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Weekend Wanderings

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s beginning to look like Spring here in the sunny South. The days are getting warmer and the sun is staying up longer. It took a week, but I finally recovered from losing an hours sleep when we moved the clocks ahead. A new pope has been chosen and the world waits to see what his time in office will be like. March craziness (I don’t want the NCAA to think I’m violating their trademark or anything) has begun, and those of us who are fans of college basketball are looking forward to the next few weeks.

Here are the links:

Something good to consider.
Rebirth poem.
One hundred things.
St. Patrick.
Commentary by Jesus.

A good reminder from Mike Erich.
A short history of St. Patrick’s day from J. R. Miller.
Alan Knox imagines.
Zack Hunt on being fundamentalist in Alaska. Part 1.
John Frye has some suspicions.

Enough punishment.
Grateful.
The 1 command.
The woman at the Circle K.
New ministry dictionary.

Have a blessed week!

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World Vision Wednesday

World Vision has joined with 10×10, a campaign promoting the education and empowerment of girls. This story from Ethiopia highlights how child sponsorship can help.

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Weekend Wanderings

The cardinals have gathered in Rome, and there soon will be a new pope. In other news, the cardinals, blue jays, and robins are gathering in our yard, and spring weather is making its way in. Since it’s March, the madness is about to begin, with some of the smaller college conferences running their tournaments this weekend. Who will be Cinderella this year? It will be interesting to see.

Here is the good stuff:

How to become a pope.
A good reminder from Kansas Bob.
Raised with Christ.
Jim Wallis on “The Bible”.
Fun facts about popes and conclaves.

Jared Murray on solitude and community.
Using social media.
Daniel Jepsen begins a series on being radical.
The prime directive of Scripture.
Zack Hunt on Christian unity.

Keith Giles begins a series on unbelievable truth.
The young goat god.
Alan Knox on ministry.
Lessons from an ass.
John Frye on discipleship.

Caffeine facts.
Scot McKnight  on the Sermon on the Mount.
The Gardner.
Frank Viola has a series on the Holy Spirit. Part 1 is here.
Doubt.

Have a blessed week!

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Repost: Pursuing the Virtuous Life

This was first posted on April 22, 2010.

One of the things I learned during my days as a teacher in fundamentalist Christian education was the fact that many of America’s founding fathers had lists of virtues or rules of behavior that were good things for the students to know and emulate. Ben Franklin had a list of thirteen, while George Washington had one hundred ten rules to follow. All in all the rules and lists are not bad things for people to check out and learn from. We obviously could use more civility and manners in today’s society.

The problem comes when we try to make ourselves virtuous by following a list of rules. Ben Franklin realized that while he had become a better person in many ways, he had not reached the state of moral perfection that he hoped to attain. Many churches preach, and many people believe, that following the dictates of their church or a set of rules from a particular group will help you be “right with God.” Many other churches who don’t have a long list of “standards” still preach steps to be closer to God, or any number of things you can do to be a better Christian. This kind of thinking, while it may make life a bit better, is nothing more than man’s attempt to do what only God can do.

What is forgotten in all the lists to follow is grace. Grace is the word that Christians use when they are talking about salvation. They are correct; we are saved by grace, not by anything we do. What is so often neglected is that we also live and grow by grace. As God’s children, there is nothing we can do to make him love us less. We can not tear ourselves away from God’s grace and love. It is also true that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us any more. We cannot add to the Father’s grace and love toward us. I love my son and daughter unconditionally. They cannot do anything that is going to make me stop loving them, and they do not have to do anything to earn my love. So it is with God. He loves us, period.

As we learn to accept and rest in that love it grows in us and our love for God and for others grows. The way we grow in the Father’s love is by spending time with him, seeing each day as an opportunity to be guided and shaped by the Spirit. We learn about the Father by looking at the Son, by immersing ourselves in the Gospels and seeing Jesus as he really is. The first disciples spent three years with the Master, eating and drinking with him , traveling with him, hearing his teachings and seeing how he lived those teachings out. After that, they were given the Holy Spirit and went out and turned the world upside down. We have the account of Jesus’ life and teachings, and we have the same Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to become like Jesus.

Our lives do not hang on man-made rules or anything else that comes from our own efforts. We can become better people, but the Father’s goal is for us to become like Christ. That can only come from the grace of God working in our lives through the Spirit. It happens because God loves us. Rest in that love. Don’t try to be a virtuous person. Instead, learn from Jesus and let the Spirit teach you. Trust in the fact that the Father is shaping you into the image of Jesus. As the old hymn says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

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Lessons From The Man Who Ate New Orleans Part 4

In the first three posts, we looked at the cardinal virtues of community, generosity, resiliency, openness to outsiders, and diversity. In this post I want to look at tradition and celebration.

