To the Ends of the Earth

This week at EAC...

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8 (TNIV)

The contemporary Church: All dressed up with no place to go

If the Harold Camping saga has taught us anything it’s that far too many of us have our priorities all out of whack. The Bible says that God is not slow because he’s patient – not wanting any to perish but EVERYONE to come to a saving knowledge of him. (2 Peter 3:9) Why do so many Christians not seem to share his priorities? We so desperately want to be done with this world and go on up to our blissful heavenly home. (by the way Heaven is NOT our home – but if you want to hear that juicy bit of news you’ll need to come to our Pentecost celebrations on June 12 to get the full goods on that one)We want it so desperately that we’re willing to throw the vast majority of our brothers and sisters in humanity under the bus to get there.

Too often I feel like we as Christians are content with the fire insurance we’ve achieved in Christ and hare happy to sit around and wait for our policy to kick in without any regard for the people in the world who are about to burn. Oh that the church would have the heart of Abraham who pleaded with God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of a few that God would not destroy the city. (Genesis 18), or that of Moses who pleaded with God to spare the sinful nation of Israel even though he was personally safe from the Almighty’s wrath (Exodus 32). No too often we are a people like Jonah - we have no compunctions about God's wrath being poured out on people who don't think like us, or self-identify with us because or focus as good evangelicals is supposed to be about seeing the return of Christ - and frankly everything else becomes of secondary concern.

But what if I told you that saving the world and bringing back the King were not mutually exclusive ideas? What if I told you that one necessitates the other? What if I told you that Jesus wants us to have our cake and eat it too?

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:14 (TNIV)

The way we can do that is to fulfil God’s mandate to be witnesses.To take the great commission, the mandate of Acts 1:8 and seriously live it out in a way that will bring back the King of Kings. It's caring about the same things that Jesus cared about and working alongside him in the power of the Holy Spirit to see his will done in the world. Spreading the word of God in word and deed is about more than saving souls, it's about more than bringing back the King - it's about preparing the Kingdom of God for the King's arrival. The people need to be ready and the church is called to make it so.

See you this Sunday,

Chris

What is "Biblical"

I don't often post multiple times in one day - but I think today is going to be one of those exceptions. A couple friends started sharing this blog entry around Facebook today and I was really impressed by it. It's part of a series on critiquing the "Biblical Womanhood" movement - but the real essence of this post is about how we define the term "Biblical" and how we can be justified (or not) in decrying the views of others as "un-Biblical". Even apart from it's context this is a very well written exposition of a problem that we face all too often today as Christians. I would encourage you to read it.

Better Conversations About “Biblical Womanhood” (Part 2)

And check back later today for your weekly sermon preview post.

Blessings,

Chris

About that whole rapture thing...

Better luck next time...

The God of Second Chances

Here's a sneak peek at what you can expect at church this Sunday:

I have always been a hot-shot up and coming leader. Whether it was in elementary school and junior high in the academic world or in high school when I got heavily involved in church ministry and the working world – I have always been one of those people who have risen to the top of whatever I got involved with. Even when I went to Bible College and experienced the setback of being a small fish in a very big pond when it came to music and worship leading (the biggest expression of my involvement in the church I grew up in) I quickly got myself involved in student leadership and was elected as my class’ freshmen representative on student council.

Growing up as the relationally awkward, fat-kid all through school I compensated by being a super-star where I could be and when I reached college and people started to exhibit a maturity that valued people beyond the superficial I really began to hit my stride. By the end of my second year at CBC I was having leadership opportunities thrust upon me and was (being blunt and immodest for a second) encouraged by many as one of the rising stars in the Alliance’s farm system. That all changed with a hockey pool.

