobediences, from the time Moses marched the nation out of Egypt to the time
of David, the nation was on a general trajectory upwards, from a slave group,
to a nomadic tribe, to a settlement of tribes, to a monarchy. But, after David,
the trajectory of Israel spiraled downward, beginning with civil war under
Rehoboam, to divided monarchy and on to exile first for the northern tribes
then for the southern, and even though the Persian ruler, Cyrus, allowed Israel
to return to their land, they were constantly under the administration of
various super powers, never again being their own sovereign nation. At the time
of Christ, Israel was ruled by Rome.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is not without warrant that Israel’s religious leaders believe Messiah would
come and deliver Israel from the political bonds of their oppressors, in this
case Rome, and any future oppressive nation for that matter, forever and ever.
In fact, this was promised time and again to the people: A Messiah would come
whose rule would be from everlasting and He would rule over Israel with
complete authority (See Daniel 7). Where Israel was mistaken was not in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> He would do, but in their
understanding of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i> the Messiah
would overthrow the powers of the world. They thought it would be a political
upheaval, most assuredly leading to military action. Jesus, though, never
raised an army, and they hated Him for it. Instead of imposing violence on man,
the Son of Man allowed violence to be imposed on Him. To those who believe,
this is the wisdom of God, and to the disbelieving world, it is foolishness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
At
this point, we might find even more reason to dismiss the human Jesus living
within a particular cultural milieu, because, on the surface, and as far as
Israel’s leaders were concerned, Jesus was unconcerned with mundane politics
and the cultural goings on of Israel, because He does not fulfill the
expectation of Messiah as a rebellion leader. We might mistakenly follow their
lead here. We might assume that, because He did not use force, Jesus was
unconcerned with politics of His day. Is that not how politics are won, through
the imposition of will through law or war? Was not Jesus merely concerned with
the preserving of souls for the afterlife, and not the everyday life of His
people (as if the two are very unrelated)? If so, we might conclude we need not
consult Him in our decisions involving our own cultural interactions,
especially in our modern context that He could not possibly understand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is not that Jesus does not care; instead, He simply wishes to address such
issues with a different approach than the normative human response of resorting
to force. For Jesus, social change cannot be imposed to any lasting effect, but
must be imparted. Instead of actual soldiers, He calls for priests, mediators
of grace to the needy. And so all of the Christian community is called out to
be a priestly nation, we are all mediators, and a sign of God’s grace. If we
are the mediators of God’s grace, we must ask, “To whom?” We look to the first
revelation of the purpose of God’s choosing to have a people, when He reveals
His plan to Abraham. Through the children of Abraham, in particular the
spiritual children of the promise, which now includes the grafted in branch of
the church, God will bring blessing to the nations (see Genesis 12:1-3).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A social mission of exemplary evangelism<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
So,
how does Jesus envision His people will continue this mission? As I have
mentioned elsewhere, Jesus gives us a vision for His community in Matthew
5:14-16 that is social in scope and political in nature. Reliable and
realizable change happens, not just as individuals go and tell the good news
(although this is necessary), but also when the church collectively lives as an
alternative to the way of the world. When we live as other, we give those whose
imaginations have been captured by the things of this world, an alternative way
of life, through the example of Christ. This is a threat to the world and even
the worldly nations. When Christians proclaim their allegiance first to Christ
and His way, this indicates to the worldly powers that we might not always
comply with their wishes. Our Lord compares us to a city upon a hill, a polis.
Christ envisions us as a community that performs good works, divine directives,
that in turn mediate grace to the world, and, as those with eyes to see begin
to recognize the radical nature of the church, they turn to God. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot
be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on
the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
This
is His great plan. When the church lives together and lives in harmony with
God’s will, the church will thrive and God will add to their number daily those
who are being saved, as we see with the church in Acts 2, a perfect example of
Christ vision. When we lose that collective vision, when it no longer captures
our imagination, but we seek alternative ways of “changing the world,” we
forget the vision of Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
He
sets standard for how this community is to think about change. It is to be in
the heart and not just on the surface. Legislation can only go so far,
according to Jesus; it cannot get to the heart of the issue. For example,
Christ speaks of murder and states that the law fails to prevent the heart
issue of hate. Seeking a life of honoring our Father and King, means a life in
which we reset our horizons of possibility.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The law’s prohibition against murder, and the social
structures that had been put in place to enforce that prohibition—to move
murder as far as possible to the edge of possibility—had not addressed the
deeper issue of anger and insults, which remained all too possible. Jesus’
response is not just to offer a different set of horizons—one in which judgment
will eventually be meted out to the angry as well as the violent—but to offer a
cultural solution, a new set of practices embedded in the life of worship and
the courts…his prescription for changing the heart involves changes in
culture…The followers will begin to demonstrate a new set of horizons for human
life to their neighbors and even to their enemies—the horizons of shalom, the
horizons of true humanity living in dependence on God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
In
other words, the good works Christ mentions in His description for how the
church will mediate blessing outward, as seen in Matthew 5:14-16, are not
ethereal ideals, but described in what follows as Christ challenges the culture
through the repeated refrain: “You have heard it said…but I say…” These were
not simply instructions for individual lives, but for collective lives.
Remember the primary audience here is Jesus disciples, a group Christ
purposefully called to live together so as to carry His ministry forward.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His resurrection would launch a political
movement like no other. The miracle of Christ’s victory over death drove
countless people to the church. The church continues to influence the movement
of history. As a movement, the church has power. Sometimes we have failed by
abusing our power, but more often, without the notice we gain when we abuse our
power, we have made differences in whole communities, and we have changed
countless lives here and now, as well as for the eternal future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not world changers, but Church
growers<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
seems today that we have forgotten Jesus description and prescription for
social change. While He clearly demonstrated the failure of legislation as a
means of change, Christians on both the right and left, but especially on the
right (at least our voice is the loudest) continue to feel defeated each time
our leaders fail to enforce a code that would hold people outwardly accountable
for immoral action. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Over
the years as various legislative decisions have failed to go our way, I have
heard lament from my fellow Christians. If we are disappointed that our nation
is not as collectively unanimous on holding to traditional morality, this would
be okay, but when we proclaim we have lost hope, because the church has lost
legislative control, I wonder where our hope is located in the first place. The
church is not here to serve the world, but to serve as an answer to the world’s
failings. We are not here to continually patch up the mortal wounds of the
world, but to call people out of the sinking ship, but not so that they merely
have a fire escape, but so that even today they can begin to seek the Kingdom
in their everyday lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
grace of God that helps people find their way in following the will of God, according
to Christ, is not to be mediated through the government, but through a cultural
alternative, the church. While this is certainly a political challenge, Christ
calling us to live as an alternative to the ways of the world, it is not by
force (through legislation or war). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
In
the end, when people ask for my reaction to various failures of our governmental
leaders to uphold morality, I often respond that I am hopeful that this will
lead the Christians who still put hope in national causes to turn back to the
church as a means to initiate change. The world will always be the world, and
as soon as we patch up one wound the stitches of another will pull open. Trying
to strong-arm the world to act right will fail. However, a real victory can be
won when we live as a social alternative to the ways of the world, and because
of this testimony, people leave the world in exchange for the church, at least
this is what our Lord thought would happen. This is a threat to the world
indeed. This is political indeed. This is exciting indeed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
(This
is not to say we are to give up on participating in the political process. We
should vote. We should fight for what is right. The church should provide a
voice, especially as it relates to righteous causes that combat horrid injustices
such as abortion, but the point to see here is that if we lose the vote, we do
not lose the war. We still can provide moral solutions, social alternatives
such as adoption, to those looking for hope. If we again get to a place in
which laws can help remind us what is moral, that is well and good, but as long
as people see them as limitations to what they truly desire to do, we have a
bigger issue to fight.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moral decline as a church problem, not a
political problem<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
In
the end, I do not think a moral decline should be an indication of the failure
of the nation and its leaders alone, but should be an indication that the
church might not be living up to its calling either. If Jesus is correct in His
assumption that, as we live as the light, our city on a hill will grow, because
it is changing hearts, then the decline of Christianity (and the morality
associated with it) in America should not cause us to blame the immoral world
for seducing people away from the church (the world has always been fighting
this fight as it always has, and we cannot pretend it is just now savvy enough
to beat us). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Instead,
we should ask ourselves if we still believe in Christ’s vision. We need to examine
whether or not we as the church are living so radically different as a community
that the people around us have no other option but to recognize the grace by
which we thrive. When we forget Christ came to show us, not only the priceless
path to eternal life with Him, but also how to live and navigate in the world
we now find ourselves in so as to demonstrate the glory of God through our
collective lives together, we forget that He is not just the hope for the
future, but is a present hope. Every time we outsource our cause to the
government and do nothing within the church to bring social alternatives to the
issues we see, we show we have lost the imagination to envision Christ’s call.
When we lose the vote, we still have a body that can work to solve problems. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
There
are many Christian who are holding out hope for a rebound in the social
conscience of America. I will stake my reputation on this: If a true renewal in
the social conscience ever happens, it will not happen because a small majority
elects an individual or group of individuals who can sway our nations outward
actions through policy. It will happen when and if we experience another great
revival of faith. Yes, this could even be such a great revival that it impacts
our national policies, but it will be revival that will impact policy, not
policy that will impact revival. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
1. Wright, NT, How God Became King (New York: Harper One, 2012) p23</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
2.Crouch, Andy, Culture Making (Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2008) pp138,139</div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-71304957806135898632015-08-10T12:33:00.000-04:002015-08-10T12:57:26.885-04:00Blessed Assurance: Perhaps More Practical Than Magical<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Observing the problem</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I assume that all Christians want to have that “blessed
assurance, Jesus is mine,” that we are promised that we can have if we simply
“trust and obey.” However, for many, what it means to trust and obey as to
obtain that assurance seems mystical. We imagine we have to commit spiritual
gymnastics or discover some gnostic secret to tap into that peace that is
beyond the human capacity to grasp. Many have tormented themselves over not
having the same sort of peace that they see in their confident neighbors, and
they wonder why this great gift seems reserved for everyone except for them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Somewhere along the way, they come to understand, perhaps
after hearing a sermon on the radical nature of grace, that our blessings
cannot be earned, and so they are burdened with the guilt that the reason they
have no peace is because they have strived so hard to have it. So, what then do
they do? They try and become complacent; to sit back and just let the blessings
flow. What happens? Nothing. So, striving does not work, and not striving does
not work. How can there be any hope? What magical answer is eluding them?<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the answer is more practical and a bit duller than
we often think. Perhaps grace is not simply this magical power that God
sprinkles over us like invisible pixy dust. Perhaps grace comes in many ways:
sometimes through the Spirit that resides in our hearts, sometimes through the
witness of a miracle, and sometimes, perhaps from the more mundane—a
conversation, a Scripture reading, a Sunday of rest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it comes to feeling secure in my walk with the Lord, it
has occurred to me that I feel secure in the walk when I am actually walking.
In other words, I feel I have a deep and meaningful relationship with God when
I am intentionally being relational. When I am not praying, when I am not
reading the word, when I am not speaking with my community about God, I do not
really feel very close. Such is the nature of relationship. If I do not talk to
my wife, if I do not spend time with her, if I am always ignoring her, I cannot
expect to feel connected with her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We could talk a lot about the various ways we can connect
with God in order to find inner peace, but let’s simply focus on one, one that
is practical, yet, for many tedious: reading the Bible. Reading the Bible is
one sure way, perhaps the surest, to hear from God, but instead, we feel it a
chore, and wish, no matter how many times before we have been disappointed,
that the grace of peace would just fall from the sky and deep spirituality
would simply form from thin air. That is not how it works. It comes from
sitting at the Father’s feet and hearing His story. Can it be that simple? Can
the peace that surpasses understanding come from such a common practice of
sitting down with a Bible?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Bible as a Story, not simply detached advice<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to get a handle on just what the Scripture can
provide, let us consider what it is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When many students think about the Bible, they may think of
stories, but seldom would they say the Bible is largely one big story. When
many children are first exposed to the Bible, they encounter a story Bible in
which many different events of the Scripture are condensed into one tale after the next with a
tight moral application at the end of each. For children, this exposure is great, but if the
thought that this is how the Bible is really presented to us continues on as
the child matures into adulthood, his or her attitude of Scripture will be
misplaced. If it is a collection of various ideas, it breaks down to being much
like other religious texts: mere advice, perhaps couched in moral tales.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Certainly, the Bible does have a thorough collection of
stories contained in sixty-six distinct books that can, in large part, stand
each on its own as a complete work. However, this is not to deny that each book
assumes the existence of others, and that together they are much greater in sum
than in part. While the Bible is not always presented in a way that modern
readers would like, it not being tightly knit chronologically, it still tells a
very cogent story that runs the length and breadth of human history, from
Creation to New Creation, from Eden to New Jerusalem. That the Scripture from
time to time jumps back and forth in its story telling, sometimes retelling a
history from a new angle, much like we see in the various gospels, should not
lead us to the conclusion that it does not largely hold to a historical thread.
