A roof
Four walls to call my own
A pillow for my head
Clothes for my children
A Wife
Two healthy children
Meaningful work
Trustworthy friends
And a bike...
Thank you God.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Greatest Sin...
Adam and Eve's sin had nothing to do with fruit.
In popular culture, everything from Desperate Housewives to the Real Housewives of Orange County (or Atlanta, New York, Bismarck? - pick your spinoff) depicts an alluring fruit in the hands of a beautiful woman and suggests that being a little naughty isn't such a bad thing. Good for Adam and Eve! is the subtext - if they hadn't taken the fruit, we would have had such a boring existence.
Not exactly...
Adam and Eve had it really good before they took the fruit. God himself would come and walk with them in the cool of the evening. They had a beautiful place to live. No suffering, no excessive pain. And they had each other. Even sex BEFORE the fruit was bitten was better than sex after the fall.
They had meaningful work. They were given a day to simply rest from their work and enjoy creation. Life was good.
Their first (and really the root of all) sin was to believe that they were better at being god than God himself. The fruit was there to make sure they let God stay God, and that the creations wouldn't start to worship the creation. As soon as that order was messed up, everything got worse.
The fruit didn't open up a beautiful and naughty world of little sins. It led directly to murder - from the hand of one brother to the heart of another. Abel's blood cried out to God from the ground...
I recently had a couple of my classes design their own god and share it with the class. They tried all sorts of ideas, but they all had flawed deities - much more flawed than the alleged flaws that so many find with YHWH, the God of the Bible.
We are all tempted with the fruit - to think that God should match up to our own depiction of who God should be. We all sometimes think that God would be so much better if He would only do what I want.
But I'm a really bad deity.
I don't want God's job.
Father, I trust you.
Amen.
In popular culture, everything from Desperate Housewives to the Real Housewives of Orange County (or Atlanta, New York, Bismarck? - pick your spinoff) depicts an alluring fruit in the hands of a beautiful woman and suggests that being a little naughty isn't such a bad thing. Good for Adam and Eve! is the subtext - if they hadn't taken the fruit, we would have had such a boring existence.
Not exactly...
Adam and Eve had it really good before they took the fruit. God himself would come and walk with them in the cool of the evening. They had a beautiful place to live. No suffering, no excessive pain. And they had each other. Even sex BEFORE the fruit was bitten was better than sex after the fall.
They had meaningful work. They were given a day to simply rest from their work and enjoy creation. Life was good.
Their first (and really the root of all) sin was to believe that they were better at being god than God himself. The fruit was there to make sure they let God stay God, and that the creations wouldn't start to worship the creation. As soon as that order was messed up, everything got worse.
The fruit didn't open up a beautiful and naughty world of little sins. It led directly to murder - from the hand of one brother to the heart of another. Abel's blood cried out to God from the ground...
I recently had a couple of my classes design their own god and share it with the class. They tried all sorts of ideas, but they all had flawed deities - much more flawed than the alleged flaws that so many find with YHWH, the God of the Bible.
We are all tempted with the fruit - to think that God should match up to our own depiction of who God should be. We all sometimes think that God would be so much better if He would only do what I want.
But I'm a really bad deity.
I don't want God's job.
Father, I trust you.
Amen.
It's Been A While...
Sorry it's been so long. I've started a second job. Lifesong is growing in faith and numbers and things are really good. I'll post more in the coming days, but I just wanted to check in and say I'm still here, God is still good, and I've got some new ideas to share in the future...
God's peace, Rich
God's peace, Rich
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A Holy Discontent Part 2... Hollywood, Jesus, and the Missouri Synod
I'm sitting on a couch in a rather warm, un-air-conditioned room at Concordia University in Irvine. I'm here with the LCMS (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) for a conference on mission. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the alphabet soup of denominationalism, the LCMS is known widely as the conservative branch of Lutheranism in North America. They would point out that they are WAY to the left of the Wisconsin Synod. I'm just entertained by the fact their both named for other states and yet they have churches in California.
I got to go out to dinner last night with a few presenters and some mission-minded Pastors. Around the table was a guy who worked on a bunch of TV shows (including House!!!), a veteran producer, a guy who produced Snoop Dogg DVDs, and a couple of guys from the band The Daylights who just finished opening up for One Republic (...it's too late to apologize... - you know the song). All of them were Jesus' disciples, and all of them took their art and their faith seriously. It was an amazing conversation to witness and be a part of.
