Why can't we just accept the cross?
Why do we minimize the cross of it's radicalness?
Had we rather decorate with the cross or accept it?
Guilt is so strong in our life that it strips the cross of power - why?
How could we possibly compartmentalize the cross?
Why do we think we can pay God back? Why do we feel like we should pay God back?
Why are we so ashamed of our shame?
Why do we want the cross to be so much cleaner and more sanitized?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
Worship Rules
The Hebrews writer tells us this in the first part of Ch. 9:
1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
He goes on to describe the arrangement for worship among the Israelites, the description and meaning of sacrificial blood within that worship, and then the new worship and the blood of Christ that was offered once for all and for all sins.
So, clearly, this new temple and worship does not have the old rules of worship, but does it have new rules?
The only rule(s) I can truly see is a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper that appears clear. But, even when we call it a rule, haven't we diminished it?
So, what are all these worship rules people debate over?
What is this rule of "silence" in the Bible?
Why has the church split so many times over worship rules?
1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
He goes on to describe the arrangement for worship among the Israelites, the description and meaning of sacrificial blood within that worship, and then the new worship and the blood of Christ that was offered once for all and for all sins.
So, clearly, this new temple and worship does not have the old rules of worship, but does it have new rules?
The only rule(s) I can truly see is a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper that appears clear. But, even when we call it a rule, haven't we diminished it?
So, what are all these worship rules people debate over?
What is this rule of "silence" in the Bible?
Why has the church split so many times over worship rules?
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Be Still
The Psalmist told us "be still & know that I am God".
And, yet, in this frantic-paced, information-overloaded life - we look for peace, joy and happiness in busyness.
Oswald Chambers penned these words well over 100 years ago:
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" ( Luke 17:20-21 ). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.
It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
When's the last time you heard of a church promoting stillness, solitude, and contemplation? It really doesn't sell too well today. Maybe we need to rethink our busyness.
And, yet, in this frantic-paced, information-overloaded life - we look for peace, joy and happiness in busyness.
Oswald Chambers penned these words well over 100 years ago:
The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the systems of the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation . . . . For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" ( Luke 17:20-21 ). It is a hidden, obscure thing. An active Christian worker too often lives to be seen by others, while it is the innermost, personal area that reveals the power of a person’s life.
We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in which we live. In our Lord’s life there was none of the pressure and the rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a disciple is to be like His Master. The central point of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Him, not public usefulness to others.
It is not the practical activities that are the strength of this Bible Training College— its entire strength lies in the fact that here you are immersed in the truths of God to soak in them before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God’s redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will remain true to Him whatever happens.
When's the last time you heard of a church promoting stillness, solitude, and contemplation? It really doesn't sell too well today. Maybe we need to rethink our busyness.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Shawn McDonald - Inspring Performer
A couple of years ago, my older daughter gave me a Shawn McDonald CD - a contemporary Christian artist I had never really heard of prior to this gift. After listening to it all the way through dozens and dozens of times, I can definitely say it's one of the best cd's I've heard and has really ministered to my spirit - not something you feel very often in this world of consumeristic music. I often listened to Shawn while driving to church as I was mentally preparing to teach a class.
Needless to say, when my younger daughter told me Shawn was coming to Lufkin and she wanted to go with me to the concert, I was surprised and delighted (trust me when a 15 year old girl asked her dad to do something, it's big). The concert was awesome. The best way to describe it would be to think of the old MTV Unplugged show - and multiply that by 10. Shawn and his three musician buddies were definitely the most talented group of musicians I've ever seen in concert from a mastering your instrument perspective.
The music, message and lyrics were profound. Shawn seems to be a humble, no non-sense guy who just loves writing deep, spiritual lyrics and performing his craft. Go see Shawn if you have a chance.
Needless to say, when my younger daughter told me Shawn was coming to Lufkin and she wanted to go with me to the concert, I was surprised and delighted (trust me when a 15 year old girl asked her dad to do something, it's big). The concert was awesome. The best way to describe it would be to think of the old MTV Unplugged show - and multiply that by 10. Shawn and his three musician buddies were definitely the most talented group of musicians I've ever seen in concert from a mastering your instrument perspective.