To be clear, I am not speaking of some allegorical “scarlet thread” in which
Christ can be found represented in various tales (not denying such references either). Instead, I am saying the
Bible tells a historical account that is held in various smaller accounts, and
this story gives us a clear and large vision that helps us navigate human identity and purpose.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As mature Christians, it is imperative that we learn to tell
this story as a whole. This at first might seem more daunting than I intend. We
do not have to recall every single event recorded in Scripture in order to give
a broad overview of what has happened as God has continually worked for our
redemption, but we should have a general idea from the exile of Adam, to the preservation of Noah and his race,
to the election of Abraham, to the giving of the law to Moses, to the
establishment of the line of David, to the coming, death, and resurrection of
Christ, to the birth of the church through the outpouring of the Spirit, and on
to the eventual return of Christ to establish in full His Kingdom of Earth as
it is in Heaven. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It should not come as much of a surprise that we often study
the Bible, not in whole, but in part. It is inevitable with a volume so large
that our study be fragmented. Yet, this should not excuse us from taking time
to reflect on how each of our studies relate to the whole. With all the topical
study series in existence today, all the character studies, all the self-help
studies as it relates to family, finance, and marriage, we have often assumed
the Bible, not to be a whole, but a reference work. Not to throw the baby out
with the bath water, I would encourage us to continue our various studies, but
never at the expense of knowing the whole. Knowing the whole is to know our own
story, the story we find ourselves in. With that story, we better locate where
we are, who we are, whose we are, and a sense of peace in belonging, a grace
that comes through simply hearing what is being said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is tempting to simply jump right in with walking through
the story at this very moment, tracking the path from Adam to Noah, Noah to
Abraham, Abraham to Moses, Moses to David, David to Christ, and Christ to the
outpouring of the Spirit upon the church as we move on towards the Eschaton,
where Christ will be all-in-all, but, before we do so, let us inquire of
Scripture what it is that we will gain if we do make the effort to listen to
the Father as He tells His story. We will explore the story in posts to come.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A faith with a mission<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Going back for a moment to the idea of topical study, I must
add a word of warning that will help us better understand our first point
concerning why knowing the story matters. If we spend our time learning morally
tight lessons from topical study, we might think Christianity merely a
practice. We certainly practice religion as Christians, but for a greater end,
as James tells us in his epistle (see 1:27), the application of religion is
mission. This mission is deeply rooted in what God is doing in establishing us
as a people. To not know this is to miss out on a proper vision of
Christianity, which is the key to our peace. To know our mission, we need to
know our trajectory, and this is only supplied by our story. How can we know where we are going if we do not know where we have been. Being able to see the path behind us helps us decide where the path lies ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Story is important because it gives identity and purpose. We
live in a world today where we are more and more inclined to feel as if we have
no real center of being. I have not seen this for myself, or, if I have, it is
only a vestige of a former world, but, I have been told by persons older than
myself, and I have read in history books that, whether they were Christian or
not, many in leadership over the Western world and in the early ages of America
thought through a lens that was very much shaped, not perfectly so mind you, by
a Judeo-Christian lens. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, we no
longer assume such identity so easily. We wrestle with who we are. We are no
longer Christian because of the culture around us. Belonging to a belief group
comes more honestly today.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Without such center in thought, many people, especially
young people, struggle with identity issues. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who am I? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why am I here?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where does my help come from?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From a biblical perspective, not knowing our identity and
purpose is dangerous. Proverbs 29:18 tells us, “Without vision, the people
perish.” If we do not know where we are going, why we are going, or what it
will be like when we get there, we will become swiftly discouraged in our
mission, whatever that mission might be, perhaps giving up completely. Many
religions are simply a practice, with little to no vision of what life means
and where it is taking us. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God does not leave us without hope, hope in a future, hope
rooted in where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to
a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (II Peter 3:13)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Peter tells us that
our future is clear, because of the manner in which it flows from God’s
promises, many of which, at the time of his writing, had just come true in
Christ. Peter is telling his reader that they can have assurance in God and a
future in glory, because God has been faithful in His promises. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I consider that the suffering of this present time are
not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18) <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Likewise, Paul says
that our present is unlike our future, and, when looking to Romans 8 as a
whole, we see that this hope is rooted in what Jesus has done in the past.
Elsewhere Paul tells us that this hope runs deep, because hearing from God
leads to receiving the Spirit:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the
seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward
redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13,14)
<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We must note here
that there is a direct correlation between hearing and receiving the world of
truth and the gospel of salvation that allows the Spirit to witness to our
Spirit that we belong to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Conclusion<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So, the question
before us is this: Have I really allowed God to share with me His word of truth
and the gospel of my salvation? Have I really come to grips with the fact that
God’s grace appears in many ways, and one way it appears to us is in His giving
the Scriptures to us? Have you really “heard,” the Word, which means, do you
really know what it says? Have you allowed the story to penetrate your heart?
Is it a vague, disjointed set of ideas and stories collected over time as we
have listened to bits and pieces of sermons, or have we applied ourselves in
the study of the Word, being aware of it promises and what they mean, how they
unfold, and how they direct our lives? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">If you are not an active student in hearing from God, you might be one of those person's struggling with peace, and the Christian answer found in Scripture is clear: Hear the Word and find peace. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, it is the
Spirit that witnesses with our Spirit that we are children, but if we do not
know the story of God’s redeeming us as His children, which is the story of
Scripture, we are not giving the Spirit a lot to work with. But, if we read our
story under His guidance, our story comes to life. As we sit at the feet of the
Father, intentional in our relationship with Him, allowing Him to do as He
wishes, which is to tell us His story, we find ourselves forgetting about our
lack of peace, our lack of feeling disconnected, because, in reading His word
in sincerity, we are already in relationship, not trying to discover such
relationship, but finding ourselves already there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hope then is the assurance that our future in glory will be
unlike our present life of suffering, because of what Christ has accomplished
for us in the past through His death and resurrection, and this hope comes in
knowing this past, present, and future as revealed through the story God is
telling us in Scripture.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we did not know the story, the story of God’s promised
future of hope and the story of how He has assured this hope, this present
suffering would be too much to bear and we would not have the hope to continue
to live as His people. Without vision, the people perish, but, when we know
that an unimaginable future in the presence of God awaits, we, like Paul, can
declare that our present suffering cannot compare with our great hope. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
It is really that practical. There is no magic. God just
wants us to hear, and, in hearing, He will mold our hearts by the power of His
Spirit, as the Spirit brings God’s words to life in us, just as the Spirit has
always carried the Word of God to create and bring life. We should never then try to have the Spirit work without the Word. We should never divorce the two, because their is no division in God's way. He brings life by the power of the Holy Spirit through the work of the Word. We cannot just wait for the Spirit to magically bring peace. We must submit to His Spirit and His Word, and together, we will have peace. <o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-90248910190331742032015-03-07T10:24:00.001-05:002015-03-08T15:32:26.274-04:00The Need For Shallow Spirituality<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>Note: I am deeply
indebted to Dr. Shane DeHaven, a fellow sojourner in the disciplines of the
everyday. This article is a direct result of our ongoing discussions concerning
the Christian life.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The limits of our imagination:<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a great irony in seeking to foster and become a
deeply spiritual people. We all know that such seeking is difficult, but many
will never realize what is arguably the most difficult part of becoming deeply
spiritual, because they will never imagine they are called to such spirituality.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How often does sin limit our imaginations, what we dream can be possible? The dream of which I speak, the one a lot will miss, is the
dream that is right in front of us everyday. However, as the old saying
suggests: It would hardly be a fish that would discover it is in water. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what is it? What is the obvious? Where is it that we
find spiritual breakthrough? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I reveal what I am coming to believe is one of the
most essential keys to going deep, I must provide a warning, especially to
anyone who wishes to advocate for such “deep” spirituality. Many people lack
imagination. They are like the people in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Matrix, </i>blissfully unaware that the world in front of them is a façade, and
to suggest such would be grounds for being ostracized. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When such mass delusion exists, the prophet speaking truth
is the one who is seen as the crazy one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Often we do not give God our all, our whole life, because we
cannot imagine He cares for some parts of it, and when someone is as bold as to
suggest He does, they are written off as overly spiritual. The inability to
dream of all that God wishes to make possible through our spiritual growth will
leave many people feeling threatened. And, they will be threatened where we
would least expect it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know I was. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what is this dangerous, subversive, threatening
spiritual calling? What is it that we overlook because we do not even consider
it something God wants to touch with His sanctifying grace? Let me give a
little background thought before I reveal the problem, what can only be called
a deep irony.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Missing the point and the opportunity:<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most churches and their leaders want to be that shining holy
presence that is so other, so glaringly holy, that the outside world cannot
help but take notice, but many of these same churches and their leaders are
still waiting to discover the deeply hidden secret, as if there is one. They
are asking, “How drastic do we need to be?” And such language thrusts the
imagination to the esoteric, the foreign, the strange, and the unobtainable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps we need to question why we only think of drastic
measures.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is the problem. Deep spirituality is something so
mysterious to many people that they find it curiously alluring and, ironically,
safe. Many associate deep spirituality to something like monasticism, and,
assuming such a reality is just enough out of reach for the “average” person,
one can be curious without feeling threatened by any immanent threat that God
will call us to such a depth. I can flirt with contemplative thought without
fear that I will awake the next minute as a cloistered monk. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have this thought that deeply spiritual people had this
sudden break through. They somehow discovered the gnostic secret to plumbing
the depths of faith, and through mighty feats of spiritual might, they did the
impossible. Such spirituality, people assume, is not for the average Christian;
however, I would argue that there is no such thing as this assumed
breakthrough. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So, what is it?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No one ever goes to bed one night a nominally religious
person only to awaken the next day as the most mature follower of Christ in the
land, unless the person is the first convert in the area. Spiritual growth
takes time. It is a maturing process. Here is what most people who think this
way miss: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To truly become deeply
spiritual, one must first become shallowly spiritual, and I mean this in the
best sense possible. If I want to dig deep, I have to start digging at the
surface. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breakthrough, starts with breaking through the surface, and
breaking ground can be the scariest part. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The irony is that, while we do not feel threatened by deep
spirituality, we are often deeply threatened by shallow spirituality. When we
begin to imagine that God wants to touch the surface and not just plumb the
depths of our hearts, we meet something that is truly foreign, God in the
everyday. But, before we go there, let’s ask, “Why don’t we go there?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frustrated ministry:<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is our assumptions that keep us nominal, and our everyday
experience feeds these assumptions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pastors, disillusioned with the idea that they can “change
the world,” assume that such radical change is simply not possible, because
they tried. They got out of seminary with a fire under their posterior and the
first congregation, stubborn and unimaginative, did a thorough job dousing the
flames. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These pastors were ready to change the whole culture around
them, to give their lives for Christ, but they found soon that the exciting
call to “radically” follow Jesus did not capture others as it did the freshly
graduated seminarian. They were willing to lead an army to the gates of Hell,
but no one else saw the point, no one followed. They just smiled at the
idealism and went on with reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, it is not simply the congregation’s fault, by any
means. To expect your flock to meet you in your deepest possible dreams without
intentionally leading them slowly and surely in the everyday is to miss the
point of shepherding. How can we go deep together, if we have never even
traveled one everyday step together?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even the pastor’s attempts to get back on the horse only
serve to continue limiting the imaginations of the people they lead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At times, these pastors gain the courage to speak of the
ideal Christian, and they give a half-hearted plea for others to aspire to
greatness. Often times in the church setting, when the challenge to deep
spiritual holiness is ever ventured, the illustrations are so spiritualized,
the figures so heroic, the places so foreign, that no one feels the immanent
threat of the challenge to “be holy.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Such disillusionment and such far reaching attempts to give
example never challenge the status quo and, as a result, keep the imaginations
of the people captive to the idea of what they assume is possible for them. We
need new heroes. We need to see how the quiet servant life of the neighbor down
the street, who has, without notice, led hundreds to see Christ, began with a
simply question: “What can I do today, right here, right now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People assume that to ever come into contact with the sacred
life changing holy presence that consumes, that they must dare to go on a
mission trip. Perhaps such commitment will convince God to allow the Christian
to go to the next level. But, do not fear little one, the trips come to an end.
