Now I have guilt

I've seen this one going around Facebook today - of course it was on a day that I took a good long look at my bike and decided to take the car.

In the words of Rex from the moving van scene of Toy Story, "Great! Now I have guilt!"

[facepalm]

Troubled

Today I’m feeling troubled.

I’ve been confronted lately with a lot of discussion on crime and punishment. What is justice? How do we dispense it on Earth? When do we fail to be just through inaction and apathy? And when to we overstep our authority and when do we overstep our authority and try to play God? What is the Christ-Like (I hesitate to say Christian because that term in this arena has been co-opted to mean too many different things) response to crime and punishment and how does this reinforce or push back against the way we do things?

A couple big stories in the news this past week have gotten me thinking. One is the Troy Davis execution. Davis was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 for the 1989 murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail. In the years since his arrest and conviction Davis has always maintained his innocence. Following the trial seven of the prosecutions key witnesses recanted some or all of their testimony that was used to convict Davis with several of them citing they were strongly pressured by the police to implicate Davis in the murder.

Now like any good story in the news there are multiple sides to this one. And whether popular public opinion agrees with Davis’ persistent claims of innocence (and a huge number of people have signed petitions implicating at the very least sincere doubt of his guilt) or whether the courts and parole board have been correct in their upholding of the conviction and the sentence in accordance with Georgia law is not what really matters to me in this debate. I’m not interested at this point in the miscarriage of justice that may or may not have happened at the trial that convicted Troy Davis (although I probably should be) I’m concerned with the idea that we think we have the right to execute anyone in this day and age.

The secular argument against the death penalty ranges from “it’s distasteful” to “it’s inhumane” but the reasoning why it might be either of these two things or somewhere in-between is because of the real risk of executing an innocent person.  It certainly seems as if the circumstances surrounding this case merit skepticism – but I’m compelled to ask as a Christian – does it matter if he was innocent?

Today in his blog Resident Theology, Brad East makes the comparison between two executions that occurred last night in the United States: Troy Davis and Lawrence Brewer. One is a black man convicted of killing a white cop (a great many believe wrongly convicted) and the other is a white supremacist who no one doubts brutally murdered a black man by dragging him from the back of his truck. Both were killed by the State last night – sanctioned murder in the vein of an eye for an eye but we cry out injustice over one and quietly applaud the other.

I’m not trying at all to make light of the heinousness of Brewer’s crime but I find it ironic that with a huge question mark hanging over the guilt of Troy Davis and a massive public outcry including appeals for clemency from people like the former governor of Georgia, former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XIV, the family of Mark MacPhail sat and watched as Troy Davis made his final statement – one still proclaiming his innocence – before he was lethally injected and killed. At the same time the family of James Byrd – the man brutally killed in a hate crime by Lawrence Brewer was holding a vigil in remembrance where the victims daughter told the media:

“The execution doesn't mean that much to me because it's doesn't bring my father back,"
 "I want the world to know that I have forgiven him and I don't hate him."

“I feel sorry for Brewer because he has so much hate inside of him," she said, "And didn't understand how to get out of him and he took the wrong path.”

Mercy. Whatever happened to that?

At the same time today I heard on the radio as I was coming to work the story about how convicted pedophile, rapist, murder, etc. Clifford Olsen was dying of cancer. You’d be hard pressed to find a more despicable person residing within the Canadian penal system – the things he did are difficult to even think of without feeling sick and getting angry. And the question on John Gormley Live this morning was this: 

“Is it "right" (ethically/morally) to wish death on Clifford Olson?”

In the unscientific, “crash the radio” 60 second straw poll that Gormley calls the “reality check” 90% of responders said “yes”

Yes it is right (as listeners and the host went onto proclaim) to revel in and celebrate a painful death to cancer. Yes it is right to get joy out of an old man suffering in jail. Sick. During the last days of his existence knowing that people are cheering for cancer to win the battle for his life.

Does this bother anyone else?

I may be retreading ground I already covered when I commented on the death of Osama Bin Laden earlier this year – but has it occurred to anyone that Clifford Olson was someone that Jesus died for?

That Jesus died for Lawrence Brewer?

That Jesus died for Troy Davis?

Does it seem inconsistent to anyone that as Christians we will rush to defend and protect the sanctity of an unborn life we have never met but at the same time many of us are all too eager to end the life of a walking talking person beloved by Jesus? Does being Pro-Life have an expiry age?

