Morning -- July 5th

“Called to be saints.”
Romans 1:7

We are very apt to regard the apostolic saints as if they were “saints” in a more especial manner than the other children of God. All are “saints” whom God has called by His grace, and sanctified by His Spirit; but we are apt to look upon the apostles as extraordinary beings, scarcely subject to the same weaknesses and temptations as ourselves. Yet in so doing we are forgetful of this truth, that the nearer a man lives to God the more intensely has he to mourn over his own evil heart; and the more his Master honours him in his service, the more also doth the evil of the flesh vex and tease him day by day. The fact is, if we had seen the apostle Paul, we should have thought him remarkably like the rest of the chosen family: and if we had talked with him, we should have said, “We find that his experience and ours are much the same. He is more faithful, more holy, and more deeply taught than we are, but he has the selfsame trials to endure. Nay, in some respects he is more sorely tried than ourselves.” Do not, then, look upon the ancient saints as being exempt either from infirmities or sins; and do not regard them with that mystic reverence which will almost make us idolaters. Their holiness is attainable even by us. We are “called to be saints” by that same voice which constrained them to their high vocation. It is a Christian’s duty to force his way into the inner circle of saintship; and if these saints were superior to us in their attainments, as they certainly were, let us follow them; let us emulate their ardour and holiness. We have the same light that they had, the same grace is accessible to us, and why should we rest satisfied until we have equalled them in heavenly character? They lived with Jesus, they lived for Jesus, therefore they grew like Jesus. Let us live by the same Spirit as they did, “looking unto Jesus,” and our saintship will soon be apparent.

Taken from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening

The Next Step

A good friend of mine is finishing up some time in Burkina Faso, Africa. She posted this today... I'm quoting the whole entry.

September 12, 2008 — “God, I am continuing to pray about this year and the upcoming year. Lord, I want to be your vessel I want to help further your kingdom. I desire for people to know about you. People that don’t already know about you. God, I pray that you would reveal to me what it is you have in store for my life, specifically post-grad plans…God, I have this desire to teach abroad. I have a heart for Africa, the poor and children…God, I want to do bold, courageous, beautiful, amazing, wonderful things for your kingdom.”

I wrote this prayer before God had even placed Burkina Faso on my heart. Fast forward to today and I find myself praying the same prayer, except now, instead of post-grad plans, I am asking the Lord, “What is your will for my life post-Burkina?” As my time begins to come to an end here, I have a constant battle going on in my head. I could find so many reasons to stay in Burkina and yet, I could find so many reasons to go home. Today is another day where I find myself saying, “God, I trust you. Really, I do and I’m at peace not knowing what it is you have in store for me next…whatever it is Lord, I will go where you send me.”

This morning I woke up with every intention of working a lot on finishing writing first grade curriculum and preparing school materials for next school year and while there is still time to get work done, I can’t help but have a heavy, saddened heart. This morning I had the opportunity to help a local pastor and a few others (including some of the teachers from school) make mud bricks for the pastor’s new church in Yako. It was a great time and pictures will definitely be posted the next time I am in Ouaga. After working for a while under the strong African sun, I returned back to my house to give my clothes to Maimounata, so she could wash them.

After Maimounata was finished, I walked her to my courtyard door and said goodbye. Seconds later, I heard a sweet, little voice down the street shout, “O-lee-vee-a, O-lee-vee-a.” I turned my head to see my 9-year old neighbor Nadia smiling and waving at me. I motioned to her to come over. In my not-so-fluent French, we made a little small talk.

I explained, “Nadia, I want to play games and color, just like we did a few weeks ago, but I have a lot of work I have to get done today, but I will invite you over another day, especially because I only have one month left here. Did you know I am leaving to go back to the United States at the end of May?”

After hearing this, Nadia became very quiet and her big, beautiful brown eyes welled up with tears.

I asked, “Are you crying because you are sick?” Nadia shook her head.

“Did someone say something that hurt your feelings?” Again, she shook her head.

