Following Jesus by NT Wright

I just finished this short study from a British minister on discipleship and found it surprising. Let me just say that I'm happy that the book was short - I think more Christian writers should take heed...less filler, keep to the point ladies and gents! What I found enlightening was the return to the center of following Christ - His return from the dead. That changed (and changes still) everything. It is the only thing that brings any real hope - for humanity and all creation. He says that as Christians, we are like Sunday (post-resurrection) people living in a Friday (still dead) world (page 61). He also surprised me by mentioning that the most frequent command in Scripture is 'do not fear' - I've got to check that out. Finally, his concept 'being more human' is pretty cool...in that the more we conform to Jesus's way of living, we are actually being more human - like we were created to be. He goes so far as to say that Christ, as the glorified, perfect human, remains in the glorified state and will return in that state - He didn't just vanish back into some 'divine mist' - He's still the glorified 'son of man' that will return. I've got to chew on all this more...

My girl Emma

As I drove my daughter Emma-Anne to school this morning and watched her run off to class, I felt my chest get really heavy. I still remember holding her in my hands - she barely filled them back then. Now she's independent, almost as tall as me, and on the verge of double-digit age 10. She's becoming a young woman - even talking about youth group! I got my start in ministry with being a youth minister - she's almost that age...it's too much for me sometimes. I wonder what she's learned from her mom and I, what she'll remember from her childhood. I wonder who she'll first fall in love with and where she'll graduate from college. I wonder about her future and where she'll live and what she'll be doing. Will she ever know how much her mom and I love her? I've always done this silly little thing with her since she was little...I'd ask her "who's my favorite girl?" I'd then run through random girl names until I would whisper Emma...then she'd say yes! Little things like that will forever be etched in my memory. I find myself praying about her teenage time - Lord, help me have wisdom, love and patience for this next phase of Emma's life...and to enjoy every moment with her!

What the Bible REALLY says…

Ah yes, the big buzzword here is ‘interpretation’. Well, if you read over my lengthy translation vs. version comments, proper Biblical interpretation hinges on having a couple of trustworthy Bible versions handy. I think it also is important to read how other trustworthy Christian teachers have explained parts of the Bible. Interpretation is really just an explanation. The problem with all of this is that we can often be led away from truth by poor interpretation or bad explanations or teachings can’t we? I’m sure God grieves every time His words are misused to divide the church, start wars, and mess up lives. How can we be confident with this whole concept then, of interpretation? This is a deep subject, but in essence, I think that the Bible has a lot of straight-forward, easy to understand ideas. Things like loving your neighbor, trusting in God’s goodness, accepting the grace and forgiveness from Jesus, helping people around us, being thankful, etc. - those are all pretty clear. When it comes to the confusing parts or at least the harder to understand parts, we all must be careful. Jumping to conclusions too quickly is an easy trap. Let’s start, then, with the idea here: CONTEXT IS KING. No more taking a verse or two out of it’s chapter or book and making big conclusions from just a few words…that’s a no no! In respecting context, we’ve got to ask questions like: Who is this written to? Who is writing this part of the Bible? Where are we in history? What part of the story of the Bible are we in? Etc, etc. Second, let’s realize that the Bible should never say what it never said. Look, we’re already at a disadvantage when we read it in English (not the original language) as we sit in our nice clothes drinking coffee in the free, democratic Western world, so, let’s not make it worse by claiming that Scripture says stuff that the first century world would never have read into it…let’s be fair! Having the humility and the patience to put ourselves into the sandals of a first century Christian can help us avoid bad interpretations. Finally, embrace Christian community and find out how the majority of Jesus’ followers interpret or explain it. This is really, really helpful. If you think about it, the Bible has been around for a while – people have been studying it for a while – maybe they’ve found some common ground in explaining some of those hard parts. One final thought…is it ok to have a difference of opinion on some of the harder passages? I should hope so – and NEVER let that be a cause of division. Humility is a key for all followers of Jesus –so, let’s show some with each other!

Translations vs. Versions…help!!!

