Category Archives: church

March 14, 2013

a sermon

By arpology

Yesterday was a momentous event. After the first retirement of a Roman Catholic Pope in almost 600 years there was a new Pope elected by the college of cardinals. And Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio after election took the Papal name Francis I. Having been ordained as a Jesuit priest I do not think that this was at all a flippant decision. In Buenos Aires Bergoglio chose to live a simple life rather than the life afforded one of his position. He lived in an apartment rather than the archbishop’s palace, he gave up his chauffeured limousine in favor of taking the bus to work, and he even cooked his own meals. The name Francis for me instantly brings up the quote the Saint of Assisi was most famous for, “Preach the gospel always, if necessary use words.” I am not sure how Pope Francis will operate as the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church, but if his former lifestyle is any indication, then I think it will be a great time for the church.

It makes me even think a bit about how we operate in our daily lives as the church. We are fond of rhetoric in the church. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is to talk about Jesus and the church to anyone willing to listen. But I am not sure that is always what Jesus has intended for us. My chief example of this is the encounters that take place in Matthew 8. In Matthew chapters 5-7 we have recorded what is commonly referred to as ‘The Sermon on the Mount”. And without fail most people will tell you that this is the single greatest philosophical teaching in human history. So to simply refer to it as a sermon is a bit of an understatement, but it will serve our purposes for now. The part that amazes me is that immediately following this sermon is Christ’ action. Matthew 8:1-2 say this, “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus finishes this amazing sermon and immediately gets to it. It is not enough for him to have said amazing things…he has to do amazing things. I am not even sure the miracle is even the focal point. Verse three in the text says, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” He touched a man with leprosy. He defied religious and cultural laws for the sake of impacting the lives of those around him. He had just spoken about what life lived out should look like (Sermon on the Mount) and then he did it.

Like I said earlier, I am a fan of words. I love talking, debating and thinking about the church and Kingdom life. But maybe this is such a time as to quite my tongue and put the rest of me to action. Maybe a Pope choosing the name Francis could be a reminder to us all. I leave you with the opening lines of Edgar A Guest’s poem:

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way…

May we find a way to be a living sermon today.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in church, Kingdom, theology

January 24, 2013

onelouder

By arpology

It started in late summer. Just snip-its of an idea for reviving a youth discipleship retreat at our church that hadn’t happened for a few years. And as it would be the eleventh time this retreat would take place the theme would have to somehow revolve around the number eleven. For me, being a fan of mockumentary’s and rock music I immediately thought of the scene in This is Spinal Tap where Nigel is explaining that their amps are more impressive because they go to eleven…one louder. So it just made sense. The eleventh time that this retreat would take place would have the theme ‘One Louder’ with the theme verse of Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” But what began as a theme and a theme verse became so much more.

One Louder became a code word, a manifesto even for living out the Kingdom of God in everyday life. Sometimes it seems that the church doesn’t always do such a good job in bringing heaven to earth; they stop at ten. And One Louder takes it to eleven and has that extra call to be true to our calling in Christ. One Louder is buzz language for living out of ones own comfort zone and reaching outside to those who don’t yet know the love of Christ. One Louder is the acceptance of the outcast, the defense of the oppressed, the standing up for the bullied, and the love for the unlovable. Ultimately One Louder is a life lived for the other.

But it doesn’t stop there. One Louder is a life lived to eleven. As Paul is nearing the end of his ministry he writes to his young protege Timothy and says, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:6-7 Paul had lived a life One Louder and he compared it to being poured out like a drink offering. I don’t know about you, but when I pour something out there is usually nothing left. Paul is pleading to Timothy that to live the life we are called to that we constantly pour ourselves out for Christ. A life lived One Louder leaves one empty…a life with space for more of God. This is where the faithfulness of God comes into play. As we pour ourselves into a life lived One Louder, God fills us more and more with His presence.

So we find our calling…so we find our purpose…so we find our fulfillment in living a life One Louder.

2 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in church, Kingdom

January 1, 2013

resolve

By arpology

How many of us actually expect to keep them? I think the success rate, at least according to the internet (and everything out here is true), is roughly around 8%. But yet every time a New Year rolls around we find our selves resolving to be better. Whether it is kicking a bad habit, losing weight, becoming more healthy, etc., it is almost a rite of passage into a new year to resolve to augment our behavior in some way that will make us better. Somehow the idea of a fresh start is just the spark we need to radically alter who we were just yesterday…kind of sounds silly in print. And yet I find myself being in with the crowd on these as well. But one resolution has always plagued me a bit.  It goes like this; “I resolve to draw closer to God.”