Does it seem strange that we rush to uphold carefully selected pieces of Old Testament law that give us the “right” to pursue vengeance as it suits us while ignoring not only most of the other Old Testament codes but the explicit New Testament ones that we claim augment or replace the ones we hold onto?

Has everyone forgotten this:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:27-31 (TNIV)

Or this one:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:28-32

Or what Paul says in Romans:

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Romans 12:19 (TNIV)

Something about all of this doesn’t add up. Am I the only one who is troubled?

Conflict of Interest

Short musing today: What do you do when to preach the truth you find the truth to be self-serving? A month or so ago I asked the question of what to do when giving praise to God makes me look good as well (in relation to using our lives as positive illustrations of getting things right) but today I take that question one step further – what is a preacher to do when faithfully preaching the text can be seen as a conflict of interest?

This coming Sunday I’m preaching on 1 Timothy 5:17-25 as we continue to work through Paul’s first letter to Timothy. The section as a whole has a lot to say on how we are to treat our Elders and leaders in the church but it begins with a very problematic passage for me. Here is what it says:

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “Workers deserve their wages.”

1 Timothy 5:17-18 (TNIV)

Now aside from some confusion or controversy regarding the word translated in the TNIV as double (I contend from my studies that two-fold is a better translation) this is a pretty straightforward statement. You should pay your pastors a fair wage for their work in the ministry. This teaching is further amplified and reinforced by passages like 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 and 2 Thessalonians 3:9 among others. I have no questions about the orthodoxy of that position but is it right for someone who benefits directly from the response and application of that teaching to be teaching it?

Some of the tenets of the Local Church Constitution of the Christian and Missionary Alliance are that Elders shall receive no remuneration for their work (something that becomes problematic in some interpretations of the term “Elder” which I think is rightly seen as a New Testament synonym with “Pastor” and “Bishop”) and that Elders are not to be involved in any decision of governance from which they may directly benefit – financially or otherwise. It’s a pretty standard governance policy in any organisation that you excuse yourself from decisions that could be seen as a conflict of interest – but what about decisions on what to preach?

As the Lead Pastor I am an Elder in the organisational/leadership capacity within the C&MA’s governance structure – can I choose in that capacity to preach a message which serves to undergird the idea that I deserve to be paid well for my services? As a pastor (with any portfolio) at this church I am an Elder in the biblical sense – can I then choose in that capacity NOT to preach this passage when it is in the Scripture before us?

My personal conviction is that the Word takes precedence in all situations – but I don’t do it with the freedom in my Spirit that I would like to have. I stumble across a great quote this afternoon while I was studying for my next sermon series after I finish 1 Timothy – it said this:

“You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity" - Thomas Wolfe

Perhaps all this conflict in my spirit is telling me is that I’m still too interested in all three of those things. Praise be to God that Jesus isn’t done with me yet.

Until next time,

Chris

Wrestling with Widows

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

  Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

  No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

  As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

  If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

  The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “Workers deserve their wages.” Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favouritism.

  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

  Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

  The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

  All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves.

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2 (TNIV)

Over the next two Sundays at church we will be exploring a larger section of teaching that spans all of chapter 5 and into the beginning of chapter 6. What Paul shifts to here is instruction on how we are to live in the family of God. How do we relate to each other and how do we treat each other – what are our responsibilities and how do those differ from the way the world outside the church practices relationships?

In this section Paul gives us three examples of how we are to live differently as the church. He talks about caring for widows, he talks about treating your leaders with respect and he talks about the relationship between slaves and masters in the church. On the surface it seems pretty straightforward but believe me as I’ve worked on this over the last couple of weeks I can tell you that it isn’t.

Unlike other problematic passages in this epistle (the second half of chapter two and the first half of chapter three are good examples) the challenge for a preacher here is not with exegesis. That is to say that the problem is not with finding out what exactly Paul meant in the original context when he wrote this – I have yet to read a commentary or listen to a sermon that radically diverges from the consensus opinion on this text. The exegesis here is pretty straight-forward – however an even bigger problem emerges here for the pastor in a discipline that we call hermeneutics.

