It has been a few weeks since I've blogged. Anlee, Ezra and I were on vacation for two weeks in Georgia and Tennessee visiting friends and family and then on top of that, we are currently in a time of transition with lots of changes coming. This blog will be a little more personal than usual.
I am currently reading a biography of Jonathan Edwards (along with about 4 other books). At 46 years of age, Edwards was removed from the church where he had been a pastor for most of his life. A portion of a letter he wrote to a friend during this period resonated with me.
I am now, as it were, thrown upon the wide ocean of the world, and know not what will become of me and my numerous and chargeable family. Nor have any particular door in view that I depend upon to be opened for my future serviceableness...We are in the hands of God, and I bless him, I am not anxious concerning his disposal of us.
While I am not being removed from my current ministry position, I am leaving it and will be without a job in two weeks (unless something comes up before then). Two years ago, when Anlee and I moved back from South Korea and I took a position at this church in Midland, TX, I didn't figure I'd be looking for work again so soon or that I'd be considering going back to a non-ministry job, at least for a time.
But here I am. God has done a lot of work in my life over the past two years. I have changed and grown in ways that I never expected. Two years ago, I felt peace and confidence about getting back into a ministry job. I was completely content to serve in the areas of leading music/worship and leading youth. I had little to no desire to teach, preach, or serve in other leadership areas of the church. But God had other plans. I now find myself chomping at the bit to get all the experience and training I can get in the areas of teaching, preaching, and church leadership.
Furthermore, I have been having lots of thoughts of planting a church, another thing that I never wanted to do two years ago.
Let me make this clear. These are all things that I had no desire for two years ago. Nothing in me liked preaching. I would have been content never preaching again. I told this to the elders at my church this when I was getting hired. Now I think about preparing and giving sermons all the time. I've even had dreams about it. It's clear that this is a work of God and not just me deciding to change the nature of my desires and the course of my life.
Five months ago I communicated all of this to the elders of my church. I also told them that I felt something of a call to plant a church in my hometown of Stanwood. I didn't know if or when this would happen. I'm hesitant to say "God told me this", as I don't have an infallible ear. But I haven't been able to shake this sense that God is leading me to at least pursue the training and experience necessary for planting a church down the road.
So, that's how I find myself with two more weeks to go at my current position and a move to western Washington soon after that. I have no job prospects as of yet. We'll be living with my family for the time being. I have a wife and kid that I have the wonderful responsibility of providing and caring for. It is a somewhat unnerving time. As I said, I didn't expect to be here. I never could have planned this.
But like Jonathan Edwards, I hope in this: We are in the hands of God, and I bless him, I am not anxious concerning his disposal of us.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Tolerance in The Humanist
Every Friday my wife has a meeting at Barnes and Noble to go over some work stuff with her boss. I usually tag along and push Ezra, our six-month-old, around in his stroller while browsing the books and magazines. Last week a front cover article in the magazine The Humanist caught my attention. The article was titled "Free Speech Aflame." Ezra was sleeping so
I decided to check it out. It turned out to be an interview with Greg
Lukianoff, who is the president of FIRE, a nonprofit educational foundation
that supports free expression, academic freedom, and due process at U.S.
colleges and universities.
As I am currently putting together an article on the nature of tolerance in our culture, several statements by Lukianoff caught my attention. Here are some snippets of the interview.
The Humanist: FIRE periodically defends students’ religious beliefs that some humanists—or non-humanists—would find hateful. Why?
Lukianoff: Personally, I’ve been an atheist since seventh grade. And FIRE was founded by two non-religious civil libertarians. All of us believe in the entire First Amendment, and that includes the establishment clause and free exercise clause.
As I am currently putting together an article on the nature of tolerance in our culture, several statements by Lukianoff caught my attention. Here are some snippets of the interview.
FIRE
is a nonprofit educational foundation that supports free expression,
academic freedom, and due process at U.S. colleges and universities. -
See more at:
http://thehumanist.org/may-june-2013/free-speech-aflame-the-humanist-interview-with-greg-lukianoff/#sthash.mhGqq23Y.F1tCUudt.dpuf
FIRE
is a nonprofit educational foundation that supports free expression,
academic freedom, and due process at U.S. colleges and universities. -
See more at:
http://thehumanist.org/may-june-2013/free-speech-aflame-the-humanist-interview-with-greg-lukianoff/#sthash.mhGqq23Y.F1tCUudt.dpuf
The Humanist: FIRE periodically defends students’ religious beliefs that some humanists—or non-humanists—would find hateful. Why?