Webster defines tradition as a time honored practice or set of such practices. Tradition is complicated. There are many who see tradition as a bad thing, and it certainly can be. Tradition can be something that binds, that excludes, that stifles. Many of the conflicts between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day were about tradition. Tradition can be lifted up to something more important than it is, even to the point of something close to worship. Church programs, styles of music, or any number of things are sometimes elevated to almost the level of Scripture. A common phrase in some circles is, “We’ve always done it this way,” when an opportunity for change comes along. Tradition can take precedence over the good of others, and can keep us from loving them. Jesus was very clear about the wrongness of putting tradition ahead of loving others and doing good to them.

On the other hand, tradition can be a good, life affirming thing. It can draw folks close and build them up. A family gathering around a table can be a good tradition. Certain practices in the church can be good traditions and can connect us with others and with those who have gone before us in the faith. Traditions can keep us in touch with our heritage, give us a sense of oneness with others, and make us feel a part of something beyond ourselves. There are many today who are rediscovering some of the traditions of centuries past, and who are experiencing a deeper faith because of it.

One of the traditions that can be a good thing is the tradition of celebration. The people of God have a long history of celebration. Israel was given days of feasting as well as days of fasting. In Deuteronomy 14:22-26, the people were even told they could sell their tithe for silver and buy enough food, wine, and strong drink to have a feast with their families. The Israelites were a celebratory people. Jesus came and spent so much time celebrating that his critics accused him of being a glutton and a drunk. When asked why his disciples didn’t fast, he replied that there was no reason to fast at that time, that it was time to celebrate! Of course, those of us who follow the resurrected Christ have the best reason of all to celebrate. We are accepted by God because Jesus gave his life and then rose from the dead! Death has been defeated! If that’s not a reason to celebrate than I don’t know what is! N.T. Wright states that our Easter celebrations should be blow out affairs, with champagne! He says that we should party so boisterously that others look at us and wonder why. I think I agree with him. Think of all the things we celebrate. Is there really anything worth celebrating as much as the resurrection of our King, guaranteeing our resurrection? Even if we don’t want to throw a huge party to celebrate what the Father has given us, we should at least be people who celebrate and not folks who go around looking down all the time. Even in the midst of the mess and suffering of life, we know we are loved by the One who is going to renew all things, and that we are being renewed as well.

Let us be people who hold to those traditions that bring us closer to Christ and who are free to celebrate with abandon the grace and mercy we have been given. 

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3     

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Weekend Wanderings

Winter is hanging on here in the sunny South. We even had snow yesterday. Actually, it snows more in March around here than it it does during the other months. Does it seem like there are more winter storms now that they are named? I think we’re up to S or T. I don’t know.

Here are the links of the week:

Frank Viola asks a good question.
Being there.
Neal Paradise on spiritual gifts.
Scandal.

Neighboring.
Bill Kinnon on discipleship.
Lessons in faith.
Arthur Sido on an issue.

Matt Appling on equality.
Church models and methods.
Zack Hunt on the cross and evangelical Christianity.
12 resources for Christian generosity.

Keith Giles is annoyed.
How have you changed?
Another reason why March is one of the best months.
Talk like a human being.

This does not surprise me at all.
John Frye on the dark night of the soul.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

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Lessons From The Man Who Ate New Orleans Part 3

This is the third post in the series. In the first two posts, I wrote about the cardinal virtues of community, generosity, and resiliency. Today, I want to consider the virtues of diversity and openness to outsiders. New Orleans is a very diverse city. You will find folks from all different walks of life and from all corners of the globe. You can find any kind of food you can imagine, listen to whatever music strikes your fancy, and hear any of a multitude of languages, dialects, and accents. There are many styles of worship, from high church liturgical to storefront.

The body of Christ is similar. People from all over the world follow Jesus. In Revelation we read of people from every tribe and nation gathered around the throne. Christianity is not the possession of any single nation, ethnic group, or language. There are a multitude of ways in which people worship God. A local gathering of the church may be very diverse as well. There may be rich and poor, professional and blue collar.There may be folks who are quiet and reflective alongside those who are more boisterous and outgoing. Young singles may be next to married couples with children, who are next to older empty nesters. Ideally, the church is a body where different sorts of people are accepted and loved. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

One of the reasons for the diversity of New Orleans is the openness of the people to outsiders. New Orleans is a welcoming city to tourists, and to those who choose to stay. Diversity is encouraged and celebrated. No one is told they must be a certain way to visit or live there. This openness brings a unity within the diversity. When Katrina devastated the city, the people there banded together to rebuild it. They see themselves as one and have a mutual love for their city. While there is still much to be done in the rebuilding effort, the unity of the people has brought New Orleans back to vibrancy.