Now at face value this is a great resolution. Who wouldn’t want to draw closer to God? I know I do. I think the problem is how we go about it. We think somehow that drawing closer to God is something that is achieved on an individual level. As if he can only be encountered in my resolve to be personally accountable to His presence. And although I realize that we need time alone with God I believe that if we want to draw closer to God it looks a little different. Frank Weston, the one time Bishop of Zanzibar in the Anglican church wrote the following more than a hundred years ago:                                                              You cannot claim to worship Jesus in the tabernacle if you do not pity Jesus in the slum. … It is folly, it is madness, to suppose that you can worship Jesus in the Sacrament and Jesus on the throne of glory, when you are sweating Him in the bodies and souls of His children. . . . You have your Mass, you have your altars, you have begun to get your tabernacles. Now go out into the highways and hedges, and look for Jesus in the ragged and the naked, in the oppressed and the sweated, in those who have lost hope, and in those who are struggling to make good. Look for Jesus in them; and, when you have found Him, gird yourself with His towel of fellowship and wash His feet in the person of His brethren.

Here is what I think I am trying to say. If you really want to resolve to draw closer to God this year then resolve to draw closer to the people He died for. By sharing God’s love and life with others we find a way to encounter God like never before. Jesus himself put it this way in Matthew 25:38-40 “When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’.”

So by all means resolve to draw closer to God this year. It could be the greatest resolution you make. But be certain, it can never be done within the walls of your own safety and security. Rather it is only through reaching out in Christ’ love to those who haven’t been encountered yet for the Kingdom. Here you will draw closer to God.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in church, compassion, Jesus, Kingdom

December 7, 2012

adventure

By arpology

I like to think that I am a man of words. In fact, that is kind of how I make my living. Perhaps I don’t always choose the best words but I like to consider myself a student of how they can transform existence and even people sometimes. And now we find ourselves in one of the most amazing seasons of the Julian and Christian calendars….Advent. A season to anticipate and look forward to the coming of Christ, but also to reflect on his having come as God with us. So being a student of words I like to do comparisons and contrasts at times and I can’t help but link the word advent to the word adventure (after all it is the word’s root)…a word that implies risk, excitement or even danger. If you even break down the words into their appropriate pieces you have advent – coming and ure – action. You can see how that is kind of fun, right? (okay maybe I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to words).

But let’s put it into it’s proper context. The original Advent, or coming of God into flesh, was an amazing adventure on the part of God. The Incarnation can even be thought of as a a huge risk. God comes into the world and places his own well being into our hands. He even trusts a young unwed girl to be his mother and his chief care-taker. Sounds pretty risky to me. Not only that, but he then grows up and starts hanging out with outcasts, sinners, drunks, prostitutes, tax collectors and all the dregs of society. Talk about the ultimate thrill seeker. And it didn’t even pan out so well. Paul put it this way in Philippians 2:7-8 “…rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” So by embracing the adventure of Incarnation God ultimately places his life in human hands realizing that it would result in an untimely death (Of course we realize that it was held together by the hope of resurrection).

And so we come to this season of Advent and we realize that the call of Christ must become our call as well. We have been given the task of becoming incarnational (I realize it is not really a word) to those whom Christ would be present with. It may not be the people we would choose to associate with, but it is those to whom Jesus longs for us to be with. The burnout, the outcast, the forsaken, the estranged, the hurting, the broken, those alienated by the church, and the people who ultimately are nothing like us. I mean think about how different we were from Jesus being made to be like us. And becoming incarnational (again, I know its not a word…at least according to spell check, but it is a church word) may not always have a good outcome i.e. the cross. But we have hope beyond this life and so we really have no excuse.