Lukianoff: Personally, I’ve been an atheist since seventh grade. And FIRE was founded by two non-religious civil libertarians. All of us believe in the entire First Amendment, and that includes the establishment clause and free exercise clause.
So we’ve defended Muslim student
groups and evangelical Christian student groups, some of whom are being kicked
off campus because they believe that homosexuality is sinful. I don’t agree
with that point of view, and I both hope and believe that such views will
eventually be abandoned. But I challenge my friends who support expelling such
groups: Do we really want to live in a society that can try to coerce somebody
into changing their theological point of view just because it’s unpopular?
Our founders learned from Europe’s
religious wars that the government should stay out of establishing a theocracy,
deciding matters of theology, or interfering with people’s faith.
I understand the frustration on
campus—some people want evangelicals to change their minds on issues like
sexual morality. But you’re not doing that cause any favors if your solution is
to kick those students off the campus. It probably hardens their point of view,
and turns the narrative from “We have an idea that many people find
objectionable” into “We’re being exiled for our points of view.” So, in
addition to the strategy being wrong, I think it can backfire.
The Humanist: Intolerance—say of another’s code of sexual morality—is assumed to be a bad thing on campus because supposedly it creates an environment that makes other people uncomfortable.
Lukianoff: Yes. The question of making people uncomfortable versus discriminating against them is a distinction that I draw all the time. There’s a big difference between discriminating on the basis of an immutable characteristic, and opposing on the basis of a belief. Discriminating on the basis of an immutable characteristic like skin color or sexual orientation is something that should be challenged, as this discrimination prevents others from exercising their rights. But belief is intertwined with expression and civic integrity. Democratic societies need to nurture and protect people’s right to believe anything they want, no matter how distasteful it may be to others, even if those others are in the majority.
The Humanist: Intolerance—say of another’s code of sexual morality—is assumed to be a bad thing on campus because supposedly it creates an environment that makes other people uncomfortable.
Lukianoff: Yes. The question of making people uncomfortable versus discriminating against them is a distinction that I draw all the time. There’s a big difference between discriminating on the basis of an immutable characteristic, and opposing on the basis of a belief. Discriminating on the basis of an immutable characteristic like skin color or sexual orientation is something that should be challenged, as this discrimination prevents others from exercising their rights. But belief is intertwined with expression and civic integrity. Democratic societies need to nurture and protect people’s right to believe anything they want, no matter how distasteful it may be to others, even if those others are in the majority.
See the full interview-Link
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Tolerance, pt. 1
I am working on a larger article on the subject of tolerance. I am beginning to find sources and quotes and thought I'd put a few of them up here as food for thought. I would love comments on these, especially if you find yourself disagreeing with them. As these quotes convey, our culture is losing its ability to discuss differing opinions with respect and reason. We need more of this.
Here is a quote from Meic Pearse's book, "Why the Rest Hates the West", as quoted in D.A. Carson's recent book, "The Intolerance of Tolerance."
“The currency of the term tolerance has recently become badly debased. Where it used to mean the respecting of real, hard differences, it has come to mean instead a dogmatic abdication of truth-claims and a moralistic adherence to moral relativism-departure from either of which is stigmatized as intolerance…Where the old tolerance allowed hard differences on religion and morality to rub shoulders and compete freely in the public square, the new variety wishes to lock them all indoors as matters of private judgment; the public square must be given over to indistinctness. If the old tolerance was, at least, a real value, the new, intolerant “tolerance” might better be described as an antivalue; it is a disposition of hostility to any suggestion that one thing is “better” than another, or even that any way of life needs protected space from its alternatives.”
And a couple more quotes from Carson's book.
Here is a quote from Meic Pearse's book, "Why the Rest Hates the West", as quoted in D.A. Carson's recent book, "The Intolerance of Tolerance."