The exposure to the fire will not be long. Yet, all along, the little old
servant down the road who has hardly ever left the state is consumed by the
presence of a Holy God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We do not imagine God cares to speak to our everyday habits,
because we are the fish in the water, we are surrounded by our cultural norms,
and we never stop to examine, “Are the ways that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">it has always been done</i> the ways that God really wants them to be
done? Can I experience the holy in the everyday, and how different would that
make my life?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do you really want to go there?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be fair, there are some Christians in our churches that
are hungry for more. They appreciate missions, but they know that deep
spiritual growth takes more. It takes commitment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, the church announces that a new discipleship program or method
will be undertaken. Serious Christians in the church are adamant to get signed
up. Small groups are formed, and the leaders sit down with their new teams to
explain the details, and what is it that most are waiting to hear? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The plan for going deep</i>. The serious,
life altering challenge that will thrust the group into the deep spirituality
that they have always longed for but has proved so allusive.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, as I remind my small group: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“How can you ever expect to go deep if you have not dealt with the
surface?” </i>When I was approached with this question for the first time, I
had no idea what the challenge even meant. But, now, it has consumed my
thoughts. My imagination had to be unlocked, slowly and painfully at times (and
I am not fully awake even now, for sure), and I came to see God wanted my all.
But, my all could not mean everything could it?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How would you feel?</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Imagine this scenario. A new group has formed to try out the
newest discipleship method. The group is sitting on the edge of their
respective seats, waiting to finally hear the secret. They have been here
before, and they have been deeply disappointed, but they hope against hope that
perhaps today will be the day of answers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the leader says: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me about how you grocery shop for the glory of the
Lord? Do you think about what you are buying? Do you think it matters to God? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me how you drive your car for the glory of the Lord? Are
you always asserting yourself, or do you practice putting others first, even
when they take advantage of you? Do you think it matters?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me how you eat to the glory of the Lord? How you
exercise for His Kingdom? Is God concerned with your body? Really concerned or
just a little?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tell me how you prepare yourself for your job so that you
go into the office everyday, ready to bring glory to the Lord? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How does your spirituality affect your hobbies? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What movies do you watch? Why do you watch them?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Does it matter to God what various media you subscribe to?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How do you teach your children to glorify God? Are you more
concerned with their faith or their other activities, including their grades?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How about how you vote? Are you Kingdom minded, realizing
you belong first to His Kingdom and only secondarily to the nation you find
yourself in?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“How does your faith affect your view of your neighbor,
other ethnic groups, persons of other political views and worldviews?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Is your everyday life and habits deeply informed by your
faith? Do you find yourself looking at every day tasks through a biblical lens
or is the bible something you apply only to that which you consider deeply
spiritual?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
“Do you make it a habit to make sure you are seeing to the needs of others in
an everyday sense, or is helping others something for the mission field?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The threatening irony<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can promise you this: You tell someone to think about
their faith the next time they open a bag of potato chips and they will look at
you like you have lost your mind. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“God surely doesn’t care about each and every second of my
mundane life, does He?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I tell people that I go hunting because of deeply
spiritual reasons, their first reaction is amusement and their second is often
to think I am hyper-spiritual. Isn’t that ironic? Is it not ironic that people
do not bat an eye at the fact that I leave my family for over a collective
month each year to visit the Navajo people, but when I say I have a garden
because God wants me to learn something deeply spiritual about food, their eyes
glaze over?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People are intrigued by deep spirituality, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they are threatened by spirituality for the
everyday</i>, the mundane, the ordinary. We are not so threatened by calls to
go deep, but as soon as we are faced with the idea that Jesus cares about our daily habits, as soon as the preacher challenges the way we eat, the way
we raise our children, the way we shop, he has crossed the line. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Don’t get in my business, pastor! And while
I am at it, God, you stay out too! I am too comfortable for you to meddle
around.”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is not too spiritual to admire the monk who takes vows of
various lifelong sacrifice, but tell me that the Holy Spirit wants to inform me
on my facebooking, and now you’ve crossed a line. You have lost your mind!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allow God to free your imagination:<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want to go deep, you have to start at the surface. If
a holy God does not order your everyday life, how can you ever expect that your
deep, inner, spirituality can be so ordered?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ask God to unlock your imagination. Ask Him what is
possible. As I said earlier, we want people to take note that our life is
different, that it is holy. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What better
place to show others the difference God can make than in the everyday, the
mundane, the ordinary! <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want to get the attention of people around you, then
allow God control over the everyday. I promise you this: If you do things in a
different way than the herd, when you live unlike the average person in our
cultural norms, then people will turn their heads. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They will smile.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They will chuckle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They will squirm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They will mock.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They will glaze over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They will walk away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, they will also be challenged.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you can simply speak intentionally about not just how
you shop, but why you shop as you do, not just how you eat, but why you eat as
you do, not just how you participate in certain hobbies, but why you hobby as
you do, people will lose their minds, and that is a good thing. People need
their imaginations challenged. They need to rethink what God can make possible.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
He can make the everyday holy!<o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-31839566745568793922015-02-10T14:56:00.001-05:002015-02-10T18:27:05.028-05:00Of Mountaintops and Men: Reflections from a retreat<div class="MsoNormal">
I did something this past weekend that usually isn’t my
style. I went to a men’s retreat. I do not usually go for large crowds. I am
not one for the emotionalism that is often associated with “camp.” I do not
like participating in the bravado often associated with group competitions. I
have a disdain for sharing a bathroom with over two people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have countless neuroses that I often use to excuse myself
from such opportunities. So, I went somewhat unwillingly, at least
begrudgingly, to the retreat. I cautiously participated, warning myself, as
many in vocational ministry like to warn, not to get too emotionally involved.
Rather, I was to be of sober mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the church, we recognize a certain type of experience as
“the mountaintop experience.” Often when speaking of such experience, we feel
the urge to add a caveat concerning seeking such experience. “We cannot stay at
the top of the mountain forever,” we suggest, and we seem to think that much
more real and lasting experiences are those undergone with a sober temperament.
The mountain top experiences are fun, but they are fleeting. We must go back
down into the valleys to traverse the ranges of life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes our want to warn our brothers and sisters of the
folly of trying to cling too tightly to such experience turns sour, and our only
use of the phrase, “mountaintop experience,” is implemented as a derogatory
referent to religious emotionalism. I have even assumed at times from this idea
that the higher you climb, the further it is that you have to fall. Better to avoid it altogether then.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After this weekend, I believe God has been challenging my
thoughts on mountaintops, calling me towards more nuanced considerations. In
part, I agree with warning against the dangers of misunderstanding such
experience. We cannot live off of one encounter with God that happened way back
when. One religious experience cannot sustain a life of faith. In fact, we must
continue to encounter Him daily. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We must remain in relationship. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Therefore, is it not possible to so warn against the
overemphasis of one experience that I belittle for others and myself all experience?
Is there not an opposite danger that I often miss for want to downplay the
mountaintop? What if, in my caution, I so warn against the mountaintop that I
keep people from ascending at all? What if all experience is overshadowed by
doubt?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps I, and people in ministry like me, have a need to calmly
consider what it is that we are seeing in such experiences. We have often
assumed it is emotionalism (and a lot of times it is), but what if what we
witness is supposed to be more normative than sometimes we assume. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps our want to underemphasize the experience, because
of the assumption that “this is not the norm, and, therefore, it must not be
relied upon,” could be just as much of an issue as any attempt to overemphasize
the moment. What if it is not the norm, because, at least in part, we do not
let it be? So, I decided to look closer, asking God that I might see with the
eyes of my heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just this past weekend, I watched as 235 men came together
to experience the presence of God. We came for a retreat and knew why we were
all there. We all came knowing we would be invited into worship and challenged
as we examined ourselves in light of what a Godly man is supposed to be. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because our church intentionally carved out a time and set
aside a place for such vulnerability, as well as set expectations, men came
with vulnerable hearts and were broken from the bondage of self and healed into
the image of Christ, at least many took a step in that direction. Will it last
for the individual? Only time will tell if each man will stay tucked up
underneath the Father. But, it is undeniable that many there had profound
encounters with God.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were rightfully warned, and not overly so, of the
Christian “camp” mentality. We cannot live merely for a once per year experience.
We cannot live off emotional highs. However, what if some simply assume the
only place from here is downhill? What if God hasn’t led them to the heights
that He wishes them to go? What if, as soon as He began to soften the heart, in
our leeriness to avoid emotionalism, we close ourselves off to the real journey
of continued experience with Him? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately, our church has invited the men to continue the
process of learning and gathering over the next six weeks on Wednesday nights
and has further challenged each man to find a group of men to which he can grow
in accountability. Not all will join, but the opportunity is there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nevertheless, what if others came in with like assumptions
to my own: “Don’t trust emotionalism.” What if, for want to avoid such, we too
easily attribute a movement of God to the emotions? I believe God has been
challenging me over the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>last few days to
evaluating my thoughts on the matter, and the question that now comes to my
mind is this: “How did these men experience such a mountaintop?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sure, some may have just been caught up in the emotions of
others. They have never seen other men so vulnerable, and they were perhaps caught
up in the moment. But, knowing what I saw, I know this not to be the
overarching story of this past weekend. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what is the story: The Holy Spirit led men to the
mountaintop, and spiritual experience, while often stirring our emotions, goes
far beyond emotionalism. His work is more real than that. So, what they
experienced was not the sort of thing that I should warn against, but should
encourage. Again, the question arises, “How was this made possible?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is what I think: Our church has for months been praying
over this weekend. From beginning to end, the Holy Spirit was welcomed in our
midst. He was asked to come and to act, and this was no fleeting request.
Prayer and invitation unfolded for months before we ever arrived to the site.
The site was prayed over before we ever arrived. And, while we were there, a
round-the-clock prayer group lifted us up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While there, our leaders reminded us of His presence and we
too invited Him all along the way. Some men may have come not wanting anything
to do with the Holy Spirit, but, regardless, He came, and they were forced to
experience Him. It might not have been pleasant, but it was real. For many it
was pleasant, even, perhaps, a mountaintop moment. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, how did so many of us have an experience? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Was it because of an overly emotional, engineered situation?
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did not see that. Instead, it was because God was invited
and expected. It was because of a promise, “For where two or more are gathered
in my Name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). It was because our
local body was intentional about calling upon Him to make Him the focus,
introducing His presence to these men at this moment together. Why should we
think this is anything less than normal? If He is invited, sincerely, He will
come.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The experience was real, but many might be unaware of just
how tenacious, single-minded, and intentional others were to invite and expect
this experience for the sakes of those who came. Some of these men might have
no idea just how they were made able to be ushered into such a presence, and
they might assume that this was just a special time that they cannot have
again, not at least until next year. Some might have no idea that we should
constantly invite His presence together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is no wonder then that we find ourselves incapable at
times of “reproducing” that experience. It is not because God only draws near
and takes our breath away once per year at the camp of our choosing, but
because we are unaware of the fact that it is not simply the music, the
message, or the place (all of which were a blessing, no doubt) that provided
the experience, but the persistent and expectant welcoming of His presence in
our midst. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having thought this, I began to consider, “How often,
outside of Sunday service, do two or more gather in His Name?” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not just asking how often do Christians gather for
fellowship. We do that all the time. I am asking this: How often it is that we
gather “in His Name” expecting Him to come and make a difference with His
presence? How often do we longingly invite His presence long before we show up?