Hermeneutics is the study of how we teach and apply the lessons and values of Scripture to a culture that is often far removed from the culture and the world of the original author and listeners. It’s looking at a scenario that may not even exist anymore today because of the changes in society that have taken place over the last couple thousand years. In hermeneutics the preacher is asking “What does the text have to say to us TODAY?”  Hermeneutics is a more subjective art than exegesis is – even people with the same foundational understanding of what the text is saying to the original audience can vary wildly on how to appropriately apply those lessons today. It is no surprise then that I move forward into this next section of our Epistle with not a little fear and trepidation.

Of the three examples that Paul gives us in this section only one of them is what I would judge to have a direct correlation in today’s church and society – that would be the back half of chapter five when Paul talks about leaders in the church. There is not much in that example that doesn’t equate cleanly with our situation today. The first and third examples, however, give us some trouble.  Slavery, for one, does not exist in our western culture – at least not as a formalized institution like it was in the days of the early church. Today we rightly consider slavery to be an abomination – a terrible abuse of a person’s intrinsic human dignity and a thoroughly unchristian way to treat people (despite the multitude of passages in scripture that accommodate slavery – but that’s an explanation for another day). Certainly we are not going to look at Paul’s example of slaves and masters as being prescriptive for what God wants to teach us through this passage in 2011 – so we need to build a hermeneutical bridge. In this case it’s not that difficult; Slaves and Masters nicely equates to our modern relationship of employees and employers. The question then becomes this: how do your Christian family values influence your life in the work place? We build that hermeneutical bridge and all of the sudden the teaching becomes very relevant. We will look at that issue in two weeks – but this Sunday we have an even bigger challenge: This week we have to wrestle with widows.

This example is more problematic. Because on the surface we can plainly see that we still have widows among us today. There are widows in our church, and so it would seem that there IS a direct correlation between the first century example and our 21^st century world – but even a cursory historical study would reveal vast differences between the widows in the early church and the widows in our church today.

In the world of the early church women did not have a lot of power; they did not have land owning rights, they were dependant on male family members to provide for and protect them. There were (one needs to acknowledge) some examples of business women in the New Testament (Lydia, the seller of purple cloth comes to mind) but they were far from being the norm in their day. By and large the men in the family generated the income and the women managed and ran the household. So when a woman’s husband passed away she was at a great economic disadvantage in her day. A widow who was not taken in or remarried or cared for in some way was destined to be a homeless beggar – or worse. Widows – along with orphans – were the most vulnerable people in first century society – and the church had a mandate from Jesus himself (take a look at Matthew 25) to care for them.

This however is a far cry from today’s world. Recent economic statistics from the US reveal that there is more wealth held by women in that country than there is by men. Modern protections like life-insurance, savings plans, retirement accounts, old age security, inheritance laws and joint ownership of property within a marriage – combined with women’s propensity to outlive their spouses have changed it so that very often the widows of the New Testament bear very little resemblance to the widows of today. This is a wonderful thing, but therein lays the hermeneutical problem – who are today’s widows if not the widows?

Well certainly there are widows in today’s western church that would still be as vulnerable as the widows of Timothy’s church but they would be far from the numerically significant people group that they were back then – and they would not likely be the worst-off demographic in our churches. I have heard a number of suggestions from other pastors as to who the modern equivalent would be – from Single Mothers (and I would expand that to single parents period) to people with significant medical problems (particularly in the USA where sickness can bankrupt a person) to impoverished children to people in regions that have been devastated by economic collapse and literally have zero prospects of employment. The point they all are making (and that I would agree with) is that the widows of today’s church look radically different than they did in the first century, and consequently a responsible hermeneutic of this text needs to acknowledge that the world has turned and times have changed.

So with all of this in mind I’ve decided to take the following approach to this section of text and the three examples contained within over the next two weeks:

The Framework of 1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Big Idea – How we live in the family of God

1.       Caring for the members of the family (5:1-16)

2.       Cultivating and caring for godly leaders (5:17-25)

3.       Taking your home to work (6:1-2)

This week we will look at the preamble and example number 1 and next week we will tackle examples 2 and 3. I’d encourage you to spend some time meditating on this text yourself and thinking along with me as to who are the most vulnerable people in our society. Perhaps the Lord will lay on your heart a burden or conviction to wrestle with widows yourself.

