Largest collegiate group ever doing the thriller dance. Go Beavs! I cross the screen at about 14 seconds in and then when they show the whole group shot, look for the guy in the very back on the 50 yard line who looks like he has no idea what he is doing. That is me! Hooray!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
What Matters More?
This is a new song by Derek Webb. It is nice when people put into words things you have been thinking for a while. This song is challenging to me, not to mention quite catchy. Enjoy.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Die Little Jesus
There is a disturbing little statistic floating around these days. It says that somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% of students who identify themselves as Christians pretty much lose their faith when they get to college and stop being involved in the Christian community. (If anyone knows the precise origin of this number, feel free to let me know.)
That is a number that hits close to home. I work with college students. I have seen this number wear flesh and blood. I have watched students get less and less involved until Jesus is just a distant fading memory of a time when they were wasting their lives.
I am wondering why this happens and I know I have a lot to learn. I recently (today) started reading "unChristian" by David Kinnaman. I have heard good things about it and look forward to sharing with you what I learn from it.
But in the meantime, may I offer a little theory of my own? I think that somewhere while we are growing up in church, we latch on to a Jesus who is similar to the real thing, but is lacking in some key areas. When we get to college, we encounter an onslaught of new ideas, experiences, and arguments. The Jesus we have latched on to often (80% of the time) can't take the heat. Suddenly we have all these questions and he can't answer them. Suddenly the New Testament isn't as neat and tidy as we would like it to be. Read the end of Mark for a great example.
We show up at our sociology class or comparative religion class and walk out feeling like they just killed Jesus.
Suddenly the people who drink a lot and sleep with their boyfriends and girlfriends aren't all evil like we were taught. They end up looking and acting just like us. They are just having more fun. And they are getting away with it!
And Jesus dies a little more.
And it sucks when Jesus dies doesn't it? We were taught that he was alive but now someone is saying that they just made that part up. When Jesus dies he is supposed to get better. But when we encounter these things, he just seems to stay dead.
But I have hope.
I have hope because I came to college with a big picture of Jesus in theory, but a tiny one in practice. My Jesus was not able to handle the drunk people running through my hall all the time. Following my Jesus led me into my room with the door closed. As a consequence of following this Jesus, I got really good at minesweeper and finding porn on the internet.
My little Jesus couldn't lead me out into my hall to engage with and love the guys who also lived there.
So why does this give me hope, well take a little trip with my won't you? All the way back to a couple of guys on a road a few days after Jesus was killed for real. They are walking together to a village called Emmaus. They used to follow Jesus, but some people killed him. They thought he was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel and usher in the Kingdom of God, but he was killed. And everyone knows you can't bring the Kingdom when you are dead. They don't know what to do with this information so they are heading home. Back to the lives they had before they met Jesus. They are depressed and confused and the best thing they can come up with is to go home. They are going to throw in the towel.
And I can't blame them. Who would do anything different in their place?
They just came out of the most brutal college class in history. And they are beginning to lose their faith.
I have hope because they meet a stranger who begins to tell them a different story and offers them a bigger Jesus. This Jesus was supposed to die and his death showed the Glory of God.
He walks them through scripture again and shows them that this has been spoken about the whole time. Yes, Jesus has died, but maybe more importantly, their little Jesus has died.
It is somewhat comforting and somewhat disturbing to know that you can be immersed in the Scriptures your whole life and still miss the point right? hmmmmmmmm . . .
As the two men hear what the stranger is saying, their hearts burn. This teaching is connecting with them in a way they have never experienced and they like it, a lot.
So they invite the stranger in for dinner and as he breaks the bread, something crazy happens. Their eyes are opened and they recognize him. The stranger who has been walking with them, talking with them, and eating with them, is Jesus himself.
Risen from the dead.
Little Jesus stays dead.
Real Jesus, he comes back to life.
Not even the Roman empire could stop him. What the heck can a college professor do? How about an insecure overconfident college freshman?
My little Jesus began to die as I took a fresh look at the Scriptures. I discovered a Jesus who was bringing a Kingdom that was bigger, more powerful, and more revolutionary than I ever thought.
I have hope that as people encounter the real Jesus through good scripture study and being a part of people committed to following the real Jesus, the little Jesus will die and the real one will come to life.
May we have a fresh encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus. And may it transform us and the world forever.
That is a number that hits close to home. I work with college students. I have seen this number wear flesh and blood. I have watched students get less and less involved until Jesus is just a distant fading memory of a time when they were wasting their lives.
