Pastor iMak @ W. V. Vineyard Church

When the Cloud Lifts

2012-03-01T12:22:00.003-08:00

We're told at end of Exodus, and then again in Numbers that "Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped" (Num. 9: 17-18a).

Then, in Numbers 10, the LORD instructs Moses to make two trumpets that will be used as a signal to the whole camp for various things, one of which was to announce that "The cloud has lifted, time to move." Kind of a biblical version of a robo-call or group text.

Well, in the last months, it was apparent that God was doing something in our church and then, last week, He blew the trumpets and signaled for us to move.

I thought I was too old to plant a church when I did it at age 45. Now that I am approaching 57, I have decided that "He's God; and I'm not." God has called us to wrap up the activities of "Walnut Valley Vineyard Church" at the end of March and begin the preparations to move just 10 minutes away in North Orange County (probably Brea). We will be meeting in small groups during the preparation for a new church plant, hopefully to have a public launch in September.

Immediately after I had decided that this was indeed what God was speaking to me, and I spoke it out loud to my wife, things started to happen to confirm that this was indeed God's will.

First, a seemingly chance encounter with Pastor Kwan of the Vineyard of Harvest (a predominantly Chinese sister congregation about 3 blocks away) led to him telling me that they were looking for space for their new Cantonese congregation. I had been looking for someone to take over the lease--and now we can bless this growing Vineyard church as they reach the increasingly Asian community around us.

Second, a friend of mine who pastors a Vineyard church in Florida called me, seemingly out of the blue, but saying that God had laid me and our church on his heart. He was calling to find out what was going on. Early in his ministry career, I had called him twice at crisis moments. I guess there are people who are somehow linked in the Spirit (like some kind of spiritual Facebook friend) and God used him to confirm that it was indeed Him who was leading me.

And all of a sudden, I have a combination of energy and peace that comes from knowing God is moving and we are moving with Him. But I am also feeling the grief of loss, know that we will not just be leaving a building behind, but people who are not called to join us will begin saying goodbye.

How was it to walk for 40 years with Moses, not really being able to settle down anywhere? Not knowing if the encampment will last one day or ten years? That is what the Kingdom of God is like. We are "strangers and sojourners" here, living in tents and "looking forward to a city whose builder and architect is God" (Heb. 11:-10).

Are you settled in so much that you can't move when the trumpets blow and the cloud lifts? Be ready for His call when it comes.

Surviving a Shipwreck

2012-02-24T15:24:00.004-08:00

Have you ever been through a shipwreck?

Recently, with the dramatic wreck of the cruise liner, Costa Concordia, off the coast of Italy, the trauma of such an event was telecast daily into our living rooms. The ship did not go down suddenly, but gradually. If the evacuations had begun immediately, perhaps everyone would have made it. But as it was, dozens obeyed the orders to "not panic" and returned to their quarters, only to be trapped as the liner listed onto it's side.

In the 27th chapter of Acts, Luke describes in vivid details, the harrowing voyage of Paul and his companions--driven by gale-force winds across the Mediterranean Sea. Eventually, the ship is driven into a sandbar off the shore of Malta and battered to pieces by the surf.

Have you ever thought that your life was being driven along like that ship?

Even though the shipwreck was dramatically more violent that the Italian cruise liner, the thing that is incredible is that "everyone reached land in safety" (Acts 27: 44).

The key to survival was that Paul was on board. And Paul, rather than panicking, spent his time in prayer. He had a visitation during the voyage. "Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me" (Acts 27: 23-25).

Actually, Paul was also instructed that everyone needed to stay on board together so that everyone could survive. By then, the centurion and his soldiers knew that Paul was the one to follow, so they cut the lifeboats that were being lowered by the crew as a ruse to escape. And when the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners, as was customary to prevent their escape, the centurion prevented that as well.

Perhaps the key to making it through the storms in your life is to seek God's face. Paul followed the instructions of that angel of God and all of them were saved. And his prophetic vision exerted a moral authority that exuded true spiritual leadership.

Have you cried out to God as you are battered by gale-force winds? Have you heard Him speak above the din of the surf? Are you obeying His instructions despite all opposition?

Faith in an Upside Down World

2012-02-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

Dallas Willard opens his wonderful and important book, The Divine Conspiracy, with a story of a fighter pilot flying on instruments. When she went to pull up, she instead flew straight down into the ground. She had been entirely disoriented and had been flying upside-down.

I'm currently in the middle of reading a tremendous sociological study by Melanie Phillips entitled The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth and Power. She very powerfully documents how "out-of-whack" the world is becoming from a Judeo-Christian (as well as a politically conservative) perspective.

But is all of this really new? The truth is, ever since Abraham left the city of Ur in Chaldea, those who choose to walk with God have had to become "sojourners and pilgrims" here on earth.

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God" (Heb. 11: 8-10).

Abraham, the father of faith, demonstrated the essence of the faith journey. We must leave home (the familiar and safe) behind and strike out for a promised destination. This life is not about the arrival, the fulfillment, of those promises. Instead, it is all about the journey which can only be walked out by faith.

And so we are walking in the tension of the now and not-yet of the Kingdom. We are in the world but we are not of the world. We have received the incredible promises of God, but we are awaiting their complete consummation. We live between the first and second comings of Christ.

No wonder Paul cries out, "Maranatha!" (Come, Lord!) at the end of 1 Corinthians. And the book of Revelation ends with a similar cry, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22: 20).

Doin' the Stuff

2012-01-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Movement, used to coin all kinds of helpful sayings that captured the essence of a larger concept. One of my favorites is "Doin' the stuff."

He used to talk about his first experiences of going to church. As an unchurched new believer, he would read the Bible and hear about the incredible healings and miracles performed by Jesus and the early disciples. At church he would ask an elder, "Where do we do the stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"You know, the stuff in the Bible."

"Oh, we don't actually DO the stuff. We study about it, but we don't actually do it."

As we've started to go through the book of Acts on Sunday mornings, Luke's opening description of his writings to Theophilus really struck me again. In his Gospel and in Acts, he was describing all that Jesus "began to DO and to teach."

Jesus wasn't merely a great teacher--although He was one, and the greatest one who ever lived.

Jesus was also a DOER of what He taught. The works of Jesus were just as important as the words of Jesus. They went hand-in-hand.

And so it is with us, his disciples. If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we will not only teach about the Kingdom, but we will demonstrate the presence of the Kingdom by our Spirit-empowered works.

In the book of Hebrews, the writer tells us that God Himself confirmed the message of salvation through "signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Heb. 2: 4).

Do you hunger, like me, to be a disciple of Jesus in both words and works? Let's get filled and equipped for ministry and then take the risks necessary to actually do the stuff.

Wrestling With God

2012-01-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

I did something prophetic for the New Year: I shaved my beard. It made me feel a little like Ezekiel: "Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor to shave your head and your beard" (Ez. 5: 1a).

Symbolically, I removed something that represented the past so that I could have a fresh start. Goodbye, 2011; Hello, 2012. I think I needed to leave a lot of what was difficult about last year behind me.

For the Passover celebration every year, Israel was instructed to remove all yeast from their home: sweep it away. Yeast represents sin. Get it out of there so you can have a fresh start.

I feel God calling our church corporately and me as an individual to focus on the next phase of our journey with Him. Like Jacob who fled from his father-in-law, Laban, and returned to the promised land, only to face the daunting prospect of an angry brother, Esau.

God used the opportunity to strip Jacob of his self-reliance, deception and manipulation. He jumped him at the Jabbok and they wrested all night. (Gen. 32: 22-32)

It wasn't really a fair fight. I mean, God just needed to touch Jacob's hip and it was wrenched out of the socket. But Jacob would not give up. "I won't let go until you bless me!" (Gen. 32: 26b).

And I think God loves that kind of chutzpah. There's not a really good English equivalent: audacity, gall, guts, nerve. In the face of God himself, Jacob still fights for the blessing.

And God gives it to him in the form of a new name. Israel. No longer will he be "he grasps the heel--that is, he manipulates to get ahead." Instead, his name will be "he wrestles with God." That is, he still fights to get ahead, but with God, the One who can REALLY bless.

How about you? Are you wanting God to bless you this New Year? Let go of trying to get what you want through manipulation and get into it with God. Begin to wrestle with Him until you get your answer. You may end up walking with a limp--but maybe then you will remember where the blessing really comes from.

The Protestant Mary

2011-12-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

As a Protestant believer, I am always a little uncomfortable with how to talk about Mary, the mother of our Lord, who stands at the center of the Christmas story. One of the dividing issues between Catholic/Orthodox Christians and Protestants is how we treat Mary.

I must confess that I love the Ave Maria by Franz Schubert. I consider it one of the most perfectly constructed songs that I know. Yet, I feel a little guilty about listening to it because the words are the "Hail Mary..." prayer that Catholics use when reciting the Rosary--in Latin.

The tendency to venerate Mary began very early in the church with the veneration of martyrs who were said to be "already in God's presence and glorious in His sight" (Early Christian Doctrines, J. N. D. Kelly, p. 490). Mary eventually was compared to Eve, "the mother of all living" (Gen. 3: 20), and was viewed as the proper owner of that title. The problem of how she could bear the sinless Son of God led to the belief that she herself was sinless. Eventually this led to the belief that she was born without sin (immaculate conception). In addition, there was a belief that she remained perpetually a virgin. Jesus' brothers and sisters were said to either be Joseph's children by another marriage or cousins.

An important controversy in the 5th century led to the rejection of Nestorius who claimed that Mary could be called Christotokos (Christ-bearer), but not Theotokos (God-bearer). This was rejected on Christological grounds: Jesus was fully human and divine and to separate the two is to argue for two persons. But inherent in the controversy was the growing tendency towards the worship of Mary as the Mother of God.

Protestantism was marked with the doctrine of sola scriptura by Martin Luther, who wanted to get back to the basic Christianity of the apostles and strip away the unbiblical beliefs and practices that had gathered like barnacles on the hull of the ship. But in doing so, we may have lost the wonder of the miracle of Jesus' birth and the incredible example of Mary, a holy and faithful believer who taught us all what it means to be obedient to God in the face of all opposition.

The angel brings incredible news with the greeting: "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1: 28).

After struggling with the incredible news, Mary, in perhaps one of the greatest examples of humble submission to the will of God says, "I am the Lord's servant...May it be to me as you have said" (vs. 38).

I believe it is wrong of us to disregard Mary. And we can learn much from her without having to exalt her to demigod status. After all, even Mary herself, in her great hymn of praise (known as The Magnificat) said: "For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed" (vs. 48).

And indeed we are all blessed by Mary's humble obedience to God over 2000 years ago.

Learning From the Herdmans

2011-12-17T10:07:00.001-08:00

Another favorite novella that I try to read every year is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson. I have even read it aloud to a couple of groups. It was a made-for-TV special with Loretta Swit a couple of decades back and is available on DVD. But to get the full impact, read the book. It should take less than an hour to read--but is well worth it.

At the center of the book is another redemption story. The six Herdman children are the unredeemed rat-pack who terrorize any child who has the misfortune of attracting their attention.

Barbara writes the book from a terrorized little girl's perspective. When little brother Charlie is asked at church to share something he is thankful for at the Thanksgiving service, he shares, "There are no Herdmans." Although this is heartfelt, it strikes at the heart of the dilemma of church life. If we build a safe and loving environment where we can escape from the world, does that mean we exclude the Herdmans? Aren't the Herdmans exactly what the church is there for? As Karl Barth, the early 20th century theologian put it, church is "community for the sake of the world."

Of course, the Herdmans show up to church looking for free snacks. And when mom is stuck running the annual Christmas Pageant, put on by the Sunday School, the Herdmans take over all the important roles, including Imogene as Mary. The scandal of it all! A telephone whisper campaign begins, threatening to call off the pageant entirely. But of course, the play is staged with the Herdmans there to do their part.

