Settlers and Pioneers Part 2

Today's post is a completion of yesterday's reflections from Brennan Manning's The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus.  It is a completion of his thoughts concerning the differences between Settler Theology and Pioneer Theology.  Yesterday, I wrote about the differing visions of God and the church.  Today we continue to explore the differences looking at The Christian, the Clergy, the nature of Faith, as well as Sin and Salvation.

While I don't agree with everything Manning writes, I find these observations interesting.  

"In Settler Theology the Christian is the settler.  He fears the open unknown frontier.  His concern is to stay on good terms with the mayor and keep out of the sheriff's way.  "Safety first" is his motto.  To him the courthouse is a symbol of security, peace, order, and happiness.  He keeps his money in the bank.  The banker is his best friend.  The settler never misses an ice cream party.

In Pioneer Theology the Christian is the pioneer.  He is a man of daring, hungry for new life.  He rides hard, knows how to use a gun when necessary.  The pioneer feels sorry for the settlers and tries to tell them of the joy and fulfillment of life on the trail.  He dies with his boots on.

In Settler Theology the clergyman is the banker.  Within his vault are locked the values of the town.  He is a highly respected man.  He has a gun but keeps it hidden in his desk.  He feels that he and the sheriff have a lot in common.  After all, they both protect the bank.

In Pioneer Theology the clergyman is the cook.  He doesn't furnish the meat.  He just dishes up what the buffalo hunter provides.  This is how he supports the movement of the wagon.  He never confuses his job with that of the trail boss, scout or buffalo hunter.  He sees himself as just another pioneer who has learned to cook.  The cook's job is to help the pioneers pioneer.

In Settler Theology faith is trusting in the safety of the town: obeying the laws, keeping your nose clean, believing the mayor is in the courthouse.

In Pioneer Theology faith is the spirit of adventure.  The readiness to move out.  To risk everything on the trail.  Faith is obedience to the restless voice of the trail boss.

In Settler Theology sin is breaking one of the town's ordinances.

In Pioneer Theology sin is wanting to turn back.

In Settler Theology salvation is living close to home and hanging around the courthouse.

In Settler Theology salvation is being more afraid of sterile town life than of death on the trail.  Salvation is joy at the thought of another day to push on into the unknown.  It is trusting the trail boss and following his scout while living on the meat provided by the buffalo hunter." 

pp. 46-47

Brennan Manning was a devout Catholic.  He was an alcoholic who discovered the wild grace of God.  He was a very imperfect man, but a man who learned to follow the risen Christ.  While his writing was often addressed to his faith community (the Roman Catholic Church), his writing found a home with Protestants and believers of every background.

Do you think this illustration holds true for real people that you know?  For churches?  For entire denominations?  There is always dangers in making generalizations since most of us are curious mixes of settlers and pioneers.  Yet, do you think these categories are worthwhile?

I think these two basic theological visions of the Kingdom explain much of what I have seen in my life in the Church.  In the midst of struggles, it often seems that well-intentioned believers talk right past each other.  Why?  Their entire theological vision of God, the Church, what it means to be a believer, faith, the role of the clergy, sin and salvation are so radically different.

As a pioneer, I pray that we do not turn back as we reflect upon the wild gospel of God!

Settlers and Pioneers

I am getting a late start on today's post.  The new baby in the house has everything up in the air in our household.  The midwife just came to check on baby and mom.  Everything looks excellent.  I remain deeply thankful and relieved.  

As a father, all I can think about as we approach birth is all that could go wrong.  Truly there is nothing I can do to help the process.  I know that getting excited/worked up about the coming birth does not help, but I cannot help it.  Now that the baby is here, I feel such relief and thankfulness!

Because I am not getting quite enough sleep to think clearly, today's post will be work from someone else.  Several months ago, I posted a difference between settlers and pioneers (April 18).  I attributed the idea to Lyle Schaller when he calls it the difference between pioneers and homesteaders.  As I prepared for birth by getting my books ready to take with me (yes, I am a geek!), I picked up off my shelves Brennan Manning's The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus.  In chapter two, he give a great and long description from Wes Seeliger's work Western Theology.  I will bet this is where Schaller got his ideas.  Anyway, here is Manning's take on settlers and pioneers (pp. 43-45).

"There are two visions of life, two kinds of people.  The first see life as a possession to be carefully guarded.  They are called settlers.  The second see life as a wild, fantastic, explosive gift.  They are called pioneers.

These two types give rise to two kinds of theology: Settler Theology and Pioneer Theology.  According to Wes Seeliger in his book Western Theology, the first kind, Settler Theology, is an attempt to answer all the questions, define and housebreak some sort of Supreme Being, establish the status quo on golden tablets in cinemascope.  Pioneer Theology is an attempt to talk about what it means to receive the strange gift of life.  The Wild West is the setting for both theologies.

In Settler Theology the church is the courthouse.  It is the center of town life.  The old stone structure dominates the town square.  Its windows are small, and this makes things dark inside.  Within the courthouse walls, records are kept, taxes collected, trials held for bad guys.  The courthouse is the settler's symbol of law, stability and- most important- security.  The major's office is on the top floor.  His eagle eye ferrets out the smallest details of town life.

In Pioneer Theology the church is the covered wagon.  It's a house on wheels, always on the move.  The covered wagon is where the pioneers eat, sleep, fight, love and die.  It bears the marks of life and movement- it creaks, is scarred with arrows, bandaged with bailing wire.  The covered wagon is always where the action is.  It moves toward the future and doesn't bother to glorify its own ruts.  The old wagon isn't comfortable, but the pioneers don't mind.  They are more into adventure than comfort.

In Settler Theology God is the mayor.  He is a sight to behold.  Dressed like a dude from back East, he lounges in an overstuffed chair in his courthouse office.  He keeps the blinds drawn.  No one sees him or knows him directly, but since there is order in the town, who can deny that he is there?  The mayor is predictable and always on schedule.  The settlers fear the mayor but look to him to clear the payroll and keep things going.  Peace and quiet are the mayor's main concerns.  That's why he sends the sheriff to check on pioneers who ride into town.

In Pioneer Theology God is the trail boss.  He is rough and rugged, full of life.  He chews tobacco, drinks straight whiskey.  The trail boss lives, eats, sleeps, fights with his people.  Their well-being is his concern.  Without him the wagon wouldn't move; living as a freeman would be impossible.  The trail boss often gets down in the mud with the pioneers to help push the wagon, which often gets stuck.  He prods the pioneers when they get soft and want to turn back.  His fist is an expression of his concern.

In Settler Theology Jesus is the sheriff.  He's the guy who is sent by the mayor to enforce the rules.  He wears a white hat, drinks mild, outdraws the bad guys.  The sheriff decides who is thrown into jail.  There is a saying in town that goes: "Those who believe that the mayor sent the sheriff, and follow the rules- they won't stay in Boothill when it comes their time."

