I recently came across this paraphrase of a talk Mark Beeson, Senior Pastor of Granger Community Church, gave at their Innovate Conference last week. Tim Stevens, the Executive Pastor there, took some notes and posted it on his blog.
Mark was talking about innovative preaching, and made a point that I have found to be very true when it comes to communicating God's truth to emerging generations:
"Many preachers/teachers start with the Bible, then Exegete the text, then Apply, then Illustrate. Nothing wrong with that method. But culture has shifted. Many (maybe most) question the veracity of the Scripture. It is no longer positioned by the majority of Americans as the authoritative guide for life."
"Another way to teach: Start with real life (the human condition), then Exegete life, then go to the Bible to see what it says about the human condition, then Apply/Illustrate."
Here's what I really like about his statements:
1. It does not do violence to the authority and power of God's written Word. It still recognizes it as the truth that can transform, and the truth to which we need to connect people.
2. It recognizes the place where most people are coming from today - churched or non-churched. We just plain don't have this common cultural assumption any more that the Bible is a revered book, and that everything it says is true and valuable for life. In fact, exactly the opposite is the case a lot of the time.
3. It creates space for communicating God's Word creatively and in a way that actually speaks to a person's life.
If you think about it, this is almost exactly what Jesus did as he spoke in parables. He told a story that any one from his audience could identify with, helped them find themselves in the story, and then caught them by surprise with God's truth.
I think that's what is so amazing about what Jesus did when he spoke in parables. God's truth was always the biggest, and inspired the most awe. God's truth informed the story, and not the other way around. You were pulled in, shocked, moved, or motivated - not by some sentimental human story - but by this radical God who was intervening in it and empowering you to do something and to be something that you knew you just couldn't do and be on your own.
And that is what is most important to remember when communicating God's truth by starting from real life - God's truth is the biggest, and God's truth should inform the story; not simply be captured by it. The danger when starting from a story instead of from the Word is that you manipulate God's truth to conform somehow to your story - i.e., the story is the thing that is the biggest, or the source of motivation and change.
But this isn't what Jesus did. He didn't employ sentimentality or some cute little anecdote ("chicken soup for the spirit") as a way to move his listeners into the reality of God's truth. In fact, it was often times exactly the opposite. The pastor was the bad guy and the Middle-Eastern foreigner was the good guy in the story of the Good Samaritan. The responsible brother reacted wrongly but the disrespectful son reacted properly in the story of the Prodigal Son. Often times when Jesus would tell a story, God's truth wasn't captured by the story and its expected or assumed outcome and application. Rather, it stood in opposition to it, and turned the tables on it, to the point where the listener was able to see that they weren't really on God's side, even though they maybe thought they were at first. They'd have to make a decision, having been confronted with the reality of a God who was real, who was moving, who was bigger than them, who was desiring of their allegiance, and who had the power to change who they were.
So, starting with a story is a great way to communicate the truth of God. I've done it a number of times when I preach, and when I am sitting across the table from someone who doesn't yet know Jesus. But it's God's truth, not story, that'll get them.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
another dream (!)
So, two dreams that I remember, two nights in a row.
I was talking about this dream with some of the folks on staff at church, and it seems like all of us are having (odd) dreams these days.
Anyways...
In this one I was at a bar. I can't remember if I was there with friends or not. But, apparently I had too much to drink. Don't know why. Again, not like me. But this is how it was in my dream.
Apparently it was cold outside, too, because I had my navy peacoat on the back of my chair. As I walked up to the bar to get another drink (which, of course I didn't need), a girl walked behind me and accidentally knocked over the chair with my coat on it. I turned around to catch her eye, looked at her, and shouted a name at her that doesn't bear repeating in this post.
Again, not like me. At all.
But that's not where the dream ended. The woman scurried off, surprised and shocked at my inappropriately strong and derogatory comment to her. I felt no repentance in my heart about it, and turned back towards the bar. After receiving my drink, I made my way back to my table... only to be intercepted by a man who's face I didn't recognize.