I am wondering why this happens and I know I have a lot to learn. I recently (today) started reading "unChristian" by David Kinnaman. I have heard good things about it and look forward to sharing with you what I learn from it.
But in the meantime, may I offer a little theory of my own? I think that somewhere while we are growing up in church, we latch on to a Jesus who is similar to the real thing, but is lacking in some key areas. When we get to college, we encounter an onslaught of new ideas, experiences, and arguments. The Jesus we have latched on to often (80% of the time) can't take the heat. Suddenly we have all these questions and he can't answer them. Suddenly the New Testament isn't as neat and tidy as we would like it to be. Read the end of Mark for a great example.
We show up at our sociology class or comparative religion class and walk out feeling like they just killed Jesus.
Suddenly the people who drink a lot and sleep with their boyfriends and girlfriends aren't all evil like we were taught. They end up looking and acting just like us. They are just having more fun. And they are getting away with it!
And Jesus dies a little more.
And it sucks when Jesus dies doesn't it? We were taught that he was alive but now someone is saying that they just made that part up. When Jesus dies he is supposed to get better. But when we encounter these things, he just seems to stay dead.
But I have hope.
I have hope because I came to college with a big picture of Jesus in theory, but a tiny one in practice. My Jesus was not able to handle the drunk people running through my hall all the time. Following my Jesus led me into my room with the door closed. As a consequence of following this Jesus, I got really good at minesweeper and finding porn on the internet.
My little Jesus couldn't lead me out into my hall to engage with and love the guys who also lived there.
So why does this give me hope, well take a little trip with my won't you? All the way back to a couple of guys on a road a few days after Jesus was killed for real. They are walking together to a village called Emmaus. They used to follow Jesus, but some people killed him. They thought he was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel and usher in the Kingdom of God, but he was killed. And everyone knows you can't bring the Kingdom when you are dead. They don't know what to do with this information so they are heading home. Back to the lives they had before they met Jesus. They are depressed and confused and the best thing they can come up with is to go home. They are going to throw in the towel.
And I can't blame them. Who would do anything different in their place?
They just came out of the most brutal college class in history. And they are beginning to lose their faith.
I have hope because they meet a stranger who begins to tell them a different story and offers them a bigger Jesus. This Jesus was supposed to die and his death showed the Glory of God.
He walks them through scripture again and shows them that this has been spoken about the whole time. Yes, Jesus has died, but maybe more importantly, their little Jesus has died.
It is somewhat comforting and somewhat disturbing to know that you can be immersed in the Scriptures your whole life and still miss the point right? hmmmmmmmm . . .
As the two men hear what the stranger is saying, their hearts burn. This teaching is connecting with them in a way they have never experienced and they like it, a lot.
So they invite the stranger in for dinner and as he breaks the bread, something crazy happens. Their eyes are opened and they recognize him. The stranger who has been walking with them, talking with them, and eating with them, is Jesus himself.
Risen from the dead.
Little Jesus stays dead.
Real Jesus, he comes back to life.
Not even the Roman empire could stop him. What the heck can a college professor do? How about an insecure overconfident college freshman?
My little Jesus began to die as I took a fresh look at the Scriptures. I discovered a Jesus who was bringing a Kingdom that was bigger, more powerful, and more revolutionary than I ever thought.
I have hope that as people encounter the real Jesus through good scripture study and being a part of people committed to following the real Jesus, the little Jesus will die and the real one will come to life.
May we have a fresh encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus. And may it transform us and the world forever.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Power of Invitation
I had something that really defined my experience in High School. Some people played sports. Some people took AP classes.
I sang in choir.
I spent every free moment I could in the choir room singing with my friends. I loved making music with other people. I loved creating something beautiful every day.
But I almost never did it.
When I was in junior high, I thought that singing in choir was only for people who had no idea how uncool they were. I heckled my friends who were in it. But I did like to sing and play guitar oddly enough. The High School choir teacher got word of that and sent me a letter inviting me to be a par of the choir. I said no. He sent me another letter. I again said no.
Then he called me to talk about it. I told him I was interested in other things and was probably not going to do choir. This was his reply: "ok, I am going on vacation for two weeks. When I come back, you can let me know your final answer." I thought I already had but whatever. Two weeks later he called me back and asked what if I wanted to join choir.
And for some crazy reason, I said, "Yes."
