After my passionate tirade on "Closed for Christmas", I read Joe Carter's article on how many great men are kept out of the Great Battle because of their preoccupation over lesser squabbles. Sometimes I hate it when he's right.
Can we all just trust each other on this Christmas thing, proclaim the gospel, and get along? We are not the enemy, the enemy is the enemy. If we are truly to live an unfettered life, free from the chains that weigh us down we must seek to win the hearts and minds of the lost, not bicker within.
Merry Christmas, whenever you celebrate it.
The inn is empty, the manger is stinky, and the tomb is empty. A son is born.
Amen.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas. Yes, we're closed.
I'd like to start by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and direct your attention to the fact that God's response to a lost world that had turned its back on Him was to lean in and send His Son to be punished in its place. This is why we celebrate today.
Today is also Christian dirty laundry day, so excuse us while we air out a few things about what's being said about this "Closed for Christmas controversy", then, I'd like to ask a few questions that really demand an answer. (For those out of the loop, my home church is one of many that moved its Christmas services to a non Sunday day of the week.)
Read Adam Cleveland's blog entry. If you're serious about the debate and not just trying to vent, not just angry or disgusted, then I believe you really will wade through the facts and stories - I have. As an infant Christian attending a mega-church, I don't want to blindly follow the herd - you are wise to ask questions, but quit being so dogmatic. Read Scot McKnight's entry as well.
Ben is understandably up in arms over this, too. Question: If the reason for closing really was for fear that people would not attend, then yes, shame on us. But this is not the case - we are celebrating Christmas, just on a different day. He continues:
No, Ben. But we could celebrate with publicly on one day and have a more deeper, private celebration with our family on the actual birthday. How many kids would say "no" to two birthday parties? Neither would the Lord. Is God more pleased with what we do out of obligation or what we willingly give and with a cheerful heart? (Not rhetorical, just weigh the question for a moment).
"Kim" from one of the "offending" churches wrote on Adam Cleveland's blog:
While it's not about the numbers, they do tell a tale - her church is doing 17 services at 4 locations in 4 days for 50,000 people. What about that implies a lack of seriousness and dedication to glorifying the Lord's birthday?
My pastor, Andy, at NPCC, again shows why he's the senior pastor and I'm just sitting back, taking notes... [also at POMO - look for the whole response, I have no room to post it all and it deserves your attention]
For those of you steaming in anger or just scratching heads - how large an organization have you ever co-piloted before? How many people do your decisions directly effect? How many people have been baptized because of the organization God developed through your obedience and work effort? Is it possible that you are elevating the traditions of man over the commands of scripture? All respect is due to the offended because many of you have large, cogent, and wise responses,
Until you have lead thousands to Christ, employed hundreds of people and thousands of voluteers, and partnered with God to advance his kingdom beyond the four walls of the "little c" church, I ask you to hold your tongue and do any and all of these three things first.
Then cast your stones.
Amen.
P.S. Kudos to Christian Visioneer DJ Chuang for posting where we can go if our church is closed. I would add to that the following: bring gifts or a meal to a homeless shelter or shut-in. PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL! DJ, you rock!
Today is also Christian dirty laundry day, so excuse us while we air out a few things about what's being said about this "Closed for Christmas controversy", then, I'd like to ask a few questions that really demand an answer. (For those out of the loop, my home church is one of many that moved its Christmas services to a non Sunday day of the week.)
Read Adam Cleveland's blog entry. If you're serious about the debate and not just trying to vent, not just angry or disgusted, then I believe you really will wade through the facts and stories - I have. As an infant Christian attending a mega-church, I don't want to blindly follow the herd - you are wise to ask questions, but quit being so dogmatic. Read Scot McKnight's entry as well.
Ben is understandably up in arms over this, too. Question: If the reason for closing really was for fear that people would not attend, then yes, shame on us. But this is not the case - we are celebrating Christmas, just on a different day. He continues:
Here's another little thought. Would you willingly miss your own child's birthday? I don't think so if you really love your children. Why would you miss the birthday celebration of the birth of God' only begotten Son?