I’ve been asked this question a lot since I’ve been a Christian. I guess it might be time to actually put this out there. Yes, there is a difference between these two words in relation to the Bible. You see, few if any people I know read the Bible in the original languages that it was written (namely old Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek from the first century). So, most read the Bible in English or another current language. If you stop by a local bookstore, or better yet, a Christian bookstore, you’ll find lots, and lots and LOTS of choices in your search for a copy of the Bible in English. Which one is the ‘true’ English copy – I’ve actually been asked this…well, there is no ‘true’ copy that I know of, except maybe some would say that the first English popular Bible, the old King James (or King James Version – KJV for short). In any case, most all of us need a translation or else we’d need to know the original languages. Since we don’t, we have to choose an English copy. Since each English copy has its root in either a direct translation (the author or editor did the translating him or herself or with a group of translators), or indirect translation (a modern update of an earlier English translation – like the New King James Version), let’s rather talk about versions. There are ‘literal’ versions and ‘free’ versions. The literal tend to stick to the original languages a bit closer making them a bit harder to read for us modern English speaking folk (like KJV, or the New American Standard – NAS). For studying, I like to use one of those more literal versions. Now, the ‘free’ versions are much more readable, but, they tend not to follow the original languages as closely. The editors of these free versions take liberty to give readers more of the ‘gist’ of the original language rather than a word for word reading. Obviously this can lead to the editors swaying the meaning for the reader one way in one version and another way in another version. So, here is what I do, I use a couple of English versions. I use my trusty New American Standard (NAS) for study and my new favorite ‘free’ version, the Message for more of a modern, nice flowing reading text. If there is something I see that seems a bit strange, I check the versions next to each other to make sure I’m able to interpret that part of the Bible accurately. Oops – I brought up that pesky word ‘interpretation’ – that will be talked about in another time! Anyway, the more literal versions would be the KJV, the NAS, and maybe the RSV (Revised Standard Version), whereas the free versions would including the NIV (New International Version), the NLT (New Living Translation), or The Message. Don’t let one editor sway you – check one or two more before you simply settle! Happy reading! If you want more on this, check this little resource out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_version_debate

Drawing Near

Once a person admits that there is a God and then sees that Jesus is that God who walked ‘among us’, there is a question…what now? Once a decision is made to follow Jesus, what is the next step? The Bible talks about how the first followers of Jesus not only believed this, but also took steps. Steps like going God’s way instead of their own (repentance is the big word here), and agreeing with God about who they were and are – sinners (that’s called confession) and even admitting their need for God to save (in what Jesus did on the cross). The early followers also did these things in a public setting, culminating in the physical/spiritual act of immersion - totally covered by water (this is that big word baptism). Then, these early followers began a life-long process of becoming more like their savior/rabbi Jesus. This is where the ‘drawing near’ concept hits all who’ve embarked on this life-long process. How do we draw near to God? The Bible promises that God will draw near to us if we will draw near to Him (James 4:8). This comes in the middle of the chapter which speaks of what we as followers ‘do’. Sometimes we can draw near to God by doing what Jesus would do – being about justice, mercy, kindness, gentleness, love, patience, etc. Other times we draw near by listening to God in times of being still and quiet. We draw near by reading the stories of what Jesus did in the Bible – that shows us how he lived and walked and worked. We draw near by making every moment an opportunity to see Him, talk with Him, reflect on Him – act like Him. Drawing near means that everyday we are alive, we do something consciously to grow in our faith. The things we do can be done for God’s sake and He believes in us – we can do it. God promises that if we’re about that in our lives, He’ll reward us with drawing near to us – that’s amazing! I’ll end with the words of King David to his King-elect son Solomon (from I Chronicles 28:9): “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