But the book helps us to look at the Christmas story through the fresh eyes of the uninitiated. And it gives the congregation the same opportunity. And we get to witness the power of the story of God's entrance into our world, like a great tsunami, as it washes over and transforms the Herdman family.

Why not try reading the ancient story from Luke and Matthew as if it was the first time you had ever heard it? A poor young couple, clinging to their belief in God's word to them, in spite of the scorn of a skeptical world, face the desperate journey to Bethlehem. They camp out with the animals as Mary goes through labor and childbirth in very trying circumstances. Yet, God reveals himself via a host of angels to the local shepherds and then brings worshipers from exotic lands with extravagant gifts. The child, who outwardly looks like any other baby, is revealed to be special--in fact the unique Son of God Himself! God's ultimate gift to us.

And hear the shout of little Gladys Herdman, playing the Angel of the Lord, ringing in your head--"Hey! Unto you a child is born!"

The Redemption of Scrooge

2011-12-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love Charles Dickens' famous novella, A Christmas Carol. Besides owning several versions on DVD, I've re-read the book on my Kindle the last couple of Christmases. Perhaps my favorite is the TNT version with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge (although Michael Caine with the Muppets and songs by Paul Williams--and the made-for-TV George C. Scott--and the classic Alastair Sim versions are contenders).

Ebenezer Scrooge is ubiquitous at this time of year. And with all the versions out there, including derivations like Scrooged, it is evident that our society is in love with it as well.

What is it about this story that gives it such a pervasive appeal?

I believe that the key lies in the underlying theme of redemption. Most of us know hopelessly antagonistic materialists who seem impervious to the Gospel. For those who are most resistant to the message of God's love, deep in our hearts, we yearn to see them come to repentance.

J. R. R. Tolkein and C. S. Lewis tell us that the power of such fiction comes from the power of the true story it reveals. The truth is that the Gospel has power to save even the most hardened skeptic. That's why Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." (Rom. 1: 16).

At this time of year, our society is especially open to the wonder of God's love, expressed through his incarnation as a tiny baby, destined to die for the sins of the world. As Christians, let us not be ashamed of the Gospel.

And one more thing. If Scrooge can be redeemed, then I have hope for myself as well. Living in this world can begin to harden my naturally materialistic heart. If the Christmas message can melt Ebenezer's heart, then perhaps I am a candidate as well. Why not let yourself melt a little this Christmas?

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

2011-11-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

John Mason Neale, in 1850, translated an ancient advent song (in Latin, "Veni Immanuel") into English to give us "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Although he took it from a French Franciscan nun's processional, used in Lisbon, Portugal--it probably dates back to the 8th century as a chant. I still hear the haunting echo of it's ancient roots every time I sing it.

The song throbs with the messianic expectations found in Old Testament prophetic passages. A dark and lost world yearns for the hope of the coming deliverer.

The inspiration for the first verse is Isaiah 7:14, the sign of the son born to a virgin, to be called "Immanuel" which means literally "God is with us." Of course, in Matthew 1:23 we are told that the birth of Jesus is the direct fulfillment of this prophecy.

The second verse refers to the "rod of Jesse" which is the shoot or branch that will grow from Jesse's tribe, mentioned in Isaiah 11:1. The promised Messiah will come from David's house to reign over God's kingdom.

The third verse refers to the "dayspring," which is also part of Zechariah's prophecy in Luke 1:78. The Messiah's coming will be like the rising of the sun of righteousness prophesied in Malachi 4:2. The light of His coming will dispel all darkness and burn away all iniquity.

The fourth verse calls the Messiah, "the Key of David," a reference to Isa. 22:22, "what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." The Messiah will open the gates into God's eternal kingdom.

The final verse directly refers to Jesus as "Adonai" but in most modern versions "Wisdon from on High." The verse indicates that Jesus was the Lawgiver on Sinai. Revealing Him to be God Himself incarnate.

What a blessing that this wonderful Advent chant has been preserved for us to sing the ancient, wonderful and deep truths about the Messiah, whose incarnation we are preparing to celebrate in a few short weeks. Remember to meditate on him as you sing it:

"O come, O come Emmanuel; and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appears.

"Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."

"O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan's tyranny; from depths of hell thy people save, and give them vict'ry o'er the grave.

"O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight.

"O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

"O come, O come, Adonai [or-thou Wisdom from on high]; who in thy glorious majesty, from Sinai's mountain clothes in awe, gave thy folk the elder law."

Jesus Loves People

2011-11-22T16:16:00.000-08:00

Jesus loves people. Everything he did points to this fact.

In Philippians 2: 5-8, Paul tells us that Jesus, although equal to God, rather than using his position to acquire more power for himself, poured himself out for us, becoming a human being. And not just any human, a humble and obedient servant. And not just any servant, but one who made the ultimate sacrifice of himself in the most shameful form of execution ever invented--crucifixion. Jesus' work of salvation was motivated by love.

Another way that Jesus demonstrated his love for people was through his healing ministry. The Gospel writers constantly tell us that Jesus was "moved with compassion" and then performed a miraculous healing. The underlying Greek word for compassion is powerful. It literally means "gut-wrenching." In other words, Jesus felt a deep pang of empathy in his bowels. That's why the KJV translates this as "bowels of mercy." Jesus' healing ministry was motivated by love.

Matthew tells us, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt: 9. 36). Jesus saw the crowds as disoriented, dejected, dispirited--like a flock of sheep without the guiding, protecting and providing presence of their shepherd. Love for people moved him with compassion.

So, what did Jesus' love motivate him to do this time?

Out of compassion, he authorized and empowered his twelve disciples to take on his own kingdom ministry and then sent them out, two-by-two, into the harvest field to extend his ministry (Matt. 10). And Luke tells us that he sent out 72 others as well, in order to extend his kingdom ministry even more.

Love motivated Jesus to send US into the harvest field as well. The book of Acts describes the sending out of the church to "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).

Jesus says in Matthew "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers out into his harvest field (Matt. 9: 37-38).

Do you love people enough to be sent into the harvest field? Let us pray for the compassionate love of God for people to be poured into our hearts--and for God to send us.

Romance, Disillusionment, Joy

2011-11-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Last year I read an article in Time magazine on the results of a study of different professions in the USA. Surprisingly, the profession of "pastor" turns out to be one of the most stressful. Caring for people can be emotionally draining, especially with all the other hats we must wear (landlord, accountant, public relations, etc.). We want to nurture spiritual growth, but cannot help getting caught up in the drama of peoples' lives.

Pastoring is a difficult business. John Wimber used to say to pastor wanna-be's, "If you can do anything else, do it." Of course, the romantic view of pastoral ministry is hard to erase with a few simple words. A starry eyed romantic hears those words, but then thinks inside, "Yes, but I'm different."

Eugene Peterson, in his wonderful book, Under the Unpredictable Plant, says that so many of us in the pastoral ministry hear the call of God, like Jonah. The call sounds good as long as we are going to exotic Tarshish. Then we find out that ministry actually happens in messy, undesirable Ninevah.

Romance gives way to disillusionment. Or put another way, "reality bites."

The transition from journeying to Tarshish to actually doing ministry in Ninevah is hazardous to a pastor's own spiritual life. We must be wary of becoming cynical. Like Moses when he has gotten fed-up with Israel's complaining. Instead of simply speaking to the rock, he shows his frustration with Israel, "Listen, you rebels! Must we bring you water out of this rock?" (Num. 20: 10). Moses then, in complete disobedience to God's instructions, strikes the rock two times. The miracle happens and Israel's needs are met. But Moses never gets to enter the promised land.

The really difficult step we must make is to embrace ministry where it really is--in Ninevah. When we can actually accept that pastoral ministry is difficult and stressful, but IT IS WORTH IT--then we will begin to experience joy. The joy that comes, not because we have built a big cathedral, or have a big budget, or our attendance numbers are huge. The joy comes from being in the center of God's will.

Romance becomes disillusionment and finally turns to joy.

What's interesting is that, in that same Time article, pastoral ministry was rated highest in job satisfaction. Stressful--yes--but oh, so very worth it.

Christ as the Head of the Church

2011-11-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, the senior pastor of the church at which I worked had to step down from his position. The resulting leadership vacuum was not instantly filled. The staff met almost daily, sometimes for half the day, to discuss decisions and what we needed to do to help the church function and go through the process of recovery. It became very clear to me how debilitating it was not to have a clear leader at the helm to steer the ship.

I must confess that during this interim period, I made some decisions and signed some approvals that no one had given me permission to do, but I knew that everything would grind to a halt if someone didn't keep the machinery greased. When the new senior pastor arrived, I gently let go of the power that I had temporarily (and benignly) assumed.

An old Latin proverb has often been quoted through the ages: "Power abhors a vacuum."

And yet, I am aware of several churches that have not only survived, but thrived under a kind of shared leadership. One person is the administrative elder, another the teaching elder, and another the pastoral care elder. By conventional wisdom, they should have crumbled or succumbed to a power-grab by someone. What makes them different?

I believe that, in their case, Jesus is the head of the church and they are all subject to his leadership. They are serving a greater vision that was planted in them when the church was founded and they are simply seeking to implement that vision under Christ's direction.

In Ephesians, Paul says that part of the maturing of the church is to begin to operate with Jesus as the Head. "From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Eph. 4: 16).

A way I have often thought about this is that the church is the perpetual motion machine, defying the second law of thermodynamics (that all things tend towards disorder or decay). It works when two things are in place: 1) Christ is the head, and 2) love is the lubrication.

John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard, used to share his conviction that Jesus wants to be the head of the Church.

To use the picture of vine and branches that Jesus gives us in John 15, "Apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15: 5). Each of us, when we are vitally connected to the life-giving vine, will not only receive life from him but produce fruit.

Are we willing to get out of the way and let him lead us? Are we willing to let his leadership fill the power vacuum?

Hanging In There

2011-11-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

I've gone through a lot of shaking this year. Five of our members have passed away, plus my own father and two former co-workers at the Anaheim Vineyard. Quite a few people have left our fellowship for various reasons. A few of them were understandably frustrated with me during this time of shaking. But more of them simply moved out of the area.

In Hebrews 12, the writer comments on Haggai's prophecy about God shaking Israel. He says that God shakes everything so that the things that need to be removed are removed and so that the things that are supposed to remain permanently, remain.

Despite all the loss, I am greatly encouraged. I sense that God is indeed on the move. That the losses are a kind of pruning that will result in growth. I have even found myself feeling an unexplainable joy as I pray about all these things.

My wife loves roses. When it comes time to prune her rose bushes, she seemingly hacks them back to nothing. If I didn't know better, I would think they were dead. Just a gnarled stump with a couple of thorny sticks. Yet, when spring comes, the bushes come to life and the resultant display of blooms is spectacular every time.

I think of 1 Cor. 15: 58:

"Therefore, my dear brothers [and sisters], stand firm. Let nothing move you. [Hang in there--sit tight.] Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Here, Paul is saying, with all the deaths of believers, don't get discouraged. The resurrection is a real hope that means your work for the Kingdom is not a waste of time.

I began blogging a year ago and have kept it up with some consistency. Perhaps the rhythm of putting my thoughts down in pixels has helped me through the shaky times. I hope you have been blessed, challenged or comforted by something I've written. And I am going to continue to write. If you are touched, please share your thoughts with me or forward the link to someone else who might be blessed as well.

And remember--hang in there, because your work in the Kingdom is not a waste of time.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

2011-10-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the most beloved Psalms is the 23rd. I was reminded of that this morning as I was officiating at a graveside service. And there is probably a good reason that it is so popular.

"The Lord is my Shepherd..." This metaphor captures so succinctly the nature of our relationship with our precious Lord.

Psalm 100 also mentions this idea: "We are His people; the sheep of His pasture."

Probably with this in mind, Jesus says of Himself in John's Gospel: "I am the Good Shepherd...and my sheep hear my voice."