See you on Sunday,

Chris

Sacred Pathways

Many of you have been asking about the online survey that Aaron Gerrard mentioned in our Sunday Morning Family Camp service this week. For those of you who weren't there this is a quick survey to help you determine how it is that you connect with God and to understand that we all find and discover God through different means.

A worthwhile disclaimer - this, like any other inventory assessment, is not infallible and it is prone to being abused by over-thinking or projecting your desired outcomes onto the questions. It is possible to come out with a result that doesn't match who you are - to avoid that I advise that you do it quickly and using gut responses rather than thoughtful ones. Hopefully it will explain or confirm what you already know about yourself. Here is the link:

http://common.northpoint.org/sacredpathway.html

For interests sake here is how I scored on the inventory and what it says about me:

Activist - 23

Intellectual - 22

Caregiver - 21

Sensate - 19
Traditionalist - 17
Ascetics - 17
Enthusiast - 17
Naturalist - 12

Contemplative - 12

Why don't you leave a comment after you've taken the inventory and share how you scored.

Blessings,

Chris

Me thinks thou dost protest too much

There are a lot of ways that life is different when you are a pastor than when you have the privilege of participating in the church as a lay person. Some of the obvious ones include me getting paid to do some things that you might volunteer for, being asked to give thanks for the meal at any public gathering that I’m invited to, having people scrutinize my lifestyle choices more intensely than they would other laypersons and being granted a level of trust and disclosure by virtue of my station that would normally take years to build up were I working in any other profession.

Of all these challenges/opportunities/benefits that I face as a pastor (among many others) the one that still catches me off guard is the unsolicited excuse.

What is the unsolicited excuse you ask? It’s when you run into me in the soup aisle of the grocery store and normal people would make pleasant chit-chat about weather and what the kids were up to this summer, how your last vacation was etc – but because I’m a pastor one of the first things out of your mouth is:

 “I’m so sorry we haven’t been to church for the last few weeks/months/years.” “My husband has been working so much that we need that Sunday morning time for our family”

 or

  “my son is playing so much hockey”

 or

 “my daughter made the provincial volleyball team and...”

Well you get the picture.

The fact is that I never asked why you hadn’t been at church since Kerry Joseph was quarterbacking the Riders – and I probably wasn’t going to (not at least in the soup aisle of Sobeys). But you felt compelled to pre-empt my concerns before I had a chance to admire your tan and ask you if you’ve been somewhere sunny lately.

Church attendance is the most common reason I experience for the unsolicited excuse but it’s far from the only one. Sometimes it comes is the form of unprovoked defensiveness – like I ask you about your new car (because I’m a guy and I like cars – I’m usually genuinely interested) and within a few sentences you’re justifying how generous a person you are and how that purchase totally wasn’t frivolous and selfish because after all – you sponsor a kid in Africa through World Vision. I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort – I just like your car and am interested in how it drives.

And then there is the most bizarre form of this – the preclusive justification. That’s when you might seek me out to explain all the reasons you’re going to Hawaii during spring break rather than on the missions trip you’ve been talking about going on for years. Actually taking time out of your schedule to preclude any arguments or advice I might have for you as a pastor so that you feel released to do what you want to do.

Whether it’s the unsolicited excuse, unprovoked defensiveness or the preclusive justification these reactions to my presence and office often baffle me as a pastor. I’m not sure if as a person I come off very judgemental and unsympathetic or if I give out a disapproving vibe (I don’t think that I do) but sometimes it’s hard to just relate to people as friends and neighbours (or heaven forbid – brothers and sisters in Christ) for all the excuses people want to begin conversations with. But if that’s part of what it means to be a shepherd to the flock I’m more than willing to accept that burden – so long as I can be clear with you all about how I really feel. So let me be preclude your excuses, defensiveness and justifications with some perspective of my own for a second.

There are times when you will share things with me and my professional opinion is that your excuses, defensiveness or justifications are poor at best. Yes I DO think that regular church attendance is important – no, VITAL – for the spiritual health of a Christian and the family unit. And any activity, hobby, commitment or even employment that regularly keeps you away from the church for long periods of time in unhealthy for you. But if you haven’t been to church in more than six months I’m more interested in hearing what IS happening in your life than lecturing you about being at church because obviously we probably don’t have a relationship that would handle that sort of rebuke at that time.