I really don't know why. Maybe it was just to get him to stop bothering me. So to stop someone from bothering me, I joined his class. Great Idea Ben!
But as it turned out, I loved it. I fell in love with music and learning to sing and the people I met and the places I was able to go because of it. It changed my life. It set my life in a totally different direction. I went to college to study music because of that. I am on IV staff because I responded to that invitation.
I am so thankful that he kept inviting me. He invited me four times. I said "no" three times. But the fourth time, I said "yes." And it changed my life.
If responding to an invitation from a choir teacher can do that, what can responding to an invitation from Jesus do?
May I always say "yes" to Jesus.
May you always say "yes" to Jesus.
May we always say "yes" to Jesus.
I sang in choir.
I spent every free moment I could in the choir room singing with my friends. I loved making music with other people. I loved creating something beautiful every day.
But I almost never did it.
When I was in junior high, I thought that singing in choir was only for people who had no idea how uncool they were. I heckled my friends who were in it. But I did like to sing and play guitar oddly enough. The High School choir teacher got word of that and sent me a letter inviting me to be a par of the choir. I said no. He sent me another letter. I again said no.
Then he called me to talk about it. I told him I was interested in other things and was probably not going to do choir. This was his reply: "ok, I am going on vacation for two weeks. When I come back, you can let me know your final answer." I thought I already had but whatever. Two weeks later he called me back and asked what if I wanted to join choir.
And for some crazy reason, I said, "Yes."
I really don't know why. Maybe it was just to get him to stop bothering me. So to stop someone from bothering me, I joined his class. Great Idea Ben!
But as it turned out, I loved it. I fell in love with music and learning to sing and the people I met and the places I was able to go because of it. It changed my life. It set my life in a totally different direction. I went to college to study music because of that. I am on IV staff because I responded to that invitation.
I am so thankful that he kept inviting me. He invited me four times. I said "no" three times. But the fourth time, I said "yes." And it changed my life.
If responding to an invitation from a choir teacher can do that, what can responding to an invitation from Jesus do?
May I always say "yes" to Jesus.
May you always say "yes" to Jesus.
May we always say "yes" to Jesus.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
How to Dismantle the Ku Klux Klan.
This is simultaneously hilarious and really powerful. The guy being interviewed is a repentant former Klan leader. This is how it happened.
I would really like to meet Reverend Wade. Sounds like someone was taking Jesus seriously. Enjoy.
I would really like to meet Reverend Wade. Sounds like someone was taking Jesus seriously. Enjoy.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Summer Reading
I love summers. I also love that there are so many good books to read. And sometimes, when I am lucky, the stars align and I am able to enjoy both at the same time. Hooray!
I have a few thoughts on some books I have been reading but before I get to that, I would like to share a few thoughts on reading:
I have two friends who in the span of two days, or maybe it was on the same day, said to me the following things: "Ben, you read too much!" and, "I don't understand how people read!" (Disclaimer: I have large amounts of care and respect for both of these people. I admire them and am inspired by them in many ways. Just not when it comes to reading.)
I think a little piece of me died when they said those things. But good thing Jesus is in the resurrection business! It really isn't as dramatic as I made it sound just there.
I have now started five paragraphs in a row with "I." Self-important much?
If I kept a list of things that were vital to my growth as a human being, reading would be in the top five because I wouldn't count necessities and there have to be at least four other things that are more important than reading, I just can't think of them right now. Reading helps me learn what I didn't know I didn't know. It opens me up to entirely new worlds of possibilities and ideas.
Sometimes it borders on obsession. Like I have some compulsive need to constantly fill my brain with words that other people wrote. Sometimes one isn't enough. I will read like 4 or 5 books at a time. They will all be in various stages of completion based on how important I feel they are to finish. I will be reading one and really enjoying it and see another book that looks interesting and then put the first one down, start and finish the new one, and then finish the first one (see the post below with Culture Making and The Reason for God).
But how can you think that reading is weird or that people who do it are weird? Come on!
Ok, on to the books.
One of my goals this summer is to read books by minority authors. These books have typically been about the topic of multi-ethnicity. Having said that, the first book I want to talk about is by two really white guys.
Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden
Remember that preaching conference I went to back in July? No? Read this post and then come back to this one. Done? Ok. Well, at said conference, the Zondervan publishing table was giving away free ebooks and audio books of this book. I gladly accepted the free offer (who wouldn't?) and proceeded to download the audio and burn it on to 3 CD's. So I guess if we want to get super technical about it, I haven't actually READ this book. I have listened to it twice.