“Are you crying because I am leaving soon?” to which she replied yes by nodding her head.

Trying not to well up with tears myself, I gave her a kiss on the cheek and a big hug.

“Oh Nadia, my pretty girl, you are so special. I think you are so special and God does too. I love you. Don’t cry, I will be here for another month. We have lots of time to spend together,” I explained.

She continued to cry. I invited her into my courtyard and brought a cup of Kool-Aid outside for both of us and we sat on the porch. Nadia started to come around and talk to me a little. This sweet, little 9 year old has quite a story, which I had heard from Lynn, but after finishing our Kool-Aid, Nadia personally shared her story with me. While holding Nadia in my arms and rocking her back and forth on my front porch, she noticed a calendar on the table next to us. She picked it up and I began to say the name of each month.

When I got to June, she said, “That is the month my mother died. She died on a Tuesday.”

Nadia continued, “My mother was in a fire, her clothing caught on fire, and she caught on fire. We were at my grandmother’s house, which is not too far from here. Boris (my friend and also an employee of Lynn) was there. My Mom died at the hospital.”

“Were you at your house when this happened?” I asked.

She responded, “Yes.”

“Oh Nadia, I am so sorry. That is not easy. How old were you when this happened?” I asked.

“I was 4 years old,” she said.

Tears began streaming down her face and mine as well, as I listened. Crying is a symbol of weakness in this culture, and holding Nadia, watching her cry, I felt as if these were tears that had been held inside for 5 years. After her mother died, her father, who lives in the same town, opted to send her to live in another courtyard near me to be cared for by a friend of the family. In Burkina, a child is considered to be an orphan if one or both parents are not present in their life. So, this sweet, little girl at the tender age of 4 lost not only a Mom, but also a Dad and she became an orphan. The family whom she was sent to live with has provided the basics for her- shelter, food, and clothing, but her emotional needs have been neglected and from the sounds I hear at night in my courtyard, beatings have become a frequent occurrence in her life. My heart breaks for children who are mistreated and seeing Nadia grow up without anyone to really care for her is no different. If only I could take children in these types of situations home with me and care for them. After Nadia shared her story with me, we had a good conversation about Jesus, who he is, how much he loves us, and how if we ask him to live in our heart, we can spend eternity with him. While I can love Nadia during my time here, I know that Nadia needs and longs for a greater love, a love that can only be found in Christ.

Based on the day’s events, it is so hard to think about leaving, but I say again, “Lord, I trust you and am at peace with not knowing what the next step is. Your faithful and I know that in your perfect timing, you will show me where it is you desire for me to be.” So, with one month remaining of my time here in Burkina, I am clinging to Him- to His promises, to the hope found in Him, to His love, to His faithfulness, and to His strength.

Google vs. God

I saw this video and thought.... "Wow! How cool would it be to see the evolution of my searches over the years!"



Not 5 minutes later, I was perusing my Google reader, and came across this article by Tim Challies.

Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia article about the event his article references:

On August 4, 2006, AOL Research, headed by Dr. Abdur Chowdhury, released a compressed text file on one of its websites containing twenty million search keywords for over 650,000 users over a 3-month period, intended for research purposes. AOL pulled the file from public access by the 7th, but not before it had been mirrored and distributed on the Internet. While none of the records on the file are personally identifiable per se, certain keywords contain personally identifiable information as a result of the original searcher typing in his or her own name (ego-searching), as well as address, social security number, and other personal information. And since each user is identified on this list by a unique sequential key, it enables a researcher to compile a given user's search history. The New York Times was able to locate an individual from the released and anonymized search records by cross referencing them with phonebook listings. Consequently, the ethical implications of using this data for research are under debate. AOL acknowledged it was a mistake and removed the data, although the files can still be downloaded from mirror sites. Additionally, several searchable databases of the report also exist on the internet.

So yeah... this story is almost 4 years old, but this was the first I heard about it... so there.