Here's what he said:
"Listen... I know that you work at Prairie Lakes and that you've kinda been growing in influence there, but I just want you to know that was totally inappropriate, and that I'll never be coming back."
And that got through to me.
I remember feeling in that moment so ashamed, worried that I had been found out, disappointed in myself, and wondering if my ministry would ever recover from it.
I woke up that morning still lingering in those feelings.
It sounds cliche, but we really all are just one sin away from ruin. Grace is stronger and bigger than sin, with no doubt... but oh, how much pain we can cause to the body of Christ if we allow it to rule in our lives even for a moment! How much ground will the kingdom lose if those who advance it submit themselves to temptation!
Fear should not be the main motivator for growth and life with God. But fear should motivate us to stay away from sin. There is just way too much to lose, and so much that we could gain if we'd fight it well.
This isn't a call to draw within yourselves, or to hide your sin and think you can privately manage it.
Rather:
This is a call to be transparent, to confess your sin to one another, and to press into one another so that the kingdom does not suffer when one of us is found out to be a sinner and not a saint. Too much is at stake otherwise.
I was talking about this dream with some of the folks on staff at church, and it seems like all of us are having (odd) dreams these days.
Anyways...
In this one I was at a bar. I can't remember if I was there with friends or not. But, apparently I had too much to drink. Don't know why. Again, not like me. But this is how it was in my dream.
Apparently it was cold outside, too, because I had my navy peacoat on the back of my chair. As I walked up to the bar to get another drink (which, of course I didn't need), a girl walked behind me and accidentally knocked over the chair with my coat on it. I turned around to catch her eye, looked at her, and shouted a name at her that doesn't bear repeating in this post.
Again, not like me. At all.
But that's not where the dream ended. The woman scurried off, surprised and shocked at my inappropriately strong and derogatory comment to her. I felt no repentance in my heart about it, and turned back towards the bar. After receiving my drink, I made my way back to my table... only to be intercepted by a man who's face I didn't recognize.
Here's what he said:
"Listen... I know that you work at Prairie Lakes and that you've kinda been growing in influence there, but I just want you to know that was totally inappropriate, and that I'll never be coming back."
And that got through to me.
I remember feeling in that moment so ashamed, worried that I had been found out, disappointed in myself, and wondering if my ministry would ever recover from it.
I woke up that morning still lingering in those feelings.
It sounds cliche, but we really all are just one sin away from ruin. Grace is stronger and bigger than sin, with no doubt... but oh, how much pain we can cause to the body of Christ if we allow it to rule in our lives even for a moment! How much ground will the kingdom lose if those who advance it submit themselves to temptation!
Fear should not be the main motivator for growth and life with God. But fear should motivate us to stay away from sin. There is just way too much to lose, and so much that we could gain if we'd fight it well.
This isn't a call to draw within yourselves, or to hide your sin and think you can privately manage it.
Rather:
This is a call to be transparent, to confess your sin to one another, and to press into one another so that the kingdom does not suffer when one of us is found out to be a sinner and not a saint. Too much is at stake otherwise.
Monday, September 21, 2009
my dream
I had a dream last night. A vivid one.
That's noteworthy, because I don't remember my dreams. I remember maybe 3 or 4 per year. But this one I remember.
It was vivid, not in the sense that I can remember every detail, but in the sense that I can remember deeply feeling something, and I can remember the reason that I felt that way. I think that's what is so amazing about dreams... you can get a very real sense of what something would feel like without really having to experience it.
So, in my dream, I remember coming completely undone. Like sobbing on the floor undone. And it was public, too. Like, people were watching me, and I knew that they were watching me, but I had lost all control over my emotions.
And there was some type of build up to this. Some conversation I was having started out normally... then escalated into an argument, then into a heated argument, ending with me lying on the floor, curled up, sobbing.
I was feeling like I had reached my absolute end. I was tapped out. I was tired of fighting. I completely gave into a feeling of utter desperation and sadness.
Pretty graphic picture, huh?
And it would be very unlike me to ever do something like that, or consider something like that. You know... there are people that you think might do something like that. Edgy people, anxious people, people with an extremely artistic disposition. But it would be so unlike me.