This book (And the next one I will talk about) most certainly falls into the category of books that are re-shaping my theology and views on my faith and the role of the church and stuff like that. And all in a good way. I feel like my understanding is getting bigger and more compelling.
Jesus Wants to Save Christians is essentially a "New Exodus Theology for Dummies" book. The authors walk the reader . . . er . . . listener in my case, through the Bible viewing it through the lens of this perspective. New Exodus theology, as I understand it, mostly from this book, states that the main narrative of Scripture is that of God bringing all of his creation out of slavery and bondage. This is a very interesting reading of the Bible and I like it. I had heard whisperings of it in different places but this was the most developed I have seen it. The Exodus found in the book of Exodus serves as a precursor to the big exodus that is happening right now. Jesus was the passover lamb for all creation and following him allows us to "escape from Egypt" so to speak. Wow, that doesn't make any sense when I explain it here but it does in the book. Probably because they use the whole book to develop it.
One of the things I liked most about this book was how they called out America and the American church on a lot of things. America is an empire. Make no mistake. The Bible was written by people who were oppressed by a foreign empire. This perspective is crucial to understanding Scripture but often gets lost to those of us who are children of the empire. Here is one of my favorite quotes.
"Jesus was a middle eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day." There is something to think about . . .
The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah
I was first introduced to Soong-Chan Rah (Prof Rah) at a conference called "Shalom." It was an InterVarsity conference dealing with the topics of race, ethnicity, and reconciliation. Prof Rah brought the thunder that weekend. He said some really challenging things and I have had an enormous amount of respect and admiration for him ever since. So I was very excited to see that he had written a book. I bought it with a sweet IV Staff discount. BOOYAH!
Rah's basic premise is that the church in America has been held captive by western culture. Because of this, American Christianity resembles Biblical Christianity less and less. This is becoming a problem because the demographics of the USA are changing dramatically, as are the demographics of global Christianity. Multi-ethnic, minority, and immigrant churches are thriving while predominantly white churches are declining. How will the white church respond to this?
This book was super challenging and super important. Each chapter brought up new things that I had never really thought about but know that I need to now. What has been the impact of globalization when the Christianity that is exported to the world is dominated by western culture? That one was troublesome.
Prof Rah claims that the church in America is captive to western culture in three main ways: Individualism, consumerism and materialism, and racism. It is tough to argue with his points as he has done a ton of research and has personal experience with all of them. These things have a broad effect on the church and eh spends much of the book filling those out.
A section I found particularly interesting and engaging was his take on the "emerging church." Why is it that the only people who are seen as leaders in the emerging church are white men? Why is that church noticed but the Korean immigrant church (which has been very successful and is growing very quickly) is totally overlooked?
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has had a feeling lately that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Be prepared to wrestle your way through it but to come out on the other side with a much wider perspective.
Invitation to Lead by Paul Tokunaga
This book topped my list of ones I wanted to read this summer. I help to lead a college fellowship and there have been a number of gifted young Asian-American students who have become leaders in our group. I see this as a huge gift with a lot of potential and I wanted to do everything I could to learn how to lead them well and train them to be the best leaders they can be. This book seemed perfect because that is what it is about: Asian-American leadership.
Paul Tokunaga (Tok, as people call him) has been a pioneer in Asian-American leadership in InterVarsity. He has blazed a trail that many have been able to follow. I have little doubt that he will go down in IV history as one of the most significant leaders of the movement. The book is basically a simultaneous journey through his own development as a leader and what he has learned about AA leadership over the years. I found it to be very enlightening, fun, and powerful. He is a very accessible writer who connects with his audience well. Even though the book was primarily written TO potential AA leaders, a white guy like me can still enjoy it thoroughly and learn a lot. I have recommended it to my AA students and I look forward to discussing it with them when they finish.
Too bad they are the ones who don't like to read. Ugh.
I have a few thoughts on some books I have been reading but before I get to that, I would like to share a few thoughts on reading:
I have two friends who in the span of two days, or maybe it was on the same day, said to me the following things: "Ben, you read too much!" and, "I don't understand how people read!" (Disclaimer: I have large amounts of care and respect for both of these people. I admire them and am inspired by them in many ways. Just not when it comes to reading.)
