Bandits No More

I was honored to be invited to preach for the closing worship of the CTCYM (Central Texas Conference Youth in Mission) Senior High trip again this summer. Here is a downloadable version of the message:
Audio version

Enjoy!

Since I have been blogging, I have been trying in a variety of ways to get the word out. I tell people I think might be interested, and encourage them to tell others.

Something very interesting happened. When I told youth, almost all of the were very surprised I had a blog. In fact, their reactions were beyond surprise; they were shocked, as though there were something inappropriate about an adult guy, and a pastor, blogging. I had to know what their concern was.

This was news to me, but apparently for youth, blogging is basically online diary writing. As they explained this, I quickly began to understand their reaction to my being a blogger. Once I explained my bloggin to them they understood me, too.

Such misunderstandings pervade our society. We use common words and phrases and mean entirely different things by them.

One of the most problematic of these is the simple word “god.” I enjoy asking people, when they’ve made some generic reference to god, “which god do you mean?” Some have worried I am a polytheist. I have actually had people explain to me that if we all use the word “god,” and since there is only one god, we must all be referring to the same god.

I challenge Christians in such a case to describe our God in terms of what we know of God in scripture. Instead of just assuming “god” means the God of Abraham, Issaac, Moses, David, and Paul, Christians ought to clarify by the scriptures exactly who the god we claim is God is.

We don’t all mean the same thing with the same words. We need to start having the necessary conversations to clarify what others mean by words we use. They don’t know what we mean and we don’t know what they mean unless we do.

Should we really be surprised that Iraq is having difficulty dealing with constitutional matters? Word has it two of the biggest issues of contention are the rights of women and the role of Islam in the government.

I suppose there are some liberals left (mostly in that category popularly referred to as Conservatives, though they are political Liberals) who may have thought that freeing the Iraqi people from suppression would ipso facto create a yearning in them not just for freedom and democracy, but exactly the same kind of modern western democracy we have in the United States.

During my coursework in the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor, I occasioned to peruse the constitutions of many of the world’s democracies. I quickly noticed that most of those that followed the founding of the United Nations were nearly identical. Apparently some good natured liberal thought that what was important was that each nation has a constitution; not that it be drafted by and out of the lives, traditions, and philosophies of the people of that nation.

I have no doubt the Iraqis will come up with a constitution. Will it satisfy the U.S. more if it looks more like ours, or if it fits the people charged with developing it?

Scott Burns writes today about the high cost of raising a family. He only goes as high as two children, demonstrating how much people need to increase their earnings just to stay even (clue: it takes more than just staying up with inflation). From a financial point of view I seem to have gotten myself with a double whammy. Not only do I have three children, but I’m also in a profession where I don’t have much power to increase my income each year (though sometimes I’m able to keep up with inflation). But children are worth it, and we need more people who value children over financial comfort.

Here’s a link to today’s sermon, Learning from John Wesley: Salvation. It’s the first in a series on John Wesley.

What to think about the Israeli pull-out from Gaza? Is this a good thing for the Palestinians – or does it merely open the door for a war between the PLO and Hamas (and whoever else has a gun and strong opinions)? Is it a good thing for the Israelis (thinking the Palestinians will leave them alone and stop the constant bombings? I don’t see any sure-fire good news for either party in this. Good news is still a long way off and will require lots of work.

In the mean time, here’s a word from Brother Andrew (once upon a time known as God’s Smuggler) who just returned from Gaza:

Brother Andrew just returned from Gaza on Wednesday, August 17. Having talked first hand with our brethren, here’s how they ask us to pray:

• Pray for the Gaza Baptist Church, the only evangelical church in Gaza. It has received threats from Muslim fundamentalists and is currently being guarded by armed security.
• Please pray for protection for Pastor Hanna Massad and his family. Many Christians fear that there will soon be a civil war between Hamas and the PLO. This would leave our Christian brethren in the crossfire of bullets, literally.
• Please pray for the ministries that Open Doors supports, including the Gaza Baptist Church, the Bible bookstore in Gaza, as well as the only public library, where Christian literature is readily available.
• Pray for the ongoing outreach to Palestinians living in refugee camps, that by showing them God’s mercy we will gain an influence in their spiritual hearts.

We sometimes forget that we’re only one piece of the international economy. The rise in oil and gas prices affect not only us, but also the rest of the world. The growing economies in India and China have been adding huge demand to the world oil markets, helping drive prices up (in other words, the rise in prices is more than a “terrorism premium”). Have you been wondering how the quick uptick in prices (Here in Pittsburg prices are up over thirty cents a gallon in about a week) has been affecting those countries? I have, and now Gateway Pundit has some news from China. Be sure and read the comments as well.