Is it representative of my life right now? I don't feel like it. Is there something going on in life that is giving rise to this? Not that I can think of. Is it a prophecy or prediction of what is to come if I don't change some patterns? Maybe.
Maybe.
All I know is that I don't want to feel like that or get to that place, ever. I'm gonna have to do some praying and asking about what this dream means.
I read a book one time that said that dreams can be a window to the soul - that sometimes our dreams help us to see something going on deep inside of us that we could not otherwise see. I think in this case that might be true. Something about it resonates. I just can't quite place it.
I think that God is using it, too. It's not giving rise to fear or to anxiety about my future. But it is causing me to be introspective, and to invite him to enlighten me. And that's always, always a good thing.
That's noteworthy, because I don't remember my dreams. I remember maybe 3 or 4 per year. But this one I remember.
It was vivid, not in the sense that I can remember every detail, but in the sense that I can remember deeply feeling something, and I can remember the reason that I felt that way. I think that's what is so amazing about dreams... you can get a very real sense of what something would feel like without really having to experience it.
So, in my dream, I remember coming completely undone. Like sobbing on the floor undone. And it was public, too. Like, people were watching me, and I knew that they were watching me, but I had lost all control over my emotions.
And there was some type of build up to this. Some conversation I was having started out normally... then escalated into an argument, then into a heated argument, ending with me lying on the floor, curled up, sobbing.
I was feeling like I had reached my absolute end. I was tapped out. I was tired of fighting. I completely gave into a feeling of utter desperation and sadness.
Pretty graphic picture, huh?
And it would be very unlike me to ever do something like that, or consider something like that. You know... there are people that you think might do something like that. Edgy people, anxious people, people with an extremely artistic disposition. But it would be so unlike me.
Is it representative of my life right now? I don't feel like it. Is there something going on in life that is giving rise to this? Not that I can think of. Is it a prophecy or prediction of what is to come if I don't change some patterns? Maybe.
Maybe.
All I know is that I don't want to feel like that or get to that place, ever. I'm gonna have to do some praying and asking about what this dream means.
I read a book one time that said that dreams can be a window to the soul - that sometimes our dreams help us to see something going on deep inside of us that we could not otherwise see. I think in this case that might be true. Something about it resonates. I just can't quite place it.
I think that God is using it, too. It's not giving rise to fear or to anxiety about my future. But it is causing me to be introspective, and to invite him to enlighten me. And that's always, always a good thing.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
faith, hope, and possibility
I know, I know... I left out "the greatest" item of what would normally complete that list in the title. But right now, that's not what God has put in front of me. What he has put in front of me is faith, hope, and what faith and hope together make possible. So put your theologically argumentative bows and arrows down for just a second.
Let me start with a story. I love this story. It's a great story. And not just great because it makes me look good. It's great because finally, today, I understand how it is a picture of God in me... and really, how it's a just picture of God, plain and simple.
Rewind to my high school days, sophomore year. I'm a gangly, just starting to hit my growth spurt, super skinny, somewhat emotional, super intense sophomore. I'm at basketball practice. I'm the only sophomore who practices and plays with the varsity team. And they don't really like that I'm on the team and getting playing time in front of some of their buddies.
Mind you, the only reason that I made that team and got playing time was because I could play defense. I was too small and not yet mature enough to really contribute a lot on the offensive end, besides the occasional slash to the hoop because of my quickness. But I could defend, at least well enough to back up our primary defensive stopper when he needed a breather.
So we're in practice in the cold gym early one morning. The starting team is running an offensive set. The bench is defending. We're going full strength. And I get the task of guarding the point guard.
The offensive set calls for the center to run from the block up to the top of the key and screen for the point guard. I know it's coming. And yet, I'm aware that the point guard might anticipate me knowing that it's coming, fake like he's going to run the play as called, and then go the other way, straight down the lane for an easy layup, thus making me look like a fool.
Long, detailed story, right? Well, we're not even halfway.