I think a little piece of me died when they said those things. But good thing Jesus is in the resurrection business! It really isn't as dramatic as I made it sound just there.
I have now started five paragraphs in a row with "I." Self-important much?
If I kept a list of things that were vital to my growth as a human being, reading would be in the top five because I wouldn't count necessities and there have to be at least four other things that are more important than reading, I just can't think of them right now. Reading helps me learn what I didn't know I didn't know. It opens me up to entirely new worlds of possibilities and ideas.
Sometimes it borders on obsession. Like I have some compulsive need to constantly fill my brain with words that other people wrote. Sometimes one isn't enough. I will read like 4 or 5 books at a time. They will all be in various stages of completion based on how important I feel they are to finish. I will be reading one and really enjoying it and see another book that looks interesting and then put the first one down, start and finish the new one, and then finish the first one (see the post below with Culture Making and The Reason for God).
But how can you think that reading is weird or that people who do it are weird? Come on!
Ok, on to the books.
One of my goals this summer is to read books by minority authors. These books have typically been about the topic of multi-ethnicity. Having said that, the first book I want to talk about is by two really white guys.
Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden
Remember that preaching conference I went to back in July? No? Read this post and then come back to this one. Done? Ok. Well, at said conference, the Zondervan publishing table was giving away free ebooks and audio books of this book. I gladly accepted the free offer (who wouldn't?) and proceeded to download the audio and burn it on to 3 CD's. So I guess if we want to get super technical about it, I haven't actually READ this book. I have listened to it twice.
This book (And the next one I will talk about) most certainly falls into the category of books that are re-shaping my theology and views on my faith and the role of the church and stuff like that. And all in a good way. I feel like my understanding is getting bigger and more compelling.
Jesus Wants to Save Christians is essentially a "New Exodus Theology for Dummies" book. The authors walk the reader . . . er . . . listener in my case, through the Bible viewing it through the lens of this perspective. New Exodus theology, as I understand it, mostly from this book, states that the main narrative of Scripture is that of God bringing all of his creation out of slavery and bondage. This is a very interesting reading of the Bible and I like it. I had heard whisperings of it in different places but this was the most developed I have seen it. The Exodus found in the book of Exodus serves as a precursor to the big exodus that is happening right now. Jesus was the passover lamb for all creation and following him allows us to "escape from Egypt" so to speak. Wow, that doesn't make any sense when I explain it here but it does in the book. Probably because they use the whole book to develop it.
One of the things I liked most about this book was how they called out America and the American church on a lot of things. America is an empire. Make no mistake. The Bible was written by people who were oppressed by a foreign empire. This perspective is crucial to understanding Scripture but often gets lost to those of us who are children of the empire. Here is one of my favorite quotes.
"Jesus was a middle eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day." There is something to think about . . .
The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah
I was first introduced to Soong-Chan Rah (Prof Rah) at a conference called "Shalom." It was an InterVarsity conference dealing with the topics of race, ethnicity, and reconciliation. Prof Rah brought the thunder that weekend. He said some really challenging things and I have had an enormous amount of respect and admiration for him ever since. So I was very excited to see that he had written a book. I bought it with a sweet IV Staff discount. BOOYAH!
Rah's basic premise is that the church in America has been held captive by western culture. Because of this, American Christianity resembles Biblical Christianity less and less. This is becoming a problem because the demographics of the USA are changing dramatically, as are the demographics of global Christianity. Multi-ethnic, minority, and immigrant churches are thriving while predominantly white churches are declining. How will the white church respond to this?
This book was super challenging and super important. Each chapter brought up new things that I had never really thought about but know that I need to now. What has been the impact of globalization when the Christianity that is exported to the world is dominated by western culture? That one was troublesome.
Prof Rah claims that the church in America is captive to western culture in three main ways: Individualism, consumerism and materialism, and racism. It is tough to argue with his points as he has done a ton of research and has personal experience with all of them. These things have a broad effect on the church and eh spends much of the book filling those out.
A section I found particularly interesting and engaging was his take on the "emerging church." Why is it that the only people who are seen as leaders in the emerging church are white men? Why is that church noticed but the Korean immigrant church (which has been very successful and is growing very quickly) is totally overlooked?
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has had a feeling lately that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Be prepared to wrestle your way through it but to come out on the other side with a much wider perspective.