Those of us who follow Jesus should be the most welcoming and open of all people. We are commanded to love others, to do good to others, to show hospitality, to accept others because we have been been accepted. Too many times, that acceptance is not there. Local gatherings of the church tend to be fairly uniform. The natural tendency is to gather with folks who look like us, think like us, worship like us, and are in the same social class as we are. While that may be the natural tendency, the church is a supernatural body. We are the children of a God who has called folks from all walks of life and every nation. Along with the differences, we have some major thing in common. Each of us has been redeemed by the work of Christ, adopted by God, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We are not only fellow believers, we are family!

The early church turned the world upside down because they loved each other and those around them. They were one in their diversity. They were open to their neighbors. They lived the Gospel out in their day-to-day and showed the world the truth of the Kingdom of God. The church in America has largely become impotent because we have become more concerned with proving we are more correct than our brothers and sisters, and by waging “war” on those outside who don’t come up to our standards. While there is diversity, there is very little unity and very little openness to outsiders.

May we accept and love our fellow Christians, and be open and hospitable to those in our communities in order to show them the grace of the One who accepts us and who gave his very life for us.  

Part 1
Part 2

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Repost: Reflections on Lent

This was first posted on February 21, 2010 and has been edited to bring it up to date.

Wednesday, February 13 was the first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday is celebrated by Christians around the world with a service that includes the placing of ashes on the forehead of the worshippers. The ashes are to remind that we are made from dust, and to dust we will return. That is one part of the Lenten observance that I have not yet participated in, as I have only been observing Lent for the last three years. In the tradition in which I grew up, Lent (like most of the church calendar) was not even on our radar. We celebrated Christmas, Palm Sunday, and Easter. I had a vague notion that other days were observed in other traditions, but we were taught that those days were not important. So, I’m a bit late to the keeping of the church calendar, and still learning.

As I go through the Lenten period, I am struck by the fact that our bodies are formed from the dust of the ground, and to that dust they will return. Because of the brokenness of Creation, we face the inevitable decay of our physical selves. As a middle-aged man who has tried to compete in sports at the same level he did when he was in his twenties, I can attest to that. At some point our bodies will wear out and no longer be useful to us. When they are then placed in the ground, they will return to the dust from which they came. As we look around us, we see that decay in every part of our world. Ash Wednesday and Lent are good reminders that we are broken and in need of a savior.

Thankfully, that is not the end of the story. During this time, we take a good hard look at our humanity and our brokenness, but we also look ahead to the time when our Savior will return and will restore Creation. We look forward to the resurrection and the Kingdom of God coming in all its fullness. When I think about Ash Wednesday, and the symbolism of the ashes on the forehead, I think of the song, “Beauty Will Rise.” In that song Steven Curtis Chapman sings,

“Out of these ashes… beauty will rise
and we will dance among the ruins
We will see Him with our own eyes
Out of these ashes…beauty will rise
For we know, joy is coming in the morning…
in the morning
…This is our hope.
This is the promise.
That it would take our breath away
to see the beauty that’s been made
out of the ashes…”

As we go through this season of Lent, contemplating our sinfulness and our need of a redeemer, let us remember that we do have a Savior who has made us a new creation, and who will one day make all things new.

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Weekend Wanderings

Here in the sunny South, we saw the sun today for the first time in a few days. We seem to be in a pattern of rain for a couple days, then a couple dry days, then rain again. It is getting a bit warmer, and spring will be here before we know it. Last night, we went to hear Ruthie Foster perform. If you ever get a chance to see her in concert, go. You’ll thank me.

Here are the links:

In case you were wondering.
Magic books, grocery lists and silent messiahs.
The most sobering verse in the Bible.
More good news about coffee.
Defining the Jesus Way.

Keith Giles on distance.
Kansas Bob on failure.
Arthur Sido on powerlessness.
Matt Appling on modesty.
Alan Knox on beginning a relationship.

Wrinkled laundry.
What should we do?
Personal relationship.
Worship revision.
A good for nothing God.

The “Sunday thing.”
Afraid of the Holy Spirit?
Time killers.

I hope you have a blessed week!