So being the super-intense-wanting-to-prove-that-I-had-a-rightful-spot-on-this-team type of 15 year old kid that I was, I'm on edge, wanting desperately to stay with the point guard regardless of which way he goes. I can't overcommit towards the screen, because he'll go the other way. And yet, if I don't anticipate it at all, I'm going to get screened, he's going to go in for the layup, I'm going to get yelled at by my coach, and all of the older guys are going to smirk at me, the kid who they don't think should even be on the same floor as them in the first place.
The coach gives the ball to the point guard. I get down in my defensive stance. The point guard calls the play. I can see that the center is coming up to screen out of my peripheral vision, but I'm still focused on what the point guard is going to do. What does he do? He ball fakes towards the screen, then jab steps towards the other way, as though he wasn't going to use the screen and go right down the middle of the lane. I jump quickly to stop him, only to realize that he is actually going to use the screen, and that his jab step was simply another fake.
Now he's got me right where he wants me. I desperately try to catch up with him, but I'm already a step behind. And then whaddya know:
Wham! I slam into our senior star center who outweighs me by about 50 lbs. and get knocked to the floor by a completely legal screen. I pick my head up off the floor just in time to see the point guard glide into the lane for an uncontested layup.
I get up. The coach barks a little, and then tells the starters to run the play again.
I'm embarassed, disappointed in myself, shaking my head, and then head back to my position at the top of the key to try and defend this play once again. But I'm scared, really, of it happening again. Of not being able to defend this play. Of not having the ability that I need. Of not measuring up. Of it finally coming out that I really don't belong, that I really can't cut it.
Seriously. That dramatic. Right there in that moment. Told you that I was this emotional, intense teenage kid.
So the point guard saunters back to the top of the key, ball in hand, ready to start it again. And he's got that smirk on his face--the one that I knew was going to show up if I messed up. The smirk that said way more than words could ever say.
But he didn't leave it there. He decided to say something. And he said it so softly that only I could hear it. And he directed it to me with this arrogant, knowing smile on his face:
"You'll get used to that."
You'll get used to that. Here I am, years later, and I can still remember him saying that.
And I can also remember what welled up inside of me.
Honestly, it surprised me, because it wasn't fear. It wasn't worry. It wasn't defeatedness. It wasn't intimidation.
In fact, it was exactly the opposite. His statement had the exact opposite effect on me. His statement drove out my fear. His statement killed my worry. His statement caused me to let go of my defeatedness. And his statement pushed every last shred of intimidation out of every corner of my mind.
The only thing that was left was something that I can describe only as pure abandonment. Come hell or high water, this guy was never, ever, ever going to get around me ever again. I didn't care if Shaquille O'Neal himself was the guy coming up and setting the screen. I was utterly abandoned to stopping him from getting anywhere he wanted to go.
And I believed that I could do it. In fact, I knew that I would do it. One way or the other. Legally or illegally. Athletically or forcefully. He was not going to get to the basket, and I would be the reason why. If I had to jump on this guy's back and punch him in the face repeatedly before he was able to get to the basket--even if that resulted in a royal beatdown by him and the rest of the entire team--then so be it. Either way, that ball was not going to get in the hoop.
For that moment, it was like there wasn't even another option.
And that gave me this weird sense of peace and calmness. Right there in that moment. I wasn't on edge anymore. I wasn't trying to guess where he was going to go, what he was going to do, or imagine what would happen if I didn't anticipate correctly.
And I wasn't worried anymore about how the other guys would respond. I came to grips with the fact that they had made their decision about me, and I stopped caring. If it was my lot to stick it to them the rest of the season and endure their scorn, then so be it. If it was going to be me against them, fine. I was not going to lose. And they lost the ability to win. Right then.
Pure abandonment. All wrapped up in that moment. Because:
I had decided that I would never, ever, ever "get used to it." He couldn't make me, nor could anyone else.
And I decided that "getting used to it" was far, far worse than anything he or anyone else could ever do to me. Way more would be lost if I "got used to it" than if I refused to "get used to it" and paid the price for doing so.