Invitation to Lead by Paul Tokunaga
This book topped my list of ones I wanted to read this summer. I help to lead a college fellowship and there have been a number of gifted young Asian-American students who have become leaders in our group. I see this as a huge gift with a lot of potential and I wanted to do everything I could to learn how to lead them well and train them to be the best leaders they can be. This book seemed perfect because that is what it is about: Asian-American leadership.
Paul Tokunaga (Tok, as people call him) has been a pioneer in Asian-American leadership in InterVarsity. He has blazed a trail that many have been able to follow. I have little doubt that he will go down in IV history as one of the most significant leaders of the movement. The book is basically a simultaneous journey through his own development as a leader and what he has learned about AA leadership over the years. I found it to be very enlightening, fun, and powerful. He is a very accessible writer who connects with his audience well. Even though the book was primarily written TO potential AA leaders, a white guy like me can still enjoy it thoroughly and learn a lot. I have recommended it to my AA students and I look forward to discussing it with them when they finish.
Too bad they are the ones who don't like to read. Ugh.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Word Became Flesh
I have been thinking about that phrase a lot lately. I have been thinking about it in a way that I honestly believe will change everything if I am not careful. But first, let's play with an idea for a second:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' but nothing happened and it was still dark."
"know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and memorize his commands . . . Therefore, take care to memorize the commands, decrees and laws I give you today."
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Boil it down into propositions that can be easily learned and repeated."
"This is love for God: To remember his commands."
"The Word became text and dwelt in our books and in our statements of faith."
You are correct in noticing that something is not right. Something is VERY not right. Because in Genesis, God speaks into darkness there is light. In Deuteronomy, God keeps his covenant with those who love him and obey his commandments. In James we are deceived when we listen to it but fail to do what it says.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
It gets me thinking. Is it possible that all along, God's words and the Word were always supposed to become flesh? Were they always supposed to be lived out in blood and bones and skin people?
Am I going too far to say that the ideas and truths that Christianity tells are worthless if they never become flesh? Think about this for a second: (this is not my idea, but it really got me thinking so I am just passing it along) If a biologist or a physicist or an engineer or a computer scientist has a significant moral failure, does it discredit their work? If Isaac Newton was shown to be a drunken womanizer, would you think that his second law was a silly outdated rule? If Stephen Hawking, through his awesome and kind of creepy electronic voice emulator said a racial slur, would it take away from his theories on the universe? Well, no, it wouldn't.
How many students at OSU would want to hear the Gospel if they found out that I got another student pregnant? If I spent all my money "pimping my ride?" If I was addicted to alcohol? Nobody would! In fact, even when I find my life is normal with no huge failures, the Gospel STILL doesn't seem that powerful. I think that is because the Gospel isn't normal, it is revolutionary.
I can yell from the mountain tops until I am blue in the face, "GOD LOVES YOU!" I can whisper to every single person I cross paths with that there is a God who sent his son to die for them. And if I lose my voice, I can hold up a sign for all to see. But none of those will ever be as powerful as someone living like it is true.
Mother Theresa picking a sick man off the road in Calcutta and allowing him to die with dignity.
Spending the day in a orphanage simply holding babies because no one else will.
Taking a few afternoons a week to mentor and befriend an at-risk youth.
Submitting to the leadership of someone who most of the time has no power.
Inviting the new kid over to play.
Giving that guy a ride to the social security office.
Who are you going to believe? The guy with the sign, or the couple who cooked you dinner when you were sick?
The Word must ALWAYS become flesh.
I think we have put a little too much faith in propositional truths. "Jesus my Lord and Savior." "The Bible is the inspired word of God." And if I may be so bold, "Homosexuality is wrong."
There is a time and a place for propositions. They can be good things to hold on to when we begin to lose our way. But I think that a truth about God or Jesus or Scripture or spirituality is only as good (and as true?) as the amount that it is made flesh in you, in us.
So we say that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. That proposition is nothing unless it becomes flesh. Do we submit to him the way that the Romans submitted to Caesar? That is what it means to call someone "Lord." You do what they say. Do we look to him to save us from the things that are destroying us or do we run to those very things? Do we look to our money, our success, our girlfriend or boyfriend, ourselves, our possessions? Why should anyone believe us if we don't? if they can't see it in us?
The Bible is the inspired word of God? Really? Do we study it? Do we mine the depths of Scripture to find the invaluable treasures contained therein? Do we tenaciously search them? Shoot, have we read the whole thing? (I haven't)Or are we content to cling to a few passages and verses that give us comfort? Are we satisfied with what we know and feel no need to put things in their immediate and big picture context?