But this got me thinking... I wonder what Google's perspective of me is. He (for the sake of writing, Google is a man) has listened patiently to everything I've told him for YEARS! He has kindly and efficiently replied each and every time to the best of his ability to provide me with the answers I was seeking. If Google could reply to me, offer commentary on our "conversations," what would he say?

Then I read things like this progression of searches over time from one specific Anonymous searcher:

chai tea calories
calories in bananas
aftermath of incest
how to tell your family you're a victim of incest
pottery barn
curtains
surgical help for depression
oakland raiders comforter set
can you adopt after a suicide attempt
who is not allowed to adopt
i hate men
medication to enhance female desire
jobs in denver colorado
teaching positions in denver colorado
how long will the swelling last after my tummy tuck
divorce laws in ohio
free remote keyloggers
baked macaroni and cheese with sour cream
how to deal with anger
teaching jobs with the denver school system
marriage counseling tips
anti psychotic drugs

And my heart breaks.

As Challies mentions in his article...

What is so amazing about these searches is the way people transition seamlessly from the normal and mundane to the outrageous and perverse. They are, thus, an apt reflection of real life. The user who is in one moment searching for information about a computer game may in the next be looking for the most violent pornography he can imagine... These searches are a glimpse into the hearts of the people who made them.

Think about the massive weight that Google would be under if he were actually a human confidant of such information! How could ANYONE handle this?

One way of dealing with our meaningless cares and desires on one hand and our deepest darkest trash at the same time is to be an emotionless being who cared nothing at all about what happened to us. This is the picture of what Google actually is. It is designed to answer, not care. It is designed to produce results, not fix the problem.

However, what if there was a being that cared so greatly for your concern about the "kanye west vs. taylor swift" stuff AND cared to the same degree about your "why shouldn't i commit suicide" stuff? What would that look like to you? What if instead of getting a result that led you down a path that you can never be sure of, there was a being whose sole purpose was to take your shortcomings and mold them, restore them, fix them to where you look beautiful in his eyes? But not only his eyes, but your eyes as well. Can you imagine being in a place where that search history is gone? Totally wiped away? No more do you have to deal with the shame about that time in grade school where this thing happened that you can't talk to anyone about.

This is the picture of Jesus Christ. Jesus endured the weight of all our multitudinous ramblings -- good, bad and in-between. He carried it all for us on the cross where he died WITH them, and was raised victorious OVER them a few days later.

John Bunyan in Pilgrim's Progress creates a wonderful picture of this:

Christian ran till he came to a hill; upon it stood a cross, and a little below was a tomb.

So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the tomb, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.

...and I saw it no more.

Google is a great tool that I use hundreds of times a day. I love Google. But it is inadequate for what we are most deeply using it for. Only the offer of Christ can satisfy what our hearts are most deeply looking for... we don't want answers at our deepest level. We want to be complete. We want to know that we are OK and that we are loved. Unfortunately, Google does not love us. Fortunately, Christ DOES love us... even with all our junk, trash, darkness and pain.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Putting the cart before the horse

Francis Chan recently wrote an article about the role of leaders, and missteps they can take along the way. You can read the whole article here... and you should.

I wonder if the inconsistency in my walk with God has anything to do with the fact that I can lead a “successful” church in America without being in love with Jesus. I’m sure I could blame American church culture, my position, or a busy schedule for my lack of reverent intimacy. The truth, however, is that my sin and hypocrisy is a result of me.

I've been working through this topic for a long time. How do I foster and grow an authentic love for Jesus that naturally leads to devotion in prayer, reading and ministry rather than shoe-horning my devotions to foster a love for Christ? I'm in essence, putting the cart before the horse it seems. However, its been so ingrained in me that I *must* spend time in prayer or I *must* read the scriptures daily or I *must* ______________ (fill in the blank). That this life united with Christ does not look the way that others seem to see it. In fact, it changes from a full life to a mediocre job.

God speaking to the church in Ephesus says:

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:2-4)

God recognizes their good works, but that doesn't stop him from letting them know that they are forsaking him. He even calls them to repent or else!