One of the latest offerings in reality tv will be “Tommy Lee Goes to College,” on NBC. The show has Tommy Lee, famous mostly for his stint as Motley Crue’s drummer and once-spouse of Pamela Anderson Lee, attending classes at the Unniversity of Nebraska.

The brief report in the Waco Tribune-Herald, as well as in the lin kabove, explains that the 42 year old connected with his botany class. “I think I was a tree or something in a past life,” Lee said.

Do you suppose that, in botany classes at the University of Nebraska, they teach students to relate to or get in touch with nature on the basis of reincarnation?

We like learning in school because what we learn there tends to be abstracted from our actual life situations. Math is clearly objective – not need for emotion or conflict there. History – we might argue over interpretation of various events, but whatever it was was way back when.

Some models of Christian education take this same tack and major on learning facts – what we might call head knowledge. We can learn tons about theology and the bible and still hold it at a distance, away form our lives. Unfortunately – so we think – that wasn’t Jesus’ style and isn’t what we followers of Jesus most need. Jesus spoke to people in the moment of their need. He provoked them and challenged them on what they were in the process of doing. No dry theory for him.

Jesus’ method provoked pain in his hearers – enough pain in some that they had him nailed to a cross and killed. His objective was not merely to fill their heads with knowledge but to change their lives. Since my calling to preach and teach came from Jesus, that ought to be my goal also.

But some times people don’t like it. “Have you been spying on me?” “Did so and so tell you what I said?” “How did you know that?” “I felt like you were preaching right at me this morning.” I’ve heard all these before. When I hear those kind of comments I know I’m doing something right. After all, isn’t it people I’m supposed to be talking to? Surely it’s a waste of time to address myself to pews & walls? What’s the point in saying things people don’t need to hear?

So how do I know what people need to hear? Three things:

1. I pay attention to what’s going on around me. Some things aren’t that hard to figure out. Consider the loss of the feed store. Is any one shocked that I talk about comfort in times of loss – about our mission being larger than buildings? When the decisions about renovating the sanctuary were made a few years ago there was some conflict in the church. I wasn’t here during that time, but I’ve had wide enough experience in church to not be shocked. So if I talk about conflict now with the loss of the feed store am I exhibiting extraordinary knowledge? I think not.
2. I creatively move from that I see out there to what I know of myself. Being a sinner, I know a bit about how sinners think – and act. I know what temptations I face. Sometimes you may here a sermon or teaching, or read something I write (this piece?) and think I’m talking to you. If so, give thanks someone loves you enough to talk to you. But many times from my own perspective, I’m addressing my own temptations, fears, and problems. I just happen to be enough of an ordinary human being that other people share some of my problems and insecurities. Surely you wouldn’t want any other kind of preacher.
3. I pray a lot. Many times what I preach, teach or write on has no inspiration whatever in what I see. This is a good thing, since though I work at paying attention to what’s happening around me, I’m still oblivious to too much of it. God seems to figure that I don’t have any need to know who needs to hear a particular message – only that some do. I not only listen to God, I also ask God to let what I say and write speak to the needs of the people. Most of us don’t have needs for abstract knowledge and theories. We need a word spoken into our lives where we are right now.

So – if in my speaking and writing it seems that I’m speaking directly to you – give thanks for it. But chances are I don’t have a clue what’s happening unless you tell me.

If you’ve read much of Dallas Willard (Spirit of the Disciplines, Divine Conspiracy, and The Renovation of the Heart are key texts) you know of his preference for the word “apprentice” over disciple. The latter has become so Christianized it has lost its original content. As followers of Jesus we are his apprentices: we spend time with him, watch what he does, and then do it ourselves. In a recent Leadership Journal Dallas Willard and Dieter Zander discuss how this works out in the church. Here’s just a taste from Zander’s final comment:

When we moved to San Francisco, we lived on a street where our neighbors included an atheist Jewish family, a Buddhist family, an Irish Catholic family, a gay family, and a Hindu family. There was no sense of community, so we decided to become conduits of the kingdom by practicing the discipline of hospitality. We learned people’s names and used them. We introduced neighbors to each other. And something began to happen.

My atheist Jewish neighbor came into my kitchen once and said, “You know, something has happened since you all moved to this neighborhood. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like an enzyme has been added. Where once there was no life, now there’s life. What is that?” And I said, “That’s the gospel of Jesus being lived out in our lives.”