I remember reading a story in a book about pastoral ministry, They Smell Like Sheep, by Lynn Anderson. In the Middle East, unlike cattle in the Old West, sheep are not driven in front of the shepherd. Instead, they follow the shepherd. And, in fact, many herds may graze together, watched over by their shepherds. But when the time comes to leave, each shepherd calls them in a unique voice. The sheep know the voice of their shepherd and follow him out of the other herds.

"...the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice" (John 10: 3-5).

Walking with Jesus is listening to the voice of the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. He calls us by name and, because we belong to Him, we respond and follow--to green pastures, beside quiet waters, and even through the valley of the shadow of death.

As we listen to his comforting voice, we do not fear evil. His guiding and correcting rod and staff are comforting because we learn to trust His lovingkindness.

Perhaps my greatest challenge is to simply follow Him like a sheep, letting go of my incessant need to be in control, and trusting in His love for me.

Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny

2011-10-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

In the Big Book of Alcoholic's Anonymous, it says "we shall be with you in the Spirit as you trudge the road of happy destiny."

This phrase has always struck me as entirely insightful and profound. The fellowship of encouragement and support that is the 12-Step community joins with the individual addict on a journey towards a happy and blessed future free from the addictive lifestyle. And what is the nature of that journey? It is described as a "trudge."

Websters says that "to trudge" is "to walk or march steadily and usually laboriously." And "a trudge" is "a long tiring walk."

Of course Bill Wilson, the founder of AA, was a Christian who was influenced by the Oxford Group in formulating the 12-steps. The first three steps are the essential ingredients of conversion. First we have to admit we are sinful. Second, we have to admit that God exists. And third, we must surrender our lives to Him.

But the remaining nine steps are more about the continuing process that we must pursue in order to obtain and maintain freedom from sin and to walk in a deep and life-changing commitment to God. Conversion is the easy part. The difficult part is the "trudge," the long tiring walk that is our daily life.

Of course, this is true of the Christian life in general. Turning over our lives to God so that we are now "born again" is the easy part. But walking out our faith through the painful trials of daily life is the hard part.

Jesus says that those who would follow Him must "pick up their cross daily and follow him." Put another way, we must look at the example of Jesus' trudge and imitate Him.

Jesus laid aside the "self-directed life" and took up the "God-directed life" when he picked up the old rugged cross. True discipleship means picking up the symbolic cross given to us and following His example of obedient submission to the Father. He trudged the entire Via Dolorosa to Calvary. And even beyond Calvary. You could say, to hell and back again. A trudge that brought him to the place of Happy Destiny at the right hand of God.

As the writer of Hebrews says: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12: 2-3).

Is life hard? Don't lose heart. Join with us in the Spirit as we all trudge the road of happy destiny together.

Simple Instructions

2011-10-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

What is the most complicated set of instructions you've ever had to follow in your home? For me it was the assembly instructions for my gas barbecue. Not only were the instructions complex, but it seems that they were written by non-native English speakers. "Take up through slotted down-piece." What?!?! I had several pieces left when I had finished assembly. Oh well, it seems to work.

What is the least complicated set of instructions you've had to follow in your home? For me it is written on the side of my shampoo bottle: "Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

It doesn't get any easier than that.

Growing up in the church, I often felt that Christianity was mysterious and complicated, like my gas barbecue assembly. With all the trappings of religion, how can anyone understand whether God is pleased and you are in the center of His will?

But Jesus, when confronted by the scribes and Pharisees in the Temple courts was given a nagging question that was probably commonly discussed by the scholars, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (Matt. 22: 36).

The question was meant to trap him by getting him mired in the complex theological debates of the religious leaders. They read the Torah and got caught up in all of the minutiae. To them, religion was like my gas barbecue, a myriad of instructions. The successful holy person could bring all the pieces together into a harmonious whole. The answer is a 5-volume Systematic Theology.

But Jesus' answer was simple. "Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22: 37-40).

Jesus is essentially saying that God's Torah can be boiled down to two simple instructions: Love God and Love People.

When I started to realize that this was indeed the heart of Christianity, I thought the church's mission statement should really be more like my shampoo bottle: "Love God. Love People. Repeat."

It doesn't get much simpler than that. What would happen if we all read these simple set of instructions every morning and then just tried to follow them?

Swept Away

2011-10-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

I often think of God's Kingdom as a kind of powerful river. When we place our faith in the King, He invites us to get swept away by the current. And one of the ways we often experience that current is when He calls us to send out workers into the harvest.

Jesus sent the 12 out two-by-two (Matt. 10 and Luke 9) to extend His own ministry. And in Luke 10, he sent out "72 others" to do the same. At the end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus delivers the "Great Commission," essentially commanding the church to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28: 18-20). And at the beginning of Acts, Jesus tells His disciples to "be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).

The book of Acts is the story of the Gospel being brought "to the ends of the earth" by the Holy Spirit-empowered disciples. A good example is in Acts 13, 1-3:

"In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

In two Sundays my church will be laying hands on someone who has been my Youth Pastor for the last four years. He is leaving us to serve a sister congregation as Assistant Pastor. I feel proud and happy for him as he goes, but I am also feeling the pang of loss.

In my years as a member and then a pastor at the Anaheim Vineyard, I got used to building relationships with pastors and leaders, often to see God "send" them somewhere else to serve the Kingdom of God. John Wimber, the founding pastor, often said that God called us to send our best. And when we did, that spirit of generosity would result in increased blessing.

The answer is not to protect myself from the pain of losing relationship, but to embrace it as a part of Kingdom life. Each one of us is called to jump into the stream called the Kingdom. It has a force all its own. And when we jump in, we will be swept away in it's powerful current.

This weekend, a friend of mine who planted a church 16 years ago surprised me when he showed up unannounced at our Sunday service. At lunch, we were able to reminisce about the adventures of Kingdom ministry that have made our lives so exciting. On two sides of the continent, we have impacted the lives of many others.

And we agreed that, as pastors, we can't cling to people as if we own them. They belong to God. He will lead and carry them to their own destinations.

Instead, let us rejoice that the Gospel is being carried "to the ends of the earth." And let us look forward to swapping "Holy Ghost stories" when we meet again.

Step of Faith

2011-09-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Indy must take a step of faith over a chasm. His foot lands on a stone bridge that was there the whole time but, due to an optical illusion, was imperceptible. It could only be discovered by that step of faith.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is often called the "faith" chapter. In it, the writer gives a string of Old Testament examples of people of faith. He tells us that faith is important because "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11: 6).

I am often bothered by a popular model that presents faith as a magical narcissistic state of mind that we must conjure up, like putting on a Superman suit in the phone booth, that makes us invincible. "If I just believe good enough, I will feel powerful and God will act through me."

But when I study each of the examples in chapter 11, I realize that these believers did not really exhibit that kind of state. For example, in verse 8, Abraham had to leave the security of home for an unknown destination. No auto club trip-tik to guide him on the way. No convenient rest areas with well-marked signage. No highway patrol to make the roads safe from marauders.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise” (Heb. 11: 8-9).

Even when Abraham arrived, he lived in tents, like a “stranger in a strange land.” He must have wondered how God was going to fulfill His promises. “Here I am, God. Now what?”

Faith is not the absence of worry, fear, anxiety, difficulty, pain, turmoil—and even doubt. Faith is the element that causes us to obey the God we cannot see when what we can see obscures the way. It is the tiny particle of faith that Peter demonstrated when he stepped out on the water and began to walk to Jesus.

Doubt does not mean we do not have faith. It is simply the human part of us looking for security in the material world around us. Faith is the spiritual dynamic that grasps the unseen reality of God and so, moves forward anyway.

What step of faith is God calling you to take today?

The Eucatastrophe

2011-09-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

J. R. R. Tolkein, in his famous essay of 1947, On Fairy Stories, makes this statement:

"The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of man's history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy. There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and none which so many skeptical men have accepted as true on its own merit."

Tolkein coined the term eucatastrophe by adding the Greek prefix, "eu," which means "good," to the word, "catastrophe." It describes the climactic moment in the story when evil seems overwhelmingly likely to conquer, only to suddenly turn around to be utterly defeated. In The Lord of the Rings, the major eucatastrophe happens when Sauron, the Dark Lord, seems about to destroy the armies of the West, only to see the Ring of Power unmade under his nose to the utter destruction and ruination of his kingdom.

In "Letter 89", Tolkein says that the eucatastrophe is "the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears...It is a sudden glimpse of Truth...the Resurrection was the greatest 'eucatastrophe' possible...and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled..."

In Peter's first epistle, he begins with a discussion of the living hope of the Christian. Our hope is in the living Christ who, through the Resurrection, has turned death itself on its head. And even though we may suffer "grief in all kinds of trials" (1 Pet. 1: 6), yet we "greatly rejoice".

Why? Because we look to the climax of history. The great triumph of God, begun in the Resurrection of Christ; to be completed in His glorious appearing at the end of this evil age.

The sorrows of life are swallowed up in joy as we grasp the reality of what the Resurrection means to us--both in this life and in the glorious age to come.

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet. 1: 6-9).

Are you struggling with life? Turn to the realities of what Christ has done. His Incarnation, His Death and Resurrection--and the promise of the consummation of His Kingdom rule and our eternal redemption. Let the Truth meet you so that the sorrow is swallowed up in "an inexpressible and glorious joy."

Jeremiah and 9/11

2011-09-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Where were you on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001?

I'll never forget my wife, Julianne, running up the stairs, interrupting her exercise regimen to tell me that commercial airliners had flown into the two World Trade Center towers in New York. I sat glued to the television as the towers collapsed in a cloud of dust and ash, watching frightened people running away to escape.

Then another plane crashed into the Pentagon. There was a rumor of a bomb at the State Department that proved untrue. Then, another plane brought down by brave passengers in a field in Pennsylvania. We in America were under attack.

Estimates of potential casualties varied wildly up to the 100,000's. Due largely to the heroic efforts of the first responders who ran towards danger as average people were running away, the total number of deaths were under 3,000. Still, a horrific figure, making it the worst civilian casualty number in American history.

The prophet, Jeremiah, wrote a poem in the form of a lament after the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. It is included in the Old Testament as "Lamentations." and is inserted between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah went through a "9/11" experience of horror and grief as he watched the symbols of the glory of Israel reduced to ashes--the razing of the Temple, the burning of all the major buildings including the Royal Palace, and the complete demolition of the walls of Jerusalem.

Yet, in the very center of Lamentations is one of the most beautiful expressions of hope.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lam. 3: 21-23).

A wonderfully rich word stands at the center of this verse--hesed. The NIV here translates it as "great love." It stands in parallel with "compassion or mercy."

God's hesed is his covenant love. That is, his promised devotion to his people that will never fail because it is rooted in his very nature. God's unfailing, faithful devotion to his covenant people transcends our momentary grief, no matter how great nor how intense. God's enduring love is always greater still.

"They are new every morning." In the Jewish worldview, every day is like the beginning of a new creation. God's love is renewed with the rising of every sun. And, as we can depend on the sun rising every morning, so we can rely on God's love.

"Great is your faithfulness." God's love is rock-solid. He is faithful to fulfill what he has promised to us.

As we remember the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, let us call to mind the faithful, covenant love of God. Have you placed your faith in Him today?

Healing and the Kingdom of God

2011-08-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

The following entry is a response to a request from a long-time friend who is encountering some "cognitive dissonance" as he and his family attend a Pentecostal/Charismatic church. I make the entry with a lot of humility, but I offer my opinion in hopes it will help people as they seek to "do the stuff" (a John Wimber-ism by which he meant actually doing the works of the Kingdom, rather than simply studying about them). Hopefully this is not so academic that it fails to be practical for you.

My friend's church has taught that "you never ask God for what he has already promised or purposed for you...instead, you are to make 'declarations.'" In other words, asking shows a lack of faith; declaration shows a confidence in God's promises.

This particular issue goes to the heart of what distinguishes the Vineyard movement from Pentecostal/Charismatics (and also what tends to confuse our Conservative Evangelical brethren). You could say that the Vineyard is defined by the dynamic tension that exists between these two streams of Evangelicalism.