Brooks One South – the floor that I lived on during most of my years in Regina – had a standing tradition of doing a fairly serious hockey pool every season. Not wanting to violate our student lifestyle commitments by gambling we had a reward of an end of season dinner out to the Keg where all the participants would buy the winner dinner and we’d celebrate the end of the school year together.  All in all it was a great tradition – except for the fact that when a bunch of college age guys get together at a steakhouse to celebrate – sometimes other things flow besides jubilation. Some of the guys – seeing as the year was all but over (classes were finished and exams were all that remained) decided to order the table a pitcher of beer. I initially declined knowing that participating in such an event would put me in violation of the rules but caved in the end when the waitress just happened to bring an “extra” glass with the pitcher (I wouldn’t want something like that to go to waste now would I). So I bit into the proverbial apple and sealed my fate amongst the transgressors; hoping against hope not to get caught. All the while knowing deep down that I would do about as good a job of hiding this as Adam and Eve did hiding from God in the garden. Word got back to the dean of men, and I was ruined.

And even though I did nothing inherently immoral – I was of age, in a licensed establishment, and having had only one glass of beer, I was nowhere near intoxicated. I don’t believe there is anything unscriptural about responsible drinking and I enjoy a good pint from time to time to this day – on that day I broke the rules. I violated an agreement, a contract, the rule of law of Canadian Bible College and when the news got out my star lost all its shine. Not long before that event I had been rewarded with some very important leadership roles for the following year including one of the most prestigious of student leadership roles – one I highly coveted – I was appointed the R.A. of my beloved Brooks One South. Everyone had been congratulating me and I basked in my peer’s adulation – and with one glass of beer it was all gone. I was stripped of my responsibilities, berated by administration, publically disgraced and banned for a year from any sort of student leadership. There were other consequences of my actions but I don’t need to get into them this morning – suffice it to say I had fallen a long way down and I don’t think that anyone was putting much stock in me as a rising star anymore. I was a failure. Who would ever want to trust me again? How would I ever be seriously considered for a position in a church after graduation? How would I ever recover from this?

When I look through the stories of the New Testament I see a man whose trajectory in many ways mirrored my experience that year. His name was Peter. He had time and time again been built up because he was brash and self-assured and willing to speak his mind.

Peter: the man Jesus renamed “The Rock”

The man who is often portrayed as the leader among the disciples

The man who understood and recognized Jesus as the messiah

Also Peter:

The one who thrice denied Jesus in the courtyard

The deserter

The guilt stricken

The fisher of men who was failing at his attempt to return to being a man that fishes.

Peter “the rock” had become Simon the unsuccessful angler. Frustrated and riddled with guilt I’m sure he believed that the great future he anticipated in the Kingdom of God had evaporated like his master’s dead body. Vanished. Gone. How would he recover from this? How would he carry on?

Well after that night of fruitless fishing Peter saw someone on the shore who offered him just that: a way forward past his failure. Peter saw someone on the shore that offered him something he desperately needed. The same thing I needed at the end of the second year of Bible College. The same thing each and every one of us need to get past the failures and falters in our own lives. The man standing on the shore offered him grace.

It was the God of Second Chances and this Sunday I'm inviting you to some and see what he's offering you.

See you at 10:30 on Sunday,

Chris

Blessings

I have to admit that in the past I've been a bit of a music snob. Particularly when it comes to contemporary Christian music. I've long held a bias against an industry that often works harder to imitate than innovate. I enjoy good songwriting (even in the world of three-chord pop music - there is a clear differentiation between a good "hook" and a lame one) too much to subject myself to unoriginal musicianship and contrived lyrics that often work harder at saying something redeeming than something honest.

Well I don't know if the industry has shifted in the last decade since I was last really following the christian music scene, or if it's just a symptom of me getting older - but when we bought our new van last fall with a free year of satellite radio I started listening to Christian music again. I have to be honest it was more do to the fact that my wife insisted on keeping the station set to "the message" than it was me intentionally giving the industry a second chance. The thing that surprised me was that amidst all the sappy nonsense that still occupies much of the airtime on the station there were some really thoughtful and meaningful songs that drew me in not with contrived Christian messages but with genuine honesty and reflection and some quality musicianship to boot. I have to admit that for better or worse I found myself listening to more and more Christian radio - even to the point that it was cutting into my daily dose of news/talk radio.

