Naturalization

Philippians 1:27-30

27But whatever happens to me, you must live in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ, as a citizen of heaven. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the Good News. 28Don't be intimidated by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.


No matter what, live in a manner worthy of the Good News.

There have been a good number of 'side-effects' of being a church staff member. One such 'side-effect' has been the renewed realization that every public decision I make can and will be taken as a reflection on the church that I serve and, ultimately, the Lord I serve.

Standing side by side, fighting.

Christianity most certainly is not 'Every man for himself' and most certainly is 'All for One and One for All'. By that, I mean that Christ did not die to save the Wesleyans or the Baptists or the Catholics, he died for everybody. Standing side by side means that we spend a little less time worrying about Apollos and Paul and a little more time worrying about Jesus and Satan. Sometimes we just need to realize that our theological diversity is what makes the Church a three-stranded cord.

The privilege to suffer.

I cannot say that I have known anyone who truly enjoyed suffering. However, as Christians, we have been assured that there will be suffering. With that in mind, what is there better to suffer for than standing up for what you believe is right? Even when the consequences are great and you are on, what appears to be, the losing team.

As American Christians, we often have lost sight of true suffering for the Gospel. However, after news was released today about Rehima Beoa of Bangladesh, (Rehima suffered severe burns to 70% of her body after members of the Muslim majority learned that she was planning on being baptized into the Christian Church.) we should certainly look at suffering a little bit differently, baptism a little bit differently, and look a little bit differently at where our true citizenship lies.

Trickle Down

John 7:38 (New International Version)

38Whoever believes in me, as^[a] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."


Over the summer, the Southeastern United States experienced one of the worst droughts in recent years. Lake levels were so low that recreational activities such as boating and water skiing became tough if not impossible. Not only were our waterfronts ugly, but news soon came that there would be restrictions on water use and that we might not even have enough drinking water. Months later, the trickle down effect of this drought is still being felt. As the drought persists, news has come that TVA may have to shutdown numerous nuclear power plants in the Southeast. Although this may be a surprising side-effect of low rainfall, the plants rely on large quantities of deep lake water to cool their components.

Similarly, for us Christians, a time without the Living Water is sure to have a trickle down effect. This spiritual drought often begins to show itself with a decreased amount of involvement in Bible studies, small groups, and worship. Soon, our lives start to get ugly and we begin to restrict the times and people that we share the Living Water with. Soon, you have reached a full-blown spiritual drought and a loss of Holy Spirit power is inevitable. The difference here is that we know when a spiritual drought will end: when we bow down, humble ourselves, and submit our wills to the God who knows us, Loves us, accepts us, and saves us.

Let's Get There In One Piece

1 Corinthians 12
12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.


When the Apostle Paul wrote these verses, I don't think he would ever have imagined the dismemberment that the body of Christ would suffer over the next thousand years. Although a majority of those groups which refer to themselves as Christians agree on a majority of theology (especially that which I and many others would consider essential to the Christian faith), it is a minority of, often vocal, issues that have led to the current state of fragmentation of the Christian religion. However, after thirty years of discussion, we are now closer than ever to a more unified faith.

In the next year, we will see two important votes regarding the full communion of two significant Protestant denominations. The first will come on April 29, 2008 when the United Methodist Church's General Conference will vote to recognize the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as being in full communion. The second vote will happen when the ELCA reciprocates at their 11th Biennial Churchwide Assembly during the week of August 17-23, 2009.

This is truly a significant event in the life of the Christian Church.

Apples and Oranges

Matthew 7:1-5

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.^[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.^[b]

3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye^[c] when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,^[d] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

These days, as our society becomes increasingly tolerant of false religions, it seems that Matthew 7:1-5 are the favorite verses of hostile talking heads and highly visible pastors alike. With this series of verses, those who are less interested in answers than conflict feel that they have delivered the proverbial sucker punch to sometimes unprepared Christians. Additionally, because of the current societal climate, more and more young Christians take these verses to mean that they shouldn't bother their non-Christian friends but should rather, tuck tail and run. Thankfully, Jesus is not done delivering his message:

Matthew 7:15-20

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Wait a minute, verse 20 tells us that we 'can identify people by their actions'. Merriam-Webster defines 'identify' as 'establishing the distinguishing characteristic of an individual'. This sounds much like the classic parental advice to 'be careful who you hang out with' and the Proverb that warns us that 'Those who walk with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm (Prov. 13:20)." This mindset sounds contradictory to the first set of verses we looked at. However, when we look at the definition of judge ('to form an opinion...') we realize that identity is based on fact and judgment is based on opinion. With that in mind, the practice of looking for fruit before yoking yourself to someone else becomes not wrong, but in fact, the best practice. It's not judgment, it's discernment of truth.

Three Men, Three Diverse Opinions, One Truth

Clicky Pens

I heard two men arguing today. One was talking about how his clicky pen (you know the kind) was the best ballpoint pen he had ever used. The second man was vehemently arguing that there is no way that a clicky pen could be a ballpoint pen. As I looked on, the argument continued for quite some time, until each man walked away angry and no more interested in the other man's opinion than before.