My takeaway here is that Tim Bounds was right (he always is... the sooner you recognize that, the easier it will get). Tim, in reference to my driving, said I was "a bit oblivious to my surroundings." Now, I feel that DEFINITELY applies to my driving, but it also applies to my spirituality. Why don't I feel like I'm in love with God? Why do I feel like this is more of a chore than a pleasure? Looking at it through this lens seems to display that it's because I'm oblivious to the work that God is doing and has done in me. I'm oblivious to the fact that I am a unique creation, designed for a specific divine purpose. Though I'm reminded weekly of these truths, I forget. I forget to love God.

God, I pray now that you would awaken me to your movements. Ignite in me a desire for you that is reflective of what you have already done for me. God, may I never forget to love you. I pray that you would break down my feeble thoughts and attitudes and replace them with your thoughts and your attitudes. God, please fill me with an authentic love for you and your creation.

Out on a limb

In school, you normally have a Fall and a Spring semester... but there are also options to take classes during Summer and what we call a J-term (January). These tend to be much more intense periods of study because of the shortened amount of time to cram the information in. Last January, I took one of these classes (Communicating the Gospel). It met Tuesday through Saturday from 8am to 5pm, and was the equivalent of an entire semester's work -- crammed into 5 days. These classes are beneficial because Covenant has maybe 1,000 students who take classes via distance learning and are encouraged to take classes on campus during these terms.

In this class is where I met Todd. Todd was getting his degree to prepare him for planting and pastoring a church in Nebraska. He just updated his blog today with this post which has gotten me thinking a bit about my own life and the direction it has taken.

Today I made it officially known at work. I’m resigning. Voluntary termination in the vernacular. Walking away from nine and a half years of electrical engineering education, two degrees in the field, and seven and half years of a career with Boeing.

And so this afternoon, there I was staring a little screen on my dual monitor, Intel Core 2 Duo workstation that said:

Your Voluntary Termination is Final as Submitted If You Click OK.

“OK”

Funny how things can change completely in such a short amount of time.

Todd, I wish you and your fellow planters the best as you set out on this limb of faith. May you be fearless in proclaiming the gospel of grace to everyone -- even in Nebraska.

Tim Keller @ Covenant Seminary

Tim Keller stopped by Covenant Seminary during his book tour for Counterfeit Gods. Here is the audio for the Q&A by Dr. Chapell and the students of the Seminary.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/271745/20091117_Keller.mp3

Advent Conspiracy

It's that time of year again... Christmas season. Although, I don't think it officially kicks off until the day after Thanksgiving, its in the air and I'm getting excited! I'll admit that I really do enjoy Christmas... I love the weather, music and people. However, this can also be a hectic and horrible time of year from a financial perspective. Christmas in the United States has reached amazing heights in the amount of money spent on presents each year. The resulting credit card debt and financial strain in January is never a good thing... yet year after year, we do it again and again.

Well, not anymore.

Advent Conspiracy is a movement started by 3 pastors Rick McKinley (Imago Dei, Portland), Chris Seay (Ecclesia, Houston), and Greg Holder(The Crossing, St. Louis). The idea is simple... spend less at Christmas on presents, and give more presence (see what I did there?). By giving even a single gift that is specifically meaningful to the recipient instead of the sweater or tie you know they will never use, you show love for that person instead of an obligation to buy something for them. These presences could range anything from dedicated time together to handmade scarfs or even food. But the idea is always the same. Instead of just picking something (or many things) off the shelf, spend some time choosing/creating/doing something meaningful for the people you care about.

Now that you've spent less and given more, with some of that cash you've saved how about giving some of it away to others that have need? Our church partners with a group called Living Water International who drills water wells for those in 3rd world countries who don't have the luxury of clean water. However, this is just one idea. As I write this, Albert Pujols is getting ready to speak to ~200 business and church leaders from around the St. Louis area about the work the Pujols Family Foundation is doing, and how this Advent Conspiracy idea is a pretty neat thing.