In Pioneer Theology Jesus is the scout.  He rises out ahead to find out which way the pioneers should go.  He lives all the dangers of the trail.  The scout suffers every hardship, is attacked by the Indians.  Through his words and actions he reveals the true intentions of the trail boss.  By looking at the scout, those on the trail learn what it means to be a pioneer.

In Settler Theology the Holy Spirit is the saloon girl.  Her job is to comfort the settlers.  They come to her when they feel lonely or when life gets dull or dangerous.  She tickles them under the chin and makes everything okay again.  The saloon girl squeals to the sheriff when someone starts disturbing the peace.

In Pioneer Theology the Holy Spirit is the buffalo hunter.  He rides along with the covered wagon and furnishes fresh meat for the pioneers.  Without it they would die.  The buffalo hunter is a strange character- sort of a wild man.  The pioneers never can tell what he will do next.  He scares the hell out of the settlers.  He has a big black gun that goes off like a cannon.  He rises into town on Sunday to shake up the settlers.  You see, every Sunday morning, the settlers have a little ice cream party in the courthouse.  With his gun in hand the buffalo hunter sneaks up to one of the courthouse windows.  He fires a tremendous blast that rattles the whole courthouse.  Men jump out of their skin, woman scream, dogs bark.  Chuckling to himself, the buffalo hunter rises back to the wagon train shooting up the town as he goes."

Tomorrow I will continue with Manning's take on settler and pioneer theology.  In particular, we will cover some of the theological consequences of these basic theological differences.

Do you think these illustrations have any merit?  As I read through this section, I wonder how much our disagreements in churches and in denominational bodies arises from the differences between the settler and pioneer approach to life, theology, and ministry.  The illustration is not perfect because who is completely a settler or pioneer, but it is insightful.  What do you think?

The Birth of Our Baby Girl!

Generally this blog is only about theological and cultural topics.  Today, it will be about a life-changing event in my household.  Our daughter has arrived!

Emmanuelle Hope was born this morning.  She weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces and was 20 and 1/2 inches long.  She has long dark hair and she definitely looks like a Selmon!

I am so thankful that everything went well.  A child born in one's "old age" is such a blessing.  M.E. did a great job in labor, and she appears to be recovering well.  She gets a good vacation now so she can rest, recuperate, and get to know her child!

Here are some pictures:

Keeping Watch on our Life and Doctrine

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock,

among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,

to shepherd  the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, 

not sparing the flock;

and from among your own selves men will arise,

speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."
Acts 20:28-30

In yesterday's post, I described the situation in Acts 20, where Paul warns the Elders in Ephesus of impending trouble.  This trouble would come from "those among your own selves."  Today I am thinking about the implications of this text.

In my years of ministry, I have personally witnessed several church splits.  I have seen and heard of many churches that are marked by non-biblical teaching.  I have also known and heard of many "Christian leaders" I have seen fall from grace.  Why does this happen?  Why does God allow this to happen?  I thought He was holy and just.  How can He let His church and His people be marked by such sin?

I believe one of the primary reasons we see this so often is a lack of understanding of the nature of temptation and spiritual warfare.  As humans in this world, we are fallen creatures who will struggle until death with our sin nature.  We must be constantly on guard.  We have a traitor within who can turn away from righteousness and holiness in a moment's notice.  Thus, we must watch our lives and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4: 16).

Why?  Because temptation will come at our weakest point, at our weakest moment.

As I have presented before, our greatest weakness is often close to our greatest strength.  In fact, it is often misuse of our greatest strength!  We must be diligent to remain under the influence of the gospel.  This means living a life of constant repentance and faith.  It means drawing near to God so He will draw near to us.  It means recognizing our weakness and need so we can cling to Jesus all the more!

When we move away from this place of dependence and faith we are prepared for the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

What I find interesting is that the full force of temptation never comes when we are strong and ready.  It always comes when we are weakest.  You would think we have an enemy that watches and waits for the perfect opportunity?

In a group, like a church, I find the same principle at work.  The strongest members of a group are rarely attacked directly.  What I see happen is that the stronger members of a church are often distracted with assorted busyness and issues.  Then the weaker members are attacked with direct assaults on their faith, their thought (doctrine), or their behavior.  The result is a "sudden" fall from grace that was really well orchestrated and coordinated.

Please note that the strongest people are often not those in leadership!  Often those in leadership can get by on their personalities, their training, or their past performance so they appear as strong.  Yet, they might not be walking in repentant, dependent faith!  Thus, the truly strong get distracted and the evil one sets a scheme against the Church and her leaders.

What is the cure?  The gospel of Jesus Christ believed and lived!  Be on your guard!  Watch your life and doctrine closely.  Do not take anything for granted.  Be thankful that Jesus has won the victory and tie yourself into that victory by faith.

The Root of the Scandal-Ridden Church

The true Church is the extension of God's Kingdom here on earth.  It is the clearest witness to the truth and beauty of Christ and the Gospel.

The local church is part of this extension of the True Church.  Yet, the local church is often the greatest hindrance to an effective witness concerning the truth and beauty of Christ and the Gospel.  Through scandal and false teaching, the local church often misrepresents Christ and the Gospel.  Many have been turned off to the real Jesus because of the actions of those in the church.

How can both these statements be true?

Several distinctions are in order.  First, I believe in the absolute purity of the universal, invisible, true Church!  All of those authentically called, justified, and adopted by Jesus, throughout all of time and space, are part of this true family of God.  These folks are the true body of Christ in the world.  

The problem is that we live in a fallen world.  In this world, the True Church will remain mixed with those who profess faith, but do not believe (Matt 13:24 ff).  While these local congregations are the expressions of the Church universal, but they are mixed bodies full of the redeemed and those not yet or not ever redeemed.  We do the best we can in encouraging to membership those who truly believe in Jesus; but because the leadership and the individuals are fallen, sometimes an unredeemed person comes into membership.  In fact, all to often these unredeemed folks become leaders within the local congregation!

Let me give an example to illustrate my point.  In Acts 20:28-30, Paul is speaking his farewell to the Ephesian Elders.  He is giving his final encouragement and instruction.  He states, 

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, 

among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, 

to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, 

not sparing the flock;

and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."

What does this mean?  The Ephesian church leaders had among themselves those who would lead the church astray.  How is this possible?  Did not Paul train them and help install them?  Yes.  Did they not later in the chapter kneel down and pray with Paul?  Yes they did.  "By their fruits you will recognize them." Matt 7:20.  What matters is how you run the race and how you finish.

The Christian life is meant to be a life marked by dependent faith in Christ.  It is marked by authentic humility expressed in repentance and faith.  Have you noticed how often church leadership is not marked by these traits?  In particular, leadership that goes wrong is not marked by these traits!

