Author: Fred Shope

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Where Do You Stay?

One of the things about working with young African-American students is the things you learn. I have noticed that they will ask someone where they “stay” while I would ask where they “live”. I was thinking that maybe they are closer to speaking correctly than those of us who speak “good” grammar. The house that I share with my wife is the place where I stay when I am not out at work, etc., much like someone stays at a motel. But I “live” everywhere I go and in everything I do. I’m certainly not dead when I am away from home.

Now, think of the words “church” and “worship”. Growing up, I was always taught that “church” is the place you go to a few times a week to “worship” God. You know, “This is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people.” I have since come to the realization that this is not the correct way to use these terms. The little ditty should go, “This is the building, this is the steeple, open the doors and see the church.” And since we are the church, we continue to be the church everywhere we go and in everything we do. In the same way, “worship” is not just something we do a couple of times a week in a “worship service”. Worship is what the followers of Jesus should be doing in each thing we do. It should be in the fabric of our being. The weekly service is the church coming together to do corporately what they have been doing individually throughout the week. Our Sunday worship should be an overflow of what we are about the other six days.

Think about the difference it would make in our lives as individuals and as congregations if we re-thought those two terms (as well as others.)

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TGIF

Another campaign season has gone by, and the smears and half-truths have been put away, for awhile. The political landscape has changed, and it remains to be seen how it will all shake out. It’s getting cold here. We have a freeze warning tonight, and it seems to me like it’s earlier than usual. I don’t know.

What I do know is there is some good stuff out there in blogdom. Here is a sampling:

Kansas Bob has written an open letter to the President.
Recovering our creativity.
Kathy is creating messes.
Evangelicals, elections, and blindness to sin.

Donald Miller writes about the fear of doing.
A paint-by-numbers life.
Jeff Dunn writes about creativity overcoming safety.
It takes a movement.

Scot McKnight on the eschatology of politics.
Unfree in Christ.
Bill Kinnon asks why big name Christian leaders aren’t decreasing.
Woodpeckers on the wall.

Mark recommends payperform.
A community with no one in need.
Jonathan Brink writes about anger.
No money, mo problems.
Alan Knox on community.

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Don’t Forget

  • A few years ago I watched a video from the “That the World May Know” series. It was titled “Walk as Jesus Walked: Don’t Forget Us”. It’s about following Jesus in suffering and persecution. I’d always thought that while Christians in countries such as China or the Sudan were suffering for their faith, we here in the “Christian” West had it easy. And that is true to a great extent – the biggest thing we have to worry about is having someone make fun of us. The video showed me something that I had never thought of before. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, 26, Paul writes, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ….If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

    Do we suffer with the parts of the body that are going through persecution and suffering? Do we even know when they are suffering? I think the fact that we generally don’t enter into or even know of the suffering of our brothers and sisters is because we have lost that sense of oneness in the body that the early church had. Most of the time we don’t even know the struggles that others have in our local churches, so how do we expect to know what goes on around the world? There is no excuse for not knowing what is going on out there. Voice of the Martyrs and other organizations are constantly giving accounts of the suffering in the body. It does take a little work, but it can be done. Find out.

    If you want an object lesson about what it means when the whole body suffers because of one part, hit your thumb hard with a hammer. Then tell me if your whole body feels it or if you can keep the effects localized on your thumb. That is how the body of Christ is. Or at least how it should be.

    Find out how your brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering. Pray for them. Let their suffering affect you. Above all – never forget them.

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Fear

I’m sitting in my living room, watching the Restore Sanity and/or Fear rally with John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. There is a lot of funny stuff going on, but in the midst of the fun and games, there is a message that rings true and seems to be very appropriate this weekend. One of the things Colbert and Stewart are going back and forth about is fear. Colbert rants about fear, and Stewart tries to counter him. There were many media examples of things that we should fear, from both ends of the political spectrum. Most of the fears are overblown, and only serve to stir people up.

The reason I think the timing of this rally is appropriate is that this is the weekend that many in the church fear the most: The “Devil’s holiday,” otherwise known as Halloween. It is also the time of year when productions like “Helloween” and “Judgement House” use fear as a means of evangelism. The month of October, especially the last week, is the most terrifying month on the church calendar. Many Christians try to avoid Halloween completely, sitting in the basement and pretending they are not home. Their kids are not allowed to participate in the festivities. Others gather together and have celebrations with others because they want their kids to be able to dress up and get candy. These gatherings have names like “Trunk or Treat,” or “Harvest Festival,” and are attempts to Christianize what they see as a pagan holiday. When our children were growing up, we were in that second category.

I believe that we should all live according to our convictions, but those convictions should not be based in fear. In this article that I linked to yesterday, the author states that the celebration of All Saints began in the 300s, and that the date of November 1 and the night before was fixed on the church calendar in the 700s. The idea of celebrating the saints came about as a way of saying that Satan and death do not have the last word. The saints are alive. The author makes the point that the church has looked for ways to mock Satan throughout the centuries, including picturing him in a red suit with a tail. From gargoyles on churches to Martin Luther choosing October 31 as the day when he nailed his 95 Theses to the church door, the Christians have chosen to mock Satan rather than cower in fear. And he should be mocked, because he has been defeated.