At this point, I must tell you that I witnessed no such argument regarding pens. In the argument I witnessed, the clicky pen was really the theory of evolution and the second man was a well-meaning evangelical Christian arguing there is no way that God would have used evolution to create the Earth.

Now, I know Genesis 1:1 says that 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.' But, I do not seem to recall the verse that tells us what method he used. I do not claim to be the most educated or well-informed Christian, but I simply cannot understand why there is a vast majority of my brothers and sisters who see evolution as an antonym to creationism.

The more I hear talk of God, the more I realize that phrases beginning "God can.." are true and phrases beginning "God cannot..." are false. No matter what method you propose was used to create the Earth, there is one fact that stands unchangeable: that God perpetrated, controlled, and planned it. And for that, I am truly thankful.

16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.

18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
19 He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.

20 We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.

(NLT, biblegateway.com)

After meeting with the Ignite leadership team tonight, I am awed by our youth and our God. I know that Ignite will be a 'success' this semester, for the same reasons that it has been a 'success' before: because the members of the Ignite leadership team do not count on their own strength to save them, because the LORD is always faithful, and because the leadership team is both a vessel and an example of Christ's unfailing love.

I'm Huntin' Wabbits

During my reading time today, I read Genesis 10. When I came to verses 8-9, I was a bit surprised:

8 Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth. 9 Since he was the greatest hunter in the world,^[a] his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.” (NLT, biblegateway.com)

If you don't know, in modern times, nimrod has come to mean an idiot or silly person (m-w.com). So how has the great legacy of Nimrod been reduced to a joke? Well, after much research it appears that our friend Mr. Bugs Bunny, in his classic cartoons, referred to Elmer Fudd as a "Poor little Nimrod" (with his typical sarcasm, I assume).

It is amazing to me, how an animated rabbit has been able to sculpt the legacy of one of Genesis' greatest warriors.

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

Well, I think we've probably all heard the saying that 'Nothing Good Happens After Midnight' (most often used by parents of youth). With that in mind, I'll hope that this post is an exception.

Let me first say that it is amazing, and sometimes frustrating, how I can be worn out at 11:00 pm, get a second wind, and not be able to fall asleep at 3:00 am. Luckily, I have the boys from Fee to keep me entertained. Now, on to the meat:

It seems that there is one struggle that youth and adults alike deal with, one problem that has been answered by nearly every religious group, and one issue that no one wants to deal with head-on. This is, of course, the issue of alcohol use by Christians. Everywhere I look, whether it be local churches, high school Christian organizations, or even whole denominations; it appears that the tendency is to take an extremist view. Whether it be the laissez-faire attitude that anything goes or the prohibitionist attitude that it's the dry way or the highway (I made that up myself, impressed?), everyone seems more interested in perpetuating their particular view rather than digging into the Biblical view and perpetuating that.

So what is the Biblical view? I think that, to have a complete view, we must answer four questions:

1. Is it a sin for Christians to drink alcohol?
2. If not, who can drink?
3. Where should they drink?
4. How much should they drink?

1. Is it a sin for a Christian to drink alcohol? Well, if we look at The Last Supper (Mark 14), we see Jesus use wine in the first celebration of the Eucharist. If I, as a Christian, consider Jesus to be free of sin and thus an acceptable sacrifice for my sins, I must logically recognize that drinking alcohol is not, in and of itself, a sin.

2. Who can drink? Well, Romans 13 tells us that we are to obey the established governments. Thus, I am inclined to believe that, as an American, it would be a sin for me to drink before I turn 21. This changes from place to place (Canada: 16 years old, eh).

3. Where to drink? There is, obviously, no specific instruction provided for where Christians should drink. So, we must extrapolate these instructions. Given the gravity of 1 Corinthians 10 and its call to not cause anyone to stumble, I must believe that drinking in public is not the best idea. Personally, I have many close friends and siblings in Christ who believe that any alcoholic consumption constitutes a sin. With that in mind, I don't beleive that a drink should be worth harming one's testimony and causing a friend to stumble.

4. How much? Well, there are numerous passages (Ephesians 5 comes to mind) that admonish us as Christians to not be drunk (Not to mention Noah's bad example of drunkeness and nakedness at the same time. How would you like to walk in on a drunk, naked 600 year old man?). With that in mind, everyone's limit is different.

So, is it wrong for a Christian to drink? Not under certain conditions. Is it wrong for a Christian to completely abstain from alcohol? I sure hope not, or I have a problem.

Peace out, it's bed time.

New Thing

Well, like all great trends and developments, the question has become not 'Will you ever blog?' but 'When will you begin blogging?'. For me, the answer is now. I hope to use this blog to not only share my pithy comments, but hopefully to make meaningful observations on the nature of God, following his son Jesus, and the world around me. So as this new year begins, I will follow God's example in Isaiah 43 and do a new thing.