Living in a fallen world means that we must always be on guard against the schemes of the evil one.  He is a liar, a murderer (the root of all anger, jealousy, lack of love), and a pretender to authentic grace.  His schemes include placing false assurance into the hearts of some in hope that they will later wreck the mission and testimony of the church through their pride.

Again I ask, what does this mean?  Should we not join a church since it might be a mixed crew?  No!  It is important to join a church.  

Joining the church means willingly submitting to the order and authority of the local church.  It does not mean that you will agree with every decision made by the church, but that you will work to maintain the peace and purity of the church through healthy discussion, quick repentance when you wrong someone, and quick forgiveness when wronged.  It means that you willingly allow the Elders to speak the gospel into your life.  Most importantly, it also means that you are willingly ingrafted into the a local expression of the body of Christ.  It was an assumed condition for the Jews of Jesus' time.  It is important!

Yet, we should not be surprised or shocked when the behavior of others turns ugly.  We live in a fallen world!  We should not allow ugly behavior to continue in the name of being nice.  If we do so, we are encouraging and allowing evil.  We should lovingly confront and encourage repentance and faith.  Often the response will be repentance.  It might take time, but it will be so.  

Other times the response will be a striking out at you for mentioning their sin.  Does this surprise you?  Remember we live in a fallen world.  By their fruits you will recognize them.  One who refuses to repent from obvious sin should be treated as an unbeliever.  In other words, they need to hear the gospel.  Repentance, faith, trust in Christ, confession of sin, and walking in grace and truth should be lovingly proclaimed and announced.

Again, more can be said and probably should be said.  This post is getting long, so I will stop for today.  Comments and discussion are always welcome!

What does Grace "Feel" like?

"Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God."

Ps. 42: 5

Psalm 42 begins with the affirmation and cry, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?"

Last night I did not sleep much.  I have a cold.  I had muscle aches and a headache yesterday, but today it is merely a head cold.  As I got ready for bed, I went to the medicine cabinet to get something to help me sleep.  Instead of medicine, I found an empty box!  Today I feel loopy, weak, and not ready for primetime.

What effect does our health have on our spirituality?  I believe there is often a great tie between health and spirituality.  I affirm that some with chronic illness get past the pain and difficulties to maintain a healthy spiritual life, but our health and mental state makes a difference in how we "pant and thirst" for the Living God.

In the past couple of weeks, I have been asked and challenged on what it looks like to "pant and thirst" for the Living God.  I was not asked in those terms, but I was asked, "What will it look and feel like when I experience God's grace?"

I think this is a great question!  I also believe it is a question that does not have a simple answer.  Sometimes you will "feel" nothing.  Sometimes you will feel great joy.  At times you might find yourself experiencing the presence of God in all of your life.  At other times you will walk in what appears to be lonesome silence waiting for God to show up.  So much depends upon our circumstances, our place in the journey of relationship with God, and even our physical health.

In fact, what I "feel" about my relationship with God is not a good or reliable indicator of my relationship.  What I know in my heart and soul, with a knowledge that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3: 19),  because I have been touched by the grace of God so I can trust Him by faith is a much surer basis for our relationship than my feelings.

In other words, have you discovered that you are a sinner before the Living God who needs grace?  Only the Spirit can reveal that.  Moreover, have you come to trust Christ as your only hope for salvation and life because only His righteousness can bring you before God?  If so, only the Spirit can bring such faith.

Hold onto this faith as the foundation of your life.  Cultivate it.  Repent of the sin of unbelief in its many forms that the Spirit points out in your life.  Believe the promises.  Relish in them.  Be ravished by His mercy and love.  Our salvation and even our faith is about what Christ has done.  It is not about us, our actions, or our feelings.  Secure your soul to His work!

What will this feel like?  It depends!  Probably the most mature among us experience a quiet peace and settledness of mind that God's love is sufficient.  They rejoice when they experience it in abundance, and they hold fast with they feel scarcity of affection.

What does this mean?

Every week I have the privilege and calling to deal with folks who struggle with depression and anxiety.  I find these folks feel the same way I do when I am sick!  Their physical issues cause a spirit of dryness.

In Psalm 42, the Psalmist confesses that he has been crying and he feels taunted by those who ask, "Where is your God?"  I do not think these folks are mocking him, but saying, "Where is your faith?  Don't you know that God is faithful?"  How often as believers do we do the same to those who are struggling!  How often do we as believers beat ourselves up when we are struggling!

The Psalmist answers his doubts and struggles with an affirmation of the gospel.  He confesses where he is: struggling for his very life and faith!  He then reminds himself over and over again of God's faithfulness in the past.  He also affirms that this present reality of struggle will not last forever.  In fact, he affirms God's faithfulness by repeating the same verse twice in this Psalm.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Ps 42: 5 and 11

Please remember there is a direct tie between our health (physical and mental) and our spirituality.  Such a tie is a result of being embodied spiritual beings!  Jesus understands as he also was at times tired, emotionally drained, hungry, and deeply saddened.  Illness is not weakness.  It is a result of the Fall, but it is common to us all.

Thankfully, our feelings are not the basis for our relationship with God.  Christ's finished work is everything!  Even when you do not "feel like it" latch onto what God declares in His Word.  Claim the promises.  Walk through the valley.  The promises is that He will lead and guide us to the other side!

When struggling confess you are struggling and look to the gospel!  Remind yourself of God's past work and His promise of a good future.  Psalm 42 is a reliable guide for this part of the journey of faith.

James, Trials, and Growing in Wisdom

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, wherever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." 

James 1: 2-5

The book of James is always interesting.  It is so law-centered that Martin Luther had no good place for it.  He suggested that it contradicts Paul, so he wished he could take it out of his bible, put it in his pipe and smoke it.

I think such talk was an example of Luther's use of exaggeration!  I think what he pointed to was our human tendency to make the Law something more than God intended.  Instead of being the tutor that leads us to Christ, we make it- to our own peril- the basis of our relationship with God.  Luther was combating this tendency throughout his ministry.  Thus, his dislike for the law-centered book of James!

Personally, I love the book of James.  It is a mirror to my soul, and I see within it my desperate need for a savior.  Truly without Jesus I would have no chance to be right with the Holy God!

Just look at the above passage.  "Consider it pure joy when you face trials of various kinds."  Really?  I do not look forward to trials, and I try to avoid them if possible.  Why would James say such a thing?

Well, first of all he was writing to believers in the midst of trials.  Folks were experiencing the beginnings of persecution.  More than that James knew something that many of us wish to forget or never know.  Trials develop us!  Trials grow us deeper and give us wisdom that can only be found through experience.

At least trials can achieve these goals if we approach them correctly.  James is encouraging us to approach trials with the correct perspective.