The music, message and lyrics were profound. Shawn seems to be a humble, no non-sense guy who just loves writing deep, spiritual lyrics and performing his craft. Go see Shawn if you have a chance.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Divorce Christian Style
Recently I was searching for research on Christian giving and poverty by the Barna Research Group and stumbled across some past research Barna did on divorce several years ago that raised a firestorm of controversy. Barna concluded that the least likely group to divorce was Atheists, and the most likely group to divorce was conservative Christians from the South. Many conservative Christian groups objected loudly, but Barna stood by his findings. Due to ongoing criticism, he eventually took the information down from his website, however, it is still found numerous places including on the Religious Tolerance.org site here .
I don't have a lot of astute observation in this area, but I do find it interesting that, it would appear those that preach "family values" the loudest are more also most prone to fall prey to the No. 1 wrecker of the family unit - divorce.
Maybe we Christians should spend more time working on our marriages rather than preaching against the dangers of those things that we think might do harm to the family - like rampant pro-homosexuality literature being spread in our public schools. I would say that the fact that so many complained so loudly about the research underscores there it was most assuredly accurate.
I don't have a lot of astute observation in this area, but I do find it interesting that, it would appear those that preach "family values" the loudest are more also most prone to fall prey to the No. 1 wrecker of the family unit - divorce.
Maybe we Christians should spend more time working on our marriages rather than preaching against the dangers of those things that we think might do harm to the family - like rampant pro-homosexuality literature being spread in our public schools. I would say that the fact that so many complained so loudly about the research underscores there it was most assuredly accurate.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Henri Nouwen on Leadership
I found some interesting thoughts on church leadership recently. The quote was attributed to Henri Nouwen. I must confess I don't own a Nouwen book, nor have I read a complete Nouwen book - but I've read quite a bit from him here and there and he's certainly on my Amazon list - it will happen!
The quote by Henri Nouwen was on biblical servant-leadership, and this was it:
"The servant-leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful places. The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross."
That statemeent really hit home. One of the easiset things in the world to do is find fault in a church. A church is going to have difficulties of some type at it's very core on a consistent basis. It's either growing or dying. If it's growing, it will eventually need more land, more buildings and lots and lots of more money. If it's dying - which most are - it's got a whole new set of problems that have been discussed at length.
But, the core issue, and a core problem, I see in the church, is the lack of true biblical servant-leadership that Nouwen discusses. At it's focal point, the church's leadership is far too often either authoritarian or missing. Most church leaders either want to be a part of all decisions or no decisions.
Leaders need to get back to Jesus -- what is your true missional calling from Jesus? They need to make every effort to rid themselves of sectarian or secular-styled leadership - for it's fruits are not of God. Do all church leaders have it wrong? No, I am somewhat optimistic today that many leaders have been humbled enough to return to Jesus, but many more have not.
What's the answer? Nothing that is pristine and clean cut. It's a perplexing dilemma that requires much thought. More thoughts later.
The quote by Henri Nouwen was on biblical servant-leadership, and this was it:
"The servant-leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful places. The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross."
That statemeent really hit home. One of the easiset things in the world to do is find fault in a church. A church is going to have difficulties of some type at it's very core on a consistent basis. It's either growing or dying. If it's growing, it will eventually need more land, more buildings and lots and lots of more money. If it's dying - which most are - it's got a whole new set of problems that have been discussed at length.
But, the core issue, and a core problem, I see in the church, is the lack of true biblical servant-leadership that Nouwen discusses. At it's focal point, the church's leadership is far too often either authoritarian or missing. Most church leaders either want to be a part of all decisions or no decisions.
Leaders need to get back to Jesus -- what is your true missional calling from Jesus? They need to make every effort to rid themselves of sectarian or secular-styled leadership - for it's fruits are not of God. Do all church leaders have it wrong? No, I am somewhat optimistic today that many leaders have been humbled enough to return to Jesus, but many more have not.
What's the answer? Nothing that is pristine and clean cut. It's a perplexing dilemma that requires much thought. More thoughts later.
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