By spending less and giving more to those around you that you care about, and by using some of that extra money you didn't spend on presents towards a cause that helps push back darkness and injustice in the world, you love all. You show that you recognize and acknowledge the world outside of your immediate surroundings. That there are people who don't have it as good as you do, and that you actually can make a difference. Essentially, Christmas can still change the world.

Through all of this above, this takes some pressure off right? No longer are you searching for gifts upon gifts. No longer are you standing for hours in line at the mall or waiting for that parking space 2 miles away. Instead, you are free from those burdens and able to focus on Christmas itself... to worship fully the advent of the Christ being birthed into the world. This baby Jesus who would give us a glimpse of God, and His desire to rescue us from ourselves. Who would later die and through His death reconcile us to God, paying our price for us. Who would then be resurrected from the dead to secure eternal life for us, that we might live forever with God in glory.

This is the true meaning of Christmas... this is what the Advent Conspiracy is about. Will you join us?

What are you planning on doing this Advent season?

How big is too big?

I recently read this blog about FBC Dallas' new $130 million building project.

Nobody should fault FBC Dallas or anybody else for building a building. But this isn’t a building. This, and a bunch of other stuff, i[t]s Bible Belt Disneyland. This is evangelicalism with more cowbell. This is Field of Dreams attractional church. And it stinks to high heaven...

...Not go and tell. Come and see is the “mission” of megachurchianity.

After a little research, I found they are running ~3 services with about 11 thousand people. I can't help but think to my church, Windsor Crossing and wonder if there is really much that separates us in terms of size (we run close to 10 thousand on Easter & Christmas, but that's spread over ~7-10 services and have close to 5 thousand every weekend at 2 sites now, with 5 services at one site and 2 at the other). On the flip side, Francis Chan has a radically different approach:

Convicted by the verse to "love your neighbor as yourself," Chan showed up at the next board meeting with an agenda. In the early years, Cornerstone gave away 4 percent of its budget. Chan asked them to give away 50 percent. Cuts in staff salaries and serious sacrifices in programs would have to be made, but it only took a half hour for the board to agree.

Chan's church now meets in an amphitheater in the park to accommodate their growing size (They are in SoCal, so the weather is on their side most of the time I'd guess). And they are now giving away 55% of their budget to various ministries.

If it rained, they'd get wet knowing their money was feeding the hungry.

So what do you think? I think these are vitally important questions to be discerning considering the brink of change we are on here in St. Louis and the ministry of Windsor Crossing. Would you be willing to have church in the park? Maybe not in St. Louis. :) What are your thoughts on what the modern church should look like? Should we go for a huge complex to fully meet the needs of the community? Should we get rid of as much as possible and live radically different lives culturally? Should we balance the two (which is what I think the Crossing does currently)?

How do we make sure we are in a "go and tell" mentality rather than a "come and see"?

May we not focus on our own will, works and power; but rather on the will of God, the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. May our church buildings be nothing more than a "place to hang our hat" so to speak, and that a large majority of what constitutes our "church" exists entirely outside its walls.

Is God needed?

I just read this article on how a dozen New York City subway stations will be adorned with ads asking the question: "A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?" on October 26th. The event is being called "a coordinated multi-organizational advertising campaign designed to raise awareness about people who don't believe in a god", and is being organized by the Big Apple Coalition of Reason.

Michael De Dora Jr., executive director of the New York Center for Inquiry, another of the associated atheist groups had this to say on the objectives of the event:

First, the coalition hopes the promotion will enhance awareness of New York City's secular community. He explained that the coalition also hopes to encourage "talking and thinking about religion and morality," as well as support involvement in groups that encourage a sense of a social community for non-believing New Yorkers.

I'd like to reply to these in turn --

1. The coalition hopes the promotion will enhance awareness of New York City's secular community.

Basically, to me, this means that atheists want to find and hang out with other atheists. I got no problem with that. We all search for community and acceptance among those who think similarly.