In my experience, trials either promote humility or bitterness.  Which one marks your life?  

Trials can promote an attitude of blaming God and turning away from a walk with Him, or they can produce an attitude of trusting him more (perseverance in our faith).  Which one marks your life? 

I have seen many trials and I am sure I will see many more.  I am thankful for God's faithfulness and grace that so far He has not allow bitterness and unbelief to dominate my life.  I know that the only true anchor and rock is my Lord and my God!  Not because I declare it or believe it, but because it is true.

The next few sentences of James are very interesting, and even this morning I puzzled over them.  "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." vs. 6  What does this mean?  It sounds so harsh!  Is this a new idea or part of the past one concerning trials, perseverance, and wisdom?  I believe it is part of the preceding idea. When you ask for wisdom, do not doubt it when you get it!  God will answer your prayer for wisdom, but do not doubt what He is trying to tell you.

I often find that people only move to a different place (spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc.) when pressed to do so.  Most of us would prefer to stay in a bad situation or place because it is more comfortable than the unknown.

Truly a body at rest, stays at rest.

God loves us so much that He knows what is best for us.  He knows our sin tendencies and our hang-ups.  He wants us to grow out of them because they are harmful to us.  He desires a great and promising future for us.  He wants to lead us to this future!  The question becomes will we follow His leading?  Most of the time no.  Thus, trials come to awaken our body at rest.

I think this is the answer to James' thoughts concerning doubt.  We all doubt many things.  This is a natural consequence of our fallen state.  Doubt is a broad category, and this passage is not saying that all doubt is bad.  When doubt leads to questions, it is often good because we will find the answers in Christ!

The key to understanding this passage is in the context of praying for wisdom.  When we pray for wisdom, we should not doubt it when we hear it.  Through God's word, inner impulses and instruction, and most importantly the counsel of others, we can hear God's voice.  When we hear it, often we are like Gideon or Moses and we say, "You have the wrong guy!"  Unfortunately, some of us are not as honest as Gideon and Moses.  We don't talk back to God and question Him.   No, we ignore His leading and voice.  Then, we wonder why trials keep coming and why God does not change our current situation to meet our needs.  

"When we ask, we must believe and not doubt."  Again let me say, God loves us so much that He wants what is best for us.  We are so short-sighted that we simply do not know what is best for us.  In our pride, we think we do know what is best, but often we are wrong.  

May the Lord lead and guide each of us.  May we learn to walk with Him through the trials and difficulties that naturally come from living in a fallen world.  May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven for His glory.  Ask for wisdom and believe His love and grace for you!  Who knows what blessings you are missing out on because of your lack of believing.

The Gospel Rightly Taught and Lived

Monday.  In particular, Monday morning.  For this pastor, Monday morning feels like the morning after a huge bender.  My head hurts, I am weary, my emotions are on edge, and I need silence before my God.

Monday morning is when I repent of all the words I said on Sunday because I truly believe none of them were quite right.  Monday is also the day that 90% of pastoral resignations are given.  It is a day where many clergy feel exactly like I do.  I have learned not to make major decisions on a Monday!

Today I would like to and I need to reflect upon the beauty and simplicity of the gospel.  What is it?  How can it help me?  What differences does it make when I feel so tired and weary?  I will begin with a quote from the first Protestant (except Paul, Jesus, and all the way back to Abraham), Martin Luther.

A true church is the "congregation of saints in which the gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered."

Augsburg Confession, Article 7.

The gospel rightly taught.  So what does this mean?  I have heard many people say the word Gospel, but it appears that they don't have the same definition.  What is the gospel?

Luther's understanding of the gospel includes the full-orbed explanations that I share in this blog.  It is not distilled down to "what will get you into heaven," but it is marked by a life of repentance and faith.  Such a life impacts every dimension of a believer, and it propels the believer to trust in Christ alone for all of life.  

What does this mean for me today in my weariness?

A true church will teach, preach, and hold dearly to Christ alone as the source and securer of our salvation.  It will cling to salvation by grace alone, and it will emphasize faith alone as the means of living in right relationship with God.  It will also cling to the proper understanding of scripture alone as the revelation of God's will for faith and practice.  I say proper understanding because it will emphasize that one must interpret scripture within and from its proper historical, grammatical, and lexical context while keeping the whole of biblical revelation in mind as one interprets each passage.  Such an interpretation takes thoughtful exegesis and careful application.  Finally, a true church will also be committed and involved in spreading the gospel to all.  It will not just talk about reaching out, but it will challenge both believers and unbelievers to live a life of repentance and faith.  The result of this challenge will be changed lives and conversions.  The true church is never a club for religious insiders, but instead she is an outpost for mission to a lost and hurting world!

I would gladly travel 45 miles on a Sunday to attend such a church.  I probably would even go further!

Why?  Because I desperately need to be reminded of the gospel.  I so quickly forget that life is not all about me.  I forget the beauty and grace of Christ, and instead I run to my feelings, my thoughts, and my efforts as my justification and life.  I do so to my peril.

I need a community where I am reminded of the gospel.  I need a church marked by these traits.  I hope and pray that the Lord is developing us at First Seattle to be that type of place.  The Lord used this passage to remind me that my labor is not in vain.  Instead, it is to help grow a community of faith marked by these traits with the ability to reach out to new people who God is calling into the Kingdom.  I am also looking for people to join us who wish to see such a place flourish and grow!  The Kingdom grows through the True Church, and I want to see the Kingdom grow. 

What are the practical implications of what I am saying for you?  First, if you are looking for a church, do not settle for one that has "great youth programs" or anything programmatic.  The most important element of a church is not that the music makes you feel great.  First and foremost look for a church where the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered!  Upon these two factors we should judge the suitability of a church.

Second, if you are part of a church that holds some of these traits but not all of them be very careful!  Try to help the church repent and change.  Yet realize that a system like a church is very hard to change once it becomes set in its ways.  This is particularly true if you are not the leader of the church!  If you cannot move the system back to gospel- and grace-centered, it might well be time to leave.  Why?  The true church needs your help.  Gospel- and grace-centered churches have always been the minority of churches in the land.  Their witness needs to expand.  Join with them and be part of what God is doing!

The Blessed Foolishness of Ministry

"These narratives pointed me to the fact that pastoral ministry is a life, not a technology.  How to books treat pastoral ministry like a technology  That's fine on one level- pastoral ministry does require certain skills, and I need all the advice I can get.  But my life as a pastor is far more than the sum of the tasks I carry out.  It is a call from God that involves my whole life.  The stories I read helped me to understand my life, comprehensively.  My life, too, is a story, and it is the narrative quality of my life that makes my ministry happen.  Others see and participate in the story as it is told.  I have discovered that when I follow Jesus in my everyday life as a pastor, people meet Jesus through my life."