“The currency of the term tolerance has recently become badly debased. Where it used to mean the respecting of real, hard differences, it has come to mean instead a dogmatic abdication of truth-claims and a moralistic adherence to moral relativism-departure from either of which is stigmatized as intolerance…Where the old tolerance allowed hard differences on religion and morality to rub shoulders and compete freely in the public square, the new variety wishes to lock them all indoors as matters of private judgment; the public square must be given over to indistinctness. If the old tolerance was, at least, a real value, the new, intolerant “tolerance” might better be described as an antivalue; it is a disposition of hostility to any suggestion that one thing is “better” than another, or even that any way of life needs protected space from its alternatives.”
And a couple more quotes from Carson's book.
In this tolerant world some things
are intolerable-especially those judged to be intolerant. (30)
Genuine pluralism within the broader
culture is facilitated when there is a strong Christian voice loyal to the
Scriptures-as well as strong Muslim voices, skeptical voices, Buddhist voices,
atheistic voices, and so forth. Genuine pluralism within the broader culture is
not fostered when in the name of
tolerance none of the voices can say that any of the others is wrong, and when
this stance is the only ultimate virtue. (35)
What is unhealthy is derisive
criticism that does not engage with the views of a particular party, but merely
dismisses them and tries to expel them from the discourse on the ground that they are intolerant. (43)
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Happy, Happy, Happy Church Music
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm going to take this week to write about church music.
This morning I found myself spending some significant time reading the Psalms. I have found that it is usually in times of sorrow, suffering, and uncertainty that the Psalms really come alive and have a lot to offer.
How freeing and comforting it is to cry out with the Psalmist,
"O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes-it has also gone from me." (38:9-10)
"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy" (61:1-3).
These verses comfort me by reminding me that it's legitimate to feel stressed and burdened by sorrow and that it's appropriate and good to cry out to God in times like these. I don't need to have all the answers. I don't need to maintain a "peaceful, easy feeling" about everything. Trusting in God doesn't mean that I won't feel hurt, confusion, and sorrow. Yes, we know that it is God's will for us to "rejoice always," but the Psalms teach us that this doesn't mean we need to pretend like we don't hurt and suffer or that we need to keep a smile on our face at all times.
Now, how does this tie in to church music? From my experience and observations as a worship director, I think that many of the songs that we sing in church do a poor job of giving legitimacy to a range of emotions. Much of the worship music being written today assumes that we are feeling happy, settled, and thankful. This can lead many to walk away from a church service with their greatest emotions and needs unacknowledged and untouched. Of course, we'd all like to be thankful and joyful all the time. But that is not reality for most of us. We hurt, doubt, question, mourn, suffer, etc. And the Psalms tell us that these things are part of the human condition, even as Christians, and that we don't need to gloss over their existence.
It's my desire to see churches recognize this deficiency in many modern worship songs and do something to combat it. One of the reasons I am drawn to hymns is because they tend to do a much better job of connecting with a wide range of emotions. This is not to say that there are no modern worship songs that deal with suffering, sorrow, or doubt (Tim Hughes' "I've Had Questions" and Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name" come to mind); but these types of songs are not the norm and the worship sets at most churches continue to convey the belief that the only acceptable emotions from which to worship are happy, thankful, and settled.
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord,
Take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above."
This morning I found myself spending some significant time reading the Psalms. I have found that it is usually in times of sorrow, suffering, and uncertainty that the Psalms really come alive and have a lot to offer.
How freeing and comforting it is to cry out with the Psalmist,
"O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes-it has also gone from me." (38:9-10)
"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy" (61:1-3).
These verses comfort me by reminding me that it's legitimate to feel stressed and burdened by sorrow and that it's appropriate and good to cry out to God in times like these. I don't need to have all the answers. I don't need to maintain a "peaceful, easy feeling" about everything. Trusting in God doesn't mean that I won't feel hurt, confusion, and sorrow. Yes, we know that it is God's will for us to "rejoice always," but the Psalms teach us that this doesn't mean we need to pretend like we don't hurt and suffer or that we need to keep a smile on our face at all times.