And for a long, long time, I chalked that characteristic up to wiring, or personality, or blood, or whatever. It was in me for some reason, and that circumstance unlocked it. But after tonight, I see it differently.
I see God in me at that moment.
Nothing is impossible with God. Meaning: God decides what is possible, and no one else. God does not respect anyone else or anything else when it comes to the realm of possibility. He decides.
And we either accept that and choose to live by that, or we do not.
And yes, it really is that simple.
We choose to live in that by faith, and our faith is rewarded with hope. Hope comes when we see God reward our faith in him by pursing him determinedly through seemingly impossible circumstances, and then we see him deliver, or overcome, or win.
I've seen him do it too many times now to ever accept any other axiom other than with God, everything is possible.
Sometimes my lack of faith limits me. Sometimes I lose hope, if only for a time.
But I am starting to accept that my imagination can not even come close to fathoming not only what God can do but what God wants to do in us and among us and through us.
And I am becoming abandoned to it. It's almost like I can not even allow myself to consider another option. It's like it can't turn out any other way.
We so easily "get used to it" when it comes to what God can do and desires to do amongst us. In fact, it even seems like it's the "responsible" and "rational" thing to do. Some dreams are off limits, some changes will just never happen, some courses of action or paths are simply forever off the table of consideration.
Well, if God can raise a man from the dead... you fill in the blank.
And if God is raising you from the dead... you fill in the blank.
And because God is in the business of raising everything and everyone from death and redeeming and restoring and healing and glorifying everything and everyone he comes into contact with all the time everywhere... then why the hell would we expect or settle for anything less or anything different?
Why not abandon ourselves to that and only that happening?
Why not endure all hardship and setbacks knowing that this and only this can happen for us right where we are?
Friends:
Let us live by faith so that we can be fueled by the hope that will grow as we see that with God, everything--everything--is possible.
P.S.
I fought through that screen the second time, stayed with that point guard, blocked his attempt at a layup, and shoved him into the wall for good measure. Still makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it.
Let me start with a story. I love this story. It's a great story. And not just great because it makes me look good. It's great because finally, today, I understand how it is a picture of God in me... and really, how it's a just picture of God, plain and simple.
Rewind to my high school days, sophomore year. I'm a gangly, just starting to hit my growth spurt, super skinny, somewhat emotional, super intense sophomore. I'm at basketball practice. I'm the only sophomore who practices and plays with the varsity team. And they don't really like that I'm on the team and getting playing time in front of some of their buddies.
Mind you, the only reason that I made that team and got playing time was because I could play defense. I was too small and not yet mature enough to really contribute a lot on the offensive end, besides the occasional slash to the hoop because of my quickness. But I could defend, at least well enough to back up our primary defensive stopper when he needed a breather.
So we're in practice in the cold gym early one morning. The starting team is running an offensive set. The bench is defending. We're going full strength. And I get the task of guarding the point guard.
The offensive set calls for the center to run from the block up to the top of the key and screen for the point guard. I know it's coming. And yet, I'm aware that the point guard might anticipate me knowing that it's coming, fake like he's going to run the play as called, and then go the other way, straight down the lane for an easy layup, thus making me look like a fool.
Long, detailed story, right? Well, we're not even halfway.
So being the super-intense-wanting-to-prove-that-I-had-a-rightful-spot-on-this-team type of 15 year old kid that I was, I'm on edge, wanting desperately to stay with the point guard regardless of which way he goes. I can't overcommit towards the screen, because he'll go the other way. And yet, if I don't anticipate it at all, I'm going to get screened, he's going to go in for the layup, I'm going to get yelled at by my coach, and all of the older guys are going to smirk at me, the kid who they don't think should even be on the same floor as them in the first place.
The coach gives the ball to the point guard. I get down in my defensive stance. The point guard calls the play. I can see that the center is coming up to screen out of my peripheral vision, but I'm still focused on what the point guard is going to do. What does he do? He ball fakes towards the screen, then jab steps towards the other way, as though he wasn't going to use the screen and go right down the middle of the lane. I jump quickly to stop him, only to realize that he is actually going to use the screen, and that his jab step was simply another fake.