The titles of two books summarize the Vineyard position between the two. Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson's book, Empowered Evangelicals, says it all. We are a movement that wants to take the best of Pentecostal experience (empowered), leaving behind what we view as its excesses; while we hold on to a solid Evangelical approach to biblical/theological scholarship (evangelicals), but leaving behind the tendency to minimize the present miraculous work of the Spirit.

The other book is Bill Jackson's Quest for the Radical Middle. Once again, the Vineyard has sought to live in a dynamic tension between the fresh work of the Spirit, and a solid commitment to biblical theology. In other words, holding both the Word and Spirit in balance.

This all flows from the influence of George Eldon Ladd, late Fuller Professor, whose Gospel of the Kingdom, and New Testament Theology are foundational for understanding John Wimber's teaching about healing. In Jesus, the Kingdom of God broke into the present evil age. His words and His works were evidence of the reality of the presence of the Kingdom. Jesus passed on to his disciples his Kingdom ministry. And they have passed it on to their disciples. And on and on...all the way to us.

One of the key aspects of the Kingdom is that it has "now come" and is still "yet to come." This"now-and-not-yet" quality of the Kingdom characterizes everything we experience in this present evil age.

Take, for instance, our salvation. We enter the Kingdom and are saved when we place our faith in the King (2 Tim. 1: 9). Yet, we are "being saved" as we go through a process of transformation in this life called sanctification (Php. 2: 12-13). And we "will be saved" when the future promised Kingdom arrives in its glory (1 Pet. 1: 5,9).

Pentecostal theology has tended to argue that physical healing is included in the atoning work of Christ based on Isaiah 53, Matt. 8: 16-17 and 1 Pet. 2: 24 and therefore, we must just claim what is rightfully ours and exhibit unwavering faith in the work of God. There is not enough time to do a thorough exegesis of these passages. Suffice it to say that you must make several hermeneutical leaps to conclude that healing is guaranteed in the atonement.

If we say that healing is guaranteed in the atonement and that faith is the only way to access that healing, we must conclude that people are not healed solely because they lack faith in some way.

Just a quick survey of the New Testament shows that healing did not always occur for Jesus or the apostles. Jesus could not do many miracles (Mark 6: 5). God refused to heal Paul's "thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor. 12: 7-10). Timothy's ailing stomach condition (1 Tim. 5: 23). The Pentecostal explanation is that they lacked faith. The Kingdom explanation is the now-and-not-yet of the Kingdom.

Yes, faith is necessary for healing. But if you analyze the healings in the New Testament, sometimes it is the faith of the pray-er (like Jesus healing the man at the pool Siloam) and sometimes it is the faith of the receiver (like the woman touching the hem of his garment.)

Does this exclude making declarative pronouncements? Not at all. When we are led by the Spirit to command healing, we do it. When we are led by the Spirit to lay hands on someone and pray for them, we do that. Every time that someone is healed, it is evidence of the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God. Every time that someone is not healed, it is evidence that the Kingdom of God is not yet fully consummated. So...we pray again.

"Lord, may your Kingdom come, may your will be done, here on earth as it is being done in heaven (where your Kingdom is fully consummated)."

I welcome comments on this topic.

The Center of It All

2011-08-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Above the town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies is a gondola that lifts you far above the spectacular scenery of Jasper National Park.

After getting off the ride, you can continue hiking the steep trail above the upper gondola platform through the thin mountain air. If you persevere, you will reach a summit that gives you an even more spectacular vista.

On my recent visit, I continued a few hundred feet beyond that point, crossing a small slushy ice field until I reached the highest point above the gondola. The panorama was a full 360 degrees. Perhaps the most dramatic spot I've ever visited--with stunning peaks, glaciers and river valleys all around.

In fact, I began to have the illusion that I was sitting on the axel of a giant wheel. The rest of the world was mounted on this one point and was spinning around it. I'll never forget that moment.

It reminded me of something Jesus said. "But I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [people] to myself" (John 12 :32).

The cross was lifted up from the earth on the mount called Calvary, with the Savior of the world upon it. All of the physical world, all of the history of the world, all of humanity--is suspended in some way upon that mountain, like the axle of a wheel, because the cross is the focal point of all history.

Luke's account of the crucifixion brings this into focus. The two thieves who were crucified on Jesus' right and left represent the world, justly condemned but with a chance of redemption because of the Savior between them. One rejected him and the other placed his faith in him.

Jesus says to Nicodemus, in John 3:14-15, that He will be like the bronze snake that Moses lifted up on a pole in the wilderness, described in Num. 21: 8-9. Whoever was bitten by the real snake, would just need to look to the bronze snake to live.

The choice could not be presented more clearly: look to Jesus on the cross and live, or reject Jesus on the cross and remain doomed.

Human history and human destiny are all about Jesus. At the cross, he was lifted up and now stands at the center of it all. So for each of us comes the most important question we must answer: "Do you believe?"

The Problem of Pain

2011-08-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Pain is a reality of life. Scott Peck opens his best-seller, The Road Less Traveled, "Life is difficult." Or, as Eliphaz says to Job, "Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward" (Job 5: 7).

So, if God is good, why does he allow pain, especially for his children? When we come to Christ, shouldn't that end all of the pain and begin a life of blissful happiness?

In his classic book, The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis says, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world" (pp. 90-91).

Pain is a tool in the hands of our Master, by which he shapes and matures us. But we must cooperate in the process, or we will not enjoy the benefits from it that He intends.

To quote Scott Peck again, "The avoidance of pain is the root of all mental illness." Or to put it in simpler terms, when we try to avoid pain in our lives, we can really screw things up.

Addictions, relational conflicts, procrastination, etc. They all flow from avoidance of pain.

But it is through pain that God gets our attention so that we can learn and grow.

Consider this astonishing scripture:

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Heb. 5: 7-9).

How could Jesus learn anything or be made perfect? Made perfect means something more like, was completed or made fully mature. Before the incarnation, the Son had no opportunity to walk in submissive obedience. Although he was potentially obedient, He became and learned obedience by the experience of enduring suffering.

This is why, if we are to truly follow Jesus as His disciples and grow into maturity like He did, we must "pick up our crosses daily and follow him" (see Luke 9: 23).

What are you doing with the pain in your life? Pick it up as the cross God has given to you and follow in Jesus' footsteps of reverent submission so that you can mature into all you are called to be in Him.

E Pluribus Unum

2011-08-04T10:45:00.001-07:00

On every coin minted in the United States is a Latin phrase, "E Pluribus Unum." The motto means "out of many, one."

Originally, this referred to the joining of 13 colonies into one nation. But in our modern democratically minded country, it has come to be associated with the way that many ethnicities, cultures and people-groups have melded into a greater identity--a melting pot.

Paul, describing the church in 1 Corinthians 12, makes a similar observation. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body" (1 Cor. 12: 12). In fact, this is perhaps the most pervasive metaphor for the church--we are the body of Christ.

This brings together two realities that seem contradictory, but are held in tension by the metaphor: 1) as individuals, we are all different in gifting and functioning; and 2) as a group, we function together to serve a unified purpose. Unity through diversity. In other words, when we learn to embrace and nurture our individual and unique gifts and callings, then the overall unified body works as one.

In Ephesians, Paul uses the same metaphor to describe the church. But instead of focusing on the individual gifts, he shows how the "joints and ligaments" bring us all together under the direction of "the head" who is Christ. And the cement that brings us all together is love.

So, this is the vision: Jesus is the Head; we are all members; if we all value each other and listen to the Head, we will grow into the unity that He intends for us. "Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him, who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Eph. 4: 15-16).

What's keeping you from loving all the parts of the body? What's keeping you from faithfully doing your part?

True Leadership

2011-07-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

Leadership has been a hot topic in the church in the modern era.

And certainly the world needs visionary leadership these days. Case in point: the "debt crisis" that has begun sweeping through Europe and the United States.

There are no easy solutions. And, unfortunately, the first person who puts a proposal out there is the first one to get shot at. Therefore, the safest thing is to lie low and wait for someone else to take a risk.

Jesus was the greatest leader to ever walk the earth. He set a pattern for leadership that Christians are supposed to emulate. "Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40).

Jesus specifically told us not to learn about leadership from the world whose pattern is to "lord it over them" (Mark 10: 42). "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" (Mark 10: 43-44).

And of course, Jesus was the one to talk. He practiced what He preached. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10: 45).

In Philippians 2, Paul tells us to take on the attitude of Jesus. Although He was God Himself, He did not use His "God-ness" as an opportunity to acquire more, but instead, to pour Himself out for us, actually becoming our servant, doing for us what only He could do--giving Himself up to death on the cross. (see Php. 2: 5-11).

That's someone I can follow. That's true leadership.

Receiving Appreciation

2011-07-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

I had the shock of my life this last Saturday night. My church planned a surprise party for me which they were able to keep a complete secret from me. When I walked into the church sanctuary to check out why the doors were wide open, a large group of people shouted "Surprise!" and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

My initial thought was, "But it's not my birthday. What is the surprise for?"

It turns out that, on the weekend of the church's 11th Anniversary, they simply wanted to hold an "Appreciation Service" for me.

Now, if I had known that this idea had been floated, I would have nixed it. My reaction would have been something like: "I don't need to be appreciated, the ministry is reward in and of itself."

And as I sat up front in a place of honor, I felt extremely uncomfortable at first.

But I decided to simply accept the outpouring of affection for me and bask in the warmth of sincere expressions of gratitude and love. Besides, I really didn't have much choice. (Is this what it might feel like to get to listen in on your own funeral?)

As the evening wore on, I kept watching the looping photo-album being projected on the screen. I realized just how many weddings I had performed for people in that room. And how many times I had visited people in hospitals, or did a funeral for a loved one, or listened to their struggles and prayed with them. In fact, the biggest part of my life has been poured into the lives of others.

It is true that pastoral ministry has rewards of its own. So, when people want to thank me, my reaction has been to say, "I am only an unworthy servant; I have only done my duty" (Luke 17: 10).

Yet, Paul also says: "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. 5: 17).

Rather than feeling puffed up, I actually feel rather humbled. And I feel a renewed understanding of my role as "Pastor Mark" in the lives of my flock.

Have you shown your appreciation to your pastor lately? Gratitude is good for both of you.

Deep Cries Out To Deep

2011-07-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

I love singing the worship song, "All Who Are Thirsty." It pulls out of me a desire for more of God in my life.

Many worship leaders will repeat the bridge over and over: "As deep cries out to deep; As deep cries out to deep..."

This is a phrase from Psalm 42: 7. I used to think that it meant my deepest heart cries out to God's deepest heart. But what does it really mean?

In the context of the Psalm, the idea is that of being overwhelmed by the circumstances of life, which God allows to come crashing over me from every side. The breaking waves on one side and the crashing waterfall on the other.

Recently I had the opportunity on my vacation to sit still next to several thundering, roaring waterfalls. I could feel the vibrations of the crashing water through the souls of my feet. I imagined how powerless it would feel to be swept away in their relentless and powerful current.

Life can feel that way sometimes. Yet, the Psalm seems to indicate that it is God Himself who is the source of the roaring, crashing waves and breakers.

Despite the roar of life's seemingly overwhelming circumstances, God's still, small voice speaks to our hearts. "Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night! My life is God's prayer" (Ps. 42: 8, The Message).

And so the repeated chorus in both Psalm 42 and 43: "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will (still continue) to praise him, my Savior and my God" (Ps. 42: 11).

Being Good

2011-06-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

After 10 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to assert its desire to control areas of the country through intimidation and terrorism.

The Taliban has a habit of beating women who break their strict dress code. I guess I don't understand why anyone would be drawn to an organization that believes in enforcing holy behavior through the use of unholy means. Doesn't that in itself sound oxymoronic?

For the Christian, I believe we need to learn a lesson. Our desire for society to agree with our ethical standards is a good thing. But we cannot give in to fanticism and legalism in order to enforce those desires.