Now, how does this tie in to church music? From my experience and observations as a worship director, I think that many of the songs that we sing in church do a poor job of giving legitimacy to a range of emotions. Much of the worship music being written today assumes that we are feeling happy, settled, and thankful. This can lead many to walk away from a church service with their greatest emotions and needs unacknowledged and untouched. Of course, we'd all like to be thankful and joyful all the time. But that is not reality for most of us. We hurt, doubt, question, mourn, suffer, etc. And the Psalms tell us that these things are part of the human condition, even as Christians, and that we don't need to gloss over their existence.
It's my desire to see churches recognize this deficiency in many modern worship songs and do something to combat it. One of the reasons I am drawn to hymns is because they tend to do a much better job of connecting with a wide range of emotions. This is not to say that there are no modern worship songs that deal with suffering, sorrow, or doubt (Tim Hughes' "I've Had Questions" and Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name" come to mind); but these types of songs are not the norm and the worship sets at most churches continue to convey the belief that the only acceptable emotions from which to worship are happy, thankful, and settled.
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord,
Take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above."
Monday, June 17, 2013
What will you worship today?
I'm going to take this week and write a series of posts on church music. A little clarification will be helpful. While it is common to use the term "worship" to refer to the singing portion of a church service, this easily leads to a misunderstanding. The term "worship" means to give worth or reverence to something or someone. It comes from combining the words "worth" and "ship." Worship, according to this definition, is not something limited to singing songs. More importantly, the understanding of worship that we get from the Bible is also much broader than merely singing "praise and worship" songs. When we use the word "worship" to describe the 20-30 minute set of 4 songs that we sing on Sunday, it is easy to start thinking that worship means singing, or that worship happens only on Sundays.
However, as will be clear, worship is something that is meant to be all-life encompassing. But even more than that, worship is something that everyone does by nature, all the time. We are worshiping creatures. We give worth to things. We highly esteem things. We give money, time, and thoughts to certain things or people. We all worship something, all the time. Food, sex, making money, spending money, comfort, religion, morality, business, respect, family...all around us are voices begging for our worship.
I like to think that life is like a big game of king of the hill. There are many things vying to be the object of our worship, many things trying to become the king of our lives. We worship food one day, but eventually the high wears off (we get bloated or sick) and we turn to our job or family or religion or image to assume the throne. But there is only one true King of the Hill, only one thing that rightfully deserves our utmost time, treasures, and thoughts. And that is God.
Today, we will all worship something. It will either be the true God or a functional god. Worship doesn't wait until Sunday at 9:30 AM. Just the fact that we sing songs to God doesn't mean that we worship God with our lives. For this reason, I am hesitant to use the word "worship" to primarily refer to the singing portion of our church services." Phrases such as "worship through music" or "worship in song" are helpful in avoiding this confusion. For in the true sense of the word, worship is something like an attitude or posture we assume before whatever it is that we cling to most desperately. And we all do this, all day long.
However, as will be clear, worship is something that is meant to be all-life encompassing. But even more than that, worship is something that everyone does by nature, all the time. We are worshiping creatures. We give worth to things. We highly esteem things. We give money, time, and thoughts to certain things or people. We all worship something, all the time. Food, sex, making money, spending money, comfort, religion, morality, business, respect, family...all around us are voices begging for our worship.
I like to think that life is like a big game of king of the hill. There are many things vying to be the object of our worship, many things trying to become the king of our lives. We worship food one day, but eventually the high wears off (we get bloated or sick) and we turn to our job or family or religion or image to assume the throne. But there is only one true King of the Hill, only one thing that rightfully deserves our utmost time, treasures, and thoughts. And that is God.
Today, we will all worship something. It will either be the true God or a functional god. Worship doesn't wait until Sunday at 9:30 AM. Just the fact that we sing songs to God doesn't mean that we worship God with our lives. For this reason, I am hesitant to use the word "worship" to primarily refer to the singing portion of our church services." Phrases such as "worship through music" or "worship in song" are helpful in avoiding this confusion. For in the true sense of the word, worship is something like an attitude or posture we assume before whatever it is that we cling to most desperately. And we all do this, all day long.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
I am Wicked
One of my favorite quotes is by Tim Keller: “In the gospel we discover that we are far more wicked than we ever dared believe, yet more loved than we ever dared hope.”