Recently I was really moved my one song in particular that I caught on the drive home (my drive home is at best half a song long so I had to sit in the driveway after arriving to let it finish) and it really got me thinking. The song is called "Blessings" and it's the title track of the new Laura Story album. The message of the song was one of understanding that God's best will for our lives doesn't always come in what we would consider "good things". But sometimes the blessings are in the difficult seasons, in the raindrops and tears of life that come when we think that God has abandoned us. Here is a fan-made video on YouTube of the song.



The cool part of this is that I've been able to share with a number of people lately the very same message that this song speaks of as they walk through difficult valleys and have on more than one occasion just pointed them to this song - to allow the music to minister to their soul. It's also been helpful for me to consider the truths in this song as Joanna and I have faced our share of trials this year (and continue to as the ordeal with this pregnancy carries on unabated). And despite some shaky theology (in my opinion) in the last line of the bridge (see if you can figure out what I mean) I am really grateful for the witness of a Christian recording artist and their story through song for helping articulate a truth that I have long believed but been unable to say nearly as eloquently as she has.

I was going to try and finish this post with some witting remark that tied in the "blessing" of this experience - but after typing and deleting it three times I realized that that would be just as contrived as most of the music that I still find on Christian radio so I'm going to end this here. I hope you're as blessed by this song as I have been (ah! I did it anyways!)

Chris

Sneezing Elephant: Choices, Changes and Chocolate Pudding. Mmm..

My Friend Spencer has started his own blog and gave me a shout-out in his latest post, so I feel like I need to return the favour. More than that however, this young man is passionate and idealistic about following Jesus and as someone who's a dozen years further along in life I find it refreshing and challenging to hear from someone who hasn't been ground down into a life of accepting lesser things. (wow, that was a long sentence)

Anywho, here's a link to his latest challenging post. I'd recommend that you click through on the archives to his previous post as well that explains the ethos of his blog.

Sneezing Elephant: Choices, Changes and Chocolate Pudding. Mmm..: "We make choices every single day. Maybe not really important ones, but choices none the less. In the first few minutes of the day you could ..."

Well that's all for today. Happy Monday!
Chris

An unbelievable story and a world that wants to believe

A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

   “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:17-24 (TNIV)

People love a good conspiracy theory.

Whether it’s contained in the latest Hollywood blockbuster, bestselling novel, or being propagated by talking heads in the mainstream media taking decidedly partisan decisions – we devour stories of intrigue and collusion with an insatiable appetite. It seems that people will believe anything they are fed if it lines up with a preconceived worldview that they have. In the past month we have (for all reasonable people) laid to rest one such theory and opened up another.

On April 27 United States President Barack Obama finally laid to rest the ridiculous speculation that he wasn’t born in the USA by publishing the long form birth certificate from the hospital in Hawaii where he was born. It was ridiculous for people to believe that somehow a foreign national (and illegal alien) had somehow rose to power against the constitution of the country that had elected him to office. But there was a whole identifiable demographic out there called “Birthers” who were convinced that conspiracy was afoot.

Then less than a week after we put that conspiracy to bed the news was leaked (before the President’s official announcement) that a US Strike team had killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Conspiracy theorists didn’t even wait for the President’s press conference before calling shenanigans on the whole affair and the decision to not publish photos of the body have only served to fuel the fire (notwithstanding the fact the groups that would have the most to gain by keeping the spectre of Bin Laden alive have also confirmed his death).

Whether it’s alien presidents, dead terrorists, UFO cover-ups, Men on the moon, the Kennedy assassination or something as mundane as vote rigging on your favourite reality TV show we are always looking for conspiracy in the shadows. For some reason we have a hard time believing things that are plain and truthful.

At the same time we are a people who desperately want to believe in something. We build shrines to a dead princess whom we never knew when she was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997 – despite the fact that she was divorced out of the royal family and had been pursuing her own illicit affair with a man who wasn’t her husband when she was killed.