David Hansen, The Art of Pastoring: Ministry without all the answers

I do wish I could have met David Hansen.  I believe he came to understand and articulate so much that is missing in modern pastoral ministry.  In this book, Hansen describes his growing understanding of life as a pastor as reflected in his ministry in Montana.  I so appreciate the introduction's main point: being a pastor is so much more than the sum of the tasks I carry out!  It is a calling, a life, a living parable of God's grace.  

What do I mean?  I think Paul states it well:

For consider your calling, brothers, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1 Cor. 1: 26-29

All to often pastors, especially young pastors, try to act like they have all the answers; like they are the experts.  Well technically they are.  They have the training and how-tos to do ministry that others are lacking.  They often have biblical and theological training that far exceeds that of those in the pews.

Unfortunately, what they are missing is the grace of God that comes through life.  This grace helps us understand who we are, to whom we are ministering, and to what God would have us to do and be in this situation.  Such grace comes not from knowing the "how to" but from learning to listen to God.

How do we teach this?  I do not think we can.  Only God's grace can do this work!

I am afraid that some never get it.  They are part of that 10% who graduate from seminary, work in the church for a year, and then never go back.  Others continue in the church because they have nothing else to do.  They often leave behind broken churches, live a life of heartache, and they look forward to early retirement.

Others have all kind of issues and difficulties because of their arrogance and foolishness.  Yet, by His grace, God knocks off the sharp edges and molds them into a "foolish" pastor.  I believe and hope that this has been the case with me!

Finally, some have the grace of God evident in their life resulting in true humility that comes from living a life before God and others marked by repentance and faith.  Such repentance and faith come from the heart and not merely the head.  These folks trust in Christ alone to be "to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:30)

These folks are a gem.  They are willing to be honest and transparent, not because it will grow their church, but because they know Jesus.  These folks are naturally attractive to true believers and those who are lost.  Thankfully, such traits are not just for pastors!  As all of us grow into them, we will also be naturally attractive to those in need of grace.  The issue is that often those being led do not get to this point unless they have someone to show them the way.  This is the crazy calling of a pastor!

Honestly, such brokenness and humility is foolishness in the world's eyes.  Who cares!  The world is wrong about almost everything.  I would rather be a living parable of God's grace than a worldly successful poser.  How about you?

Our Not So Hidden Agendas

"Educators often refer to a concept called the hidden curriculum.  This concept suggests that in a classroom, there is a formal curriculum that includes things like math problems, writing assignments, or science experiments.  But there's also the hidden curriculum, which involves issues like who wants to sit next to whom, and who does the teacher look at, and who does the teacher tend to call on?

The hidden curriculum teaches students who matters and who does not, who's bright and who's left out.

If there is an inconsistency between the hidden curriculum and the formal curriculum, research shows that students always believe the hidden curriculum."

John Ortberg, "Speaking from my Holy of Holies," Leadership (Spring 2007), 40.

God's common grace means that the world is ordered according to His wisdom and plan.  When we have eyes to see this plan/structure, we can get a glimpse of how reality functions.  We can also get a glimpse into how God made the world to operate and how we as people have messed up God's good order.

What does this mean?  It means that thinking believers should mine deeply in a variety of disciples because good scholarship reveals reality.  Whether it is the field of theology, psychology, physics, economics, or chemistry, good scholarship reveals the mind of God by revealing the structure of the world.

Unfortunately, so much of what passes for scholarship has a hidden agenda! In other words, our preconceived thoughts dictate what we see and how we view the information.  For example, in theology if we believe the bible is not true, we approach every section of scripture with eyes to prove we are correct.  Amazingly enough, no matter what the information, we find evidence to back up our hidden assumptions.

The same is true in every scholarly pursuit.  For example in the "hard sciences" we have a raging debate concerning man made global warming.  While the side arguing for man made global warming composes the majority of scholars, the doubters are taking the same information and coming to a different conclusion.  What can we make of it?  I don't know for sure.  I do know that each sides hidden curriculum/preconceived thoughts taint/mark their research!  

The consequence of everyone's hidden curriculum, particularly in scholarly pursuits, is that some people write off all scholarship as human vanity and pride.  What a mistake!  In fact, in their ignorant pride, they write off everyone else's thoughts as prideful.  There must be a better way!

I would suggest, the better way to be a practicing believer is to be a thinking believer.  We should allow the truth of who God is, the reality of fall of creation, and the amazing transformation through redemption in Christ to permeate all our thoughts.  If we did, we could look at scholarship without fear.  We would know what we believe and why.  We would then be in position to glean from all sources of scholarship what is true while identifying and then rejecting what is false.  

In other words, we would have theological integration that would help us understand the fallen world in which we live!

The opening quote is an example of good scholarship.  There is often a hidden curriculum behind the formal curriculum in education.  This observation has implications in every avenue of life.  It means that the hidden curriculum or thought behind what we say is vitally important.  People instinctively know these hidden curriculums even if we cannot recognize them.  People will believe our hidden curriculum more than what we officially say.

What is the application?  There are many.  What I would like to focus our thought upon is a simple statement.  

Much of what passes for "ministry" is marked by a hidden agenda.

We might say we want to reach out to new people, but our hidden agenda says we are a closed system that really does not want new people or ideas.  We might say we love families, but our hidden curriculum says that we really love a certain type of family (intact, white, smart, having it all together, who knows what else?).  We might claim we wish our church or ministry to grow, but our hidden agenda screams, "We only want you if you agree with us!"

New people who come into our ministry will pick up upon and believe the hidden curriculum more than the "official" statement of belief and intent.

What is the hidden curriculum/thought that dominates your life?  Your ministry?  Your church?  As I stated, we often cannot see it.  How can we discover what is hidden?

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you have eyes to see.  Humbly confess that you have blind spots that you need the Spirit to reveal.  Then ask for outside eyes to see what is really happening.  Pray.  Trust what the Spirit reveals.  Repent.  Ask for grace to change the hidden curriculum.  

Psalm 139: 23-24 is a great place to start the journey of identifying our hidden curriculum.  Why not join me in praying,

Search me, of God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

See if here be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

The Work of Christ and Repentance

"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and 

on the third day rise from the dead,

and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins 

should be proclaimed in his name to all nations."

Luke 24: 46-47

Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!

In this passage, often preached and taught around Easter, Jesus announces that the gospel has two distinct elements.  The first focuses on the objective work of Christ.  As He "opened their minds to understand the scriptures (vs. 45), Jesus announces that the OT always taught that the Christ would suffer and die.  Why?

In the spring, I briefly discussed Eastern Orthodoxy.  In EO, Christ suffered and died to "pay the devil his due."  It is incomprehensible for the EO that Jesus' death could have satisfied the wrath of God against sin.  How did the EO arrive at this position?