But most of the time I’m pretty on the level. If I ask you about your holidays it’s because I’m interested in your life – not judging you on how you spend your time or money; if I ask you about what ministry you’re serving in this year it’s because I obviously think highly enough of you to assume that you’re serving somewhere – not because I’m trying to dig at the reason you’ve pulled out of one ministry or the other; If I ask you about your job it’s because I’m interested in your life – not because I’m critiquing how much you’re working. What it really comes down to is that I think somehow as a pastor I’m a trigger for your conscience.

Because at the end of the day most of the time there is nothing inherently wrong with the things you want to excuse, justify or defend. It would not be hard to follow Christ wholeheartedly and be serving him faithfully while doing the things you feel compelled to share with me – yet you feel somewhere deep down that YOU are doing something wrong and you don’t like the feeling so you figure (sub consciously I would assume) that if you can get the approval of your pastor for your actions that your conscience must be wrong. But what if your conscience is really revealing to you a deeper truth than you care to acknowledge?

“I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.”

Romans 14:14 (TNIV)

What I understand from that passage is that we have a freedom in Christ that allows us tremendous liberty in what we do and how we live – but God has given us a conscience that limits our freedom by telling us that some things that are not inherently wrong can still be wrong for us. That is not because God wants to take away all of our fun – it’s because he knows each one of us intimately – better even than we know ourselves and he wants to help us avoid things that he knows would draw us away from him and keep us from experiencing the true freedom of life in Christ. If you find yourself making unsolicited excuses about something you’re doing (or not doing) ask yourself the question if you’re trying to ignore your conscience? If you find yourself getting defensive in a conversation about some choices you’ve made without anyone provoking such a response, ask yourself who you are trying to convince? It’s likely not the person you’re talking to. And if you find yourself going out of your way to preclude people’s objections (real or imagined) to something you’re doing – whose objections are you really trying to justify yourself against?

If you catch yourself doing these things perhaps it’s time to sit down and spend some time with God asking him the frightening question: “Is there something in my life that I need to change?” You might be surprised at the answer.

Because when I run into you in the soup aisle at Sobeys, if I strike up a conversation it’s because I’m interested in you – not your excuses.

Have a good weekend,

Chris

Confessions of a pastor just trying to get it right

Something that Ive been thinking about a lot lately. How does a Christian leader (for example: a pastor) model the type of incarnational leadership that Paul encourages Timothy in while practicing the virtues of private piety that Jesus espouses in his ministry?

Consider the following passages from Paul:

  Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

  Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

1 Timothy 4:11-16

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:1

You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

1 Thessalonians 1:5b-7

It would seem that a good ethic for a Christian leader or teacher (as well as the Christian in general) is to wear your faith and practice on your sleeve. Living your faith publicly so that the whole world can see how you're different because of Jesus. More than that it would seem for a leader that I am called to not just live a "life out-loud" as some put it, but am to also intentionally model spiritual disciplines that will be helpful for those following me to examine and replicate in their own lives so that they can develop Christian maturity too. On the surface this seems very straightforward. But then there are these sayings of Jesus:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:1-4

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:5-8

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18

Do you see the problem I'm having?

Last March/April I came back from Guatemala and did a very public purging of my Transformers collection. It was a spiritual discipline for me to learn how to be less materialistic, more generous and more public in my personal walk with the Lord. It was a type of fast and it was a type of giving and I'm starting to wonder in reflection if in my desire to be a public example for my congregation (and whoever else happens to stubble across this blog) that I was in violation of some of the commands of Jesus. Now it seems obvious to me that God blessed that endeavour and it opened up opportunities for me to teach that I wouldn't have had otherwise so don't be concerned that I'm living with crippling guilt or anything - but I do wonder is that sort of things supposed to be normative in my life as a leader or is it the exception that proves the rule that I shouldn't be doing that sort of thing?

I'm actually really torn on this right now. The Lord has been teaching me other things that excite me since I finished my Lenten Transformers purge, but Ive been reluctant to come out and share some of those experiences for fear that it's the wrong thing to do. Where is the line between personal bragging and bragging in the Lord? What do I do if something I could share BOTH exalts Jesus and makes me look good in the process? Should I keep back from publicly acknowledging God because I don't want to appear to be bragging - or should I risk blowing my own horn so that in my accomplishments God's hand can be seen and Jesus could receive praise?