How often do we show up for the sole reason of encounter? And, how often do we
show up truly expecting Him to be there to fellowship with us, not to just be
amongst us, but a very real part of the community, speaking to us just as we
speak to one another?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We experienced God this weekend, because we expected Him, invited Him, set
aside a place and time for Him to come. It was meant to be an experience. What
if we intentionally made space for more of the same? What if we did not just
simply gather throughout the week to share each other’s company, but were
intentional about inviting Him to come before we ever arrived and expected Him
to show up?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if we made space and time for Him and were just as
passionate about inviting Him to come to all our gatherings, as we were
intentional about this weekend. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
the Church should create more space in our midst for such, more opportunity to
gather in His name. What if such opportunity was simply a part of our everyday
culture as a church? What if? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What am I trying to say? Perhaps I need to calibrate my
warning. Perhaps what we experience from time to time is only a mountaintop
because we are not used to ascending. Being spiritually out of shape might mean
that any encounter with God takes our spiritual breath away and makes us pant
in exhaustion. We feel euphoric and exhausted at the same time, because His
presence is so foreign that we can hardly stand it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We feel we have ascended to the highest heights, but what if
this was only base camp? What if we allowed God to better condition ourselves
to His presence by expecting more of the same, not warning against seeking such
experience, but inviting it. We are to encounter Him each day, to walk with Him
so that our path becomes much more level. Perhaps we are meant for a life, not
of constant ups and downs, but for a life of a path ever upward. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if we were simply experiencing the beginning of a
journey, an introduction to the life of intentional community, and not simply a
mountaintop experience?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We cannot assume that God will only meet us on the
mountaintop and that real life is that hard area in between experiences, where
I must, on my own, act out of what He reveals to me on the mountain. We cannot
think that the overwhelming nature of His love is reserved for the top of the
mountain and that the majority of our time will feel much less connected. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He wants daily presence. If we know this, why should we not
continue to climb? What if we made more space for Him? What if we showed up to
daily, weekly, and monthly gatherings with the same expectations and with the
same heart of invitation as we show up with for the retreat?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, there are two sides to every coin, and there is a need
to avoid emotionalism, but let us not become so reactionary so as to altogether
forget the other side, that real experience should happen often.<br />
<br />
We are not to create the experience. We should not imagine that if we can only replicate this event or that event again, hear this message or that message again, sing this song or that song again, we will be able to relive the moment. We should not simply seek out the feelings we had at this or that moment, but, we should expect that the God who showed up to introduce to us new things at our retreat, will show up to show us more new ideas and will provide new experiences, if we welcome Him to do so. It is always up to Him, but we can rest assured He wants our relationship.<br />
<br />
We should be
intentional to welcome Him in our midst continually. It is proper to warn against holding onto only one experience, but the solution is not to belittle experience. It is to encourage others to seek more of His presence. We should not expect less, but more.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
This past weekend I was able to witness other men encounter God and walk with Him on a path that I often feel isolated on, assuming many men do not seek after Him. I felt the presence of a community in my journey that often feels lonesome. Why would I ever discourage men from seeking more of the same? I need them with me. I think this well thought out retreat provided something more than emotionalism, something sustainable, and that is real encounter. We can lose sight of the source of our experience, and try and make it about something else. That is the danger of the mountaintop experience. However, if we realize He is the source and submit to His authority, never presuming He has to show up, but that He wants to show up, then we should always keep inviting Him. Lord, come.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have spent too much time seeking God with an unwillingness
to surrender to His presence for fear that I would be allowing myself to be
swept away by emotionalism. In the past, I have made pursuit of Him all about
the mind, because the heart seemed to be too expressive. I have come a long way
from that place, and this is just another reminder of my need to keep climbing. I am thankful for the men's retreat and for experiences that seem to be mountaintops because of the overwhelming presence of God. But, I will press forward, knowing that just because my finite mind cannot fathom going any higher, there is no limit to His path.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Want to hike with me?<o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-83882444942638789192015-01-07T11:44:00.002-05:002015-01-07T14:22:37.453-05:00Politics, Peace, and the Kingdom of God<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called
Sons of God.” Matthew 5:9</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From time to time I am afforded the opportunity to
speak at a local United Methodist Church during their contemporary service. I
grew up in the UMC and feel a deep family connection with the church. I now
attend a more contemporary community church, but I love going back home to
participate in the tradition of the UMC. Ironically, as I said, the service I
speak at is their contemporary service, but I love being back in a United
Methodist gathering nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the many reasons I love speaking there is that
the leadership who invites me always has a Scripture reading for me to speak
from. This is because this church, while it has a few varying expressions of
worship, wishes for the collective body to share the same heartbeat, to move
together. So, the passage that is being discussed in the traditional service
next door is also being discussed in the contemporary service. I love that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had unfortunately been forced to turn down a couple
of invites by this church. I travel as a part of my ministry work and was going
to be out of town on one occasion, and, on the next, my wife and I were getting
ready to welcome another little girl into our home. I feared they would stop
asking if I kept turning the offers down. So, the very first opportunity I had,
I jumped for the chance to speak. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On that particular Sunday, Shannon, the pastor over
the contemporary service, tells me that I am going to be discussing Matthew
5:9, which is the Beatitude that states: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called ‘Sons of God.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, when I heard this would be my topic, I was both
excited and frightened. When we think of “peacemakers” we naturally enough
think on a national level, we think government and war, which means, “We think
politics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me let you in on a little secret. Unless the
preacher or teacher is a bit foolish, no preacher or teacher, especially when he
or she is a guest speaker, wants to discuss politics during church service. Our
culture is not big fans on mixing their so-called “private faith” with the
matters of public policy. Sometimes, when things in society get scary, pastors
might have to speak to these things, but never without much trepidation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, I thought to myself, “Well, if you worried about
not getting an invite back before, you don’t have to wonder after you talk
about politics.” I mean, what do I, a preacher of sorts, or perhaps more
accurately a strange missionary type, know about politics? Opening my mouth
about things above my pay grade can get me into a lot of trouble. I have a lot
of opinions on church and politics, but the people in my little corner of the
world are not often on the page I am on, and I was not sure I was ready to open
that can of worms. So, what do I do, someone very convicted about the church’s
place in politics, but very much alone in my opinions at times, at least in
these parts? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, I began to think to myself, there is a lot to
talk about when talking about peace. Perhaps I could circumvent the topic of
politics altogether. One thing I am a stickler for is trying my best to staying
true to the text, so I wondered if the idea of peace in Matthew 5:9 would give
me some wiggle room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sadly for me, the Greek term used in the NT for peace
has little depth. It simply means, “the absence of conflict.” Don’t be
impressed, it’s easy to look up. Anyway, this means, therefore, that the term
“peacemaker” means, “one who puts an end to conflict.” Again, this really turns
our mind to politics and war. We can of course talk about ending conflicts in
the home, but who really needs a spiritual lecture on making sure your kids
play nicely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, then again, while Jesus’ words were recorded for
us in Koine Greek, He was, of course, speaking to an OT people. In other words,
His audience would be thinking in terms of what their Bible said about peace,
and their Bible is what we now call the OT. Well, the OT’s word for peace is
indeed filled with much depth. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shalom</i>!
One could spend a year sermonizing on the OT idea of s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halom</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shalom</i> is the OT’s peace, and fortunately for me, it means
to have balance, harmony, and unity <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">on
all levels of life</i>. It is a vision of living in harmony in all you do. In
fact, Shalom is the vision of what things will be like when God returns, all
the disunity will be set back to unity in the world. All things will be made
new, and we will have peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With this in mind, we can talk about peace for the
individual, having peace in your heart. We can talk about peace in the family,
peace and order for the home. We can talk about peace in one’s church family,
which the NT speaks of time and again. And, yes, it can refer to peace between
nations. But, since I only have so long in a sermon to speak, I could just
avoid peace on the political level, and talk about peace on all other levels,
and then I am all out of time. Problem solved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Again, I wanted to remain as true to the Bible as I
could, even if I was going to omit talking about all that I could talk about. I
knew that if I was now going to talk about peacemaking on the OT level, and in
the OT peace is really the end goal of what God is doing in history, then I
would have to ask the question, “What is OT idea for the catalyst for peace?”
If I am going to say that Matthew 5:9 is God’s invitation to become a part of
His bringing s<i>halom</i>, we would have to know what it is we would be promoting.
What will bring this long awaited peace for the often struggling and frustrated
nation of Israel?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, we know in the Israelite vision of the future,
God had revealed to them that blessing would come through them. We see this
with God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12. Here God makes a covenant promise
that through the nation that would come from Abraham’s progeny, blessing would
come to the nations. As the OT narrative continues, Israel learns that they are
to bring blessing to the nations, at least in part, by living as an example of
God’s Kingdom. They would live as God intended man to live, and the world would
take note.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, Israel also learns just how hard it is for
them to follow the ways of God to bring about this blessing. In fact, they find
the task to be impossible. So, God makes a further covenant promise, this time
specifically to David, for a coming Messiah. He will be the key to Israel’s
fulfillment. Messiah is the catalyst, and for me, this causes more frustration,
because Messiah for the OT mind was a political figure. The Israelites believed
Messiah would come as a political leader to take the throne of Israel, perhaps
even raise an army, and He would subdue the nations of the world and bring
peace. In referring to this part of Messiah’s calling, the OT referred to the
Messiah as “The Prince of Peace.” That is a political term if there ever was
one. A Prince, the heir of a Kingdom, The King of Israel, He will be the
answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We get thrust right back into the NT and are
face-to-face with this Messiah, the Christ, this “Prince of Peace,” and here
(in Matthew 5:9) He stood before the people of Israel, teaching and preaching,
and indeed speaking to their deepest longing: Peace,<i> shalom</i>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was not out of the woods yet in my attempt to
avoid talk of politics, but, perhaps, Jesus would be my out. Now, for sure we
see throughout the Gospel story that the people of Israel, and in fact, for
much of the time, even the disciples believed, that the end was near, because
Jesus, the Messiah had come. Or, for those who did not believe Jesus was
Messiah, they still were looking for His imminent arrival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, when we talk about the end being near today, we
are left with ideas of Armageddon and destruction. It is a fearful sight for us,
but for ancient Israel, the end was exciting. This would be the time when the
Messiah would take control of Israel, and He would lead a political movement
that would change the world. Through leading Israel, He would bring peace to
the nations. The end was for Israel, and still for us today, when Messiah would
come to establish His final rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sure, this is what they thought, but Jesus of course
was all about changing expectations. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount, where we
find our passage, was all about subverting the tired religious thought of the
day. His sermon is all about telling Israel, “you have thought this about
following God, but you have become too comfortable in your religiousness and
have been thinking too small.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps, then, the idea of s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halom</i> for Israel was misplaced. Perhaps it was not about politics
at all. Jesus did not have a problem with disappointing Israel by not living up
to their expectations. In fact, we must note that Jesus does not lead a
political revolution in the way that they had come to understand Messiah’s
coming. He did not overtake the state. In fact, He was put to death by the
state. Maybe He would get me out of my predicament yet. In order to see if He was in
fact redefining <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shalom</i> here in
Matthew 5, as He redefines so much else in this Sermon, I thought I would look
to the text in earnest. What is Jesus really saying here? Well, again, He says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
‘Sons of God.’”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, if that was all we had to go on, we could
make this say whatever we wanted it to say. As a professor at my Alma Mater
likes to say, “A text without a context is a pretext for whatever you want it
to say.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, looking at the text itself, we have already
discussed what the term “peacemaker” would mean to the OT ear: One who promotes s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halom</i>, but this is not
enough to make a decision on precisely what this s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halom</i> means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, all I was
left to consider in this small verse, before I pulled back my lens to look at
the surrounding context, was the terms “blessed” and the phrase “Sons of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Blessed" is easy enough. First we must note that Jesus
does not say, “Bless those who are…” He says they are blessed. He gives a whole
list of attributes of the blessed: meek, poor in spirit, mournful, and so on.
One might think that this sort of person should be pitied so that our job would
be to go and bring them blessing, as to lift their spirit, but indeed Jesus is
saying, “You need to be like these people if you seek to be a part of the
blessed community yourself.” The word “blessed” here has a deeper meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is a term of commendation or praise. Jesus is
saying, these are the people who will be honored in the end. Now, just as the list of being meek, poor in spirit, mournful, and so on are not what we think
of as blessed, this was especially counter to the ideas of the Greco-Roman world of that day.
Being proud, self-reliant, and regretting nothing, that was being blessed. But,
Jesus subverts those thoughts and says that the truly blessed are the humble.
He is cluing us into the fact that this is what we are to seek by the grace of
God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What about “Son’s of God.” For the OT believer,
being the child of the Father meant inheritance. In that world, there was no
such thing as a self-made man. Everything one had was given to him or her by
inheritance from a patriarch. Being called a “Son of God” meant having what
belongs to the Father. Moreover, it was understood that to be a child of God
was to be a child of the King. This was about being heirs of the Kingdom.