We rally around charismatic leaders like they were the a new incarnation of the messiah  - putting all our faith in their panache and sparkle to bring us out of the mire of life among fallen humanity and to lead us into a golden age.

We cheer and weep over professional sports teams thinking that our common affinity for a club or a franchise will help us overcome our differences and lead us into a new type of community where the hazards and difficulties of normal life no longer apply.

And we diligently put aside money and resources for a retirement that one day we hope to enjoy – looking forward to our “golden years” when all of our hard work will give way to a prolonged season of freedom and bliss. We are a people who want to – yea, need to believe in something. We need to hope for something. Yet for some reason we find believing the truth so very, very hard.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a product of our 21^st century sensibilities. This is not one of those issues that we can lay at the feet of a post-enlightenment, post-Christian, post-modern society – this is a problem that goes back all the way to the beginning, when a serpent in the garden was peddling conspiracy theories to Eve – asking her to believe that the truth was somehow obfuscated by paranoia in the Divine. Eve bought into the lie and bit into the fruit, and ever since that day believing the truth has not been something that humanity has excelled at.

That’s why for so many, the resurrection becomes just one more conspiracy amongst many; one more lie for the gullible to buy into; one more attempt by the powers-that-be to pull the wool over the eyes of the masses and keep us from seeing the stark cold reality of our hopeless existence.

The story, quite frankly, is unbelievable yet for some unexplainable reason the world still wants to believe.

This Sunday we begin with the prayer of a world that desperately needs to overcome our distrust of God.

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

See you on Sunday,

Chris

Disposable Jesus

I came across this article that an acquaintance of mine had linked on Facebook today and I find it sums up very well what I feel about this ongoing nonsense surrounding the death of Bin Laden. You can hit up the original link here if you want to see it on CNN but I am including the full text of the article here on my blog for your convenience.

I don't know if the author is a Christian (according to his Wikipedia entry he describes himself as religiously confused) but despite the fact that me may or may not lack a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ - he seems to have a better understanding of what he stood for than many Christians I know. Here is what he says in the editorial:

A few years ago, I was walking through the streets of Indianapolis with a friend. Whenever anyone asked us for money, she would offer a dollar or two. I asked her why she did this. She replied, “Because Jesus said so.” 

I didn’t believe her. “Where in the Bible does it say that?” I asked, and she responded with chapter and verse, Matthew 5:42: "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you." (Luke 6:30, I should add, says basically the same thing.) 

This passage is one of the so-called “hard sayings” of Jesus. It comes in a barrage of equally hard sayings toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells his followers to turn the other cheek, give away your coat if someone sues you for your shirt, and “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:44-45). 

The chatter around a poll released Wednesday by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Religion News Service will likely focus on the findings highlighted in their news release: 82% of Americans surveyed believe that bin Laden distorted the teachings of Islam to suit his own purposes; 65% believe the al Qaeda leader is rotting in hell; and 62% think it is wrong to celebrate the death of another human being. 

Survey: Most Americans say it's wrong to celebrate bin Laden's death 

What amazes me, however, is how disposable Christianity and the Bible are in this conversation. America, it seems, has become a nation of Christians of convenience, who trot Jesus out when he suits their politics and prejudices only to hide him away when he does not. 

Americans are apparently split down the middle on whether the golden rule is an eternal moral law or a disposable human guideline. While we may pay lip service to the rule (which can be found in most of the world's religions), roughly half of us apparently think it doesn’t apply when it comes to torture. 

Only 53% of those surveyed say the United States should follow the golden rule and not use any methods on our enemies that we would not want used on our soldiers. Oddly, support for the golden rule in this case was actually lower (47%) among white evangelicals. 

In other words, when Jesus said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12), he didn’t really mean "everything." He thought there should be an exception in the case of waterboarding your enemies.
One thing that struck me hard while researching my 2003 "American Jesus" book was how malleable Jesus is in the American imagination. Instead of lording over American life, telling us what to do, he seems to be taking orders from us, carrying our water. 