Now he's got me right where he wants me. I desperately try to catch up with him, but I'm already a step behind. And then whaddya know:
Wham! I slam into our senior star center who outweighs me by about 50 lbs. and get knocked to the floor by a completely legal screen. I pick my head up off the floor just in time to see the point guard glide into the lane for an uncontested layup.
I get up. The coach barks a little, and then tells the starters to run the play again.
I'm embarassed, disappointed in myself, shaking my head, and then head back to my position at the top of the key to try and defend this play once again. But I'm scared, really, of it happening again. Of not being able to defend this play. Of not having the ability that I need. Of not measuring up. Of it finally coming out that I really don't belong, that I really can't cut it.
Seriously. That dramatic. Right there in that moment. Told you that I was this emotional, intense teenage kid.
So the point guard saunters back to the top of the key, ball in hand, ready to start it again. And he's got that smirk on his face--the one that I knew was going to show up if I messed up. The smirk that said way more than words could ever say.
But he didn't leave it there. He decided to say something. And he said it so softly that only I could hear it. And he directed it to me with this arrogant, knowing smile on his face:
"You'll get used to that."
You'll get used to that. Here I am, years later, and I can still remember him saying that.
And I can also remember what welled up inside of me.
Honestly, it surprised me, because it wasn't fear. It wasn't worry. It wasn't defeatedness. It wasn't intimidation.
In fact, it was exactly the opposite. His statement had the exact opposite effect on me. His statement drove out my fear. His statement killed my worry. His statement caused me to let go of my defeatedness. And his statement pushed every last shred of intimidation out of every corner of my mind.
The only thing that was left was something that I can describe only as pure abandonment. Come hell or high water, this guy was never, ever, ever going to get around me ever again. I didn't care if Shaquille O'Neal himself was the guy coming up and setting the screen. I was utterly abandoned to stopping him from getting anywhere he wanted to go.
And I believed that I could do it. In fact, I knew that I would do it. One way or the other. Legally or illegally. Athletically or forcefully. He was not going to get to the basket, and I would be the reason why. If I had to jump on this guy's back and punch him in the face repeatedly before he was able to get to the basket--even if that resulted in a royal beatdown by him and the rest of the entire team--then so be it. Either way, that ball was not going to get in the hoop.
For that moment, it was like there wasn't even another option.
And that gave me this weird sense of peace and calmness. Right there in that moment. I wasn't on edge anymore. I wasn't trying to guess where he was going to go, what he was going to do, or imagine what would happen if I didn't anticipate correctly.
And I wasn't worried anymore about how the other guys would respond. I came to grips with the fact that they had made their decision about me, and I stopped caring. If it was my lot to stick it to them the rest of the season and endure their scorn, then so be it. If it was going to be me against them, fine. I was not going to lose. And they lost the ability to win. Right then.
Pure abandonment. All wrapped up in that moment. Because:
I had decided that I would never, ever, ever "get used to it." He couldn't make me, nor could anyone else.
And I decided that "getting used to it" was far, far worse than anything he or anyone else could ever do to me. Way more would be lost if I "got used to it" than if I refused to "get used to it" and paid the price for doing so.
And for a long, long time, I chalked that characteristic up to wiring, or personality, or blood, or whatever. It was in me for some reason, and that circumstance unlocked it. But after tonight, I see it differently.
I see God in me at that moment.
Nothing is impossible with God. Meaning: God decides what is possible, and no one else. God does not respect anyone else or anything else when it comes to the realm of possibility. He decides.
And we either accept that and choose to live by that, or we do not.
And yes, it really is that simple.
We choose to live in that by faith, and our faith is rewarded with hope. Hope comes when we see God reward our faith in him by pursing him determinedly through seemingly impossible circumstances, and then we see him deliver, or overcome, or win.
I've seen him do it too many times now to ever accept any other axiom other than with God, everything is possible.
Sometimes my lack of faith limits me. Sometimes I lose hope, if only for a time.
But I am starting to accept that my imagination can not even come close to fathoming not only what God can do but what God wants to do in us and among us and through us.