2. The coalition also hopes to encourage "talking and thinking about religion and morality."

I guess mission accomplished, since this is exactly what I'm doing through this blog post...

So lets talk a little about religion and morality... "A million New Yorkers are [morally] good without God," I would agree in one sense but push back a bit in another sense. De Dora mentions later in the article that people "don't need religion to be good people and productive members of society." I'd agree with that... mankind on the whole has an ethical moral system integrated into their being... some call it the moral law. You don't need religion or belief in God to make use of that. We can follow civil code just fine without even bringing God into the mix. However, religion -- true religion is not moralism. It was never intended to be. God does not exist to tell us right from wrong. Now, don't get me wrong, He did tell us what was right and wrong... but that's not His whole purpose nor His main purpose. So to state that religion isn't needed based on moral goodness existing apart from belief in God is reductionist and honestly, a straw man argument.

3. The coalition finally wants to support involvement in groups that encourage a sense of a social community for non-believing New Yorkers

Again, not much of a problem here. If you seriously have convictions about something, you should live it out. Atheists have as much a right to promote their worldview as Christians do (and I'm not really a fan of the billboards).

A few other thoughts...

I am pretty OK with this demonstration. I think for too long we Christians have lived inside an ivory tower of protection with our Christian music and Christian authors and Christian camps ad nauseaum. What I'd really like to see is more interaction between faiths (including those who claim none). I'd like to see real Christianity emerge to the forefront of what people see and know it to be rather than the caricatures that plague the airwaves now. The mission of God is too important to be degraded and defamed by His own so-called "followers."

If you are a Christian...

Please do not make the same mistakes as some of our predecessors. Hold on to what is good and reject what is evil. Help restore Christianity to its true biblical nature. Be a good steward of the faith you have been given. It is a tall charge, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, honesty about our own faults and humility towards others we can succeed.

If you are not a Christian...

Speaking on behalf of collective Christianity -- I am sorry for our mistakes. We owed you better than how we treated you. I am sorry for my faults and for how I've hurt you personally. I am sorry that for you Christianity has been reduced to a list of do's and don'ts that seem superfluous in today's culture. I am sorry that horrible horrible things done in Jesus' name have blemished your thoughts of who He truly is. Please don't let the mistakes of mere humans posturing themselves with the almighty name of God get in the way of God Himself. He does exist and He seeks to know you and you Him.

The truth is that the biblical story is about a good God who created all that you see in perfect beauty and harmony. Humanity, in the first act of pride wanted more... essentially to be God. This plunged mankind into an enslavement and a separation from their Creator. However, from the beginning God planned a way to fix it all. He sent His Son to us to teach us more about Who God is and ultimately die in our place. This act of sacrifice paid the price of our enslavement, effectively freeing those who would believe He came for them. Not only did Jesus die to free us from bondage, but He was raised from the dead so that no man that believes in Him would ever die again. Instead, this secured for us eternal community with the Creator God of the universe. The story of the bible is one of redemption. It's all about huge screw-ups and how God repairs and restores and even improves upon our failures. Ultimately so that we can enjoy life together with Him.

...To the ends of the earth

(Click to enlarge)

This is a map of the world circa 18 AD, according to the Greek geographer Strabo.

An interesting point showing that to the Apostles, carrying the gospel to "the ends of the earth" had a much different meaning than what we think of today.

Semper Reformanda

If you've frequented my blog before, you might notice I've changed the title from Chopstick Bandit to Semper Reformanda.

Chopstick Bandit had no meaning... it was a nonsensical conglomeration of words that I formed by looking at random things. That being said, I thought it was a good name for a blog. However, Semper Reformanda seems better.

I'm reading through Os Guinness' The Call, for one of my classes and ran across a section where he mentions the Latin phrase "semper reformanda." In English it means "always reforming," and was the cry of the reformation that formed what we now call Protestant Christianity. The point of the phrase is to show that no one this side of glory has arrived. We should always be evaluating our beliefs and practices and how they compare to Christ. To be content to stay where we are currently will begin to breed pride and contempt for those around us. Only by humbly bowing at the throne of grace can we prevent ourselves from being puffed up with our own self-worth and eclipsing our view of Jesus Christ.