It used to be that these guys working in hollywood would have been villified for being part of the evil establishment of the "liberal" entertainment industry. Instead, this group of theologically conservative pastors embraced these young artists as brothers, fellow-pilgrims, and fellow apprentices - learning to follow Jesus and live as Jesus would in a place where Jesus and his followers are often mocked.
There is indeed a holy discontent alive and well in the Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod. The pastors I got to know last night are tired of fighting the old fights. They are looking for the Church to move past knee-jerk reactions and criticisms so that the Church can be known for its love, its intelligence, and its support for good art.
In the words of Bono, "God is on the move"...
A heartfelt thanks to my friends in the Missouri Synod. Keep dreaming Jesus' dreams...
God's Peace, Rich
I got to go out to dinner last night with a few presenters and some mission-minded Pastors. Around the table was a guy who worked on a bunch of TV shows (including House!!!), a veteran producer, a guy who produced Snoop Dogg DVDs, and a couple of guys from the band The Daylights who just finished opening up for One Republic (...it's too late to apologize... - you know the song). All of them were Jesus' disciples, and all of them took their art and their faith seriously. It was an amazing conversation to witness and be a part of.
It used to be that these guys working in hollywood would have been villified for being part of the evil establishment of the "liberal" entertainment industry. Instead, this group of theologically conservative pastors embraced these young artists as brothers, fellow-pilgrims, and fellow apprentices - learning to follow Jesus and live as Jesus would in a place where Jesus and his followers are often mocked.
There is indeed a holy discontent alive and well in the Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod. The pastors I got to know last night are tired of fighting the old fights. They are looking for the Church to move past knee-jerk reactions and criticisms so that the Church can be known for its love, its intelligence, and its support for good art.
In the words of Bono, "God is on the move"...
A heartfelt thanks to my friends in the Missouri Synod. Keep dreaming Jesus' dreams...
God's Peace, Rich
Friday, May 16, 2008
God's Mission in the Bible part 3 - Covenant
Here's part 3 of our 8 part series on God's mission in the Bible. Just click on the title to download. The beginning is cut off - sorry about that. To all the good folks at La Canada's ER, email me at info@lifesongchristiancommunities.org and I'll send you an audio file of me recounting the story of your little prank in Worship last Sunday.
For everyone else, you can find parts one and two below if you'd like.
Sorry this took a few days...
God's Peace, Rich
For everyone else, you can find parts one and two below if you'd like.
Sorry this took a few days...
God's Peace, Rich
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Some Good Books...
I've been doing a lot of reading about the New Atheism and skepticism. There are some really great books out that question some of the basic assumptions of many of those who argue against God's existence. The Reason for God is written by a Pastor who has built a church of over 5000 people in Manhattan, many of whom are young and new to the faith. He reasons for the faith intelligently and with grace. Really good stuff.
Alister McGrath is a scientist and an Oxford theologian. He examines the conclusions presented by Richard Dawkins (author of The God Delusion). McGrath presents some clear arguments that make a lot of sense, but he's a little nasty about it in places - disappointing because he's a brilliant thinker and a faithful Christian. Still worth a read for sure.
Guess what happened in Communist Russia when Christianity was banned by the government? That's right, Stalin became the new deity! Within years of the destruction of the Church in Russia and the murder of many clergy, songs sprouted up that claimed that "Stalin lives in your heart". Former Time journalist David Aikman makes a great point: We are wired to worship something, and if it isn't the Christian God it will likely be something more harmful - such as (he would claim) atheism.
Why does the Church insist on meeting in large buildings? Where does the idea of a paid Pastor who is uniquely gifted to preach come from? Frank Viola is a committed Christian who claims that most of the modern Church's traditions come from assimilated pagan rituals - not from the Bible. I'm being stretched by this book, but I think he's on to something here... Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Lord, Save Us From Your Followers
http://lordsaveusthemovie.com/
A few years ago, every conservafundagelical church in the country advertized the greatest evangelism opportunity in the history of the world: The Passion of the Christ. I saw it. Twice. I took over ten people with me. It was perhaps the most important movie I've ever seen, and it shook me to my core.
It fell flat with just about everyone else.