Celtic Christianity – Listing to the Heartbeat of God

I’ve always wondered why some in the Christian church are so enamored with Celtic stuff. I mean, the Celtic crosses, the artwork, the old stone church buildings, the ‘mystery’, what’s this all about anyway? I then read a short little book about Celtic Christianity called “Listening for the heartbeat of God – A Celtic Christianity” by J. Philip Newell and I really connected with this whole Celtic thing for the first time. What really resonates with me is this idea that God is the heart of all creation, and, since He is, when you really dig deep in every human heart, beneath the surface sin and evil, you will ultimately find the good placed there by God. This is counter to the notion which has it’s roots with the early Christian church father Augustine who taught that the human is basically evil and unable to do anything good without God. It was this very view of creation that got the first Celtic ‘philosopher/theologian’ Pelagius excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Many more excommunications followed as Celtic monasteries revealed this similar belief in creation and the elevation of women and the marriages of Celtic priests. I also find that I resonate with the Celtic idea of following Jesus in such a way that we spend the time really leaning in and listening to God, rather than the easier ‘do, do, do’ busy Christianity. Even the early Celtic missionary methods resonate with me – in that they sought to show the Britons that their pagan spiritual practices were actually calling for the one true God and that Christ fulfills all that their practices were meant to fulfill. So, instead of violently changing or destroying the culture of the Britons, those missionaries would simply help them see how Christ is the root of all that the human heart has been yearning for all along. There is much more to this, so, I’m really chewing on how this relates to followers of Jesus today…now I know why I’ve always loved ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ – all Guinness aside…

East 91st Street Christian Church – VISION!

My wife and I recently returned from a weekend spent in Indianapolis, Indiana visiting a church which, in my estimation, has incredible vision for people who don’t know God. I was amazed at the 20-30 church planting leaders that flew in for this gathering all representing churches that were started in part by the support and love of this church in Indiana. Hearing stories about people finding faith through all these new churches reiterated to me and Jackie how important new churches are for people who are far from God. We had a great discussion with a couple from the UK who had surprisingly similar stories about the lack of interest in church – much like the Seattle or Northwest region. One of the elder members of the church drove us back to the airport on Monday morning and I shared with him how humbling it is to be used by God in church planting. He then spoke with pride about how each year, as the budget is presented, some church members protest the money spent on planting new churches. He, with passion, told Jackie and me how, as a church, they are not backing down from their commitment to see new churches planted. Wow – now, that is a church deeply committed to the kingdom of Jesus!

Our Spiritual/Physical Body

A friend at church recently brought up a subject that I must admit I'm intrigued by...the idea that our spiritual and physical natures are much more connected than we might initially realize. What we do with our body affects us spiritually. In fact, Jesus, in the New Testament, fully embraces physical humanity walking, eating, drinking, crying, weeping, working, etc. He does all this, and yet, He is also God - and God is Spirit. This is profoundly interesting to me. We tend to separate our spirituality into a back corner or at least back in a place where it can be in our lives but not too connected to everything else. I don't think this is possible for a follower of Jesus! Look, some of the most profound activities we do as a community of faith is physically act out our faith - even in our worship (bread & wine for communion, water immersion baptism, raising our hands, getting on our knees in prayer, etc.). So, I'm pondering how to better embrace and integrate my physical and spiritual connectedness as a follower of Christ. I think that's being more like Him...WWJD...

Easter in the NW

So one of the biggest weekends for churches all around the world occured...yes, Easter. Despite the bunnies, eggs, egghunts and the fact that it followed Washington's spring break, it felt like a great Saturday and Sunday at least for Common Ground Church. To see many of the volunteer's faces as they served the community at our Eggstravaganza was pretty cool. I watched our church really open up and talk to friends and neighbors and show that following Jesus isn't weird and that going to a church could be pretty fun. The overall attendance was a bit lower than I had hoped and prayed for, but, I know God was speaking and moving for those who came. In fact, one of the highlights for me was not only seeing my neighbors in church, but I also go ride to church with my family - for the first time in over 2 years! I prayed this morning that our church would continue to let God work in our homes, neighborhoods and friendships to draw more to know Him.

The E-Myth for Churches...