May you find a way to be incarnational this Advent season and truly embrace the adventure of becoming God en-fleshed to someone who desperately needs to see Jesus.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Advent, church, compassion, Jesus

October 12, 2012

ego

By arpology

Confession time; my arrogance has overtaken me. For the past few weeks in my blog I have felt a little lack-luster. And not even necessarily because of what I have written, but more because of what I have not written and wanted to write. You see, I have always wanted my blog to live a little on the edge. To be relevant, yet maybe have a little punch to it. And so I thought about writing some commentary about the political arena with a different take on scripture; but it never sounded right. Or maybe seek out some divisive issue in the church and try to nail it to the wall, but that just turned out to be misguided. And then I realized why. It was because of my motivation. My gracious wife even pointed out to me that ‘you might get more hits, but is that what you really want?’ And in all honesty at the moment I was completely in the affirmative. I love it when people read my blog. It makes me feel all loved and smart and stuff (and if that last thought doesn’t make me sound educated, I don’t know what will). Seeing those blog hits tally up is like a little injection added to the skip in my step every time I post to arpology. But is this why I really write? If it is then I have issues…

And I do (have issues that is). My ego is one of them that I always struggle with. But truthfully who among us doesn’t struggle in the same fashion? Who among us doesn’t want to be the best at what they are doing when they are doing it? We have all heard the old proverb, which is actually a Proverb, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18. And I can’t help but be seized by the truth of it all as I write. Pride is that which brings on a multitude of shortcomings and slips and falls and sin in our attempts at self-perceived greatness. I think my writing even suffers more when I am concerned about the quantity of my reader versus the quality of their reading. I love the fact that there are people on the other side of the information superhighway reading these words I am penning, but I think I need to be concerned with their engagement with The Word more and less with their engagement with my words.

And so I will continue to write. But only in ways that truly point to the One who I want to represent. I will continue to study. But only to find new ways to engage the culture around me in order to transform it for the Kingdom. And I will find new stories, quips and insights from my daily life lived with my family, friends and my church that will lead me to greater ways of truth-telling for the sake of this blog. And although arpology will continue to be a lesson in pride management for me, I will always have this post to come back to and read to remind myself…It’s not about me.

1 comment   |  tags: , , | posted in church, community, pride

June 27, 2012

once divided

By arpology

It comes around about every two years. And you would think I would see it coming. But all of a sudden I am blindsided by it. Sometimes it sneaks into conversations. Other times I am blasted by it over the airwaves. Lately it seems like Facebook has become the ultimate venue. I’m talking about a little thing called “political banter”. And I wish I could say that most of this banter was nice spirited and even tempered…but the internet is no place to lie. The truth is that the country in which we lived is thrown into a maelstrom of political rhetoric and all to often battle lines are drawn in the sand and people are demonized before we even think about the body count on the other side of the issues. And the scariest part about all of this…the church doesn’t seem to look any better than the world of mainstream media. I see cheap shots and insults levied against political candidates and people who are taking stances by those called Christians without any consideration of the fact the person at whom said comments are hurled at is indeed one of God’s children; created to live into His image.

In regards to a solution, I guess we should start by looking at the life of the early church and their struggle with differences in their midst. Paul writes to the Ephesian church, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (Ephesians 2:13-16) This specific text was written to Jews and Gentiles who were struggling through unification issues, but don’t we seem to create the same divisions in the church over stuff that in all honesty won’t carry a lot of weight into eternity. I am pretty sure there isn’t a sorting line in heaven for Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. In fact…I hate to say it, but I am pretty sure the title American won’t exist there either.

So why do we let these conversations divide us? Why are we allowing hostility to creep into our midst? What if we, as the body of Christ, were discussing these “political” issues in a proactive way without relying on the “polls” to make the difference? I for one in my short life have come to the realization that placing hope in kings, kingdoms and governments will always fall short. Maybe we could come to the realization that spewing political word vomit on Facebook and the like really does make the Church look divided. And maybe then we could become creative instead as we seek to confront the evils of this world as One Body united through the blood of Christ with the mission to bring peace and make disciples of all nations. Now that sounds like a pretty good political campaign ;) .

1 comment | posted in church, judgment, speech, truth, Uncategorized

June 6, 2012

please step away from the mic

By arpology

About a month or so ago I came home from some church related activity one evening to find my wife had started a movie on Netflix; this is not an altogether uncommon activity in our house. However, her choice had me cringing a bit. She, not knowing who Bill Maher was at the time, had chosen to watch the movie Religulous. For those of you unfamiliar with Bill Maher or this work, it is basically ninety minutes of Mr. Maher attempting to make fun of the world’s three largest religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. However, he does so by picking out the crazy fundamentalists in each of the three. In the South we call this “shootin’ fish in a barrel”. Of course you can make fun of all the crazies that belong to a certain group…it’s easy. It actually makes Maher look a little less effective because he goes toe to toe with people my seven year old could out-wit. And we all know that these people are rarely the norm and have never represented the majority even if Bill Maher doesn’t.