This view was one of the first articulated in the Eastern Mediterranean.  It was not the only view, but it did become popular.  Can anyone see a possible error in having this be the "only" possible understanding of Christ's redeeming work?

Well for starters, this early and incomplete view of Christ's work can easily lead to dualism.  God and the devil are the forces of good and evil in the universe.  The good God comes and rescues humanity from the evil God the devil.  Unfortunately, in the East this heretical understanding of God became ingrained within the culture.  One of the keys to understanding early Church history is understanding that these heretical views became the basis for theological reflection upon the teaching of the scriptures. 

Such reflection led to the Biblical articulation that there is only one true God.  The devil, sin, and redemption have to be understood in relationship to this one true God.  Honestly, it took centuries to understand the full scope of what Christ did on the cross.  I doubt we understand the full depth of it today!  I think it is safe to say that Jesus did set us free from the enslavement of sin and death, which is the power of the devil.  Yet, He also did so much more!

I cannot do this important theme justice in such a short post.  I apologize for this!  I will say that the gospel proclamation includes an emphasis on the objective work of Christ.  His life and death were not only talked about in the OT, but they also secured a victory of sorts.  Furthermore, His resurrection from the dead is a matter of history that fulfills OT prophecy.  At Easter, we celebrate this most important event in all of history!

So what does this message mean for us?  Christ did the work, but the application of the work is found in the second half of Christ's teaching concerning gospel message.  Christ's objective work is applied by active repentance and faith knowing that in Christ there is the forgiveness of sins.  

Repentance is the means of applying Christ's work.  It is both a confession of sin against God, others, ourself, or creation and a cry for mercy to change.  I will confess that this element of the Christian life is emphasized and understood well within Eastern Orthodoxy.  They should be commended for holding to this important truth!

Conversely, we should recognize that Protestantism has often neglected this important topic.  Why have we made this understanding of repentance the means of salvation, but not the means of life?  

First, I think we have accepted and believed a false view of humanity in the West for about 250 years.  The Enlightenment taught that humanity was "sin sick" and not really "sinners in desperate need of grace."  As a result of this understanding of humanity, it was taught that proper education will free us from sin (as well as poverty, evil, and everything else).  This understanding was particularly important in America.

What does this mean for Christianity and the Church?  Well, by and large, the church uncritically accepted this view.  Most in America just assumed that the proper education included Jesus and accepting Him as the Lord and Savior of your life.  When you did, you had the proper education to change.  It might take some discipleship and accountability, but you can and should do it!

So what happens when four years later you find yourself struggling with some sin tendencies?  Even worse the same sin tendencies you thought you put aside four years earlier!  Let's say control, anger, or lust?  You could find more accountability.  You could just memorize more scripture.  Or you could just try to change the subject!

What the scripture teaches is that while accountability and scripture memory/knowledge are important, repenting of our real sin is more important!  Do not deny the reality of the struggle, but confess and cry out for mercy to be transformed.  Since we have the forgiveness of sins because of Christ, we can be honest that our struggle has not ended, and it will not end until we die and we are set from from this body of sin and death.

In other words, we need to wholeheartedly deny our cultural assumption that proper education or knowledge will change our behavior.  It is simply not true!  How many of us know we should eat properly and exercise, and we still do not do it?  Education is not enough.  

No, we need a change of heart.  Such a change of heart does not happen instantaneously when we accept Jesus, but it is a process marked by continual repentance and faith.  Because our faith is based upon Christ's finished work and the forgiveness found in that work applied by faith, we can confidently face our sin and our incredibly complex and tangled hearts.

As Jesus finishes this brief teaching on the gospel, He tells his disciples, "You are witnesses of these things." (vs. 48)  Remember these disciples had recently abandoned the Lord.  They had doubted His resurrection.  They had fought over who was the greatest.  

"You are witnesses to these things."  How were they restored?  They repented and believed in Christ's love and mercy.  Why was Judas so different?  He was sorry for the consequences of his sin, but he never repented of his sin against God and believed in Christ's mercy.  In other words, the disciples lived and believed the life of continual repentance and faith because they knew first hand they needed it.

Are you witnesses also the amazing grace of God found in Christ?  Are you walking today in continual repentance and faith?  May God's mercy lead us all to this place of joy and freedom!

Dangers of an Inward-focused Spirituality

Today I wish to further explore the question of why we do not reach out effectively with the gospel into our culture.  I will begin with a quote from Richard Lovelace as a guide for our discussion.

"It is possible for both individuals and churches to become devoted mainly to personal spiritual culture and forget outreach, especially if the process of reaching out involves touching those who may contaminate us. Thus many Protestant churches have in effect become closed systems for the nurture and servicing of the inheritors of a denominational tradition." 

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life.

In this passage, Lovelace is discussing the Mission of the Church.  He lists an emphasis on mission as a mark of authentic spirituality.  In this short paragraph, he also discusses an issue that directly impacts the direction of an individual, a church or a denomination.  

In the past several years, I have had many discussions with individuals and denominational officials about how their church is dying and losing members.  This is the general tenor of the comments.  "This younger generation just does not care about church.  Our church community is growing older and there are few children.  We were once such a vibrant church, but now there are so few of us.  Our culture is destroying the church.  There is nothing we can do."  I believe Lovelace's comments address all of these laments.

How?

Well first, our cultural embrace of personal piety and religion as the essence of religion is very destructive to the mission of God.  It comes from an assumed plank of Enlightenment thought that all religion is personal and private.  It has been argued for over 200 years that religion is something that helps the individual to cope, but it is not true truth that can be rationally debated and discussed.  When we do not combat this incorrect assumption, we have already lost the battle for the souls of those who are not yet believers.  

If Jesus is the Son of God, this truth is much more important, lasting, and transformative than my personal thoughts, or even worse feelings, about who Jesus is.  It is an historical fact that changes everything.

Like what?  It means that there is a personal and caring God in this universe.  It means that sin is real and universal.  It means that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are building their Kingdom by dealing with sin and its effects.  People need to hear this great news!  Mission means taking this message of redemption into every area of life and to every corner of the world.  It is beyond being merely personal.  It makes the difference for the entire world and how we relate with the world.

Second, when we think of those in our culture as "contaminating us" we misunderstand the nature of Jesus and His ministry.  Jesus associated with all types of people, and we are a continuation of Jesus' ministry as we minister in His name (Acts 2:33 and 26:23).  He met with a woman of ill-repute (John 4), tax-collectors (Mark 2), and other sinners (Luke 7).  In summarizing his ministry by saying, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)  

In fact, the only people Jesus appeared to have problems with were the religious folks!  He warned people about "the yeast" of religious folks working through the entire batch causing its demise (Matt. 16).  In other words, Jesus warned that religious folks could corrupt one so they do not trust God.  The Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious folks in Jesus' day, promoted their traditions and purity as promoting and illustrating God's favor.  They refused to follow the example of Jesus' ministry, and they actually sneered and looked down upon sinners as beneath them.  Is this not exactly what Lovelace was talking about when he discussed those who "forget outreach, especially if the process of reaching our involves touching those who may contaminate us."