I recently read a book given to me by a friend called "The E-Myth" and I must say, I did enjoy it. This is really a book geared toward helping small businesses, but, I thought it applied to small, startup churches (like Commonground!) as well. It points out that many who begin startups are workers who worked for someone else then decided they could be their own boss just as easily and so they quit working for someone else and start their own gig. Sounds good, but the problem is that one cannot just do the work you've always done when you are a business owner - you must wear other hats like vision, marketing, finance, management, etc. So, the book did a good job of pointing out that you cannot run it all well like that - which is why so many small ventures die. Some of us have the entrepenuer strong, others have the management part strong, others have the technician/worker strong. All three are vital. Good insight I think. The book then delves into the solution of sorts which is to decide one's goals in life (personally), then, for the small biz owner to plan the business with those life goals in mind. I did like the idea presented in the book where a small biz learns franchise way of doing things - everything reproducible without the owner's hands having to be in it - a reproducible business that one could sell to an investor or other owner and be able to produce the same great results somewhere else. How could that apply to churches? That's what I've been chewing on...

Cross-dressing friend

I just found out that a friend from across the pond likes to dress up in women's clothing and has a different name when he does so. He was worried that my wife and I would not want to continue being friends with such a revelation. I must admit I was shocked, but, I certainly don't see any wisdom in ending the friendship. I let him know that my wife and I were not into that scene, but, that we support them as friends and continue to care for them. I believe that God made us to be creative people, and, cross-dressing is certainly creative in some sense, so, I'm not sure whether or not it would actually be considered sin. I'll have to study this out a bit. I mean, could a follower of Jesus have such a hobby? What should the church's stance be, Biblically speaking? Food for thought here...

If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat

This was a nice little book by John Ortberg about Simon Peter, one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus, and his famous walking on the water episode in the New Testament. It is a great metaphor for anyone wanting to accomplish something big for God that involves risk. This story really shaped the decision my wife and I made to leave Tennesee and move all the way to Washington state to help start a new church. As in one of the chapters of the book, many of us remain 'boat potatoes' for too long - theorizing and talking about accomplishing great things for God and yet remaining in our seat assignments. Even though Peter wasn't perfect, he was at least willing to risk failure to do something no human had done before - he trusted his God enough. How about us? Do we trust in a God that can move mountains and allow land-loving followers to walk on water?

Jury Duty in King County

So, I just finished up a '2' day jury duty assignment - my first ever. The process is quite interesting the first day especially if you get picked for a jury. It is really boring when you are waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the next case looking for jurors. I had to take a hardship on the first case I was up for due to a vacation 3 weeks away - the judge couldn't guarantee the attempted murder case would conclude by then. After that, it was waiting with a 100 or so other possible jurors hour after hour...wow. I would have really liked to have served on a jury for the experience, but, alas, for this time around, it wasn't meant to be. Now I get to enjoy that big paycheck - a whopping $10 a day for my services...McDonalds here I come!

Funny Websites

I was having a conversation with a friend today about funny websites. You know, hidden gems on the Internet that contain useless fun...sort of like www.homestarrunner.com or maybe www.angryalien.com. I was wondering - what if there are other hidden gems out there than no one knows about? Will they ever be discovered? I wonder if anyone has a definitive directory out there? Recently I discovered these funny little gems...http://www.whiteboydj.com/babygotbook.html or this one http://www.guzer.com/videos/preacher_pinch_tits.php. Yes, these are the things that keep us all sane right? Of course, there are other sites that have more of a mass gem appeal - like http://www.ebaumsworld.com/ or maybe www.atomfilms.com (not rated folks!)...well, you get the idea - let's all make sure we share the good ones eh? Happy (and safe) surfing y'all!