Do we do what it says?
Do we forgive like our own forgiveness depends on it? (it does) Do we actually love the poor and let justice roll down like waters? How hard do we try to be the light of the world?
If homosexuality is so bad, and if allowing gay people to get married is such a huge threat to the sanctity of marriage, then why aren't our relationships and marriages the greatest thing the world has ever seen? Wouldn't the best case for "traditional marriage" (whatever we mean by that. Arranged? Polygamy?) be to have an amazing marriage?
Because the Word must always become flesh.
It is easy to hide behind a proposition. It is harder to live it out. Especially if the word becoming flesh takes you where you are uncomfortable, where your preconceived ideas don't hold up to the reality of what you are seeing and experiencing. If humility and service does not come easily to us. If we don't like how homeless people smell. If loud black men make us uncomfortable and intimidated. If we don't understand the language or the culture. If it is not the way we were brought up. If your dad was an evil man. If I am addicted to this thing.
If propositions are enough, then why did God not just send us a list? A 12-point propositional treatise explaining what humanity should believe in order to be saved. He didn't. He sent Jesus. A human being. A person.
Jesus was not and is not a proposition. And neither are we. We are people. We are flesh and blood. How could we possibly think that the world will be changed with words? They are powerful. But they are only powerful if we do something with them.
Because the Word must always become flesh.
I am putting on a retreat for college students before this new school year starts. I am hoping to do it in town so that I can be near to the campus. This is good for a number of reasons. I also don't have a lot of money to fork over to pay for a retreat so I decide to send an email to about 10 churches in town asking if they will let us use their building for the retreat. 3 respond. 1 says they can't and I appreciate them letting me know. Another has space, but they are going to charge us what could end up being quite a bit of money to do it, and they guy who knows how much never gets back to me. But then the third church says they are interested. I go over to said church (Crossroads Christian Fellowship in Corvallis) and talk with the pastor. He tells me that the Church has a heart for being beneficial to the larger community and not just the people in the church. So they would love to partner with a campus ministry. He tells me that we will basically have the whole church to ourselves for the retreat. He will give us a key. He will give us access to the office so we can make and print fliers. He will let us be in the sanctuary and we can move the chairs around to play games in there. He says that we are welcome to use the church anytime we want.
And you know what that does to me? It makes me feel like there is hope. The Church (universal) can be the light of the world. Churches (local) are not always consumed with their own programs and too busy to be a blessing to their community. Maybe this Gospel I preach is real. Maybe Jesus can transform people. Our ministry is valuable and worth investing in. As are the students at Oregon State.
A church doing what the Church is supposed to do? Woah. That is something.
Because the Word must always become flesh.
And that time, it did.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' but nothing happened and it was still dark."
"know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and memorize his commands . . . Therefore, take care to memorize the commands, decrees and laws I give you today."
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Boil it down into propositions that can be easily learned and repeated."
"This is love for God: To remember his commands."
"The Word became text and dwelt in our books and in our statements of faith."
You are correct in noticing that something is not right. Something is VERY not right. Because in Genesis, God speaks into darkness there is light. In Deuteronomy, God keeps his covenant with those who love him and obey his commandments. In James we are deceived when we listen to it but fail to do what it says.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
It gets me thinking. Is it possible that all along, God's words and the Word were always supposed to become flesh? Were they always supposed to be lived out in blood and bones and skin people?
Am I going too far to say that the ideas and truths that Christianity tells are worthless if they never become flesh? Think about this for a second: (this is not my idea, but it really got me thinking so I am just passing it along) If a biologist or a physicist or an engineer or a computer scientist has a significant moral failure, does it discredit their work? If Isaac Newton was shown to be a drunken womanizer, would you think that his second law was a silly outdated rule? If Stephen Hawking, through his awesome and kind of creepy electronic voice emulator said a racial slur, would it take away from his theories on the universe? Well, no, it wouldn't.
How many students at OSU would want to hear the Gospel if they found out that I got another student pregnant? If I spent all my money "pimping my ride?" If I was addicted to alcohol? Nobody would! In fact, even when I find my life is normal with no huge failures, the Gospel STILL doesn't seem that powerful. I think that is because the Gospel isn't normal, it is revolutionary.