And I am becoming abandoned to it. It's almost like I can not even allow myself to consider another option. It's like it can't turn out any other way.
We so easily "get used to it" when it comes to what God can do and desires to do amongst us. In fact, it even seems like it's the "responsible" and "rational" thing to do. Some dreams are off limits, some changes will just never happen, some courses of action or paths are simply forever off the table of consideration.
Well, if God can raise a man from the dead... you fill in the blank.
And if God is raising you from the dead... you fill in the blank.
And because God is in the business of raising everything and everyone from death and redeeming and restoring and healing and glorifying everything and everyone he comes into contact with all the time everywhere... then why the hell would we expect or settle for anything less or anything different?
Why not abandon ourselves to that and only that happening?
Why not endure all hardship and setbacks knowing that this and only this can happen for us right where we are?
Friends:
Let us live by faith so that we can be fueled by the hope that will grow as we see that with God, everything--everything--is possible.
P.S.
I fought through that screen the second time, stayed with that point guard, blocked his attempt at a layup, and shoved him into the wall for good measure. Still makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
resurrection
So I've been taking my own advice lately and have been saying "yes" to the right things first - namely, more intentional time spent with God. I even scheduled and followed through on an overnight personal retreat, which was great. Time reading, praying, reflecting on God's Word.
I read through the book of Acts. One of the things in there that struck me was how often Peter and Paul referred to Jesus' resurrection. They referred to it in a number of different circumstances:
-when they were seeking to encourage others, they referred to it as a source of hope for the future
-when they were seeking to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, they referred to it as a sign from God
-when they would raise people from the dead, they would point to it as the model and forerunner of what God wanted to do with all humanity
The resurrection... something that I don't think we reflect on theologically or practically these days. As in: what is the significance of the resurrection, and how should it be influencing our worship of God today?
Well, here are a few of my thoughts.
1. If the God we worship has the power to raise people from the dead, then we should be seeing him do the equivalent today. I think a literal application is more than appropriate here. After all, we shouldn't shrink back from the idea of someone being raised from death to life if we are ok believing in a God who created existence from nothing and that he raised Jesus from death to life.
But as strange as it sounds, I don't think this literal sense would be the most compelling application for today. I think that in our day, age, and culture, we would be so suspicious of a literal resurrection story that it would almost be meaningless. Sad, but perhaps true.
For our culture today, I think a more compelling resurrection application would be God raising people from being dead in their sin to alive in the life of his Son. Addicts, pedophiles, murderers, adulterers, cheaters, pornographers, the gluttonous, the greedy, and the immoral being someone absolutely and positively changed forever and ever--transformed into loving, humble, gentle, passionate followers of Christ. Those are the stories that would grip us and open up our eyes to the reality of Christ resurrection: that God now has the authority and ability to raise men and women from being dead in their sin to life in Christ.
We should be hearing stories like this all the time. We should be a part of stories like this all of the time. We should be experiencing stories like this in our lives on a regular basis: being taken from death to life. Perhaps not momentous, earth-shattering, miraculous, testimony-shaping stories all of the time... nevertheless: God's community should be riddled with resurrection stories large and small. If not, something is dangerously wrong.
2. If the God we worship has the power to raise people from the dead, then our corporate worship needs to reflect our awe at this authentic reality. The songs we sing, the sermons we preach, the environments we create, the transformational moments that we move people into--all of them, all of them, all of them needs to have a little taste of this awe of the One who has the power to raise the dead to life. Of course, this awe can be expressed in a million different ways, ranging the spectrum from quiet reverence to ear-splitting anthems, according to how God is moving his churches to communicate his life-giving message. Regardless of the method, if our corporate worship does not open up the non-churched, unbelieving, unrepentant, deadened eyes of those who do not yet know the resurrecting power of our living God, then what is the point of our gatherings?