Agenda Spirituality

Why do some of us (me especially) tend to view our spiritual life as a sort of "Godly checklist"? It's like somehow if I read a chapter of the Bible and pray 10 minutes, then I must be growing and on my way to sainthood. This tendency makes me, at times, run through prayer and Bible reading so I can run off to the 'important' things of the day - the things I control. I was reminded of this in reading the story of Balaam and his donkey in the Bible. Balaam had an agenda - he was a prophet for hire of sorts and was journeying to a new job. On the way, the donkey gave him problems because, for some reason, the donkey could see a terrifying angel of death right on the path ready to kill Balaam. After 3 attempts by the donkey to get off the road, Balaam loses his mind - he's already beat the dumb donkey a lot, and, in the middle of his rage, the donkey starts talking...whoa. What really gets me is that Balaam doesn't react to the donkey's talking - he's so narrowly focused on his anger and his derailed agenda that he misses a miracle. Not only that, but, as the donkey points out, he missed seeing God right in front of him. Boy, this story was meant for people like me. Lord, help me not miss a miracle or miss seeing You because of my lame agendas....Amen.

Babies - Creation's Replay

Over the past week I've visited 2 couples in the hospital to greet their newborns into the world. What a wonderful way to remember the amazing miracle of creation all over again. None of us were around when God originally created the world so, for us, this is maybe the closest we can come to seeing a glimpse of how it would have been...amazing. I was thinking about this - how birth and death are moments when humanity is closest to the 'other side' - the unseen realm where God exists unhindered by the concerns of flesh. My kids were singing a hopeful old spiritual about death - from the latest Duhks album, and I was thinking how it is sort of a cool thing to picture death as the gateway to eternity with God - a celebration of a life well spent and the excitement stepping into the realm of eternity...again, amazing.

Language of Adoration

I've felt for some time that I'm uncomfortable with the language often used to describe the relationship between Christ and His followers. At times the language sounds romantic in the least and even erotic at the most extreme - each of which make me a bit uneasy. I read a devotion today from Charles Spurgeon and he talks about gazing upon the Savior's lips and calling them the most lovely and most sweet - this makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Now, Spurgeon quotes the Song of Solomon, so, the language there is very sensual, romantic and erotic, which is why I would never use those phrases as I speak of my walk with Christ. I know there are those who feel like the Song of Solomon is a metaphor for the church as the bride of Christ, but even that seems difficult for me to swallow. I personally think that the Song of Solomon is just that - a song picturing the bliss of marital love - nothing more. A song to speak of the captivation of love between to people - a beautiful picture. When I speak of my Savior, I think of strength, power, sacrifice, unconditional love, acceptance and devotion - I'm not thinking how, as Jars of Clay sang, "I want to fall in love with you" - that is the language of romantic love to me. Anway, I'm done now...

Crash wins the Oscar for Best Picture!

Have you seen this film? I was really impressed with the story this film told. My wife and I were talking about it last night and we both thought that one of the most powerful moments in this film about predjudice was when a man of middle eastern descent goes to kill another man but shot him with blanks because his daughter switched the bullets. I think the movie shows that all of us, regardless of how 'objective' or 'politically correct' we think we are, we all struggle with stereo types and predjudice. Well done, Oscars! Sorry Brokeback...

Two For the Money

I just finished watching a film called Two for The Money with Al Pachino and Matthew McConaughey and I really felt like this movie captured the lie that addicts tell themselves...that somehow the next bet or trick or hit or whatever will make them complete. Why do we lie to ourselves and think that sin - whatever it might be, will EVER satisfy the longings of our hearts? ONLY GOD CAN DO THIS. Even though the film has some moments that are not necessary - a bit too graphic - the story is told well. I just wanted to put that out there - it engaged my mind at the end of a pretty long day of preaching and teaching and leading worship for church. Only God can really satisfy our needs. I could say that again...only GOD can satisfy our deepest longings.

Spiritual Growth for a Type-A

One of the most difficult things I've wrestled with over the years I've been following Jesus is being still. I'm not sure if it is because of my personality type, attention deficit or distaste for inactivity, but, whatever it is, I've had a tough time with silence, meditation and waiting on God. I know this is a Biblical concept, but, being silent - doing absolutely nothing is hard work! I've followed that mantra that idleness is the 'devil's playground' maybe a little too much. So, from now on I'm going to make an effort to be still a little more. Lord help me!