Rather than try to enforce morality through force from without, it is God's plan to first change the heart--making it holy--and then that new nature will exhibit itself in changed behavior.

Virtue cannot be forced from without, it must bubble up from within. In Romans 8, Paul sets the pattern.

"Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened through the sinful nature [the flesh], God did by sending his own Son...in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature [the flesh] but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8: 2-4).

Rather than righteousness coming from the Law (which could never make us holy), it comes from the Spirit (a transformation in our inner being). Now, the new nature, empowered by the Spirit, begins to get expressed so that my behavior changes. The righteous requirements of the Law are met in us when we walk in the Spirit.

Someone used to tell a story of an unruly boy. He refused to stay seated. The adult in charge used all kinds of threats of spanking and no dessert until he finally sat down. But still he let his feelings be known: "I may be sitting on the outside, but I'm standing on the inside!"

Do you want to be "good?" Let go of trying to be good in your flesh. Instead, let God invade your heart and take over--filling you with His Spirit. Then, begin to walk according to the new nature that's been born within you.

Kingdom Paradoxes

2011-06-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Kingdom of God is full of paradoxes. Here's three: 1) by dying, we live; 2) by becoming least, we become greatest, and; 3) it is in giving that we receive.

And notice that each of these three paradoxes must be experienced in order to be fully realized.

1) I must first die in order for life to be released. We do not experience the resurrection until we have first experienced the death. We must be plunged under the waters of baptism before we are raised up from them. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9: 24). "For if you live according to the [flesh], you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8: 13).

2) Similarly, I do not try to climb to the top of the ladder of greatness in my own strength. Instead, I must first humble myself in service to others, then God can exalt me. "The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matt. 23: 11-12). Jesus is the model of humble service who we should seek to emulate (see Php. 2). "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10: 45).

3) And finally, generosity is the doorway to prosperity. "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6: 38). "'Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it" (Mal. 3: 10).

These last two scriptures have often been hijacked by a wing of charismatic Christianity that focuses on prosperity as the goal of Christian life. Let me reframe the discussion.

I learned a lesson from John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Movement, many years ago. Yes, we must learn to give generously, so that God can then give back to us. But not as an end in itself. When I am blessed by God, it now puts me in a place to be MORE generous. As he used to say: "We don't just give to get. We give to get, so that we can give more." And it is experiencing the virtue of generosity that becomes the real blessing in my life, not the accumulation of material possessions.

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2 Cor. 9: 11).

Have you experienced the grace of giving in your Christian life? Just like the living/dying and least/greatest paradoxes, it begins with a counter-intuitive act. First we die, and only by that act of faith do we experience life. First we serve, and only by that act do we experience exaltation. First we give, and only by that act do we experience true prosperity.

Finally, don't expect it to be easy. It is hard, and intentionally so. It is the only way that our faith is truly tested. "'Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty..."

Father's Day for the Fatherless

2011-06-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Several times this last week, I started to think, "I have to get a Father's Day Card..." and then I remembered that my father is gone. With my wife's father deceased many years and not having any children myself, what do I have to look forward to on Father's Day?

Besides, isn't Father's Day and Mother's Day (and Grandparent's Day, and Valentine's Day, and Left-Handed Golfer's Day, and Adopt-a-Person-to-Send-a-Card-To Day, etc...)--aren't they all just a marketing ploy by the Greeting Card Industry to bilk me out of a few more dollars?

Lord, please save me from such cynicism.

Actually, even if the Greeting Card Industry does benefit, I think it is always a good day to remember people for their own special contribution to our lives. And why not have special days for fathers and mothers who, in their parenting roles, have sacrificed so much for us?

The Fifth Commandment, restated in Deuteronomy, says, "Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you" (Deut. 5: 16).

Now, I know that some people have experienced varying levels of parenting--from Ozzie & Harriet Nelson to Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne. And some people have a hard time thinking anything good about their parents. I have a lot of grace for people who are processing their childhood "stuff."

The goal of recovery should be to resolve the painful feelings so that we can let go of any negative bonds of attachment that keep us in a state of unresolved anger, fear, resentment, etc. Only when we grieve the loss of the parent we didn't have can we make peace with the parent that exists in reality. This is when we can actually grow. We can be healthier than our parents.

If I can do that, I will actually bring them honor, by being the best me I can be. You see, true Christian discipleship is not for the faint-hearted.

For myself, I am actually looking forward to this coming Sunday. I worked through all my issues long ago and I learned to love the man who was actually my dad. I will take the time to remember my father and thank God for him, warts and all, because I am largely the man I am because of him.

And I will listen to a sermon that will be preached by my Youth Pastor, who is a newly minted father, and celebrate the wonder of God's plan that places our tender, vulnerable lives in the hands of two maturing adults who must learn as they go.

I will "Honor my father and mother" and reap the reward "that I may live long and it may go well with me in the land."

Processing Loss

2011-06-09T15:28:00.001-07:00

I have experienced more than my share of death this year. This Saturday will be my fourth memorial service for someone I knew. Although I have made peace with God in such a way that I am not really afraid of death any more, nor am I surprised by it--yet, I find myself a little worn down by it.

Well-meaning Christians will counsel that "We know they are in a better place" and "Faith sees beyond our current circumstances" and "Death has lost its sting." Yes, I agree with all those statements. Yes, I know in my heart that God has conquered death and Hades through the work of Christ. Yes, I know that death is not the end of life, merely a passage to the next.

Yet, I am human. And loss is a natural phenomenon that we experience as we contemplate the end of a relationship here. As Elizabeth Kübler-Ross described in her famous work, On Death and Dying, we go through predictable stages as we face loss: denial, anger, bargaining, sadness/depression, and acceptance.

I do not believe it is wrong to grieve and mourn those who have gone before us. In order to come to acceptance, we need to go through the natural process in order to learn and to grow.

"We grieve, but not like the rest of men who have no hope."

What does that mean? We grieve, which is only natural, like breathing--yet there is a sense of hope that keeps our grief from becoming debilitating. For the Christian, our souls are sustained by the living Spirit of God, who is the "parakletos," that is, "the one who comes alongside" to encourage and strengthen.

So, I will not feel shame for being human and grieving for the many losses I've experienced this year. But, I will go to God and ask for His comforting Presence to encourage and strengthen me as I place my hope in Him.

In one of my favorite movies, Shadowlands, Joy Gresham tells C. S. Lewis that he must stop avoiding loving, because it is really avoiding the inevitable losing that it entails. "The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal," she says to him before she dies.

And at the end of the movie, he has learned to embrace joy and pain. The closing voice-over says it all:

"Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers now; only the life I've lived. The boy chose safety; the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then; that's the deal."

Israel, Palestine and the Kingdom of God

2011-06-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

With the recent speeches by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has come back into focus in the news.

While we all may have political views on the conflicts in the Middle East and the prospects for peace, as a pastor, I think it is important for us to keep a balanced perspective on what's happening so that we don't throw fuel on the fire.

Last night I got into a heated debate. It was hard for me to hear another point of view. If I, who think I am a good listener, can become so heated, then just imagine how it must be for people who are immersed in the conflict.

I want to comment on the biblical and theological issues, more than the geo-political ones.

First, dispensational theology--by way of the Scofield Reference Bible, Hal Lindsay's "Late Great Planet Earth" and the "Left Behind" series--have dominated the American popular evangelical Christian understanding of the relationship between Israel and the End Times. Applying what is, in my humble opinion, an overly literal hermeneutic, dispensationalists look for a coming age when the Church is removed from the scene and God will literally fulfill the promises for a Kingdom of Israel in the Holy Land.

This was my understanding until I became influenced by the simple teaching of George Eldon Ladd, late professor of New Testament Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. In "The Gospel of the Kingdom," Ladd shows a continuous progression in the flow of biblical eschatology. We are in the "now and not-yet" stage between the first and second coming of Christ. The Kingdom of God is now here, having broken into history by the incarnation of the Messiah. Yet, the Kingdom of God awaits its consummation at the Second Coming of Christ.

Jesus received the punishment for sin, literally taking upon himself the curses that came with breaking the Old Covenant. Yet, in that very act, he forged a New Covenant (Jer. 31). The church is now the people of God, the "New Israel," grafted into the cultivated olive root.

Israel as a nation, largely rejected the Messiah, and was "broken off" (Rom. 11). Yet not all. A remnant remains (like Paul himself). At some point, before the end of this age, the Jewish people will experience a movement towards faith in Jesus as the Messiah that will graft them in again. The result will be a new covenant people of God, composed of Jew and Gentile, together.

I believe that Israel as a nation is a miracle that is indeed a sign of the end times. Yet, I do not believe that God plans to work through Israel for the salvation of the world. Otherwise, the work of Jesus becomes just "one way" that God accomplishes his purposes. No--Paul's discussion in Romans 11 points to a unified purpose of God to save both Jews and Gentiles.

Lastly, we Evangelicals need to remember that there are hurting people in Palestine who need to know Christ and, indeed, that there is a church under persecution in Palestine that is hurt when we become so pro-Israel that they are labeled as enemies of Palestine. Let us constantly support them in our prayers by praying two things: peace for Israel and peace for Palestine.

Just Doing My Job

2011-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Jesus tells an interesting parable in Luke 17: 7-10 as he sets his face towards Jerusalem. It is a principle of servanthood that applies to the person who would seek to serve in God's kingdom.

To paraphrase it: "Does the boss see his hardworking crew sweating at their labor, take pity on them, and have them sit down to rest their weary bodies while he cooks and serves them? No. Instead, the servants must continue to serve their boss, even when they're tired. The boss doesn't thank them for doing their job because, well, it's their job. Instead, they merely say to themselves, 'Hey, we're laborers and we're just doing what we were hired to do. No biggie!"

Don't get me wrong. I believe in saying "Thank you" to someone who has done a good job in ministry. Encouragement is, after all, one of the gifts (see Rom. 12: 8).

But for the serious Christian, there is something obligatory about ministry. This is part of what Jesus is getting at here. When I am tired and worn out, and people seem to take my service for granted--so what? I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do.

It is why Paul seemed to love to refer to himself as a "slave of Christ." Normally, a person in Paul's day would not boast about being a slave. He saw himself as not just any slave, but a slave "of Christ!"

Thank you, sons of Korah, for some great lyrics: "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (Ps. 84: 10).

Perhaps we can begin to adopt the same kind of attitude. When ministry seems difficult and people ungrateful, instead of getting upset, we could just say to ourselves, "Oh well. No biggie. I'm just doing my job."

A Prophetic People

2011-05-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a very liberal and non-charismatic environment. But when I visited a charismatic group during my time at college, it was the gift of prophecy that impacted me the most.

God spoke to me through various words of prophecy spoken after worship. And it started me on a life of listening for God's voice as a spiritual discipline and a consistent expectation.

But I'm afraid that even those who claim to be pentecostal or charismatic have become jaded to the operation of this gift.

Paul said to the Thessalonians, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt" (1 Thes. 5: 19-20). I think Paul had to say this--because there is a tendency to treat prophecies with contempt!

My understanding of the theology of the Church (ecclesiology) is that we are called, not just to prophesy, but to be a "prophetic" people. Peter says we are called to "declare the praises" of God. And in the book of Acts, when the Spirit was poured out on the church on the day of Pentecost, Peter points to Joel's prophecy, in essence saying that a sign of the arrival of the kingdom of God is that ALL of the people of God will prophesy.

So what are we supposed to do about it? I think we must actively seek God's voice--individually and in our churches. As you sit in God's presence in your own prayer times and as you worship corporately, ask for God to speak to you. Then listen, patiently. Finally, speak what you hear Him saying to you. Let us become the prophetic people we were called to be.

Journey of Faith

2011-05-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

In 1989, while I was on a ministry trip to Australia, God gave me a scripture address to look up. This was rather unusual for me. The address was Heb. 11: 8:

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”

I had always wanted to have all my ducks in a row before I ventured out. Call it hyper-vigilance.