Perhaps you might insert the word "edification" here, as though a gathering that didn't help the non-churched see the resurrecting power of God in Jesus may be of some sort of value to those already in the flock. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. This is where the unredeemed and the redeemed come together in solidarity: we all need to be reminded of the resurrected reality of life in Jesus. We all need to be pointed back to the source of our life, Jesus Christ. We all need to be overtaken once again by the presence of the Spirit of the resurrected Jesus who is not dead but alive and working and moving and loving and forgiving and saving and redeeming and freeing and pursuing.
This power works in the same way on those inside and outside of the church. It is the great litmus test, if you will, of whether or not our corporate worship is actually doing anything or worth anything at all: the unbelieving will come to believe in the resurrected living Jesus, AND the believing will believe again as if for the very first time as they are freed from their sin and transformed into the image of the resurrected Son. BOTH of these things must be happening for a local church to be doing its job by the power of the resurrected Son.
Monday, August 10, 2009
saying yes to the right things first
I think it's safe to say that I have had a tough last couple of weeks. Long hours, some battles, some failures, some obstacles, late nights, early mornings, low resources, high demands. Kind of a perfect storm.
Some of it was my own fault for saying "yes" to too many things. Some of it was circumstances that were unplanned yet had to be accounted for by my attention, decision, production, or some other personal resource. Regardless, it was a hard two week push that culminated with a weekend service at which I had to both produce and preach.
I started to lose grip on reality a little bit. It was that kind of push. It was that kind of low.
And I suffered, as did my message. But God was faithful, used it anyways, and rescued me from where I had found myself.
I was debriefing about this with my team today. Here's what we concluded:
1. All of us have the talent and capacity to "lead on empty." Meaning: we can still produce a "killer" service out of the talent that God has given us, and, if necessary, disproportionate to the vitality of our own souls before God.
2. We are able to do this because, quite frankly, the demands have not gotten so great that we are able to meet them only by the power of God.
3. Very soon in the near future, the demands will be so great that the only way that we will be able to meet them is with God's power flowing through us.
4. If we continue to try to lead on empty, we will be crushed by the demands on us.
5. Regardless of the demands: why would we want to live by our own power and not God's in us?
One conclusion we came to was the need to say "yes" to the right things first, before we say yes to anything else. Yes to God, yes to time with him, yes to family and loved ones... and then yes to everything else. Not the other way around.
Some of it was my own fault for saying "yes" to too many things. Some of it was circumstances that were unplanned yet had to be accounted for by my attention, decision, production, or some other personal resource. Regardless, it was a hard two week push that culminated with a weekend service at which I had to both produce and preach.
I started to lose grip on reality a little bit. It was that kind of push. It was that kind of low.
And I suffered, as did my message. But God was faithful, used it anyways, and rescued me from where I had found myself.
I was debriefing about this with my team today. Here's what we concluded:
1. All of us have the talent and capacity to "lead on empty." Meaning: we can still produce a "killer" service out of the talent that God has given us, and, if necessary, disproportionate to the vitality of our own souls before God.
2. We are able to do this because, quite frankly, the demands have not gotten so great that we are able to meet them only by the power of God.
3. Very soon in the near future, the demands will be so great that the only way that we will be able to meet them is with God's power flowing through us.
4. If we continue to try to lead on empty, we will be crushed by the demands on us.
5. Regardless of the demands: why would we want to live by our own power and not God's in us?
One conclusion we came to was the need to say "yes" to the right things first, before we say yes to anything else. Yes to God, yes to time with him, yes to family and loved ones... and then yes to everything else. Not the other way around.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
preaching with power
Here I am, sitting up on a Saturday night, reflecting upon the service, thinking about the service tomorrow. And I am struck with an insight:
Messages are not spoken with power because their speakers are not living with power.
In a positive light, the sentence would read like this:
Messages are spoken with power because their speaker is living in power.
And even more complete:
God's messages through his people are spoken with power because his people are living in his power.
Oh God, my God, why do I not choose to live in your power?
Messages are not spoken with power because their speakers are not living with power.
In a positive light, the sentence would read like this:
Messages are spoken with power because their speaker is living in power.
And even more complete:
God's messages through his people are spoken with power because his people are living in his power.
Oh God, my God, why do I not choose to live in your power?
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