I know that Scripture says that the Devil roams around like a lion, looking for folks to devour, but I think that means something other than living in fear because some people claim evil stalks the land at the end of October. There are more important things to be concerned about, and their are many other ways Satan tries to steal, kill, and destroy. He is alive and active in this world, but Scripture does tell us that the One who is in us is greater. Satan and his greatest weapon, death, is defeated because Jesus was raised from the dead. We are not given a spirit of fear, but rather, a spirit that calls God Abba. If the creator of the universe is our Father, should we fear anything? I think not.

So, go out and celebrate Halloween. Or not. Whatever you choose to do, do it out of conviction that is based on faith in a God who is all powerful, not a feeling of fear.

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TGIF

It’s been a stormy week. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across the country, and of course all the campaign ads. I, for one, will be glad when the voting is done and the ads are no more, at least for a while. The fall leaves are beautiful here, and it’s almost time to bring the plants in from the back porch.

On to the good stuff:

I don’t know if I want one of these or not.
I wish I had read this when my kids were young.
This is funny.
I really like this.
These are some guidelines for Halloween.
Some think that Lost should have ended like this.

The church is a who?
In defense of women.
Faith can be found, but not forced.
If Jesus were a candidate.
Old is new again (HT: Josh).
Do Christians contribute to society?
Take the God test.

Art, beauty, and craftsmanship.
A conversation we must have.
Profoundly human.
Where children learn they matter.
Superhero or thorn?
With great power comes great responsibility.
The art of glory (HT: Scot McKnight).

Enjoy your weekend. Don’t take any tainted candy. 🙂

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World Vision Wednesday

As Haiti continues the struggle to rebuild, another blow comes along in the form of Cholera. The outbreak of this disease is hampering relief efforts. To donate to the work of World Vision in Haiti, go here.

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Back Roads

This is something I wrote a little over four years ago. It still is true.

I love back roads. When I travel, I would rather take back roads than the interstate any day. I enjoy seeing what lies in those places that most people just zoom by in their hurry to get to their destination. I like exploring and am usually willing to go out of my way to see what I can see.

What is interesting (to me anyway) is that my journey following Jesus seems to be taking me on the back roads. I know people who knew right from a young age what God was going to have them do. I thought I knew, at least in my senior year of high school. One year of Bible college, then two years learning the printing trade. One year turned into five, a youth ministry emphasis turned into a teaching and coaching gig at a Christian school, where I met my wife. After leaving that school, the plans were to get a job in the federal government. Of course, that was the time when the government had a hiring freeze. One year, a son, and a low paying job later, God told us it was time to go someplace else.

A move to Cincinnati brought further adventures. The twelve years we spent there brought a daughter, success in coaching, another job loss, and more education (both formal and informal). After some difficult times the Lord moved us again. This time to Rock Hill, SC.

The place God put us in was in a Christian school where I had applied for a job seventeen years earlier. During my time there I learned how to coach some different sports and how to teach some different subjects. All along God was taking me down some spiritual paths that I had never explored before. I also had the privilege of coaching both son and daughter and watching them grow up. Then, God decided it was time to take another back road.

After leaving that school, I was sure that the road was going to lead to the fulfillment of a long-time dream. I found out that road was closed, and I had to take a detour. The road God put me on led out into the desert, to a dry and empty place where He could teach me more of the things he had already started. After wandering around for a while, I stopped and settled in for what looked like a long stay. The desert school turned out to be sometimes hard, sometimes boring, sometimes frustrating. It was a one-to-one teacher to student ratio, and I had the full attention of my Rabbi. I learned that many of the things I had been taught were not right, that many of my ideas and presuppositions needed to be scrapped. I learned what is really important, what is really essential to following Jesus. I became a disciple of my Rabbi, and finally understood what a disciple really is. Finally it was time to leave the desert.

My journey is still taking twists and turns. But I’m finding out that, even though it may be hard and frustrating at times, I am enjoying exploring some of the back roads and trails that Jesus leads me on. Sometimes I lag behind, sometimes I try to run ahead. But, I am learning that the best way is to follow the Rabbi so closely that I am covered with the dust from His feet. Life is an adventure.

May God bless you on your journey.

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TGIF

It’s getting cooler here in the sunny South. The temperature tonight is supposed to fall into the 30s, with a freeze warning in the mountains. I have a four day weekend, so Jan and I are going into the mountains on Monday to catch some of the fall colors. Should be nice.

Here are the links:

Jeff Dunn’s little light.
Jeff’s safe place.
Dan Edelen’s sniff test.
The Merry Monk’s home.

Al Lindskoog’s passion is grace.
Scot McKnight’s next book.
Jim Wallis’ article on the election season.
Alan Knox hits number 2500.

Crossroads, clowns, credibility.
Are you a demographic? Jeff McQ evidently is.
Money versus wealth.
I don’t know how SI could leave out Walt Frazier and Bill Walton (HT: Scot McKnight)

Have a great weekend.