May we never think so much of ourselves that we think something or someone is below us. May we always be reforming our thought, speech, and actions in accordance with what Christ would have us do. May we always remember that we are all sinners, saved by grace, to the glory of God the Father, amen.

The Crossing & AC on KMOV

http://www.kmov.com/video/lateststories-index.html?nvid=389135&shu=1

This past year

So the teaching year at The Crossing is coming to a close with the end of the summer. As we gear up for a new year and changes all around, I thought it would be good to reflect a bit on where we went this last year.

Nehemiah

Still moves me...

Easter

Mystery at The Crossing - 4/12/2009 from Andy Sharpe on Vimeo.

John 3:16



I am constantly amazed at the talent and abilities of my friends.

Bait and Switch

What do you think of this?

Taken from here.

To start, a story.

A few years ago a female student wanted to visit with me about some difficulties she was having, mainly with her family life. As is my practice, we walked around campus as we talked.

After talking for some time about her family situation we turned to other areas of her life. When she reached spiritual matters we had the following exchange:

"I need to spend more time working on my relationship with God."
I responded, "Why would you want to do that?"
Startled she says, "What do you mean?"
"Well, why would you want to spend any time at all on working on your relationship with God?"
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
"Let me answer by asking you a question. Can you think of anyone, right now, to whom you need to apologize? Anyone you've wronged?"
She thinks and answers, "Yes."
"Well, why don't you give them a call today and ask for their forgiveness. That might be a better use of your time than working on your relationship with God."

Obviously, I was being a bit provocative with the student. And I did go on to clarify. But I was trying to push back on a strain of Christianity I see in both my students and the larger Christian culture. Specifically, when the student said "I need to work on my relationship with God" I knew exactly what she meant. It meant praying more, getting up early to study the bible, to start going back to church. Things along those lines. The goal of these activities is to get "closer" to God. To "waste time with Jesus." Of course, please hear me on this point, nothing is wrong with those activities. Personal acts of piety and devotion are vital to a vibrant spiritual life and continued spiritual formation. But all too often "working on my relationship with God" has almost nothing to do with trying to become a more decent human being.

The trouble with contemporary Christianity is that a massive bait and switch is going on. "Christianity" has essentially become a mechanism for allowing millions of people to replace being a decent human being with something else, an endorsed "spiritual" substitute. For example, rather than being a decent human being the following is a list of some commonly acceptable substitutes:

Going to church
Worship
Praying
Spiritual disciplines (e.g., fasting)
Bible study
Voting Republican
Going on spiritual retreats
Reading religious books
Arguing with evolutionists
Sending your child to a Christian school or providing education at home
Using religious language
Avoiding R-rated movies
Not reading Harry Potter.

The point is that one can fill a life full of spiritual activities without ever, actually, trying to become a more decent human being. Much of this activity can actually distract one from becoming a more decent human being. In fact, some of these activities make you worse, interpersonally speaking. Many churches are jerk factories.

Take, for example, how Christians tip and behave in restaurants. If you have ever worked in the restaurant industry you know the reputation of the Sunday morning lunch crowd. Millions of Christians go to lunch after church on Sundays and their behavior is abysmal. The single most damaging phenomenon to the witness of Christianity in America today is the collective behavior of the Sunday morning lunch crowd. Never has a more well-dressed, entitled, dismissive, haughty or cheap collection of Christians been seen on the face of the earth.

I exaggerate of course. But I hope you see my point. Rather than pouring our efforts into two hours of worship, bible study and Christian fellowship on Sunday why don't we just take a moment and a few extra bucks to act like a decent human being when we go to lunch afterwards? Just think about it. What if the entire restaurant industry actually began to look forward to working Sunday lunch? If they said amongst themselves, "I love the church crowd. They are kind, patient and very generous. It's my favorite part of the week waiting on Christians." How might such a change affect the way the world sees us? Think about it. Just being a decent human being for one hour each Sunday and the world sees us in a whole new way.