Again, we run into the sticky language of the political realm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Regardless, what we learn from this term is this: That
those who inherit the Kingdom of God in the end are the same as those who here
and now work to establish God’s peace. So, peacemaking, whatever it might be,
is of utmost importance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now we have established our terms: Jesus says in
essence, “Those who will be eternally honored are those who establish or, at
least seek, shalom, that is work for peace wherever and whenever they can, to
bring harmony to disharmony wherever it might arise. Their reward will be the
inheritance of the Kingdom of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, we see that this statement has a lot of weight.
There is a lot at stake here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once I had explored the meaning of the small verse
in itself, I wanted to look at the greater context. First, I of course noted
that this belongs to a list, "The Beatitudes." What is interesting about its
place in this list is the fact that it is a sort of transitional verse, or a
unique saying within the list. The first part of the list is a list of the
attitudes of the blessed: Poor in Spirit, mournful, meek, hungry and thirsty
for righteousness, merciful and pure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then we get to v 9, the one description of the“action” of the blessed that the Jesus
puts in this list: The blessed will be about “making peace.” This is not just
an attitude or disposition, but a description of the work that the blessed are
all about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Again, this highlights the weight of the verse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The "blessed" statements that follow v 9 are the results of such a
life of embodying the beatitudes up to this point, and it is about persecution. Being the sort
of humble peacemaker Jesus describes will bring about the scorn of others. Jesus
says, nevertheless it is worth all the scorn. In fact, the scorned are blessed to be so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Again, this is a weighty goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To pull back our zoom a little farther, as I have
already noted, the verse is within the context of The Sermon of the Mount. The
first thing I noted is that Matthew just prior to this Sermon categorizes
Jesus’ sermons. In Matthew 4:7, the Gospel writer informs us that from that
moment on, the moment when Jesus begins His earthly ministry, He preaches on
the “Kingdom.” His sermons are Kingdom sermons. This is political. His messages
are about God’s Kingdom as opposed to the ways of earthly Kingdoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, the sermon opens with the disposition of the
people of God, the Beatitudes vv 1-12, then Jesus speaks to what He envisions
this will look like when lived out by a community, vv 13-16, which I will speak
to in a moment. Then He goes into the body of His message, which is all about various
details concerning the way Kingdom life will look like in the everyday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I noted that we do not find the beatitudes just anywhere
in the Sermon, but in the introduction. An introduction for ancient sermons
sets the tone for the rest of the discussion. So, what does the introduction
tell us all this is about? Well, again, first we are given the beatitudes, then
Jesus gives an example of what this will look like when lived out on a large
scale (the city upon a hill) which we will talk of in a moment, and then the
introduction ends with this, which I think sums up what Jesus will be driving
towards throughout His discussion:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Matthew 5:17-20: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to
fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from
the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one
of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called
least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these
commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom
of heaven.”</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just as the author said earlier, the sermon is about living out a Kingdom life, being
examples, and, therefore, heirs of the Kingdom. By this time in my study, I
realized that I was to, if I was going to be true to what I was hearing Jesus say
in Matthew 5:9, discuss the political. So, in my message,
I shared all of what I have spoken of so far, and that is heavy stuff. So, I
wanted to have a moment to catch a breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, before we discussed what “Kingdom Life” is about,
I noted that to understand Kingdom we would need to discuss the world. Jesus
is, as we have already mentioned, challenging the way of the world: Jesus is
saying, the world around you will say, be proud, be self-sufficient, have no
regrets, but the Kingdom of God is different. To have a bit of reprieve I thought
I would make my illustrations on the ways of the world a bit silly at first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I noted that my wife and I recently discontinued
our cable subscription. We simply found ourselves watching less and less TV and
did not feel our use warranted the payment anymore. But, we still have our
outlets of entertainment. We have kept our Netflix account and we both enjoy
podcasts and both love to read. Another outlet I love is the educational programs
on YouTube, one of my favorite being Varitasium. It is just a science channel.
On this channel, the host once discussed the topic, “Why are trees so tall?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Surprisingly, it turned out to be a very interesting
discussion. The host of the show pointed out that the trunk of the tree is a
very inefficient system. A mature tree will grow so that 10 to 20 meters of the
trunk has no limbs, which means no leaves, which means that for much of the
tree, there is no system of life development. The canopy supports the life of
the tree. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For an individual tree, it would be much more
beneficial and efficient to be short, to start having branches closer to the
ground, much like a bush. So, why not? Instead, they grow as tall as possible.
The reason is trust, or distrust. A tree is at a disadvantage if the tree next
to it is taller. So, all trees grow as tall as possible, to the point where
growing another foot is too costly to the overall system. All trees would
benefit, be much healthier, if they were all shorter, but a tree cannot allow
its neighbor the chance to be taller, because that neighbor would then steal
the sunlight and its offspring would come to dominate the forest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The host then compares this phenomenon to human life
and activity. Have you ever traveled by airplane and had to check a bag. If you
have, you will have experienced the example the host gives. Wherever you are in
the world, the situation at the baggage collection carousel is always the same.
The people who get to the baggage claim area first crowd up to the carousel so
that the people behind them cannot see. Why? Distrust. If all people stood back
just three feet, everyone would be able to see, and no one would be at a
disadvantage, but instead of putting oneself at risk for being stepped in front
of, people just take advantage and block others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are just silly examples of something more
serious. We live in a world of distrust. Distrust and fear crept into our world
right after the first sin. You remember the situation: Adam and Eve sin, and
when God shows up, they are hiding, trying to cover up in fear. “We were naked
(in other words vulnerable) and, as a result, afraid.” Distrust leads to fear
of the other. This causes relational problems and erodes peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Soon after the fall, government arises, in part as a
system to prevent humans from destroying each other out of distrust. Government
arises as a necessity, first in areas where supplies are limited. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these areas, if one person or a group of
people were to take advantage, then many others would suffer. Government, at
its best, comes along as a means to prevent such, to set up laws to protect
resources, and even though governments can turn sour, God honors the idea of
government, because we need something in play to protect us from ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, God is the only sure protection. Because
world leaders do not have perfect insight to the future, laws will always have
flaws, people will always figure out how to take that extra foot and cheat
others. This threatens society, and humans cannot help but fear each other. We
are always on our guard, and often our first recourse to any threat, instead of
our last, is violence. Even leaders are susceptible to fear and often the
government that they lead to protect us instead becomes their means of looking
out for self and insulating themselves from the ills the rest of society
suffer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Practically speaking, because distrust is a part of
the natural order, Governments will always be dealing with tensions and fears,
and sadly, sometimes succumbing to them. So, we see on the news all sorts of
things we as a nation do (and indeed at times should) fear. And this leaves us
with one final truth: Even when we do our very best, the nations of the world still
need hope beyond ourselves if we are to have true, full hope. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nations need to know that there is
something greater to fear than fear, and that is God. Fear leads to violence, and
there must be a group that shows a better way. It is a way the government
cannot practically fully demonstrate, because they have no means to promise
final hope. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We must put God first, because, in the end, He is the
surest hope for peace we will have. Incidentally, that is why Christ says later
(in Matthew 10) that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He is not
trying to contradict Himself, but is instead cluing us in on the fact that even
greater than His calling on us to be peacemakers is His bringing us to God. Choosing God might bring you into disunity with others and disestablish a peace that was there, but so be it, because we are after a deeper peace that depends on our submission to God. Even
greater than worldly peace is being right before God. The end goal is God’s
way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, with all this in mind, I want share the part of
the Sermon on The Mount’s introduction that I have been holding onto, the part
that, at least for me, brings all of this talk of politics and peace into focus:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Matthew 5:13-16 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses
its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What does salt do? It cuts that which is bitter. It
brings flavor to the flavorless. Jesus is saying that His people, the church,
are made to bring flavor to situations in the world that are tasteless. Where
there is fear, we bring God’s hope, His flavor. But, if we allow fear to drive
us, and we forget to be promoters of hope, bringers of peace, we will have lost
our saltiness, our purpose. While the reaction of the world around us to fear is violent, ours is to be subversively peaceful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“You are the light of the
world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp
and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light
to everyone in the house.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What does light do? It rids areas of darkness. This is
what we do, but if we in fear hide our light, we deny our Kingdom purpose. Even
while the world in fear resorts to violence, we have the opportunity to not
fear, because of who we are, and we can promote peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>“In the same way, let your
light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
Father in heaven.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is Jesus’ political vision for the church. He is
not saying that the church will run governments or be a “part of the system,”
but He is nevertheless saying the church will be political. We, the people of
the Kingdom of God, the church, will live in a way that no other community can,
because we have the light of God. We will be a cultural, political alternative
to the ways of the world, and people will take note, and some will even turn to
God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make no mistake, Jesus is indeed calling us to s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">halom</i>, this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is </i>about peace in our own hearts, peace in our homes, peace in our
churches, peace as we live and move and breathe together, and this is because
we are to be a testimony (Paul calls us ambassadors) to the way of The Kingdom
of God. Our political calling is to be different from the world, to show others
a better way, and in this way, we might just be able, through the grace of God,
to lead some to ultimate peace, which for the individual is reconciliation with
God. Jesus says when we live as we are supposed to live, people will turn to
God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why? How? How are we to live with such hope?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have the distinct privilege of having a hope that
the world cannot see. We have the freedom to be different, because we are Sons
of God: Heirs of a Kingdom that cannot be attacked. Our hope cannot be threatened by the fears of this world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Think on the privilege of the church as
representatives of God’s Kingdom, a Kingdom of hope, so that, even in light of
all the fears of the world, we can live as peacemakers, for whether we live or
die, we are heirs of a Kingdom that is everlasting. What threatens the world
cannot threaten us. Ours is a nation without boarders. We have no political center that
can be destroyed here on earth as to throw apart our Kingdom. It includes people of all nations, and it is
ruled by the one who sits enthroned above the earth so that no nation can
threaten it because it transcends our boarders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In light of this truth, we are to live as a community,
a family known as the church, that, despite what the world does around us and
the fear that others perceive, we promotes peace, we pray for our nations, our
leaders, and our fellow man, but no matter what goes on in the world, we are to
keep our hope in Him and live as no other community can live, in hope and,
therefore, peace! For, again, whether we live or die, we belong to Him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hear some people say, “The church should have
nothing to do with politics,” but I say that we must; for we are the only group
who can always speak from a place of hope and never fear. This is not a call to get muddled
up in the world’s debates. This is a call to live an alternative life of hope
and peace to show the world a better way, the Peace of the Kingdom. Be
Peacemakers!</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-9235593411265625142014-12-23T10:37:00.003-05:002014-12-23T10:37:30.912-05:00Serving God in Respecting Others...<br />
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"With the tongue we bless the Lord and Father, and with the tongue we curse those who are made in the likeness of God." ~James 3:9</div>
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"Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,// but those who are kind to the needy honor Him." ~Proverbs 14:31</div>
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Even when people do not respect and honor themselves, those who call themselves Christians ought to respect and honor ALL people: "So God created humankind in His Image,// in the image of God He created them,// male and female He creat<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ed them" (Genesis 1:27). Perhaps individuals at times do not deserve respect, but that is beside the point, because our treatment of others is a reflection of how we view God. And He always deserves our respect. </span></div>
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Even our good deeds, in the name of Christian charity, can be misplaced in our hearts. If a person truly wishes to help one's fellow human beings, of whatever creed, ethnicity, or similar group, this person does not help in the nature of Christ if he or she sees himself or herself as "doing the other a favor," as if this person's status here on earth makes him somehow worthy of doing others "favors." </div>
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If I have ANYTHING to give to the other, I only have it because God first gave it to me. We are not called to simple charity for our fellow man, but we are called to serve. I have no true hope to offer another if I cannot place myself beneath the other to serve, as I wash the other's feet. Only then can I understand, in some small way, the other's dreams and fears, hopes and needs. If I cannot or will not serve the other, I need to keep my grand suggestions and enlightened thoughts to myself, for I am unworthy to help this person made in His image. </div>
<div style="margin: 6px 0px;">
If Christ, our model, who was deserving, showed us the way of God by placing Himself under us, as to wash our feet, how much more should I, an undeserving sinner, humble myself in the service to others:</div>
<div style="margin: 6px 0px;">
"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,</div>
<div style="margin: 6px 0px;">