This has real implications for preaching as well. No preacher I know has a problem telling a good old fashioned embarrassing story about themselves to break the ice, it really helps to make the congregation realize that you're no different than any of them. In the same way for illustration I don't know of many pastors who would hesitate too much to use a "safe" example of their own shortcomings to illustrate the dangers of not getting something right (that does bring up another discussion of how vulnerable and transparent is too transparent in preaching but I'll leave that one for another day) - but what about when the best illustration or example you can think of from every day life is an example of you doing it well yourself? I don't know about other preachers out there but I really struggle with whether or not I should be using those illustrations because I don't want my messages to be about how great I am - but rather how great Jesus is.

I don't have any answers to this question right now but I would welcome a discussion with any who are interested. Perhaps you have thought this issue through already and have come down on one side or the other - I would welcome your reasoning. Or perhaps you're like me and just trying to figure out how to be the best leader you can be in whatever capacity God has called you to lead in - I'd welcome you to join me on this journey of reflection. I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

Until later,

Chris

The Biggest Theological Debate of the Next Twenty Years | Blog | Theology Matters | Newfrontiers UK

After recently finishing N.T. Wright's Scripture and the Authority of God this has been an issue that has been on my mind almost constantly. It's a really excellent read and a good introduction to the discussions that will shape the next couple decades for sure.

The Biggest Theological Debate of the Next Twenty Years | Blog | Theology Matters | Newfrontiers UK

One of these days I'll get around to reviewing Wright's book as well. =)

-Chris

Sunday Sports

Some of you will undoubtedly remember back in the Spring when I penned an op-ed piece in the Estevan Mercury on the topic of Sunday Sports in the city. For those of you who don't remember or don't read the Mercury here's what I wrote on behalf of the Estevan Ministerial Association.

“Stop the insanity!” was the rally cry of one Susan Powter – a 1990’s fitness guru and infomercial celebrity who made it her mission to dispel the myths of fad diets, fat burning pharmaceuticals and easy weight-loss. It’s an iconic statement that is probably burned into the minds of anyone who watched television in the early 90s but amidst the unceasing busyness and sheer level of activity facing the families of our city today, it’s a phrase that perhaps we should recapture.

 Estevan is a city full of life and activity – whether it’s the round-the-clock activity of a drilling rig, the drag line, or the power plants; whether the rush of seeding and harvest season or the long hours invested by teachers, small business owners or people working in the service industry, we are a city full of people that work hard. We are also a city full of people who play hard. For our young people minor baseball, football, soccer, broomball, and hockey all hold prominent places of importance and prestige in our local culture. The Estevan Music Festival is a huge annual undertaking for those involved in the arts in our city and often much of the year is spent in preparation for this event. Recreational leagues, groups and service clubs take up much of our out of work time and of course there are large charitable ventures that are staples of our community like the United Way and Relay for Life that need our attention and commitment.

 It’s easy to look at all of this and celebrate the work ethic and opportunities available in our city. Estevan is truly a happening place and we have lots going for us but all of this busyness and activity comes at a cost. We are a city on the verge of burn-out. Teachers tell of kids coming to school on Mondays dead tired and worn out from weekends of endless activity and travel; parents are working longer and longer hours and families are spending less and less time together at home; young people are entering the workforce at increasingly earlier ages and working long hours that makes meaningful engagement in high school and enjoyment of their teenage years all but impossible – where do we draw the line?

 Recently the City of Estevan approached the Estevan Ministerial Association with just that sort of question. The city has been pondering doing away with the Sunday Sports bylaw because of its lack of consistent enforcement. For those of you who are unaware the bylaw states that:
 

“Organized games, practices, contests or sports involving juveniles 16 years of age or under, shall be prohibited in any City owned, controlled or operated recreational facility on Sundays prior to 1:30 p.m.  Request for exemption for this policy are to be considered on an individual basis and be subject to the approval of the Recreation Director.”