No, Ben. But we could celebrate with publicly on one day and have a more deeper, private celebration with our family on the actual birthday. How many kids would say "no" to two birthday parties? Neither would the Lord. Is God more pleased with what we do out of obligation or what we willingly give and with a cheerful heart? (Not rhetorical, just weigh the question for a moment).
"Kim" from one of the "offending" churches wrote on Adam Cleveland's blog:
At Willow we never have church on Christmas, preferring to celebrate the incarnation as a church family in the days leading up to Christmas instead. We don't have "holy days of obligation," nor do we need a priest present to worship God, so worshipping from our homes is not really a problem.
While it's not about the numbers, they do tell a tale - her church is doing 17 services at 4 locations in 4 days for 50,000 people. What about that implies a lack of seriousness and dedication to glorifying the Lord's birthday?
My pastor, Andy, at NPCC, again shows why he's the senior pastor and I'm just sitting back, taking notes... [also at POMO - look for the whole response, I have no room to post it all and it deserves your attention]
To begin with, we have called off church on the Sunday following Christmas since we started the church ten years ago[...] Every year I encourage our attenders to attend church somewhere else on that Sunday, or stay home and worship as a family , or gather with people from their small group.
The reason we shut everything down on the Sunday following Christmas is to honor our volunteers. [roughly 1800-2000 per Sunday...] The interesting thing is, we’ve never taken any heat for shutting down on a Sunday. I guess nobody was paying any attention.
[...] The way I read it, the spirituality of an individual or a group should be judged by their track record in two areas – love for one another and generosity with resources.
Bottom line, I may not be a very good Christian or pastor, but this Christmas season there are several hundred people who think I’m a good boss.
Merry Christmas
For those of you steaming in anger or just scratching heads - how large an organization have you ever co-piloted before? How many people do your decisions directly effect? How many people have been baptized because of the organization God developed through your obedience and work effort? Is it possible that you are elevating the traditions of man over the commands of scripture? All respect is due to the offended because many of you have large, cogent, and wise responses,
but most of you do not.
Until you have lead thousands to Christ, employed hundreds of people and thousands of voluteers, and partnered with God to advance his kingdom beyond the four walls of the "little c" church, I ask you to hold your tongue and do any and all of these three things first.
Then cast your stones.
Amen.
P.S. Kudos to Christian Visioneer DJ Chuang for posting where we can go if our church is closed. I would add to that the following: bring gifts or a meal to a homeless shelter or shut-in. PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL! DJ, you rock!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Reflections on The Chronicles of Narnia
I know what wrongs I will do and what rights I will fail to do when given the opportunity.
On our way back through the wintery woods, my brother, our friend Joey, and I ran into 5 or 6 kids about our age (about 13 at the time, for Joey and I, 10 for by brother). They were from the next town over, always picking fights for fights' sake, and today was no exception.
I wussed out and stood frozen, not by the snow, but my own fear of injury and greater numbers. One of the 12 year olds had started punching my young brother. Fortunately, Jay surprised us all with a few good blows that pursuaded our foes to seek fisticuffs elsewhere. While I forgot their faces decades ago, this cowardice haunted me for years as one of the most disturbing choices I made in my young life. It didn't do much to bolster my self-image or sibling relations.
John Maxwell wrote a book called "Failing Forward" that reminds us that we will fail, but we need not be weighed down nor stay down. "While you're down there, pick something up", he writes. Tonight, we saw C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", and I was reminded of these two truths again.
Growing up in what I thought to be a "traditional" Catholic environment, I learned that God was watching, waiting, and ready to punish me at every wrong turn. That pains many Catholics to hear, because some of the most devout of them know this was both poor delivery and application of their dogma. This theology, like that of the Evangelical community, is that left to ourselves, we will not only do wrong, but fail to do right, at many checkpoints in our lives. Like Edmund, the younger brother in the Narnia movie, I have felt hopeless to do right on my own and been wracked with guilt over my "sins of omission", as well. I have betrayed those closest to me, including my own self, and allowed my enemies to condemn me for this.