Life can be scary. Like stepping out on a frozen river and wondering if the ice is thick enough to hold my weight. Hearing the cracking of ice under my feet and afraid that it will let go at any moment and I will be plunged into the icy depths.

But when God gave me this scripture, I began to realize that I will never be able to take the risk out of living. In fact, it is the uncertainty of the faith journey that makes it exciting and drives me into a radical dependency on Him.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 says it best: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

My job is to trust, lean on and acknowledge the Lord. His job is the path.

None of us knows what the next 5 minutes will bring. But He does. Why not grab hold of His hand and just walk with Him at His pace? Let Him worry about the path, You worry about sticking as close to Him as possible.

Pass It On

2011-05-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Paul was someone who described himself as an "expert builder" (1 Cor. 3: 10).

How true that is. He entered pagan towns like Corinth and Ephesus throughout the Roman empire and laid a foundation for the church that continues to this day.

Imagine how brief a time Paul had to train the leaders that he raised up and left in charge of the flock. And imagine how difficult it was to communicate in those days. He didn't leave elaborate DVD sets with study guides. He couldn't Skype the Philippians for a coaching session. Yet he was able to impart the faith in such a way that the church began to grow and to thrive.

Paul's instruction to Timothy is key: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable [people] who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Tim. 2: 2).

Paul's model was simple. Impart the faith to faithful leaders, who will impart it to others, who will impart it to others, who will impart it to others, and on and on.

And part of the way Paul imparted the faith was to be a model himself. Of course, Paul got this directly from Jesus Himself. Notice the pattern.

• Jesus: "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (John 13: 15).

• Paul: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor. 11: 1).

• Timothy: "Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity" (1 Tim. 4: 12).

• Titus: "Set them an example by doing what is good" (Tit. 2: 7).

Someone has said that the church is always one generation away from extinction. Are you modeling the faith for others who will be passing it on as well? In this way, the church will continue to grow and thrive...til Jesus returns for His bride.

A Matter of Orientation

2011-04-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am not sure who first said it, but there is a quote floating around: "The church is the only institution that exists for the sake of non-members."

Karl Barth said something similar when he defined church as "community for the sake of the world." I would modify that slightly to "Christ-centered community for the sake of the world."

God's purpose for His people has always included an evangelistic component. Just look at the covenant promise to Abraham, restated many times to him and to Isaac and to Jacob. Loosely paraphrased, there are four parts to the covenant promise: 1) land, 2) offspring, 3) blessing, and 4) to be a blessing to all nations.

The fourth point is often called "the bottom line of the covenant." In other words, God's purpose in selecting Abraham, and through him, the children of Israel, was that the glory of God would be displayed to all nations and that they would be drawn to the worship of the One True God. That is Isaiah's point: "I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles" (Isa. 42:6b).

Unfortunately, Israel liked the first three parts of the covenant, because they were the recipients. But the bottom line did not seem to be such a great deal. That is why Jesus got so upset when a bazaar was set up in the part of the temple called, "the court of the Gentiles." He drove them all out saying, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer FOR ALL NATIONS'? But you have made it a 'den of robbers'" (Mark 11: 17).

Before we start pointing fingers at Israel, however, we in the church should take a long hard look at ourselves. Are we building the institution of the church for the purpose of blessing the world, or do we have a tendency to build it more like a fortress to hide in, hoping that Jesus comes back before the barbarians break through?

Jesus said, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19: 10). What changes should we make to reorient ourselves towards fulfilling our primary mission, reaching a lost world with the good news of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God?

In His Tracks

2011-04-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

So many things happened on the night that Jesus was betrayed. Perhaps the most intense was the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus faced the impending task of finishing his mission on earth. His "hour" for which He had been sent into the world.

As I think about the intensity of Jesus' struggles in prayer: "Lord, if it is possible, take this cup from me..." Then eventually, "Lord, if it is NOT possible..."

But always Jesus came back to the realization that this indeed was the Father's will for Him and He was needing the strength to go all the way. "Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matt. 26: 39).

He took only three of His closest disciples with Him to "watch" or "stand vigil" with Him. Yet, they could not make it through a single hour.

I suppose many of us feel guilt when we hear Jesus exclaim, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" (Matt. 26: 40). But I don't think Jesus was angry or intended to shame them. Instead, I hear his sense of amazement, "Things are worse than I thought. Even my best disciples are powerless to join in spiritual warfare with me. Humanity is indeed utterly lost. I am not only alone, but ONLY I can do what needs to be done."

Jesus was our only hope for salvation. And He didn't let us down. He went all the way.

The writer of Hebrews says, "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made [complete], He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him" (Heb. 5: 8).

Jesus showed us obedience. He calls anyone who wants to be His disciple to find out what they've been called to do, pick up their own cross daily, and follow Him in His example of complete obedience. Thus we are to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12: 2).

I used to be an avid hiker. And when you hike through snow, someone has to go in front to make the first tracks. But if you are following, it is best to try to walk in their tracks.

Jesus is the pioneer of the faith who made a path for us to follow. Discipleship is simply following Him in such a way that we place our feet in His tracks and follow His example of radical obedience.

Breaking Our Narcissistic Bubble

2011-04-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

I was born at the center of my universe and, despite God's frequent attempts to break through my narcissistic bubble, I remain locked in a Mark-centered world. And I'm beginning to think that this basic narcissism is what plagues most of humanity. We never grow out of our "me-centered" paradigms.

What do I mean by that?

Well, for example, I may participate in a small group, supposedly sensitive to everyone else's sharing, but come away with simply an impression about how I feel about the meeting, and whether I felt heard by everyone else, or even whether I got anything out of it.

Or to hit closer to home for me, I preach a sermon on Sunday, but instead of sensing w

hat God is doing in Fred or Jane or Marianne, I am more worried about how well I did. Secretly I whisper to my wife, "How was that? Was I okay?" If there is a big response, I may interpret even that as meaning something about me and as a result, I feel good about my performance.

Yet, when I consider Jesus and how He ministered, I realize His focus was never on Himself. After preaching The Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the greatest sermon in the history of sermons, he did not whisper to Peter, "How was that? Was I okay?" It wasn't about Him, but about what God the Father was doing.

Even after His challenging message in John 6 about "eating his body and drinking his blood," where lots of people got offended and stomped off, He was not full of remorse. He didn't worry, "Oh man, I really blew it. What am I going to do now?" He seemed prepared even for His inner circle to leave Him as well.

Paul seemed to have gotten out of his own narcissistic bubble. "If I were trying to please men, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ" he says in Gal. 1: 10. That's in contrast to the Pharisees, about whom Jesus said, "Everything they do is done for men to see" (Matt. 23: 5).

I believe the main antidote to our self-centeredness is The Cross. On the cross, Jesus demonstrated that He had laid down the self-determined life and had taken up the God-determined life--a life of reverent submission. If we want to be His disciples, we must do the same. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9" 23-24).

Are you serious about following Christ? Take up your cross daily and, like a heavenly sledge hammer, it will begin to break your narcissistic bubble.

The Unforced Rhythms of Grace

2011-04-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

In Matt. 11: 28-30, Jesus calls us to leave the legalistic and oppressive burdens of religious legalism and come to him to learn a new way of living.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..."

Jesus is not saying that he has a yoke that he wants to place on you and then he will be the farmer driving the plow.

In the ancient middle east, the farmer would use a double yoke to train a younger ox by pairing it with an older, more experienced ox. Thus, the younger one would learn

from the older one by being yoked together with it.

Jesus is inviting us to become paired with him. The same kind of yoke th

at he took on is the one we must bear.

"If anyone wants to follow my [as my disciple], he must deny his [self-determined life], and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9: 23).

In other words, Jesus is the model of the life lived in humble submission to the Father. Therefore, let us be yoked together with him, "the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross..." (Heb. 12: 2).

Eugene Peterson, in The Message, renders it this way, "Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace" (Matt. 11: 29).

Rather than the burdensome and wearying life of religious duty, Jesus wa

nts to lead us into a restful relationship of service walking with him. As we put our sho

ulder to the plow, we don't find him whipping us from behind, but pulling with us and

teaching us the "unforced rhythms of grace."

Are you yoked to Jesus?

Head and Heart

2011-03-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Blaise Pascal famously wrote: "The heart has reasons that reason knows nothing of."

I tend to be someone who actively lives in my mind, in the realm of thinking and rationality. Although I am easily moved emotionally (I have cried at television commercials), my preferred sphere is the life of the mind.

And so, as a preacher, I have tended to speak to people's understanding, hoping that I would, through that portal, gain access to their hearts as well. And even though my teaching has had effect, the response has tended to be muted at best.

In the same way, my prayer life has tended to focus on thinking and speaking thoughts to God.

However, recently I have come to an existential crisis. I have realized that the life of the mind, although important and not to be ignored, is inadequate when it comes to real life transformation. As Henri Nouwen said in The Way of the Heart, "The crisis of our prayer life is that our minds may be filled with ideas of God while our hearts remain far from him. Real prayer comes from the heart" (p. 71).

Jesus spoke similar words to the Pharisees, "These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me" (Matt. 15: 8).

I realized that I felt comfortable staying in my head because I felt competent, powerful and in control. But the ways of my heart were mysterious, even mystical, and beyond my control.

The really difficult task is making that seemingly insurmountable journey (of approximately one foot) from my head to my heart. This has reinforced my determination to learn from the spiritual fathers of our faith who, practicing the spiritual disciplines, have given us tools that will help "exercise ourselves unto godliness."

Solitude. Silence. Prayer. And so much more.

Are you ready to go on a journey of the heart?

Decision-Making in the Kingdom

2011-03-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made a big decision in your life and been half-way there when you realized that you had never really prayed about it?

Despite the many incredible victories described in the book of Joshua, there are a couple of hiccups along the way.

In chapter 7, unbeknownst to Joshua, Achan had lustfully taken and kept for himself some plunder from Jericho, even though God had specifically commanded Israel to destroy everything and keep nothing as plunder.

So, flush with excitement over

their spectacular triumph at Jericho, when the spies reported to him that Ai was not worth sending the whole army--"We can do this one. It's a piece of cake"--Joshua neglected to ask the LORD if it was okay. The result was a spectacular defeat.

And when Joshua was complaining to Him about it, God's response was something like, "What are you doing groveling there? You should be purging your ranks of sin. Get up and take care of business."

Joshua's prayer was ill-timed. The time to pray was BEFORE making the decision, not after the fact.

A similar faux-pas occurs in chapter nine. The Hivites from Gideon stage an elaborate ruse, pretending to be from a far-away, non-Caananite land. The Israelites fell for it.

"The men of Israel sampled the provisions but did not inquire of the LORD" (9: 14).

In both instances, the Israelites fell into the sin of pride, the hubris that they could figure this one out themselves. The moral of the story: "Always inquire of the Lord." There is never a time we should not include God in the decision processes of life.

How have your decisions been made in your life? Do you retain the right to make most decisions and only inquire of God if you don't have an opinion, or it seems easy enough? Why not develop a new Kingdom habit? Inquire of God first and save yourself a lot of heartache later.

When Disaster Strikes

2011-03-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Having lived in California my whole life, I am used to feeling earthquakes.

And when I used to teach Sunday School, I knew the anxiety that big shakers induced in young children. Their world was not as secure as they had thought. So, I would sing an old song that I learned during the "Jesus People Movement" taken from Psalm 46:

"God is our refuge and strength;
God is our reguge and strength;
A very present help in trouble.
God is our refuge and strength.

Therefore, I will not fear
though the earth should move
though the mountains fall in to the heart of the sea...
God is our refuge and strength."

On Thursday night, I could not turn off the TV and go to bed. I was transfixed by the live images from helicopters following the leading edge of a giant wave sweeping a mounting slurry of destructive debris across the Northern Japanese coast. Boats, cars and houses were all being picked up like plastic toys and tossed forward into houses, bridges and trees. I felt helpless in the face of such incredible power.