"who, though He was in the form of God,// did not regard equality with God// as something to be exploited,// but emptied Himself,// taking on the form of a slave,// being born in human likeness.// And being found in human form, He humbled Himself// and became obedient to the point of death--// even death on a cross." ~Philippians 2:5-8</div>
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It doesn't matter if such service seems practical, for the way of Christ appears to be anything but practical: "For the message of the CROSS is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (I Corinthians 1:18).</div>
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If respecting others is not popular for the right or the left, and I see little example from either side that it is, I will err on the side of grace. </div>
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He still has a lot of work to do in my heart. Thank God for His mercy</div>
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tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-31045098018634891372014-11-06T14:32:00.000-05:002014-11-06T14:47:30.276-05:00Illegal Ministry?<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">What? </span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Is this for real? Relevant Magazine revealed that <a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/90-year-old-hero-arrested-feeding-homeless" target="_blank">a ninety-year-old man arrested for feeding the hungry.</a> Sadly, I can imagine a few "defenses" people might create for the city of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I can imagine someone saying that feeding the homeless is not "outlawed," only the feeding of homeless on the streets. True enough. They could always get a hot meal in a shelter. Does that make this situation better? You know what that argument sounds like to me? It sounds like the same argument the park rangers use concerning bears. Bears can eat in the woods, safely away from people, but do not feed them here. That will only attract them. This is not where they belong. This is a fine argument for animals that put us in danger when sharing public space. Guess what! These people are not animals. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I understand that feeding the poor and hungry might draw more to that area and we upright, hardworking citizens would rather not see our city tainted by the poor. So, as the argument goes, let's not encourage them. If we don't feed them, they won't stay. Okay? Who has that helped? If they are not homeless here, does that somehow mean they won't be homeless elsewhere? We have pushed the situation, and, therefore, a glaring reminder of our brokenness, away from sight, and the poor are still poor. Here is a man who has joyfully served as he has been called to serve, and, yet, I can imagine other Christians will say that he should allow the system to work. Really? We want the state to do the job of caring for others? What will the church do then with all its newly found free time now that we do not have to care for the oppressed any more, because the Empire is doing the job? While we are at it, why don’t we just try and see if we can get the state to evangelize for us too! Let's all retire and go to the beach! Come on! </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">We too often try to legislate our ethical duty to care for our fellow human out to the state, and we support or critique this process depending on how it benefits us, not the other. Let's have the decency to, at very least, be consistent. If we begin to allow the state to decide where the homeless can and cannot eat, then how can we be a people who think the church should do more for others and not the welfare system? How can we be a people who would not stand up for this man, who, instead of allowing the government to legislate how we should take care of the poor, puts his own hands and feet to work.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I do understand that having a high population of homeless persons in a city can be an issue. So, should the state not do something? Perhaps it should, but it should not be a quick fix that ignores the real issue. Christians should settle for nothing less than justice and mercy for those in need. If legislation comes our way that will help mitigate the homeless situation and at the same time be helpful to the homeless, I can see why we should support. However, until that day comes, we should only applaud men like this. “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;//remove the evil of your doings// from before my eyes;//cease to do evil,// learn to do good;// seek justice,// rescue the oppressed,//defend the orphan,//plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16,17). Maybe more to this story will come to light, and I will have to reframe the way I think on the issue, but, with the information I have, I just cannot help but feel deeply saddened and disappointed that we live in a country where some would choose to mandate restrictions for helping others. Lord, have mercy. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">UPDATE:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">t is not as if this man was doing this for attention. He fed the poor for years and years before this law passed. He was only continuing the ministry he had been involved in for years. You better believe that if and when the state makes my ministry illegal, I will be doing it nonetheless.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px;">
In an <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/04/0-year-old-among-first-charged-under-fort-lauderdale-strict-rules-against/" target="_blank">article on FOX News</a>, which had a bit more information, the city seems to try and frame this as a sanitation issue…</div>
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Whatever.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px;">
The article goes on to what I suspect is the real issue: "Cal Deal, a 65-year-old former journalist who videotapes homeless people in the city and says they commit crimes, cause sanitation problems and need more help than simply food… ‘The people feeding them are enablers, and they enable the homeless by making their lives easier,’ Deal told the New Times of Broward County. Hunger is a big motivator. Are people more likely to seek help when they're hungry or when they're fed and happy?’"</div>
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Wow…</div>
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px;">
UPDATE 2:</div>
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<a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/our-90-year-old-hero-has-been-busted-feeding-homeless-again" target="_blank">He was arrested again</a>. The mayor claims that the reason behind the new ordinances is sanitation.<br />
<br />
The mayor's response is ridiculous. I would like to see the study the city did to ensure that the new ordinances were necessary. I bet there has been no such study. If so, why not cite it? I wonder how many people became ill because of this man's ministry. Until they provide real evidence, I have to suspect that they have no real evidence that there needed to be stricter regulations. It seems that these "concerns for health" are just excuses for the real reason for limiting how people can serve the poor. It seems the city is to trying to rid the streets from as many homeless persons as possible without really taking care of the issue. Out of sight, out of mind. I would love to be wrong, but until they start showing real evidence, instead of simply saying the new rules promote better health, I will never assume that feeding the homeless as this man does is a bad idea. I agree that, as Christians, we need to comply with the law as much as possible, but when that law limits our care for those in need, I think our calling to serve the oppressed trumps man's law. </div>
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tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-55757869915483412992014-10-27T14:47:00.001-04:002014-10-27T14:47:05.431-04:00Why Should I Proclaim The Truth?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
There
are some moral stances that we seldom question. Why is it important for me to
love and not hate? Why should I refrain from selfishness? Why should I not
murder? Our monolithic answer is often the same for these and many similar
questions. Short and sweet: It is simply right. An even more pointed response for
the faith community might be: Because God said so. We never stop to ask
ourselves why we should believe certain obvious truths; we just do. On one
hand, this is probably a very good thing. What if we were so uncertain about
morality that we had to stop and question everything that we wanted to do? Life
would be miserable and paralyzing. We would not get anything accomplished.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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On
the other hand, could it be the case that our lack of explicit moral reasoning
on some of the most basic principles could lead us into misusing our moral
convictions, even when we can say, “But, God said”? Why question God, right?
Simply put, we question what God tells us to see the heart of God. It is not
just important to know what God said, but why He said it. Just look back to the
Sermon On The Mount: Jesus took several moral positions that, for the faith
community, had been firmly decided for centuries (and grounded in God’s Word at
that) and brought them out into the light of reconsideration. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What
does He conclude? First, He demonstrates that the knowledge of the law was fairly
common. To all the disciples He says, “You have heard it said…” In other words,
“Common knowledge for this community has said…” They knew how to answer the
questions surrounding murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, dealing
with enemies, and the list goes on. Second, from His silence on the issue, it would
seem that, perhaps, they were indeed doing fairly well at practicing this
common knowledge, at least outwardly. His challenge is not, “You have heard
what Scripture teaches, why are you not obeying?” Instead, He is says, “You
have heard it said…but I say…” In other words, “You know what Scripture says,
but you are not practicing truth for the right reasons, because, if you were,
you would understand the deeper reasons for these common truths.” For Jesus, the
following of the letter of the law was not enough. We must get to the heart of
the Word.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Jesus
wanted to get to the heart of the matter. Jesus did not want His disciples to
simply stand in accordance with the Scripture’s commands, because it was a
religious and cultural expectation for them to do so, but He also wanted them
to be centered in the heart of the Scriptures, which is not simply meant to
inform a course for right behavior, but is evermore meant to transform the
heart. In all our daily decisions, the Word of Truth is to be a living Word. We
do not do good simply because “God said so.” If this is our only motive for
doing right, we fall prey to rote, religious ritual. In other words, we do
right because we want to somehow do what we must to appease God. Nothing seems
to anger God more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Making
God’s calling upon our life into ritualistic practices, like praying everyday
because God wants me to pray, or reading the Bible because that what a good
Christian does, is no different than Israel’s performing rituals, like
sacrifice, to appease God, instead of expressing an inner heart to do God’s
will. Ritual was meant to be a beautiful practice of family tradition for the
community of faith, a means to connect with God and receive His grace, but,
when the people accessed ritual, they often did so, not to celebrate anew the foundational
blessings of God that His people had been experiencing from an ancient past,
but instead for appeasing God. God was not fooled. Instead, He was moved to
anger, for the people had willingly withdrawn into ignorance, ignoring the
purposes for God’s gifts, such as ritual:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What to me is the multitude of your
sacrifices? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
says the Lord; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I have <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had enough of
burnt offerings of rams <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
and the fat of fed beasts; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I do not delight in the blood of
bulls, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
or of lambs, or of goats.<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
When you come to appear before me, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
who asked this from your
hand? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Trample my courts no more;<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
bringing offerings is futile; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
incense is an abomination to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
New moon and sabbath and calling of
convocation— <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I cannot endure solemn assemblies with
iniquity.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Your new moons and your appointed
festivals <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
my soul hates; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
they have become a burden to me, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I am weary of bearing them.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
When you stretch out your hands, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I will hide my eyes from you; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
even though you make many prayers, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I will not listen; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
your hands are full of blood.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Wash yourselves; make yourselves
clean; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
remove the evil of your
doings <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
from before my eyes; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
cease to do evil,<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
learn to do good; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
seek justice, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
rescue the oppressed, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
defend the orphan, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:11-17)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
God’s
indictment is clear: Israel’s outward religious acts not only do not suffice
when uncoupled from a pure heart, but they disgust God. While the modern
community of faith, the church, does not have as many rituals as ancient
Israel, we still have our own set of commands from God that we often routinely
participate in, and we must be careful not to slip into doing them out of mere
habit, simply because it is what is expected of us, because, “it is right,” and
“because God said so.” Our actions should always be an overflow of the heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
You desire truth in the inward being; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
For you have no delight in sacrifice; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would
not be pleased.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken
spirit; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will
not despise…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>then you will delight in
right sacrifices… (Psalm 51:6,16,17,19a)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
practice of truth cannot be simply an outward performance, but living out of
God’s word must be an overflow of the heart. It is certain that sometimes what
we should do does not always align with what we want to do, and we are still
expected to do the right thing. However, we should never forget why we do what
God asks, even when we do not feel up to the task. We are to long for the heart
of God, to do His will because our hearts move with His. We might not always
feel as if we are there, but this should be where we are forever moving. So,
back to our original consideration about those basic ideals we know to be right
and good simply because they are right and good. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
We
better not simply practice good moral behavior out of some desire to appease
God. It is not good enough to want to do right because we do not want to upset
God. We need to do right, because doing right comes from a place of love.
Israel had missed this point, and, because they missed it, they were no longer working
with God to bring justice to the oppressed, but were enjoying ritual
celebrations simply because they could. Not only did religion become about
appeasing God, but it soon became about selfish pleasures. Do we ever use God’s
truth for our own benefit? Do we ever justify our selfish actions in the name
of God? The Scripture suggests that if we do, we might be in real danger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Now
that we have explored the importance of not only knowing what actions are
right, but knowing why they are right, we can ask about the application for
today. What might be a modern day practice of God’s Word for which many lack
the conviction of the heart? I think that truth telling is something we believe
is right and good, but why we tell the truth might be something we practice,
not for God’s sake, but often our own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Think
about the oft-used phrase: “The truth hurts.” Why do we say this? We say this
because we want to tell someone what we think, and we want to feel justified
for doing so. We often critique others in the name of telling the truth. We
have equated the idea of giving advice (or critique) with truth, so much so
that we feel as if the person who we are advising, if they do not accept our
advice, might as well suffer the consequences for rejecting truth. Truth, then,
becomes something we use to have others comply with our version of the ideal.