Where does this rejection of Jesus' ministry style leave us?  As Lovelace states, "Many Protestant churches have in effect become closed systems for the nurture and servicing of the inheritors of a denominational tradition."  The result is a slow, prolonged death.  

The death of a church or denomination begins by claiming a desire to reach out to the lost, but the actions of its leadership and members declare to all visitors, "You are not welcome unless you are just like us."  This ministry style then gets institutionalized by allocation of funds and ministry focus on church members.  Now the ministries of the church promote the message, "You must be like us to be welcome here."  

As time goes on, most of the young people leave such an inward focused church.  They are raised in this church, but they leave to go somewhere else or drop out all together because they are looking for authentic community or a place with less hypocrites.  After years of this process, the church is a beautiful building without many people.

Have you seen this progression?  Have you experienced the seductive but deadly allure of an inward focused church?  Thankfully there is hope.  It is found in the gospel being believed and lived out.  I will start next week with a post that presents what a gospel- and grace-centered community looks like.

Today's Compelling Story of Grace

At my church, we have just completed the fifth week of an eight week segment concerning outreach in a postmodern world.  I have greatly enjoyed the discussion.  Yet, I know that nothing I will say in these discussions will change anything if the folks in my church do not grasp the present value of the gospel in their lives.

What do I mean?  In Classis this past week, a fellow pastor stood up and shared his experiences in the CRC and our outreach efforts.  He shared that since the mid-1980s, we have twice the amount of the churches we once did with the result of hundreds of thousands less on our membership roles.  He shared that we have raced after different outreach models- the Crystal Cathedral, Willow Creek, Saddleback- and still nothing changed.  Finally, he concluded that none of us know how to reach out into this culture and that evangelism is next to impossible.  Why?  All we do is shift the sheep from smaller to larger churches.

Well then.  What incredible sadness this brings me.  Yet, I believe he is stating the truth- he has no idea how to reach out and most likely his church has no idea how to reach those in our post-modern culture.

This does not mean it is impossible!  It means that he needs better self-understanding and a better understanding of how our culture thinks and processes truth.  Outreach is impossible if we insist on using the same old forms and church processes that illustrate a lack of adequate self-understanding and a lack of acknowledgment that our culture has changed.

Today I wish to focus on one dimension of this problem.  I wish to help us gain some self-understanding by presenting how the gospel must be a present day issue and not a story of some long-ago past.

I was thinking today of how often believers in Christ do not present a compelling story of God's powerful work in their lives.  I know that years ago, 1988 to be exact, God entered into my life in dramatic and powerful ways.  He transformed me by His grace.  He brought me to faith, and I could not help but declare His presence and truth to all who would listen.

At that time, people could easily see God's work in my life and my story was compelling.  Many came to faith and many more were open to listening to the gospel because of my story.  I praise God for remembering these wonderful times!

Yet, as time went on my story grew more stale and less compelling.  Telling freshman in college my experience of three years ago did not have the weightiness that it did before.  Why?  I was a different person and my story of the past lost its luster.  I was sharing a history lesson instead of a present reality.

After leaving college, my personal witness for Christ remained fairly lame for years.  I did see some come to faith, but I also lost confidence in witnessing because it seemed no one really cared about my old, and growing older, story of God's work.  The incredible fruitfulness of my first love of Christ slowly died away.

How about you?  Does my story match your experience?

It took time, but I finally learned how to escape my barren witnessing.  How?  I learned that the gospel of Christ's love and grace is new every morning.  I learned that people were still interested in what God is doing even as they were skeptical and bored with that God had done decades ago.

I know that many believers in Christ have not been encouraged to think in these terms.  I offer the advice that if you wish your life and witness to count in the building of the Kingdom, you might need to change your thinking.  The gospel story of grace given to sinners applies to each of us daily!

Where in your life are you struggling with sin?  Please understand that these struggles are not about your lack of will-power.  You lack will-power because your heart or soul is not right.  In other words, your daily struggle with sin is due to your lack faith or trust in Christ to meet your needs and give you life.  Instead of resting in Christ's love, we look to other sources for life, peace, acceptance, and joy.

The prophet Jeremiah describes this very human condition well.  He declares from the Lord,

My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Jeremiah 2:13

Friends, this is the heart of sin and rebellion from God.  It also matches the reality of all fallen humans!  It sure matches my life.  What can be done about it?  I can try to ignore the truth.  I can attempt to diminish its reality.  I can compare myself to others and assure myself I am better than they are.  I have tried all of these and they surely do not change me.  All I get from these attempts is self-delusion and self-righteousness.

I offer that there is another answer.  I should repent of my sin and believe in Jesus as my only hope.  I should ask for and receive His love and grace.  I should allow this grace to transform my heart.  This is not merely the road to conversion, but also the less taken path to transforming daily grace.

When I walk in repentance and faith, I have a new story to tell.  A new story of repentance and faith from today.  A fresh tale of God's redemptive work in my life.  A compelling story that matches the experience of all.

May the Lord lead us to repentance and faith today and this new week so we have a living and active witness to God's grace!

Between Cheap Grace and Legalism

On several occasions the New Testament makes clear that cheap grace, the attempt to be justified through faith in Christ without commitment to sanctification, is illegitimate and impossible.  The thrust of these passages is not really that we should add works to our faith, as if it were possible to advance one step forward into faith but to hesitate before adding a second step into holiness.  Faith and repentance are not separable qualities.  To have faith is to receive God's Word as truth and rest upon it in dependent trust; to repent is to have a new mind toward God, oneself, Christ and the world, committing one's heart to new obedience to God.  Obviously these two factors are so interwoven that they are experienced as one, so that the condition of justification is not faith plus repentance, but repentant faith. In the famous antiphony to Paul's teaching in James, it is clear that works and merit are not being added to the means of justification, but that the root of living faith which produces works is being distinguished from a dead and sterile conceptual orthodoxy: "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. ... For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead" 

(James 2:17, 26)

An unrepentant faith is a theoretical belief which originates outside the sphere of the Spirit's illumination in a heart which is still in darkness concerning its own need and the grace and grandeur of God.  Paul points to incomplete realization of truth as the cause of the abuse of grace:

"Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  ... We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.  For he who has died is freed from sin." 

(Rom. 6:1-3; 6-7)

It is true that justification can only be appropriated on the ground of our union with Christ.  But we cannot be in the light about our union with the perfect righteousness which covers our sin without simultaneously being in the light about the power available to transform our lives and displace our sin.  We cannot be in union with half a Christ, as the Puritans would say.  We must appropriate a whole Christ if we are to remain in light and thus in spiritual life.