Besides the empathy I felt for those who were suffering, I also felt a kind of resignation. Yes, God sometimes allows a smidgen of His power to be revealed to us in order to remind us where to put our trust.

In the Christian sci-fi classic, Perelandra, C. S. Lewis shows the "Adam and Eve" of Perelandra (Venus) living on floating islands made of the roots of trees. The prohibition was not "don't eat the fruit" but "don't stay overnight on solid ground." In other words, the temptation for the Perelandrans was to place their trust in what they could build, store and own themselves, rather than accepting the tentative nature of their floating islands. They had to trust that God would provide what they needed, when they needed it, moment by moment.

When disaster strikes us, it should be a reminder that our refuge is God Himself. Our trust is never really in the transitory "stuff" of life--our possessions. Instead, God Himself is our refuge and strength.

Help, God!

2011-03-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard, used to say that there was one prayer that God always heard and answered, "Help, God!"

King David used more eloquent language:

"Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me..." (Psalm 69: 1-2).

Every one of us has that "sinking feeling" at least once in a while. For some, it is frequent. For others, it is their constant experience.

Why do we have to go through such times of distress? When we become Christians, aren't all of our problems suppose to be born by Jesus and now we can float through life in a state of blissful joy?

Well, if we are following Jesus, then we should learn from His example. He faced the shame, humiliation, pain and total rejection of the cross. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was "made perfect" through suffering (Heb. 2: 10) and that he "learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb. 5: 8-9).

How could the sinless Son of God be "made perfect" or "learn obedience?" Wasn't He already perfect? Didn't He already "know all things?"

The word for "perfect" really means "complete or mature." The kind of learning the writer is talking about is experiential learning. In heaven, Jesus had no cause to learn obedience. He had the ability, but until He was submitted to the Father as the Incarnate Son, He did not have the occasion.

Until He had received an order to obey, He did not learn what it was like to obey.

That is what our suffering does for us. It forces us to obey. To say, "You're God and I'm not. I will call out to You in your God-ness and in my creaturely-ness and remain in an attitude of trust and submission, even when it is difficult, even when I'm sinking and my feet can't touch bottom."

Maybe that's how Paul could "rejoice in sufferings" (Rom. 5: 3) and James could "consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." (Jas. 1: 2). They saw it all as part of the maturing of our Christian character.

Are you learning obedience from what you're suffering? Remember that handy prayer, "Help, God!"

No Regrets

2011-03-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday I got the news that my father had passed away.

We had just celebrated his 90th birthday in December and I knew he had a sense that it would be his last. It is a long drive for me (about 8-9 hours). But I knew it was important for me to get there.

I happened to be in Arizona at a conference, so I had to drive back to Southern California before I could make the trek to Northern Cal. Of course, all that drive time allowed me space to think about my relationship with my dad.

Although my father was a constant presence in my life--always home at 4:30, 4 weeks of vacation every year--he was not very demonstrative with his feelings. I grew up wondering if I was loved, or maybe if I was love-able. A lot of my personal growth involved letting go of the need for my father to demonstrate his love and accepting him for who he was.

Once I had done that, I came to a peace and acceptance of the dad I really did have.

And I found out that I liked him. He was intelligent, yet kind and gentle. And I knew he was rooting for me to succeed in life. And even though he couldn't express it easily, I know that he loved me. And I can say without reservations, that I loved him.

And with his passing, I realize that all that work in recovery was worth it. I feel at peace and I have no lingering regrets.

Paul says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, but the continuing debt to love one another..." (Rom. 13:8).

Are you working to clear the ledgers in your life so that you can say there are no regrets? The work we do now will reap benefits later. I speak from experience.

Reading the Bible

2011-02-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he writes, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the [person] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16).

Our church is embarking on the systematic devotional reading of the entire Bible together.

But many people complain that the Bible is not really able to be understood by most of us without reading commentaries or studying the original languages ourselves.

I'm one of those people who have spent a lot of time and money getting trained to read the Bible--and I disagree. In fact, most of the people who complain about how hard it is to read the Bible have usually not tried to read it for themselves.

The Bible is meant to be read by all of us. It was breathed by God through the obedience of human writers for our benefit. In fact, if we are to be equipped for ministry, the Bible is the training manual.

George Eldon Ladd who was Professor of New Testament Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, California, said that the Bible is "the words of God written in the words of [people] in history."

That is, although the words are from God, they are communicated through a human author in their language. And it was written in a time and place in history, and was intended to be read by particular people in history.

So, when we are reading the scriptures, let us try to understand the original author's intent as well as we can before we try to understand what it is saying to us today. This simple rule will help us as we begin to read the Bible for ourselves.

The Christian and Grief

2011-02-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

I am feeling saddened this week. Becky Wells, our Children's Ministry Director, passed away suddenly on Friday night. She was a member since the planting of our church 10 1/2 years ago. She was also a member of our Board of Directors.

The suddenness of her death was shocking. She was expected at her oldest son's house Friday night where she was going to spend time with her week-old grandson. But, evidently, she stopped by her high-security office building to do something at work. They found her on Saturday slumped over her desk.

Christians often go through a lot of emotional conflict when they try to deal with this kind of tragedy.

In the book of Job, his associates who come to comfort him after his losses, although speaking many words of wisdom, failed to comfort their grieving friend.

"Miserable comforters are you all!" (Job 16: 2).

Yes, we know that Becky is in a better place. Yes, we know we are all destined to join her. Yes, we realize that God is sovereign and we all submit to His wisdom and knowledge. These truths, though spoken with conviction by well-intentioned comforters, often fail to comfort the grieving.

You see, we are still human. We feel the pangs of grief like everyone else. We shake our heads in disbelief when we think of all the good things about the person we've lost. We begin to feel a deep sense of loss when we consider what might have been. Some may even feel a lot of regret over unresolved issues.

Sometimes the best comfort we can provide to the person who is grieving is our presence. The reassurance that, as the person goes through the grieving process, we will tarry with them.

Job's friends sat with him in silence for seven days. This was probably the most comforting thing they could do. But Job's expression of grief in chapter 3 was too hard to listen to. They had to correct Job, they had to try and fix him, set him right and defend God against his compaints. And their attempts just made things worse. It increased Job's pain, instead of bringing him comfort.

"If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom" (Job 13: 5).

In the end, the comfort that Job was seeking came only with the arrival of God Himself.

"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you..." (Job 42: 5).

It is only the presence of God that can bring the comfort we need. Christians indeed grieve, but not like those "who have no hope" (1 Thes. 4: 13). We look to God Himself to respond with His comforting presence. And those of us who seek to help would do well to simply tarry with the one who is grieving, looking for God's presence to do what we cannot.

Letting God Be God

2011-02-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

What is the first sin?

In Isaiah 14, Hellel ("shining one", Lucifer "light bringer" in Latin), the most glorious angelic being in all of God's creation came up with this thought in his heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars (angels) of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isa. 14: 13-14).

The original sin is the attempt to usurp God's rightful place as God, the Most High.

When Adam ate the fruit in the garden, it was essentially the same thing. Although God had told Adam not to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam decided to usurp God and make the choice himself. "Just who does Yahweh think He is? I'll be the god of my own life. After all, I'm not sure God is the best one to decide for me. He may not have my best interests in mind."

You see, at its root, sin is rebellion. It is taking the role of God in our lives. I know best. I will be god of my own life.

When Jesus came, the second Adam, he walked as a human being empowered by the Holy Spirit, and fully submitted to God's will. That is why, in the garden of Gethsemane, we have such an incredible picture of restored humanity.

"Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14: 36).

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was heard when he prayed this prayer. And, "although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb. 5: 8).

Jesus did what Hellel and Adam could not. He faced the temptation to usurp the role of God and learned obedience by letting God be God, not only in Gethsemane, but throughout his earthly life.

What does it mean to let God be God in your life? Learning obedience through what we suffer means submitting to Him as Lord, even when it's tough.

Conversation with God

2011-02-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

The King James translation uses "conversation" to translate the word anastrophe.

"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ..." (Php. 1: 27).

The word means "way of life, conduct or behavior." The NIV gives us a dynamic equivalent translation, "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."

Even though I love how the modern translations help us get to the core of what Paul is saying, there is something I still love about the word "conversation" used to describe our walk with God.

It implies that we are not doing it on our own. A walk with God implies a conversation with Him.

The classic song lyrics go, "No man is an island. No man stands alone." Yet, so much of American Christianity emphasizes individual effort and commitment that we can easily forget that no one is called to walk in solitude. We are called to a conversation--with God and in community.

Conversation also implies that it is two-way communication. It is not just me doing the talking, nor is it just God. We have great examples throughout the scriptures of two-way communication. Abraham bargaining with the Lord about the fate of Sodom (like a Persian rug salesmen, "I'll give you 20"). Moses pleading with God not to destroy Israel. Job demanding that God defend Himself. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane pleading for another way, yet accepting His Father's will.

Are you engaged in an ongoing conversation with God, in community with others who are also? It implies not only that you are pouring out your heart to Him, but He is answering. Why not take time to listen?

The Still Small Voice

2011-01-26T11:44:00.000-08:00

One of the great stories in the Old Testament is of Elijah, weary from "power ministry" and afraid for his life in the face of the wrath of Jezebel, he flees to the desert and hides in a cave.
An interesting interview ensues (my paraphrase from 1 Kings 19):
"What are you doing here, Elijah?"

"I've been killing myself working for you. But all I can see is the enemy winning by wiping out all of your servants. I think I'm the only one left!"

Of course we know that God calls him to get out of the "cave of depression" and stand before Him. And even though he sees tornado, earthquake and firestorm, he realizes that God is not speaking through them. Instead, God's voice comes through the gentle breeze--His quiet whisper.

The interview then repeats itself word-for-word. Why?

I think that Elijah's first response was in the form of a whimper, a whine, a complaint. Woe is me!

When our focus is on ourselves, we can't really hear God's answer. We're just complaining.

But the storms of life are meant to get our attention off of ourselves so that we begin to really listen to God's answer.

That's when we realize that He was speaking to us all along. We heard it, but we didn't really "hear" it. That is, the words registered, but we didn't really take in the meaning.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mk. 4: 9).

Do you want God to speak to you? He probably already is. Shift your focus from yourself to Him. He still speaks in a quiet whisper.

Becoming a Disciple of Jesus

2011-01-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

For many years, I considered myself to be a dispensationalist, although I was not a cessationist.

That means that I bought into the idea that God's redemptive program could be viewed as being "dispensed" differently during periods of history. Moses initiated the dispensation of Law. Jesus introduced the Kingdom, but was rejected, thereby delaying that period until his second coming. Instead, the dispensation of Grace has intervened.

What bothered me for many years was that most dispensationalists taught that the period of charismatic activity that Jesus and the Apostles exhibited ceased with the writing of the New Testament (cessationism). I always believed this was not exegetically supported, nor was it consistent with the dispensational paradigm.

But when I arrived at the Vineyard in 1985, Kingdom theology upset my dispensational apple cart. The book, The Gospel of the Kingdom, by George Eldon Ladd, professor of New Testament Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, was simple, straight-forward, and gave me a thoroughly biblical basis for my theology.

What is more, I became aware of how dispensationalism had drained Jesus and the Gospels out of my Christian worldview. You see, I was taught that Jesus came at the end of the dispensation of the Law, presented the dispensation of the Kingom, but was rejected. The Kingdom Age was set aside for the future and the mysterious age of Grace had intervened. Therefore, so I was taught, Jesus' ministry and teaching were largely irrelevant for today. It was the epistles, especially Paul, that were written to us.

Listening to John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement, teach from the Gospels and give me a model for Kingdom ministry straight from the Master Himself was refreshing. If we are Jesus' disciples, then let's study Jesus' ministry.

In his Great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples to "teach [the disciples they were making] to obey everything I have commanded you." Jesus' teaching and ministry are not only relevant to us today, they are VITAL. He is the Master. We are his disciples, his "apprentices in Kingdom living" (The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard).

Let's study the Master and seek to obey everything He taught His disciples.