What is so wrong with this, especially if the advice comes from well thought
out Christian standards?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
First,
this sort of truth falls too short of the Christian idea of Truth, which is not
just rooted in ideas, but in the person of Jesus Christ. To understand this
Truth is not to comply with simple ideals, but to be in relationship with a
personal Being, one who leads, not simply by giving us a step-by-step
instructional on the how-to of life, but leads and proffers truth in trusting
relationship, what many would call, “a daily walk.” Second, telling truth becomes
a means of control, even while the Scripture tells us that Truth is to set the
recipient free. Even if our typical truth telling is good advice, if we simply
ask others to follow our truth without offering them relationship, as Christ
offers Himself to us, we show we really do not care for the individual, but
simply care about them living up to our expectations for them. If we really
were offering our “truth” out of love, and we desired to follow the example of
Christ, we would also walk in truth with these people in relationship. How hard
can that be, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Let’s
go back to God’s indictment of Israel in Isaiah 1. Here we see God telling
Israel that all the outward rituals in the world could not fulfill God’s
expectations for them, but do you know what can? He tells us: “…remove the evil
of your doings// from before my eyes;// cease to do evil,// learn to do good;//
seek justice,// rescue the oppressed,// defend the orphan,// plead for the
widow” (Isaiah 1:16b-17). God is telling Israel that all the religious acts in
the world cannot take the place of loving acts of faithfulness, as we share the
love of God with the oppressed. James repeats this sentiment for the church in
his epistle:<b> “</b>Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the
Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep
oneself unstained by the world” (1:27). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
How
might our truth telling be related to all of this? Let’s go back to our
normative Christian practice of telling truth, even when it hurts. In the conservative,
American church, our dealings with the poor and the oppressed often come, not
through government welfare, which many conservative Americans (myself included)
find ample fault with, but in advice giving, giving them a hard dose of reality
(which I do not find to be the answer). We repeat the old adage: “Give a man a
fish…Teach a man to fish…” Some even assume this is not just scriptural, but
actual Scripture. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
We
need to ask ourselves, from what standpoint do we say, "Well, I think that
the poor just need to learn to take responsibility"? Is this from a purely
caring place, because we actually believe what we suggest is indeed best for
the poor and we love them enough to say so? If so, should not each of us that
say this have caring relationships with the poor as Christ did? Or do we often
speak from a place of want for security. If the poor were more responsible they
would be safer to live around. American society would be better off. If we
simply critique the poor and offer no real hand through relationship, I think
we readily enough show our own selfishness in our “truth telling.” This is no
truth at all, for truth, even though hard to hear at times, is meant to be
restorative, uplifting, and relational. Instead, we use the idea of truth as a
means of guilt and control, and as a means to justify ourselves when we think
about our calling to serve the poor. “Am I serving the poor?” “Well, I
certainly have offered my opinion on the matter of being poor.” This gets us
away from real truth telling, which is difficult, because it calls us to love.
We must not just want to fix the poor’s problems, but must first desire to love
them, no matter how they respond to us. Is this were truth leads you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Telling
the truth cannot be divorced from living in the truth if it is to be real
truth. If, then, we want to tell the truth, we better be on board with living
in it. If we believe the truth is restorative and we are Christ’s hands and
feet to bring healing to this lost and broken world, then we better be on board
with the repair Truth calls for. If we want to see truth in action, well, we
better get to it. If we tell truth, we cannot do so from afar, critiquing the
world with the attitude, “Well, if they don’t listen, it is their fault.” Jesus
tells us to “Go!” proclaiming truth through loving relationship, Christ-like
example, and virtuous discipline. If we cannot tell truth from this place, we
cannot speak truth at all. Christ is the embodiment of truth, and He has asked His
church to be the embodiment of His way here on earth. That just might mean we
make sacrifices for those in need. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
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More
on truth telling coming soon…<o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-36052798699556261402014-08-27T10:43:00.005-04:002014-08-27T10:43:49.973-04:00Killing Terrorists Is Not Funny<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The world has proven to be an especially crazy place the past few weeks. Having been bombarded with so much lately, I have, with many others, shared a lot of (what some might consider) idealistic thoughts. If too much is said too often, then others might not know when to take one seriously. In other words, if one preaches too often, people might think this person has no time for practicing all tho</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">se things he or she is espousing. For this reason, I plan to quiet my ethical rhetoric on my status updates for a while, but, before I do, I have one last thing to say, at least for the moment. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I understand that in this present world, nation will inevitably rise against nation, that there will at times be people, even groups of people, who will want nothing more than the destruction of others. For this reason, it is necessary for nations, if they are to survive, to protect themselves against threats. Now, I also believe many nations war in the name of defense when the root cause is something completely different. Having said this, I do believe we are seeing real hate being portrayed on the world stage by the militant group known as ISIS. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">This group has given us little room to judge them as anything less than cruel and vengeful. Therefore, I can understand the need for nation to rise against nation, for one group to set out to destroy the destroyers, but that does not give us license to delight in the most serious of human decisions: to take life from others. When we send our troops off to war, we are asking them to put their lives on the line while they go off to take the lives of others, and, because we ask them to go in our stead, we want to be supportive. However, there are right and wrong ways to go about this. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Making jokes, concerning the slaying of our enemies, especially while sitting comfortably away from combat, or from the raining nightmare of bombs from the sky, is unsavory. Some things are just too solemn to be threaded into a joke. War, in all its forms, especially since it cost the lives of the innocent and the guilty, is anything but funny. The soldier knowing this might at times make light of his (or her) own situation and what he has to do as a means to cope with his reality, but we, the citizenry, need not do the same; yet, we often make fun of the deaths of our enemy, because we finally feel vindicated. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We tell others who often speak of the ills of war, “I told you so,” and our gloating turns sour. We become delighters of death. We become well-wishers of war. We become grinning cynics of peace. The Christian should not take the religious worldview of another group, even if it is a radical fundamentalist group, and turn their deaths into a joke about what truly awaits them in the afterlife when they finally meet the true God by twisting their religious views into something humorous (I do not feel I need to elaborate all the ways we laugh at the fictional afterlives we have dreamed up for radical Muslims). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We should not make light of asking someone to kill for us, nor should we delight in human death of any kind, even when we can say it is justified. Moreover, we need not feel unsupportive of our troops if we feel horrified by war; many of our troops are also horrified by this reality (I see the quote, “War is Hell.” most often from my friends currently or previously in service). However far removed, and however different, we are talking about human life here: “Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). You may now carry on. For a time, I will save my thoughts for my blog and otherwise focus on practicing my ideals in the real world. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Bright blessings to you all.</span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-1230718487274949882014-08-27T10:41:00.002-04:002014-08-27T10:41:48.076-04:00You Are A Masterpiece <div style="text-align: justify;">
Here is another Facebook status I wanted to save here on my blog:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We are God’s artwork, masterpieces that move with the Craftsman’s guidance, and, yet, we are artwork that is itself commissioned by the Artist to be a part of our own making. Any artist who has worked with clay, as well as other mediums known to fail well within the process, will know the patience it takes to learn the art. They will know the frustration of simply working with faulty materials. Th</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">ey will know the frustration that either drives aspiring artists to quit, or inspires the artist to start again, knowing that art does not always cooperate and, in this, provides opportunity for the artist to mature in his or her expectations. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">As a medium for God’s creativity, we certainly prove to be a frustrating sort. We are not our own, but often, as the gentle Craftsman moves, we resist and crumble. Because God gives license to His art to continue the path of becoming, we often can frustrate the great Craftsmen in denying our basic purposes for becoming better and being shaped in the goodness of His likeness. We move in the wrong directions and we fail. Yet, He continues to invite us in the process, and while He has goodness and Christ-likeness in mind for each of us, we need not think that we must hit a target perfectly to please the Artist. He gives creative license within the bounds of His limitless life and opportunities. In Him there is freedom to be fully human and we still know not the potential this freedom given from our Creator provides. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We must be His whatever we are, for we are created to be His, but in being His, we are explorers of faith, forgers of mission, and disciples called to express so many things of God that a lifetime of molding will not make us what we are eternally meant to be. And, just to demonstrate the freedom of becoming, no matter how many countless lives are shaped towards the Image of God, no two persons will end up as the exact same piece of art. There will be shared similarities for sure, but as finite beings, we each have a chance to show various aspects of the limitless God as He sees fit. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Even after death and glorification, while we will be perfectly good, we will not be perfectly static. We will continue in the process of becoming as we live an eternity of knowing God more and more at every turn. God takes His art seriously, and, yet, He gives us, as the artwork, chances to make mistakes, to find beauty by stumbling into it, and opportunities to start fresh. In the end, the process can be seen as a burden or as an invitation into a journey of grace and self-discovery, as we find ways to incorporate the life of God more into our being by faith and grace alone. What an opportunity!</span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-75986736175526194322014-08-27T10:38:00.005-04:002014-08-27T10:38:45.599-04:00On The Consumption And Abuse of Women<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">This post, like the last one, is a copy of a Facebook status that I want to save before it gets lost on my feed:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I was struck hard this week when I found out that a six-year-old girl we serve on the reservation was victimized by a man in her community. What can we say? How can such evil exist? What can I do to combat such immorality? Many times, such events seem so far removed from my life, but are they? During service yesterday, my pastor, David Yarb</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">orough, spoke directly and boldly to the men in the congregation and reminded us that the same spirit that directs our hearts to consume pornography is the same insidious spirit that leads men to capture women and children for sex trafficking. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I could not agree more. This does not mean, however, that these two things are simply and loosely linked to some ethereal spirit of sexual immorality. Rather they develop from the concrete interactions of our normal lives in the fallen world. Our daily interactions, if not given over to deep consideration, inoculate us to the understanding of what is right and wrong by the smallest degrees. In my reading this morning, which I will quote from momentarily, I came across a reminder that the spirit that leads men to consume pornography, as well as to steal away the lives of the innocent, does not begin when young boys discover how to access the obscene recesses of the internet and become grossly obsessed. It does not begin with pornography at all. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">It begins in what we consider to be the mundane, ordinary, and non-moral dealings of everyday life. It begins in the simplest forms, like learning that, with enough money, we can buy many things to gratify our wants and eventually forgetting that some things should not be consumed. We have lost the sense that ethical decisions beset almost everything we do. We need voices like that of Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park (while he is speaking of science here, it can apply to most areas of life in which we are empowered to freely do what we may): </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i>“If I may... Um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here; it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now...” </i></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Likewise, we often consume things without consideration of whom or where it came from, how it was made, and at what cost. We are free to consume what we will, because we stand on the backs of geniuses who formed a free nation and upon the soldiers who died for it. But, since we did not form it ourselves, we take little responsibility for how we use this freedom. Dr. Malcolm continues to critique Jurassic Park and, consequently, modern society: </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i>“Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.” </i></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Just because we live in a nation that has made it easy to consume what we may, does that mean we should? We live in a world in which the highest value is placed on that which can be consumed. Consumerism is heralded as right and good, because it somehow represents “freedom,” but thoughtless access to wants is not freedom, but just another form of slavery, a slavery whitewashed to appear to be a sign of our blessedness: </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i>“No man who simply eats and drinks whenever he feels like eating and drinking, who smokes whenever he feels the urge to light a cigarette, who gratifies his curiosity and sensuality whenever they are stimulated, can consider himself a free person” (Thomas Merton). </i></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The things that people can use are the things our society values most. While consumption is natural part of life—materials must be gathered for housing, food must be harvested for sustenance, and water must be gathered for hydration—blind consumerism is the perversion of this reality. It is a reality in which we cannot come to appreciate that which should not be consumed or used (things like women and children). If it cannot be used, it is looked over: </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">There are men <i>“…for whom a tree has no reality until they think of cutting it down, for whom an animal has no value until it enters a slaughterhouse, men who never look at anything until they decide to abuse it and who never even notice what they do not want to destroy” (Merton). </i></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">While the stars remind us of our limitedness as we can only see their beauty, but cannot touch it, our world is filled with men who obsess over leaving this celestial ball for the consumption of another. We can no longer see our dependency on this earth as our reality, because we can think of nothing more than to consume it; so, we will have to find more and more to consume. Likewise, beauty is no longer a reminder of the goodness of a God beyond us, but a mark for consumption. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">It is only a small step then to abusing the beauty of humans, especially, but not limited to, women and children. After years and years of considering the value in things only by how well they can be used, it is no wonder we begin to forget that some beauty is simply meant to be appreciated and not consumed. If this is true, then this also speaks to our sense of self-worth, how we value our own existence. We no longer appreciate the gift of “being,” but only see our worth in what we “do.” </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">So, women (and even our precious children) also get caught up in investing in the evil that leads to their own destruction. If men (and women) only value what they consume, women (and men), to find worth, give others more to consume. Dress becomes more and more revealing, giving men more to consume, and posing for pornography becomes a means to feel loved and valued, because, as we all know, many, many men will consume you if you put beauty out in such a way that it can be used, used, in this sense, for base gratification.</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> Eventually, lusting for visions of shorter and shorter skirts no longer feeds the spirit of consumerism. We must see it all. Soon enough, “tasteful” nude shots no longer gratify this spirit, only the obscene. Then, there are men who reach the end of this pleasure, and they seek to touch and to physically consume this beauty, and sex trafficking has then been given more reason to exist. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We are all guilty and in need of repentance, even if we do not consume what others may. We may only consume, without regret, food to excess, television to excess, or drink to excess, but it is all the same spirit. We are teaching each other that blind consumption is acceptable. Men, be protectors of beauty, not vicious consumers of it. Do not invest your consumption in the exploits of women (or children). You may feel that you harm no one simply sitting behind your computer screen, but you are lending to the machine that consumes the innocent. Women, protect your beauty and know your worth is in your being, not in how much you allow yourself to be consumed. Open your eyes that everyday life is beset by ethical decisions, that our interactions with the world are not non-moral. If we do not think, we may be unwittingly feeding the machine of our own destruction.</span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-82913652061195222252014-08-27T10:33:00.005-04:002014-08-27T10:33:52.620-04:00The Tragedy of Suicide and Christian Response...<div style="text-align: justify;">