I guess the real problem is the fact that the people who scream the loudest and sound the most ignorant get the most attention. I mean let’s face it, everyone loves to watch a train wreck. I guess the hard part for me is that in the Church we allow these people to become the dominant voices. I think about Westboro Baptist Church or the “pastor” from North Carolina* who recently proposed concentration camps for the Gay and Lesbian community and my stomach turns. Do these people not read the same Bible I do? Think about this passage from 1 Peter 4:8-11, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.” Love deeply…I don’t think either of these representations of our crazies could be accused of love. And what about that last phrase? Speak as if your words are “the very words of God”? Shouldn’t there be great care and thought put into every word we say as the church if our words are construed as the very words of God?

So here is my heartfelt plea; PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE MIC! (I may have been type shouting). You are making yourself look like fools. You are making the Church look ignorant and hateful. And most importantly…you are misrepresenting Christ! When members of a certain group go out and speak with hatred and ignorance that entire group becomes characterized by those extremes. So I beg of you…please step away from the mic. It would do us all a great deal of good and who knows…maybe Bill Maher will go broke because he won’t have anything to talk about.

 

* If you haven’t seen this, here is the link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2839yEazcs It may be the saddest thing you watch today.

Leave a comment | posted in church, fear, love

May 23, 2012

grace and peace

By arpology

Undoubtedly if you have ever been a part of a Stuck in the Middle gathering, or any of our previous youth positions in other churches, you have heard the three words that make up this post. In fact, I recently had the joy of getting to hang with some former students and I asked them, “What three word phrase would you always hear whenever we got together?” And almost in unison they replied, “Grace and Peace”. You see, in every youth gathering/service we had together we would have a time of passing the peace. But instead of uttering the liturgical phrase “The Peace of Christ to You” we pound fists with our neighbor as we utter “Grace and Peace”. And I couldn’t be more excited to have any other words associated with our ministry. But for me the real joy is when the students begin to understand why those words are integral. The significance of this phrase isn’t even probably found where you think it might be.

For better or worse our theology and practices in the modern church in America are probably shaped more by the writings of Paul than by any other writings in scripture. In fact, sometimes I see the main difference between the Modern church vs the Postmodern church is that the former is more Pauline in it’s theological sway while the latter tends to be more Christological. And a lot of this shaping through Pauline doctrine has been amazing. We understand church discipline, organization and morality better through his eyes. We are able to wrestle with justification, atonement and sanctification because of the texts given to us from his letters. However sometimes Paul has been used to oppress and deride members of society; even inside the walls of the church. His writing to Philemon regarding the fair treatment of a slave may have been a crutch for slavery and fodder against the abolitionist movement. His writings in Timothy have led to the oppression and subjugation of women both inside and outside the church walls. And I think the problem isn’t necessarily just a cultural interpretive issue…I think the problem is that we don’t read Paul sequentially.

In every one of Paul’s letters, before he gets into any issues with the local churches or leaders, before he even begins to weigh any theological discussion, we find some variation of the following phrase, “Grace and Peace”*. It was so important for Paul to lay the proper foundation with these churches that it is mentioned in every epistle he wrote! Now think about this with me…before Paul uttered one word of correction, before he gave one jot or tittle of instruction he ushered in Grace and Peace into the lives of his listeners.

What a concept! What would the reputation of the Church in the world look like today if we simply followed that model? What would we look like if before we entered into political arenas or workplace discussions we simply offered Grace freely (for truly that is really the only display of Grace) to those with whom we are about to engage? How effective would we be if in every situation we encounter we were actively seeking to build/make peace (not keep it, there is a significant difference) in creative and non-violent methods? Maybe then we might be getting persecuted and ridiculed for the right reasons instead of  accusations of being judgmental and hypocritical. Maybe then people might scoff at us because we are trying to make a difference by offering Grace and Peace in a world that really understands neither…or maybe we will find ourselves on a cross. But isn’t that where this all begins anyway?

* Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1Thessalonians 1:1, 2Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon1:3

Leave a comment | posted in church, grace, Kingdom, peace, theology

May 2, 2012

hard things

By arpology

One of my favorite shows on TV right now has to be Parks and Recreation. Not necessarily because of the content, but because of the exaggerated characters it brings together. Andy Dwyer is probably the best representation of the exaggeration. He is basically a seven-year old in an adult body. In an episode featuring Andy helping the Parks and Rec department out with an Opossum problem the following exchange takes place:                                                                                                                                  Andy: When you’re in a situation, you don’t have time to think. So I thought to myself, “Don’t think, Andy. Act.”
Tom: So you weren’t thinking.
Andy: Not at all. I cannot emphasize enough how little I was thinking.                                                                                                                                                                  It’s quotes like this that typify his character and just make him a joy to watch. It really is like watching a kid in adult shoes who refuses to engage society with any sense of discernment or intelligibility. The scary revelation that I come to through the character of Andy Dwyer is that all to often this can even describe those of us who claim to belong to the Way.

I guess what I am trying to say is this. There are a lot of things about our faith and doctrine that are hard to understand, much less communicate to others. But does that mean we should give up and just talk without giving thought to them? Does this mean that we don’t wrestle with concepts like The Trinity, The fully divine/mortal revelation of Christ, the Atonement, free will, etc.? By no means. In fact, if we don’t wrestle with these things then how do we expect to be able to bring others into a full understanding of who Christ is and the forgiveness offered through the cross. And all the more, if this wrestling with doctrinal issues does not guide our speech/breaking of the Word before others, then are we being faithful to the Church?

1 Timothy 4:14-16 reads, “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.” By watching our doctrine we save our hearers? If this is something we truly believe then we are accountable for the words we speak especially in regards to issues that communicate beliefs essential to who we are as Christ followers. This is especially true for those who stand in the pulpit (present company included) and for those who have been ordained in whatever tradition they belong to (present company also included :) ).

And so what do I propose? Study to show yourself approved. We have been given two millennium of heritage and tradition handed down to us by some of the greatest minds ever who coincidentally enough belonged to the Church. Names like Clement, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Augustine, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Zwingli, Luther, Arminius and Wesley. These are all names we should at least be somewhat familiar with. Here are men who made it their lives’ work to wrestle with issues essential to our identity and can even help us struggle with them today.

So I guess it comes down to whether or not we choose to think about such things or not. But one way or another, eventually we will all be accountable for these hard things and how we treated them.

Leave a comment | posted in church, scripture, speech, theology

April 11, 2012

consistency

By arpology

Very rarely will any one ever praise SEC football for sticking to their guns when it comes to matters of ethics. Then again for that matter I don’t think many people will accuse any football program in the NCAA for being ethically elite. That being said, on April 10th the University of Arkansas made an upstanding move and fired coach Bobby Petrino not for losing football games or recruiting poor talent (as he has done the opposite in both of those categories), but for having an affair and violating the moral code associated with the station he held. Wow…way to go Arkansas (and I’m a Tennessee fan). The thing about this is that I believe for once a secular university has set an example for how we are to be in the church.

I think one of the biggest hang-ups that I have with the evangelical church in America today is the issue of consistency. It is almost as if we have issued a morality rating system by which to abide by which has nothing to do with Biblical teaching on sin. I recently saw a saying online that even said, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you”. I admit, that is probably a bit of hyperbole, but the issue ultimately lies in our ability to confront the ills of society and the ills in our own lives with consistency. The great thing about the Arkansas story is that they set a policy, they understood the policy and they acted upon that policy. The issue I have with the church is that we understand what God has in mind for us, we act upon it when it is convenient for us and we judge those outside of our fellowship by it all the time.

Take for instance the passage in 1 Corinthians 5:11-12, “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?” Paul sets it out very clearly. In the church we are to rid ourselves of sexual immorality (I believe this is probably promiscuity of any kind), greed (pursuit of riches?), slander (don’t get me started on Social Media), idolatry (of any form…TV, possessions, work, one’s own body, etc.), drunkenness (I think that includes any substance abuse even that of Rx), and cheating whether it is on your taxes or on a test. Paul goes so far as to say not to share a meal with these people. This is huge. One of the defining characteristics of the early church was to break bread together. Hospitality was one of the defining measures of the early church and Paul wants us to break off fellowship with these people?

One of the illustrations I have always loved is that of the oxygen masks on airplanes. The instructions go a bit like this: For those of you with parties you are responsible for, make sure you place your oxygen mask on before you attempt to help them as it will do you no good if you are incapacitated. The church really can’t do a lot of good if it is struggling to put the oxygen mask on the world without securing it in place on itself first.  Maybe once we are able to develop a consistent voice in the life of the church we may have a greater influence on the morality outside our walls.

6 comments | posted in church

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