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of the Spiritual Life, 102-103.

If a book is worth reading, it is worth reading multiple times.  As I grow in my faith, I find so many books and aids to Christian growth to be "one-time" reads.  I have many in my personal library, but as I ponder the mysteries of the faith, I constantly come back to several important books.  Richard Lovelace's book is one of these books.  It is tough to read, but well worth the effort.

As I read this passage, I find that the human heart is so easily led astray by our flesh.  Lovelace, and Paul for that matter, emphasize the need for balance.  Our flesh likes to run to extremes and we ignore the need for balance.

On the one side is the tendency to be justified by grace, and then grow in holiness by self-effort.  This unbalance is the mark of much evangelical Christianity.  I know I was captured by this tendency for years!  It leads to frustration and self-righteousness.  I have seen this tendency so often in Christian circles that I have written this blog to help move the balance back toward the other direction.

What is the other direction?  A strange quietism that denies the need to grow in holiness?  Quietism is the belief that "God must do it all."  Thus, people deny the need to promote, encourage, and grow in personal holiness.  Quietism claims to be God- and Christ-centered, but it does so by ignoring the "holy" part of the Holy Spirit!

In the contemporary evangelical world, if you steer clear of growing in holiness by self-effort, you are often accused of quietism.  I would vehemently argue this dichotomy is completely false!  The real key is balance.

How do we strike this balance?  We learn, remember, and emphasize that true faith is marked by repentant faith.  As Lovelace states, "To have faith is to receive God's Word as truth and rest upon it in dependent trust."  I am always leery about those who wish to argue that parts of God's Word are mere "cultural expressions" of the biblical writers.  If I get to choose what God's Word really means, then I trust in my opinions more than God's Word!  This is a clear avenue to allow the world, the flesh, and the devil to determine God's will instead of promote humility and acceptance of God's Word.

Furthermore, we also must remember to walk in repentant faith.  As Lovelace states, "to repent is to have a new mind toward God, oneself, Christ and the world, committing one's heart to new obedience to God."  As God's Word points out places and areas of our lives and thought that do not match God's thoughts on a subject, we must repent and believe.  We should not diminish the realities of our incorrect thoughts or behaviors.  We should not try to argue away what God's Word says.  Instead, in humble faith we repent and believe.

Such a life is not quietism, but an active life of dependent faith.  We ask God to change us.  We look to the Holy Spirit to transform us.  We also follow the Spirit's leading to walk in the newness of life found in the amazing justification declared by God.  In other words, we actively rest in God's Word. We trust in Christ by walking in repentant faith.

May the Lord help us to learn about and rest in this repentant faith!

Forgive and Forget?

Life is full of betrayal.  No matter who you are, you will be betrayed in some way by someone close to you.  Why?  Well, we live in a fallen world.  Self-interest always lurks close beneath the surface of each of us.  In addition, someone has to be close to us or it would not be betrayal.  It might be intentional harm, but it is not betrayal.

In ministry I have had several instances of radical and intense betrayal.  All of them have hurt like hell itself.  Friendships have been lost.  Respect is gone.  All that is left is pain and a hole where a relationship once stood.

Virtually everyone I know in ministry has experienced betrayal.  Why?  We lay our hearts our for people through our teaching and our life.  When someone turns against us, it almost always becomes personal.

This is nothing new!  Notice the following Psalms:

"Even my close friend, 

in whom I trusted, 

Who ate my bread, 

Has lifted up his heel against me." 

Ps. 41:9

"Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;

all day long an attacker oppresses me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

for many attack me proudly. 

When I am afraid,

I put my trust in you. ...

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?"

Ps. 56: 1-3, 8

The Psalms are refreshing because they are honest.  In Psalm 41, David is writing about a betrayal from a friend.  It begins with a prayer of thanks to God that He has not forsaken him.  David clings to the promises of God and claims God as his deliverer, his protector, the one who blesses him, his sustainer, and the one who restores health.  Then David confesses the realities of his enemies.  They seek to harm David by speaking evil of him.  Even a close friend has betrayed him.

Yesterday I was getting two new tires put on the van at Sams club.  A guy in his 20s pulled his car up to a bay, left it running, and went inside.  One the workers lamented, "What is wrong with people?"  He continued to mutter and complain.  I was standing there, and I told him it was simple.  All of us are incredibly selfish and self-centered.  I told him until our parents or life beats that out of us, we remain self-centered, and we even grow more self-centered.  I concluded with the comment, "If you understand this one truth, much of life and what people do make so much more sense."  He agreed and we continued to talk about its application.

As I continued to walk around Sams and on the way home, I thought of that discussion.  This Psalm came to mind.  In ministry, with people who should know better, I have been betrayed and harmed more by people's selfishness than anywhere else in the world.  I have seen it since I first became a Christian.  We see it in church splits, church conflicts, petty "turf wars" in ministries, and in our "friendships" that have gone astray.  Why do folks, particularly believers, act the way they do?  

Well, selfishness and self-centeredness never fully leaves us!  In a fallen world, it is the stain of the flesh that mars our soul.  We have to be constantly on our guard against it in ourselves, and we should never be surprised when we see it in others.  When it happens, we, like David, should repent and believe God's promises.  Then we should push for others to repent.  

The problem is that often the betrayer does not repent, and they do not understand nor care about the pain they have caused.  Why?  Because they are radically self-centered (just like us!).  Most of us demand grace for ourselves, but we figure everyone else "gets what they deserve." We are called to forgive them, but that does not necessarily mean that we trust them again.  Some people through betrayal illustrate their character's weaknesses, and we should not put ourselves, unless we are very careful and led by God, back in an abusive situation.  Still, we are called and commanded to forgive others as we have been forgiven.  

Does this mean, "Forgive and forget?"  In some situations, I think not.  First, it is impossible apart from God's grace.  We just cannot forget; and in many cases, it is a defense mechanism put in place by God to protect us from further harm.  Still, we can daily ask for grace to forgive.  We can declare our forgiveness.  We can ask God to be our deliverer, our protector, our sustainer, and our grace.  In other words, we believe the gospel and claim its promises.

What I have discovered is that forgiveness is a process.  It is like peeling an onion.  When confronted with our friend/enemy fresh pain arrives.  We must forgive and ask for grace to forgive.  Just when think we are getting better, then another layer of the onion comes off.  It could be anything that brings up the memory.  Fresh pain and tears.  We must forgive and ask for grace to forgive.  I know this sounds hard, but what is the other option?  Bitterness.  Anger.  Hardness of heart.  None of these sound good!

Who do you need to forgive today?  What pain has someone caused you?  Turn to Psalm 41 and take an honest look at your pain and God's faithfulness.  Begin the process of being restored.  Repent, believe, and walk in grace.