 After explaining the situation the city closed the correspondence with: “We would appreciate the Ministerial Association’s thoughts in this matter as we do appreciate their advice and guidance.” The Estevan Ministerial Association deeply appreciates the willingness of the city officials to seek our advice and guidance on this issue. We have returned to them our official response and advice that inconsistent application of a good bylaw is not reason for abolishment – rather it’s a reason to do a better job enforcing the bylaw. Families in the city of Estevan need an oasis of time in their week when they are not being bombarded by external pressures and commitments; they need a time when mothers and fathers and sons and daughters can spend quality time together. Sunday morning sports forces families into the difficult position of choosing to do something to honour their commitments to teams and organisations or to do something to enrich their lives. Whether families chose to use that Sunday morning time slot to attend a worship service together or spend a lazy morning in their pyjamas enjoying intentional family time is a personal decision to make but it should be a decision that is made free from the pressure that comes from being involved in organised sports which demand unwavering commitment from families if they wish to participate at all.

We appreciate the sentiment behind the question that the City of Estevan is asking – at its core the question is “How can we be fair to everyone in application of this bylaw?” but with all due respect, it’s time for the people of Estevan to respond to their officials by telling them to “Stop the insanity!” Estevan’s families need a break and sports on Sunday morning is not going to help them find one.
 

On Behalf of the Estevan Ministerial Association:
Reverend Chris Smith – Estevan Alliance Church

Nine other members of the Ministerial Association representing 8 other churches and organisations signed their name to this letter and to the official response to City of Estevan regarding the issue. We received lots of positive feedback from people both in our congregation and in the community but heard nothing back from the city regarding the issue - until today.

Today we cleared a week's worth of mail out of our community mailbox (our office coordinator at the church had been on holidays) and in it was a letter addressed to me, but for the Ministerial Association from the City of Estevan. This is what it said:

August 22, 2011

To: Estevan Ministerial Association

RE: SUNDAY SPORTS POLICY
Please be advised that the Estevan Leisure Services Advisory Board and Council of the City of Estevan have reviewed the Sunday Sports Policy as well as the input received from the Community and Ministerial Association.

The parties believe that it is not the responsibility of the Leisure Services Board or the City to dictate that residents or users should go to Church on Sunday mornings rather it is the responsibility of each individual to make their own decision.

The Leisure Services Advisory Board and Council have agreed to respect the wishes of all parties and will not organize or promote City programming on Sunday mornings. Rather, it will be left to the discretion of the groups booking the facilities if they wish to use Sunday Mornings. The Facilities will be available for any party that wishes to book.

We thank you for your input and trust that you understand that while we could not totally agree with your position it was valuable and helped to frame this decision.

Sincerely
James Puffalt, RMA, CMMA
City Manager

This is what has gotten me so hot under the collar today. We recognized that not everyone in the city is a churchgoer and we even precluded that in our response to the city; we made what I feel are compelling and important arguments about the lack of balance and boundaries in the lives of our citizens and particularly the danger that poses for our children; we asked the city not to create a new law, but to honour and enforce an old one that made a lot of sense and that was all disregarded with a cheap and irrelevant remark about the city having no place in telling people to go to church.

And while I appreciate that the city will not organize or promote it's own programming on Sunday mornings, that was never the issue to begin with. It's like saying we're not going to enforce the by-law that says it's wrong for your neighbour to shoot your dogs, but on the bright side the city won't be shooting your cats! This feels to me like the city's unending quest to get as much revenue into the coffers from use of city facilities - and specifically the newly completed Spectra Place - has trumped common sense and the common good. How long before we have routine sporting games for youth happening on Sunday mornings as well as Sunday afternoons and Sunday evenings and all day Saturday? How long before this decision comes home to roost though an increase in tired and burned out families who have no margins in their lives and feel powerless to set boundaries that invariably teeter between full involvement or no involvement at all in minor sports because of the competitive nature of recreational pursuits?

And yes, I am worried about the impact on our churches. Things are already hard enough for well-intentioned families to make time for worship in their lives the way things are. Forcing so many of these families to choose between regular church attendance and their children's involvement in minor sports is patently unfair - but that is the environment that the city has created with their decision. It's a sad day for our community but there is still hope.

If you are involved at any level with minor sports in the Estevan area I'm asking you to talk to your coaches, organisations  boards and associations - asking them to take a stand and refuse to allow games and practices on Sunday mornings. The city may make the facilities available but we can always vote with our feet. Say no to schedules that keep your kids (and your families most often) out of church, and say no to schedules that keep families of any religious persuasion from having a single morning of balance in their overly busy lives. I know of several coaches in town that already run with that policy but wouldn't it be great if we could present a united front to our government and tell them that this time they have gone too far.