Are there parallels between Narnia and the Gospel? Many. The one that I find most liberating, most unfettering tonight, is that while I will often screw up, God will never beat me up, and He has promised to always lay Himself down. In Christianese, we would say He will not "forsake" (Aramaic: abandon) us. Aslan pardons Edmund and commands the three kids not to knock him for his betrayals. Jesus asks us to demonstrate our love for Him vis-a-vis our love and care for others. We need help to be saved from ourselves and the calamity that surrounds us as a result of the car crashes and IED's of everyone else's idiocy.
Now, that sounds cute and warm and fuzzy and thanks for beating your Bible for us, Mr. Ex-coward Who Can't Do Anything Right Even If He Wanted To. But, how is that relevant to me? Why does your 2000 year old book about shepherds and temples and deserts and morals matter to me today in 2005?
I'll take a stab at that: Lewis invites us to trust those who have failed us in the past, because as Lucy says in the movie "this isn't helping Edmond". He invites us to "become who we were meant to be". The God of the Bible invites us to practice His principles, which exclude beating one's self up over errors in the past. Rather, to grow stronger by learning from one's mistakes and seeking a truth larger than one's self, which leads to a transcendant understanding. In effect, not to be discouraged by what we see (our shrapnel-riddled choices) when we hold our lives up against a flawless hypothetical (God's perfect will for our lives), but to grow in spite of our misdeeds (or missed deeds).
So I ask my favorite question - "What if?" What if the Bible really is the inerrant word of God? What if there is knowledge therein that could help us to strip off the shackles of our own guilt and self ridicule? What if there are principles to be learned from a real, living God who has a plan to prosper us in spite of our own unwise choices? What if religion is a flagrantly abused institution based on a truly awesome relationship that went sour over time because of our own poor choices, which make us look back and say "how could I have been so foolish?" What if...
Was it a great movie? I don't know. I've never been smart enough to agree with the right critics until after the dust settles. I'm too ruled by my own emotions to give strong objective critique in well-argued statements.
And, think on these things. I could be an ideologue. I could be a weak minded fool. I could be looking for God where He isn't. If that's what you think, nothing I can say will sway you. But, experience this movie and shine its light on your failures, your strengths, your growth, your "a-ha" moments, and see what it tells you about yourself. Narnia is so accessible that a small, naive child can experience its full glory just because they give it a shot and as John Ortberg writes "God Is Closer Than You Think".
I didn't spell check or really sit down and edit, but feel free to critique those aspects of today's post anyway.
Relevant, timely truth from ancient teachings:
God is Closer Than You Think
The Barbarian Way (Erwin Raphael McManus)
Mosaic podcast (Erwin Raphael McManus)
Relevant Magazine
Catalyst Conference: Applying Biblical truth to your business, life, and relationships.
Inside Narnia
On our way back through the wintery woods, my brother, our friend Joey, and I ran into 5 or 6 kids about our age (about 13 at the time, for Joey and I, 10 for by brother). They were from the next town over, always picking fights for fights' sake, and today was no exception.
I wussed out and stood frozen, not by the snow, but my own fear of injury and greater numbers. One of the 12 year olds had started punching my young brother. Fortunately, Jay surprised us all with a few good blows that pursuaded our foes to seek fisticuffs elsewhere. While I forgot their faces decades ago, this cowardice haunted me for years as one of the most disturbing choices I made in my young life. It didn't do much to bolster my self-image or sibling relations.
John Maxwell wrote a book called "Failing Forward" that reminds us that we will fail, but we need not be weighed down nor stay down. "While you're down there, pick something up", he writes. Tonight, we saw C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", and I was reminded of these two truths again.
Growing up in what I thought to be a "traditional" Catholic environment, I learned that God was watching, waiting, and ready to punish me at every wrong turn. That pains many Catholics to hear, because some of the most devout of them know this was both poor delivery and application of their dogma. This theology, like that of the Evangelical community, is that left to ourselves, we will not only do wrong, but fail to do right, at many checkpoints in our lives. Like Edmund, the younger brother in the Narnia movie, I have felt hopeless to do right on my own and been wracked with guilt over my "sins of omission", as well. I have betrayed those closest to me, including my own self, and allowed my enemies to condemn me for this.