But it's not going to happen. Because behavior at lunch isn't considered to be "working on your relationship with God." Behavior at lunch isn't spiritual. Going to church, well, that is working on your relationship with God. But, as we all know, any jerk can sit in a pew. But you can't be a jerk if you take the time to treat your waitress as if she were a friend, daughter or mother.

My point in all this is that contemporary Christianity has lost its way. Christians don't wake up every morning thinking about how to become a more decent human being. Instead, they wake up trying to "work on their relationship with God" which very often has nothing to do with treating people better. How could such a confusion have occurred? How did we end up going so wrong? I'm sure there are lots of answers, but at the end of the day we need to face up to our collective failure. I'm not saying we need to do anything dramatic. A baby step would do to start. Waking up trying to be a little more kind, more generous, more interruptible, more forgiving, more humble, more civil, more tolerant. Do these things and prayer and worship will come alongside to support us.

I truly want people to spend time working on their relationship with God. I just want them to do it by taking the time to care about the person standing right in front of them.

The God-sized hole

This article was published back in June, but a friend just told me about it recently.

I don't know if he even understood what he was saying when he said it... but it is telling and honest. Read it people, it is probably the most true look at the life of a Hollywood actor you'll ever get.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

Booty, God, Booty

Stuff Christians Like's Jon Acuff brings it at Cross Point Church in Nashville.



Coming in at just under 28 minutes, this is definitely worth a watch.

Book Review: Crazy Love

Short story: Francis Chan is the man. This book is compelling, accessible, and has exhortation out the yin-yang.

I did myself a disservice by reading this book over a period of 2-3 months. I've been lazy this summer with regard to my reading and just didn't stay on a regimented schedule. My fault. However, every time I read part of this book, I was continually impressed with Chan's ability to pull me back into his way of looking at the Christian life.

The main purpose of the book is to establish a sort of framework for the craziness that is the love of God towards man (crazy, in the extreme amount and specific nature of that love). And the craziness of our normal response (singing, 2 hrs on Sunday morning, and feeling bad about cussing etc...) Thus, Chan works to reestablish the sheer weight of God's love for us and our amazing inadequacy in our response to that love. Then, after this, he asks the hard questions and challenges us to reflect on our lives and how they should properly convey God's love and our love for God.

Chan has impacted me with his book, if only to reaffirm some choices I've made recently. Theology is great, and a large part of my life, but if theology doesn't cause you to get out of your chair and your nose out of that book, then something is wrong. We are called... even compelled to make a difference in our surrounding world. Chan helps us to not lose sight of this. Chapter 9 is basically a number of biographies of people who have lived their lives differently, who have chosen not to be complacent with the status quo of human existence and who gave until they were unable to give anymore. This chapter really spoke to me, and I hope it speaks to you as well.

This book goes next to Mere Christianity on the list of books every person who considers themselves a Christian should read.

Please do not miss this.

Happy 500th John Calvin!

Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your convictions implicitly to the Church?
-- John Calvin

If he were still alive, John Calvin would be 500 years old today. Now, even though that's only half as old as Yoda actually lived, its still an historic occasion to remember. This whole week, many people gathered in Geneva, Switzerland to celebrate the event which is covered here.

Forever known as the "founder" of Calvinism (though he did not coin the name, nor did he systamatize the theology into the dreaded "TULIP," which was actually done by his contemporaries), John Calvin remains a very volatile image in Christian history. Ya either love him or hate him... not many land in between.

His Institutes of the Christian Religion and set of commentaries still remain a powerhouse in Christian theology and respected in the academic community.

Regardless of what you think about his teachings on specific topics, the guy was a man of God... no doubt about that. So, happy birthday John Calvin. I wonder if you thought you'd be remembered this long after your death.

Don't set your beard on fire when you blow out your 500 candles.