It's unfair to make families choose between church and sports - in today's world kids should have the opportunity to do both. I'm doing what I can - what are you going to do?

Chris

The physical, the spiritual and the incarnational

Well it eventually happened: Through a crazy year of celebrations, transitions, restructuring and changes in direction we've managed to find our way back to the sermon series we started last August (2010) on the book of 1 Timothy. If you can remember that far back we made it in earnest to the end of chapter two before Thanksgiving last year when our pastoral search process derailed any plans for a week-in week-out series on a single text. In the months that followed we were able to pick away at the subsequent verses once every four to six weeks and by late February we had managed to finish chapter 3. Then Easter happened and we launched into "Sunday is only the beginning" and talked about the implications of the resurrection from Easter through Pentecost; in July we celebrated a number of special individual milestones through the services and then in August focused on corporate prayer. Throw in a couple caring and sharing Sundays and 1 Timothy has been sitting on the back burner for quite some time. Well no longer. I'm personally not a fan of seeing sermon series left unfinished and so in the month of September we're going to roll up our sleeves and push through the final three chapters of this wonderful epistle. This week we begin by looking at chapter 4 in its entirety, chapter five will be split into two weeks on the Sundays following family camp and on October 2 we will finish our journey through this letter with an investigation of chapter 6.

But seeing as it has been so long since we were thinking hard about this text and what the context and background of the letter was - I thought it would be good to start here on the sermon preview blog with bit of a primer on the people, places and situations that influenced the writing of this letter with the hopes of getting us back up to speed before diving into the text on Sunday.

Timothy
Timothy is Paul’s protégé. We read the story of his recruitment in chapter 16 of the book of Acts. He is a man of mixed ethnicity being born of a Jewish mother and Gentile father and Paul saw something in him that made him believe God had big plans for this young man so he called him – circumcised him (so as not to cause problems with the Jews by bringing a gentile into the apostolic ministry group) and they traveled and ministered together for a long time.

Eventually Timothy proved himself to Paul enough that Paul would send him out to churches as his surrogate and Timothy would go in Paul’s place to provide leadership and guidance to some of the many congregations that Paul had started in his missionary journeys. One of those churches was Ephesus.

Ephesus

Ephesus was a city, you may remember, that thrived on religion. At one point it had been a significant port city in the Hellenistic world but by the time Timothy came onto the scene there those days had long past. Ephesus was a city of temples and its economy thrived on the business of religious pilgrimages. So it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that for a pure and undiluted expression of the body of Christ to thrive in this city is going to be an uphill battle against relativism and syncretism.

Anxiety 

Timothy for his part is a man with anxiety issues. He is not the ever confident bold and fearless junior apostle that we like to imagine the heroes of the faith being like. The first thing Paul does at the beginning of this epistle is to try and convince Timothy not to throw in the towel in Ephesus and run away from all the difficulties he’s facing there. We also get an instruction a little later on for Timothy to drink a little wine to calm his stomach (it almost sounds like Timothy had stress ulcers) and in today’s passage we get the exhortation to have confidence in his calling and not to stand for people dismissing his authority because of his relative youth. Timothy is a pastor who is working through a difficult calling in Ephesus and the biggest reason Paul seems to believe its challenging is because of the problem of False Teachers. 

False Teachers

In fact when you take a step back from the small pieces of text that we sometimes like to pull out of this epistle for various prooftexting purposes (and you’ve all heard my rant lately on the dangers of prooftexting I trust) and we start to look at the letter as a bigger tapestry of interwoven ideas and instructions it becomes quite clear that almost all of Paul’s instructions to his apprentice are in direct response to the problems of false teaching. The commands that he gives are designed to curtail and correct the influence of those both inside and outside the community of faith who have been having success in distorting the message of the Gospel and leading away the flock like wolves (exactly what Paul warned the Ephesian elders about in Acts 20). Paul is expressly concerned that these false teachers do not gain any further foothold in the Church and Timothy is his man to push back the heresy and instruct the people in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So with all that now ruminating in our minds in preparation for this weekend - here is the text that we will be looking at this Sunday:

1Timothy Chapter 4

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Enjoy the long weekend, but remember: Labour day is about celebrating workers by getting a day off work, it's not a good reason to avoid fellowshipping with the people of God! Whether you're home or away this long weekend, make an effort to get together with the body of Christ. Hopefully we will see you Sunday!