Are there parallels between Narnia and the Gospel? Many. The one that I find most liberating, most unfettering tonight, is that while I will often screw up, God will never beat me up, and He has promised to always lay Himself down. In Christianese, we would say He will not "forsake" (Aramaic: abandon) us. Aslan pardons Edmund and commands the three kids not to knock him for his betrayals. Jesus asks us to demonstrate our love for Him vis-a-vis our love and care for others. We need help to be saved from ourselves and the calamity that surrounds us as a result of the car crashes and IED's of everyone else's idiocy.
Now, that sounds cute and warm and fuzzy and thanks for beating your Bible for us, Mr. Ex-coward Who Can't Do Anything Right Even If He Wanted To. But, how is that relevant to me? Why does your 2000 year old book about shepherds and temples and deserts and morals matter to me today in 2005?
I'll take a stab at that: Lewis invites us to trust those who have failed us in the past, because as Lucy says in the movie "this isn't helping Edmond". He invites us to "become who we were meant to be". The God of the Bible invites us to practice His principles, which exclude beating one's self up over errors in the past. Rather, to grow stronger by learning from one's mistakes and seeking a truth larger than one's self, which leads to a transcendant understanding. In effect, not to be discouraged by what we see (our shrapnel-riddled choices) when we hold our lives up against a flawless hypothetical (God's perfect will for our lives), but to grow in spite of our misdeeds (or missed deeds).
So I ask my favorite question - "What if?" What if the Bible really is the inerrant word of God? What if there is knowledge therein that could help us to strip off the shackles of our own guilt and self ridicule? What if there are principles to be learned from a real, living God who has a plan to prosper us in spite of our own unwise choices? What if religion is a flagrantly abused institution based on a truly awesome relationship that went sour over time because of our own poor choices, which make us look back and say "how could I have been so foolish?" What if...
Was it a great movie? I don't know. I've never been smart enough to agree with the right critics until after the dust settles. I'm too ruled by my own emotions to give strong objective critique in well-argued statements.
If you've ever let yourself down, see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
If you've ever been let down or betrayed by someone close to you, see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
If you're tired of people who say all the right things but never do them, see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
If you don't understand why Christians get all "ewy-gooey" at Christmas and Easter, see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
If you're a Lord of the Rings, X-Men, Star Trek, Star Wars, special effects geek, see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
If you don't fit into any of these categories, see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
And, think on these things. I could be an ideologue. I could be a weak minded fool. I could be looking for God where He isn't. If that's what you think, nothing I can say will sway you. But, experience this movie and shine its light on your failures, your strengths, your growth, your "a-ha" moments, and see what it tells you about yourself. Narnia is so accessible that a small, naive child can experience its full glory just because they give it a shot and as John Ortberg writes "God Is Closer Than You Think".
I didn't spell check or really sit down and edit, but feel free to critique those aspects of today's post anyway.
Relevant, timely truth from ancient teachings:
God is Closer Than You Think
The Barbarian Way (Erwin Raphael McManus)
Mosaic podcast (Erwin Raphael McManus)
Relevant Magazine
Catalyst Conference: Applying Biblical truth to your business, life, and relationships.
Inside Narnia
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Just in time for Christmas...
Part 3 of our 4 part series on pornography is partly written... (Posted by this Friday, scout's honor... CRAP, I'm not a scout!)
This is a great piece of news for all parties involved and poignant considering the "giving" nature of the story.
Over $14,000 was raised to make this all possible, now we put our faith in The Trinity to help Trinity make it all worthwhile. What a great time of year for thanks and giving!
Grace and peace. A.
This is a great piece of news for all parties involved and poignant considering the "giving" nature of the story.
Trinity Project milestone - Woman, thou art loosed!
Over $14,000 was raised to make this all possible, now we put our faith in The Trinity to help Trinity make it all worthwhile. What a great time of year for thanks and giving!
Grace and peace. A.
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