My next few posts will be copy from a few of my Facebook statuses. I would like to have quick access to these thoughts before they get buried in my feed. This particular response comes from all the swirling debate concerning the tragic death of Robin Williams. The cause of death was determined to be suicide.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">With all the tragedy in the world right now, arguing over the eternal state of a person who has committed suicide seems ludicrous (especially since this is an internal debate that makes us-Christians-all look petty). We have misplaced our theological efforts. Should we not be thinking about how our faith could bring less suffering to those around us, how our faith might make us more suitable for b</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">ringing relief, joy, and peace? </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">We worry so much about others and whether or not they are right or wrong that we have little time to actually make our theology practical, to live out our beliefs of helping others, of being love, of reaching out to the oppressed. We should judge ourselves sometime if we are to judge anyone. But, since we (the social community) are talking about this issue, let me say this, just as food for thought. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">I suffered depression many years ago in my early years of college. It was a horrible experience. It feels like a lifetime ago, and, yet, at the time, it felt like it lasted a lifetime. It is easy to pick out persons who have never experienced depression. They are the ones who say things like, "Why don't you just figure out what is bothering you and work on it?" "You need to decide to be happier." "Don't focus on it." "Pray about it." </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">The truth is that, if I knew what was wrong, I would have loved to fix it. Focus was often impossible. Deciding to just be happy is ridiculous. Why not just say the same to a grieving person? As for prayer, I probably did more praying in depression than ever before or after. I know that many who spoke this way were just trying to help, but real help doesn't come in trying to fix the person, but in walking with them, in being there for them, by listening to them, about showing true concern for them, about motivating the other to find real help (instead of pretending you know how to help), in understanding that you might not get what depression is and that's okay. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">I cannot tell you how relieved I was when a friend of mine just said, "I can't imagine, but let's talk about it." Chemical imbalance is real, and it is torture. It is like being eaten alive from the inside out. I do believe God can and does help heal, but suggesting that depression in someway makes the sufferer less "godly," or that one's own sin has to be the sole reason for depression, is ridiculous and callous. We live in a fallen world that causes all sorts of deficiencies in the human being. Chemical imbalance is not a special curse passed on the unrepentant sinner, but a real part of living in a broken world, just like cancer, AIDS, and heart disease. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Our suffering can take us to dark places, to sinful places, places where we should not go. Christ revealed to us that sin in the heart is just as blameworthy as committed sin, and, in the darkness of my depression, I committed the sin in my heart of wishing I were not alive, of taking for granted the gift of life. So, perhaps I am just as guilty as the one's that acted upon his or her wishes. Thank God He offers forgiveness and healing. I needed that. I am glad to say that I did get help, and I am much better today. In fact, it was something God used, in time, to make me a better person, a much more understanding person for sure. I praise God for that. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">But, what about people who go to those dark places and don't make it out? I like what Dr. Ben Witherington III said in his recent blog post: "One of the things I would stress when we hear stories like this, especially about suicide, is that a person should never be judged by the worst moment or moments in their life, even if it is their last moment in this world. The Bible says nothing about suicide being some kind of unforgivable sin. Judging people on the basis of their worst moments is certainly not how Christ evaluated people. People should be evaluated at their very best, especially if it is a consistent part of who they are over a long period of time. It is of course not our job, even if you are a minister to makes some kind of final pronouncement about a person’s eternal destiny. Only God knows everything, including that." Amen, Doc. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">We are all blameworthy for so many things, and often these things are things we did when we felt hopeless, lost, fearful, and desperate, because we live in a world that can be so dark and tasteless. Therefore, we should be willing to be understanding, forgiving, and caring. This does not excuse our acts, especially wrongdoing against others. In fact, for any one who knew me in the days of my depression (early college) that remembers my acting like a total jerk to you, I ask for your forgiveness. It was a long time ago, and I do not remember all the people I hurt, but you might remember. I am sorry. I really am. But, again, we all need forgiveness. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">We all go to dark places at times. If you are a Christian, you are called to be salt and light. You do not have to judge. You do not have to fix everyone. All you must do is be light and salt, bringing sight of hope in the midst of the darkness of desperation and godly flavor to tasteless situations, and most often that is summed up in being loving. We are the temple of God, and when we want to see Him break into the darkness, perhaps we are the vessels He wants to use to do just that. He lives in us. So, let's not waste our time theologizing about the lost and the hurting as we sit at a safe distance from them. Let's take our theology and put it to work for the oppressed, the sick, the lonely, and all those desperate for love.</span></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5947832930448712979.post-62574023144272960272014-08-21T12:12:00.001-04:002014-08-21T12:12:23.817-04:00The Church and Culture Creating: Making changes that last…<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
I
have referred to this before, but it is worth calling attention to once again.
In his very popular song, “Waiting On The World to Change,” John Mayer suggests
that the present generation of young people feels frustrated with trying to
change the world for the better. Deep down, Mayer suggests, young people know
that the system is corrupt and that calling for change in the present is close
to hopeless. Therefore, we should not be seen as lazy when we complain about
“the issues,” while doing little else to affect change. Instead, we are simply
waiting our turn to be the ones in charge, and, then, we will make the
difference.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I
would have to agree with Mayer’s conclusion that “world change” is not a fight
that can be won right now, but I do not agree with his solution, waiting for
the levelheaded and enlightened youth to one day have a turn. The world will
always be a corrupt place. Yet, this is no reason to admit defeat, as if,
because the world around us is corrupt, no good can be done in the world. Perhaps,
we are simply fighting the wrong fight. Is world change the right course?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
question is, “How do we do good?” For secularist, the only solution is to fix
the world, because it is all we have. Again, I fear for this group that the
world Mayer sees today will be the way the world is as long as this world
exists. Christians, on the other hand, believe in a more permanent good, an
ultimate good. Many Christians believe the best way to bless the world is to,
in some way, impart this good upon the world itself. We have tried creating a
Christian Nation. We have tried voting our views in place. We have tried social
engineering. Can this work? Can the church “change the world”?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Indeed, the great irony
with the North American Christian community's obsession with becoming world
changers, as outsiders like Alan Wolfe and insiders like Ron Sider have
documented, is that so far and on the whole we are much more changed than
changing. The rise of interest in cultural transformation has been accompanied
by a rise in cultural transformation of a different sort the transformation of
the church into the culture's image.<br />
<br />
(Crouch, 89)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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As
Christians, we must remember our relationship to the Kingdom, the Church, and
the world, three separate, but interlocking political realities (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">poleis</i>), three realities in which the
Christian, in some way and by varying degrees, belongs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is true that Christ’s Kingdom is realized anywhere (including hearts) in which
He fully reigns. The Kingdom of God is, of course, spread whenever persons
accept Christ’s lordship, but it is also centralized—and we must not forget
this fact—as the realm from which God reigns. That reality is transcendent,
and, therefore, it is not to be understood as being fully accessible or fully
here in this present age. Not until New Jerusalem touches down on the New Earth
will the realms of humanity and the realm of God be fully united again. Until
then, all Christians who are living (in this present life) have citizenry in
New Jerusalem, but must live abroad in this world (Philippians 3:20, 21).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
The
world represents the realm of humanity, and, because of sin, a nation of the
lost. It is the current realm in which we all live. We are born in a fallen
realm, and, even when we are saved, we are left in this realm until we pass. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world is a fleeting reality, because it is
currently ruled by evil, and, yet, evil has already been defeated in the cross,
which promises a final victory over evil. Thus, this world will pass. This age
has a set date for closing. In the meantime, humans must try to do with the
world what they can, because it is simply where we find ourselves. Thus, we
continue to create government, laws, culture, homes, and so on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christian, while a participant in this
project, does not have his or her hope rest on this project. It is understood
as temporary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Even
so, there is a sort of middle place, the church. The church is a diaspora, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">polis</i> without a geopolitical center.
There are Christians in many, many nations; thus, our reality transcends
boarders. The church is made up of all citizens of New Jerusalem that, even
though we live, must die before we enter the full presence of the Lord (at
least until consummation) and won’t be fully at home in the country of our
citizenship until we enter New Jerusalem. The church can be understood as the
sum of all those realities in which resident aliens (to borrow a term a title
from Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon) take up the culture of the Kingdom
while living in the world. Like the ethnic boroughs made up of dense foreign
immigrants that take up space in large metropolises, we too make something of
the space and time in which we live, importing cultural ways of being from the
homeland. Like boroughs, we live distinctly different than the world around us,
but we are still in the world that surrounds us and must in many ways move with
it. Even so, we practice home life to remember where we truly belong and to
share something of home with each other and our neighbors.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
It
is this taste of home that God plans to use to bring an allure to His way and
His life (Matthew 5:14-16). When people of the world can see tangible aspects
of the Kingdom of God by the actions of the Church, they too might want to take
part, to give up their credentials of the world for citizenship in the Kingdom.
As disciples, we have a longing to be participates in the Kingdom. Christians
have what seems to be an insatiable appetite to leave their mark on the world,
like scrawling one’s initials in the family stead as the framing goes up, we
look to leave our own impressions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
However,
if we want to leave our mark in a place that will leave a lasting impression,
not just on the physical world, but on the hearts and minds of others, is a
stud the place to do it? No. It soon enough is covered up. Leaving our mark on
the world itself might be likewise foolish. This world will soon be covered up,
and many realities come and go here in the world. The lasting realities are the
church and the Kingdom to which the church belongs, and it is the church (not
the fullness of the Kingdom), which the world can see. Thus, that is where we are
to leave our cultural marks, in a place both lasting and visible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
At
first, it might seem strange to say, “Keep your mark in the church,” but again,
it is the life of the church itself that draws people out of darkness and into
the light. We should be about and for the culture of the church for the sake of
those dying in this world. If we want to leave an impression on people, culture
is the place to do it, since culture, as we have already noted, overlaps the
church and the world (we are here together and, therefore, in some ways, must
move together). Therefore, if we wish to invest in cultural change, we must
choose wisely how to do this. Again, I suggest we choose to create culture
within the boundaries of the church for the sake of the world. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
Investing
in secular causes for the sake of justice might at times be appropriate, but we
must remember that any change in the way the world works is fleeting. We have
seen this reality time and again. Nations rise and fall. America might be a
worthy investment, but it is only worthy to a point, because, whether we like
it or not, the United States of America is not a lasting state. I can make
investments in the home I rent, but it would be foolish to pay for any large
scale change in this home, because it is not mine; it is not permanent. Going
out to vote is not terribly costly. Lending our voice to our nation by writing
our senators is not an unworthy action. But, investing all our time and money
for “change” on large scale secular campaigns is, perhaps, unwise and, again
perhaps, from a misunderstanding of our calling in this world:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">From a Christian point
of view, the world needs the church, not to help the world run more smoothly or
to make the world a better and safer place for Christians to live. Rather, the
world needs the church because, without the church, the world does not know who
it is. The only way for the world to know that it is being redeemed is for the
church to point to the Redeemer by being a redeemed people. (Hauerwas and
Willimon, 94)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What
people really need is not legislation or bust, but a more permanent solution, a
place of belonging that promises that no matter what happens in this realm,
citizens have permanent security. This is something that the secular world
cannot promise, only the church. Shifting our thinking from investing our moral
concern into the world at all cost and towards investing in the church
regardless of the world’s movements, is a radical shift in perspective, but it
is a more lasting cause. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
What
am I trying to say to you? If you are for helping the hurting, the oppressed,
the hopeless, and the dying, don’t be about changing the city, state, country,
or world around you as much as you are for investing in the life of your local
church (and, perhaps, the church universal). Be a part of creating a culture
that shows the people of your town that there is more to life than present
comfort. There is a glorious calling to a way of being that is beyond this
world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-Andy Crouch. Culture Making: Recovering Our
Creative Calling (Kindle Edition) p. 189<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
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<style>
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table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-Hauerwas, Stanely, William H. Willimon. Resident
Aliens. (Nashville: Abingdon Press) p. 94</i><o:p></o:p></div>
tabmillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993453239674216233noreply@blogger.com0