I find this insight to be extremely helpful and on the mark. I feel that we often try to convince ourselves that we are not that bad, that our sin is not really that big of a deal. Understandably, we want to feel good about ourselves. Yet as we successfully convince ourselves that we are basically good, we also successfully make God's love for us and Jesus' death in our place not all that astounding or wonderful. As we diminish our sin, we diminish God's grace.
But the GOOD news of the Bible continually tells us that we are "wretched" and in need of nothing less than a Savior. We don't merely need a self-help strategy, a new morality, a worldview, a new diet, an ego-boost, etc. We need a Savior to rescue us from our own wickedness, the "cosmic treason" we've committed against our Creator.
And why this news is so GOOD is that we have such a Savior-Jesus.
When we try to diminish our sin and in so doing, diminish God's grace, the result is that we end up living with constant, low-lying guilt. This is because we can't completely shrug the sense that deep down there is more wretchedness than we are willing to admit. But when we are honest about our brokenness and sin, we can find complete freedom and peace knowing that every last part of it was paid for by Jesus' death and resurrection. We can accept the wickedness that dwells within us because we know that we are loved thoroughly and completely by God.
May we see more clearly the seriousness and wretchedness of our sin that we may rejoice more abundantly in the vastness of God's love and mercy.
This song by Derek Webb paints a good picture-"Crooked Deep Down."
I find this insight to be extremely helpful and on the mark. I feel that we often try to convince ourselves that we are not that bad, that our sin is not really that big of a deal. Understandably, we want to feel good about ourselves. Yet as we successfully convince ourselves that we are basically good, we also successfully make God's love for us and Jesus' death in our place not all that astounding or wonderful. As we diminish our sin, we diminish God's grace.
But the GOOD news of the Bible continually tells us that we are "wretched" and in need of nothing less than a Savior. We don't merely need a self-help strategy, a new morality, a worldview, a new diet, an ego-boost, etc. We need a Savior to rescue us from our own wickedness, the "cosmic treason" we've committed against our Creator.
And why this news is so GOOD is that we have such a Savior-Jesus.
When we try to diminish our sin and in so doing, diminish God's grace, the result is that we end up living with constant, low-lying guilt. This is because we can't completely shrug the sense that deep down there is more wretchedness than we are willing to admit. But when we are honest about our brokenness and sin, we can find complete freedom and peace knowing that every last part of it was paid for by Jesus' death and resurrection. We can accept the wickedness that dwells within us because we know that we are loved thoroughly and completely by God.
May we see more clearly the seriousness and wretchedness of our sin that we may rejoice more abundantly in the vastness of God's love and mercy.
This song by Derek Webb paints a good picture-"Crooked Deep Down."
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Uncertainty and doubt
This season of life has required more trust in God than usual. I often dream about how great it would be to know the future. Living with lots of uncertainty is tough. I just want to know what's going to happen. It would be much easier to put my confidence in a particular circumstance or outcome than to put it in God.
But I don't know the future. And I continue to live with lots of unanswered questions. I am left with only two options: 1) Freak out and learn to live with anxiety or, 2) learn to more fully trust God than ever before.
I have found that there are two beliefs that, if true, make all the difference in life, especially in times like this: 1) God is good, and 2) God is in control. I have always claimed to believe these two statements but that belief is being severely tested. It's tough. I don't always see God's goodness. I don't always see him working. I don't understand why things happen the way that they do.
But I must believe that he is sovereign and that he is good. Always. This is a daily decision.
How sweet are these words! "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
The words of this are great, too. Link.
But I don't know the future. And I continue to live with lots of unanswered questions. I am left with only two options: 1) Freak out and learn to live with anxiety or, 2) learn to more fully trust God than ever before.
I have found that there are two beliefs that, if true, make all the difference in life, especially in times like this: 1) God is good, and 2) God is in control. I have always claimed to believe these two statements but that belief is being severely tested. It's tough. I don't always see God's goodness. I don't always see him working. I don't understand why things happen the way that they do.
But I must believe that he is sovereign and that he is good. Always. This is a daily decision.
How sweet are these words! "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
The words of this are great, too. Link.
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