Heal the Sick

2011-01-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

I love the fact that Jesus sent us to preach the "Good News" of the Kingdom of God.

But read more of the instruction:
"As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is [at hand].' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10: 7-8).

The command to preach the good news is only part of it. We are also to heal the sick. Notice it does NOT just say to "pray for the sick" but to "heal the sick."

You might argue, "Well, this instruction was given only to the apostles and only for the time of Jesus' minsitry."

In Luke we find that he also sent out another 72 with the same commission. And then, at the end of Matthew, He gave the Great Commission to all the disciples who were present. Part of His commission then, just prior to his ascension, was to "teach [the disciples you are making] to OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU" (Matt. 28: 20).

In other words, the command to "heal...raise...cleanse...drive out" are to be obeyed by everyone who wants to be Jesus' disciple.

But I don't have the power to heal, only God has that power.

Bingo. That is why we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. So that we have the power, not just to say the words, but to do the works of Jesus.

When I pray for the sick, I feel totally inadequate. And the truth is--I am totally inadequate. But God is not. The command to heal the sick should bring me back into a total dependence on God. It should cause me to cry out to Him for the power to obey. And it should fill me with gratitude when He does through me what only He can do.

Big Hairy Audacious Goals

2011-01-04T14:36:00.000-08:00

In 1996, James Collins and Jerry Poras introduced the idea of a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG).

"A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as a unifying focal point of effort and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines" (Collins and Poras, 1996).

I think one of the greatest examples of a BHAG in the corporate world is Google: "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

In my November 11, 2010 post, Simple Instructions, I said that Jesus summarized the moral code of the Torah in two simple commands: Love God and Love People. We often call this "The Great Commandment."

In Matt. 28: 18-20, Jesus issued another simple instruction to the church--what we often call, "The Great Commission." Go into all the world. Make disciples from all nations.

Imagine what chutzpah it took for Jesus to tell this rather small, ragtag group of followers, "Go and change the whole world."

In Acts, Jesus adds one more instruction: wait. Wait for what? For power from on high.

Yes, Jesus has left us with a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). And yes, it is totally presumptuous of us to resolve to go out and accomplish that BHAG--in our own flesh.

So, how about resolving to do a couple more things this year? Wait on God to be filled with power from on high. Then join with the community of faith as we go into all the world and make disciples from every nation.

Love's Pure Light

2010-12-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

Another favorite Christmas carol of mine is Silent Night.

This last Sunday morning, as our church celebrated Christmas by worshipping to many of our famous carols, we sang the third verse to Silent Night.

"Silent night, holy night.
Son of God, love's pure light."

I had never noticed the apostrophe in the word "love's" before. I had always thought that it was the conjugated verb, to love. I had thought it meant that the Son of God was in love with pure light.

But this missed the point of the line and what makes the whole verse a theological gem.

You see, love is meant as a noun. And the noun is a metaphor for God Himself. "God is love," John tells us in his first epistle.

The Son of God is "Love's pure light." As it says in Hebrews 1: 3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of his being..."

Read it with the rest of the verse:
"Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth."

Jesus, at his birth, is like the dawning of the rising sun. God radiates his presence through the Son.

"...the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace" (Luke 1: 78b-79).

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

2010-12-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is one of my favorite Christmas Carols. But do we really understand what this first line means?

This 500-year-old song first became popular outside of the church. It was not written in Latin, but the common language of England. And the tune was so upbeat that people could dance to it. No wonder that the reform-minded author, Charles Dickens, mentions it in his wildly popular novel (and one of my favorites as well), A Christmas Carol. Although he changes the word "rest" to "bless."

Because of its outsider, populist status, it wasn't even published until 19th century Victorian England.

According to Ace Collins in Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas (Zondervan, 2001), the word "rest" means "make or keep" and "merry" means "great or mighty." By adding a comma after "merry", the meaning becomes: "God make you mighty, gentlemen."

But I believe this still requires a little further cultural translation so that we can get to the heart of the sentence:

"God greatly bless and encourage you, gentlemen."

In other words, the story of Christmas, the story of the birth of the Son of God, is an encouraging and uplifting story for all men. "Be encouraged, gentlemen, for Christ was born on Christmas day, destroying the power of Satan and bringing hope for all mankind."

We have a message of great hope and joy for the world. What better time to share that message with the world than at Christmas?

"Oh tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy!
Oh tidings of comfort and joy!"

Waiting for the Sunrise

2010-12-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

In the final prophetic book of the Old Testament, Malachi promises a Day of the Lord where God's light will rise to vindicate the faithful. The metaphor of a sunrise is powerful:

"But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall" (Mal. 4: 2).

"Advent" is the season of four weeks preceding the celebration of Christmas, the birth of the Messiah. It is the season during which we await his arrival. With his birth, came the rising of the sun of righteousness. The arrival of the Son of God is like the rising of the morally pure sun in a world dominated by the morally corrupt darkness.

During this season, we can get preoccupied with preparing for the material events--special gatherings and meals, decorations, and gift-giving. These are all actually rather morally-neutral activities. Whether or not they are "good" things depends on our hearts as we do them.

Perhaps we need to make sure we also get engaged in the spiritual event that we are celebrating--the advent of the Son of God--while we are still doing the material events. All it takes is a slight "tweak" to what we may already be planning. While we're doing our decorating, let's allow our souls to be delighted with the beauty of it all. When we sit down to a meal together, give people a chance to share a word of appreciation to everyone else. When we exchange gifts, let's begin with a prayer of thanks for God's Gift to us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave...Jesus!"

Putting the Giving in Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T19:03:00.000-08:00

In 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, Paul spends significant time laying the theological and ethical foundations for giving to the poor. You see, the church in Judea was suffering from extreme poverty.

Paul decided to spearhead a huge fundraising campaign throughout the churches he had planted. And he called the Corinthians to excel in "this grace of giving" (2 Cor. 8: 7).

Grace is a very broad term that denotes the favor that is bestowed by God on us, regardless of our merit. And, having become recipients of God's grace, we are called to become conduits through whom God's grace is administered to others. We become "stewards" of God's grace, faithfully administering it to others (1 Pet. 4: 10).

Having received God's grace by way of His abundant provision, we are now responsible to become stewards of that grace through us to others. Another name for this charisma is "generosity."

Of course, the greatest example of the administration of generosity is God Himself, giving His One and Only Begotten Son. He did it, not based on our merit, but based on our need.

Paul tells us that our generosity becomes a source of thanksgiving and praise that builds and multiplies. "This service that you perform not only supplies the needs of God's people, but overflows in many expressions of thanks to God" (2 Cor. 9: 12, slight paraphrase).

This last weekend, our little church poured out their resources in a Spirit of generosity to supply the needs of our brothers and sisters in downtown Los Angeles. I know I felt a kind of joy and thanksgiving as we gave of ourselves. And the believers in Los Angeles expressed thanksgiving as well when we delivered our gift.

We can multiply thanksgiving by becoming generous in the same way as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor. 9: 15).

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2010-11-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

I had an opportunity to go to an advance screening of the upcoming movie: The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I have to say that it exceeded my expectations and may be the best movie rendering of Narnia so far.

One of the characters says roughly, "Before you can conquer the darkness out there, you must overcome the darkness inside." The movie is about facing our inner darkness. When we do, the monsters on the outside can be conquered.

I was totally impressed with Will Poulter who plays Eustace, the young, snarky cousin of Edmund and Lucy. His transformation through personal pain is at the heart of the movie. Reflecting on the experience of being transformed and healed by Aslan near the end, he says that it was painful but good. Like pulling out a thorn. It hurts but feels better afterwards.

Also, for young children, the sea serpent is really scary. Parents, you should judge your own kids' ability to handle a big monster.

When Aslan tells Lucy and Edmund that this is indeed their last visit to Narnia, he also says that he exists in their world by another name. The purpose of their visits to Narnia was so that they would get to know him there. And what a great truth. We make a big mistake when we stifle children's imagination, thinking that it will lead them into error. C. S. Lewis' imaginative fairy tales help us to understand the wonders of God and eternity.

Simple Instructions

2010-11-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

I think the most complex set of instructions I've ever had to struggle with were for my patio barbeque. And it didn't help matters that the English was probably translated by a non-native speaker at a factory somewhere in Asia.

It made me think, "What are the simplest instructions in my house?" The truth is, I deal with them every day. They are on my shampoo bottle:
1. Lather
2. Rinse
3. Repeat

In Matthew 22, a teacher of the law asked Jesus what the greatest single law from the Torah was. Jesus answered, "Love God." And secondarily, "Love your neighbor." Jesus wraps up his discussion by saying, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22: 40). Or to paraphrase it, "This sums up the Torah."

So, you could say that the entire ethical imperative of Torah may be as simple as that bottle of shampoo.
1. Love God
2. Love People
3. Repeat

What would our world look like if the Church were involved in fulfilling those two simple commands, and then kept doing it over and over again?

Timing Is Everything

2010-11-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Greeks had two key words for "time"--chronos and kairos.

Chronos denotes the passage of time. That's why a watch is called a "chronometer." It measures the inevitable flow of time, like a massive river. 55 years of my finite amount of chronos has slipped by. How much do I have left?

Kairos denotes a moment in time. An appointment with the doctor is written in my calendar at a specific time. My airplane ticket has a time-of-departure (kairos) written on it. A groom asks his best man to "get him to the church on kairos."

Kairos can be seen positively as "the opportune moment." But negatively as "the moment of crisis." Opportunity and crisis. If I miss the appointed time, it is gone forever.

So what's the point? How much of my chronos is wasted because I am not recognizing the kairoi that are presenting themselves to me?

Our modern lives are full of time-wasters. And those time-wasters are becoming more and more high-tech. TV, the Internet, texting, video gaming, etc., etc. Involvement in so many things tends to numb my spiritual senses to God's promptings. Those kairoi keep slipping by as the chronometer keeps ticking.

Are you making the most of your chronos? Are you paying attention to God so that you don't miss those kairos moments?

Love This Election

2010-10-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

We're in the final week of a very hotly contested election season. And people from all parts of the political spectrum have contributed to the generally acrid environment. I find myself feeling pretty upset at times.

In the midst of such malevolence, is it possible for Christians to live out the clear command of Christ in John 13: 34, "Love one another"? And the even more difficult command in Matt. 5:44, "Love your enemies"?

If you are an apprentice of Jesus, hopefully it has dawned on you by now that the Christian life is IMPOSSIBLE to live. That is, it is impossible if you are merely living it in the power of the flesh. The "flesh" is Paul's way of talking about the life whose volition is still centered in the sensual self.

"With God, all things are possible."

In 1st Corinthians, Paul contrasts the "fleshly" person with the "spiritual" person. The Holy Spirit is given so that we can live out of a new volitional center--our spirit, empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Our sensual, ego-centered self does not disappear, but becomes submissive to our new God-center.

Christ is the hope of the world. But he is making his appeal through us, his apprentices in kingdom living. If we truly want to be the salt and light that we have been called to be, we will cry out to him to supply the power to truly love others, yes even political foes. Christ died for all. Can we love those whom He loves, regardless of politics? The answer lies in the transformation of our hearts, through the power of the indwelling Spirit, so that we operate under the rulership of God--true Kingdom living.

What would this election season look like if the church became The Church and Christians began loving one another--even their political opponents--like Christ loves us all? Just a thought.

Hello World!

2010-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

When Tiger Woods went pro in 1996, he held a news conference where he announced the beginning of his professional career. "Hello world!"

I don't know if I can actually compare myself to an internationally recognized sports icon who is probably worth more than the GNP of Venezuela, but my first blog feels like a "coming out" party--a kind of rite of passage--for an old-timer like me. My idea of "social networking" has been collecting more business cards than anyone else at a weekend leadership seminar.

I have to admit that I feel, not only a sense of excitement, but a lot of fear as well. I will need a lot of help to keep going forward. Cause it's probably true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But I'd like to prove them wrong.

So, "hello world."