As Christians, we sometimes think that if we just get the story out in a bigger venue, then people will flock to the faith. The lack of conversions caused by the Passion seems to refute that point. Before the gospel can be welcomed, we need to earn the right to be heard in the public marketplace of ideas. The Church sometimes still acts as if our neighbors are just waiting for us to shout the message in the right key or at the right volume or in the right pictures for them to flock to our doors. They are not waiting for us to say anything differently. They are waiting for (if anything) us to repent.
Before Jesus asked us to believe, he asked us to repent - to examine ourselves, confess our brokenness, and commit to a new way of living. Repenting comes before believing in Mark 1: 14.
Lord, Save Us From Your Followers gets it. Dan Merchant is a believer, a committed-to-his-core disciple who understands that WE need to follow Jesus' example of repenting first (something about a splinter and a log comes to mind...) and telling others what to believe later. Perhaps even deeper, Merchant argues that it is more important to love than to get our theology right.
This is a brilliant movie. Check it out at the links above or below and click the free preview.
http://lordsaveusthemovie.com/
God's Peace, Rich
www.lifesongchristiancommunities.org
A few years ago, every conservafundagelical church in the country advertized the greatest evangelism opportunity in the history of the world: The Passion of the Christ. I saw it. Twice. I took over ten people with me. It was perhaps the most important movie I've ever seen, and it shook me to my core.
It fell flat with just about everyone else.
As Christians, we sometimes think that if we just get the story out in a bigger venue, then people will flock to the faith. The lack of conversions caused by the Passion seems to refute that point. Before the gospel can be welcomed, we need to earn the right to be heard in the public marketplace of ideas. The Church sometimes still acts as if our neighbors are just waiting for us to shout the message in the right key or at the right volume or in the right pictures for them to flock to our doors. They are not waiting for us to say anything differently. They are waiting for (if anything) us to repent.
Before Jesus asked us to believe, he asked us to repent - to examine ourselves, confess our brokenness, and commit to a new way of living. Repenting comes before believing in Mark 1: 14.
Lord, Save Us From Your Followers gets it. Dan Merchant is a believer, a committed-to-his-core disciple who understands that WE need to follow Jesus' example of repenting first (something about a splinter and a log comes to mind...) and telling others what to believe later. Perhaps even deeper, Merchant argues that it is more important to love than to get our theology right.
This is a brilliant movie. Check it out at the links above or below and click the free preview.
http://lordsaveusthemovie.com/
God's Peace, Rich
www.lifesongchristiancommunities.org
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A Holy Discontent...
I recently took my Lutheran pilgrimage. Once in every Lutheran's lifetime they have to go to the holy land of the Midwest, where all things Scandinavian still prosper, where the sacraments are happily discussed on a Tuesday morning in a coffee shop. The Midwest is in many ways like an entirely different world than Southern California. Denominationalism still runs strong there. There are 29 Lutheran churches in Bismarck, North Dakota. 29!!!!
That's why I was so schocked to find such a holy discontent in many of the Pastors, worship leaders, and lay-people from Bismarck to Minneapolis. Now - let me be clear - this is a HOLY discontent because it is not negative name-calling of the church. It is a clear understanding that the world has changed but the Church has refused to speak to the world in terms it can understand. There are so many Christians who are tired of seeing the world through the eyes of the 16th century, and we are desperate for the Church to come together and find a way to BE the Church the world needs in the 21st Century.
So I am heartened to see a holy discontent is alive and well even in the heartland. One leader in a church said that this is God's refining time for the Church - letting the dead parts die off so something new can rise up in its place. We are starting to "get it". God is up to something new. Let's pray even more fervently, study with more missional eyes, and give our very lives so that we might be a part of God's ongoing mission in the world.
God's peace, Rich
That's why I was so schocked to find such a holy discontent in many of the Pastors, worship leaders, and lay-people from Bismarck to Minneapolis. Now - let me be clear - this is a HOLY discontent because it is not negative name-calling of the church. It is a clear understanding that the world has changed but the Church has refused to speak to the world in terms it can understand. There are so many Christians who are tired of seeing the world through the eyes of the 16th century, and we are desperate for the Church to come together and find a way to BE the Church the world needs in the 21st Century.
So I am heartened to see a holy discontent is alive and well even in the heartland. One leader in a church said that this is God's refining time for the Church - letting the dead parts die off so something new can rise up in its place. We are starting to "get it". God is up to something new. Let's pray even more fervently, study with more missional eyes, and give our very lives so that we might be a part of God's ongoing mission in the world.
God's peace, Rich
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