Or, as I put it back then, "The American Jesus is more a pawn than a king, pushed around in a complex game of cultural (and countercultural) chess, sacrificed here for this cause and there for another. 

The latest altar on which we are sacrificing Jesus is the so-called war on terror. 

So here is my question for American Christians who claim the United States is a Christian nation. How Christian can a country be if even Bible believers cannot get behind something as basic to the Bible as the golden rule? Is Jesus really the lord of your life if his “hard teachings” can be so blithely ignored?

Interesting stuff. And a damning condemnation of (not just American - but North American) cultural Christianity. I wonder if you would be willing to ask yourself honestly - what was your reaction to all of this going on surrounding Bin Laden - and how does your reaction line up with  the hard sayings of Jesus. That's a question that I'm asking myself today too.

Chris

In honour of women, mothers and wives.

In honour of Mother's Day that just happened, here are a few links to some messages I've preached in the past year that focus on women in the church. After this past Sunday's message a few of you were asking me about these passages and the messages I had preached on them. Below are the links to the MP3 files for download.

Sunday May 8, 2011 (Mother's Day)
Celebrating "Unreliable Witnesses"
A look at the story of Mary Magdalene encountering the risen Jesus from John 20:11-18. How one "unreliable witness" changed the world and the significance of Jesus choice of evangelist.

Sunday November 21, 2010
Wide Angle Theology
Dissecting and analyzing the very controversial passage in 1 Timothy 2 surrounding Paul's prohibitions on women teachers. Things look a lot different when you look at a situation from a wide angle.

Sunday July 18, 2011
S*bmisssion and other dirty words you can say in Church
An exploration of mutual submission in marriage and the church from the household codes of Ephesians 5.

What type of kingdom are we building?

A popular meme on Facebook today is a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. it reads like this:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Debate is raging all over facebook, twitter and the blogosphere on the significance and righteousness of the United State's assasination of Osama Bin Laden yesterday in Pakistan. The response in the western world has ranged from spontaneous celebration and jubilation in Washington and New York to reserved elation that this dagerous fugitive is no longer at large. What is largely missing from mainstream opinions and media sources is what I believe is a Biblical perspective on the matter.

I cannot say with theological certainty that what the USA did was patently wrong - I'm not a theological hard line pascifist - I believe there is a such thing as a just war and that there are times to take up arms in defense of the defenseless and to stop a great evil. There are those in my family who have served and are planning to serve in the armed forces and I both respect and admire what they do to protect us as a nation - it is a high calling to put one's life on the line in defense of others - but I also recognise that there is an aspect of the Kingdom of God that calls for a end to war, and killing, and for the people of God to conquer the darkness in the hearts of men not with might but with forgiveness (Luke 6:27-36); to conquer fear with love (1 John 4:18); to trust that God is just and that his promises in scripture are true and he will be our vengeance (Romans 12:19).

I am also then of mixed feelings about Sunday's events. I can understand why many feel a sense of relief that Bin Laden is dead - I would be less than honest if I said that I didn't share that feeling - but I am troubled by the passionate enthusiasm that many have at this news and the overwhelming sentiment that the USA was beyond justification in what they did. I am concerned that more people do not react with the sentiment that our Prime Minister shared this morning when he commented on the events - "sober satisfaction". As kingdom people - as those who purport to follow Christ and take seriously his NEW way of viewing and interracting with the world we need to check our spirits when things like this happen. We should never take for granted that we are the arm of God's righteous judgement on his enemies - or even that our enemies are his enemies. Remember that Jesus died on the cross to give Osama Bin Laden an opportunity to be reconcilled to God as well. And if Jesus loved him that much, perhaps we should be a little more sober in our celebrations that he's now dead.

Probably not the most popular point of view today but one that I feel convicted of.

Blessings on your day and remember to vote!
Chris