I can yell from the mountain tops until I am blue in the face, "GOD LOVES YOU!" I can whisper to every single person I cross paths with that there is a God who sent his son to die for them. And if I lose my voice, I can hold up a sign for all to see. But none of those will ever be as powerful as someone living like it is true.
Mother Theresa picking a sick man off the road in Calcutta and allowing him to die with dignity.
Spending the day in a orphanage simply holding babies because no one else will.
Taking a few afternoons a week to mentor and befriend an at-risk youth.
Submitting to the leadership of someone who most of the time has no power.
Inviting the new kid over to play.
Giving that guy a ride to the social security office.
Who are you going to believe? The guy with the sign, or the couple who cooked you dinner when you were sick?
The Word must ALWAYS become flesh.
I think we have put a little too much faith in propositional truths. "Jesus my Lord and Savior." "The Bible is the inspired word of God." And if I may be so bold, "Homosexuality is wrong."
There is a time and a place for propositions. They can be good things to hold on to when we begin to lose our way. But I think that a truth about God or Jesus or Scripture or spirituality is only as good (and as true?) as the amount that it is made flesh in you, in us.
So we say that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. That proposition is nothing unless it becomes flesh. Do we submit to him the way that the Romans submitted to Caesar? That is what it means to call someone "Lord." You do what they say. Do we look to him to save us from the things that are destroying us or do we run to those very things? Do we look to our money, our success, our girlfriend or boyfriend, ourselves, our possessions? Why should anyone believe us if we don't? if they can't see it in us?
The Bible is the inspired word of God? Really? Do we study it? Do we mine the depths of Scripture to find the invaluable treasures contained therein? Do we tenaciously search them? Shoot, have we read the whole thing? (I haven't)Or are we content to cling to a few passages and verses that give us comfort? Are we satisfied with what we know and feel no need to put things in their immediate and big picture context?
Do we do what it says?
Do we forgive like our own forgiveness depends on it? (it does) Do we actually love the poor and let justice roll down like waters? How hard do we try to be the light of the world?
If homosexuality is so bad, and if allowing gay people to get married is such a huge threat to the sanctity of marriage, then why aren't our relationships and marriages the greatest thing the world has ever seen? Wouldn't the best case for "traditional marriage" (whatever we mean by that. Arranged? Polygamy?) be to have an amazing marriage?
Because the Word must always become flesh.
It is easy to hide behind a proposition. It is harder to live it out. Especially if the word becoming flesh takes you where you are uncomfortable, where your preconceived ideas don't hold up to the reality of what you are seeing and experiencing. If humility and service does not come easily to us. If we don't like how homeless people smell. If loud black men make us uncomfortable and intimidated. If we don't understand the language or the culture. If it is not the way we were brought up. If your dad was an evil man. If I am addicted to this thing.
If propositions are enough, then why did God not just send us a list? A 12-point propositional treatise explaining what humanity should believe in order to be saved. He didn't. He sent Jesus. A human being. A person.
Jesus was not and is not a proposition. And neither are we. We are people. We are flesh and blood. How could we possibly think that the world will be changed with words? They are powerful. But they are only powerful if we do something with them.
Because the Word must always become flesh.
I am putting on a retreat for college students before this new school year starts. I am hoping to do it in town so that I can be near to the campus. This is good for a number of reasons. I also don't have a lot of money to fork over to pay for a retreat so I decide to send an email to about 10 churches in town asking if they will let us use their building for the retreat. 3 respond. 1 says they can't and I appreciate them letting me know. Another has space, but they are going to charge us what could end up being quite a bit of money to do it, and they guy who knows how much never gets back to me. But then the third church says they are interested. I go over to said church (Crossroads Christian Fellowship in Corvallis) and talk with the pastor. He tells me that the Church has a heart for being beneficial to the larger community and not just the people in the church. So they would love to partner with a campus ministry. He tells me that we will basically have the whole church to ourselves for the retreat. He will give us a key. He will give us access to the office so we can make and print fliers. He will let us be in the sanctuary and we can move the chairs around to play games in there. He says that we are welcome to use the church anytime we want.
And you know what that does to me? It makes me feel like there is hope. The Church (universal) can be the light of the world. Churches (local) are not always consumed with their own programs and too busy to be a blessing to their community. Maybe this Gospel I preach is real. Maybe Jesus can transform people. Our ministry is valuable and worth investing in. As are the students at Oregon State.
A church doing what the Church is supposed to do? Woah. That is something.
Because the Word must always become flesh.
And that time, it did.
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