Randy Greenwald

Let me refer you to Geoff’s blog again where he is not afraid to clearly expose what he finds to be some problematic thinking and practice. In a recent post he critiqued those who seem to use the Holy Spirit as an excuse for their careless or inappropriate comments. At the same time he was not afraid a few days later to speak of the Spirit’s leadership in his own life, a message (a great sermon, by the way, and worth listening to) that caused some to raise eyebrows, and him to offer an explanation.

One of the comments to his blog made mention of having been affiliated with people of a ‘charismatic persuasion’, which made me think of a desire that I have. I would like to be a reformed, charismatic catholic. It’s possible, isn’t it?

My reformed theology gives me a grand vision of God and a bottomless reservoir of well-founded hope.

At the same time, I must be dependent upon the gift-giving Spirit of God. Far more than I do I should seek his giftedness and lead the congregation I serve to do the same, all for the edification of his church and the building up of his kingdom. I want, you see, to be more charismatic.

As well, I’ve had to learn over the years that the church is bigger than my church and that the kingdom is bigger than my denomination. The work of God will be carried on by a large, universal body of God’s people spread across political and cultural boundaries and across denominational lines. The church is universal; it is catholic. And I’m excited (or should be) to see it prosper in colors with which I might not be personally comfortable.

That is, I want to be a reformed, charismatic catholic.

Yes, I see the equivocation in this, but I hope I, and others, see the importance of it.

Technorati Tags: Church

If you came upon ten men carrying a pole, and nine of them were carrying the skinny, light end and one was burdened with the fat, heavy end, to which end of the pole would you rush to help?

That illustration was one that motivated Barb and I to pursue missions, a pursuit which God has not yet seen fit to fulfill. The reality is that 90% of Christian workers are working among the the 10% of the world’s population where Christianity is already established. Only 10% of Christian workers are laboring in fields where 90% of the non-Christians are. To rush to the fat, underserved end seems to make sense.

Paradoxuganda, as missionary doctors, make this point graphically and poignantly in this post. I encourage you reading the whole.

“Why not send the doctors and nurses and malaria medicines and hospital equipment and public health research and educational outreach to the epicenters of disease? Well, the maps for health workers are actually the INVERSE of the maps for disease. Uganda ranks 129 of 135 countries with data for physician coverage, with 0.08 doctors per 1000 population, and only 39% of births attended by skilled personnel. I hope that medical schools and mission agencies spend time reviewing data like this . . . .”

Technorati Tags: Missions

Took me about 20 seconds to log in to the WiFi at a Starbucks this morning, as it should be. For the back story on this, see here, and here, and here, and here.

I am at a different Starbucks, not the one I normally frequent. So, I think I’ve isolated the problem.

* * * * *

There is an attitude at Starbucks that I appreciate. The manager of my regular shop and I agree: Starbucks is not selling coffee. They are selling ‘space’. She calls it, ‘the third space’, joining home and work. It is a place to gather, to hang out, to be that is neutral. It is, I think, what the pub must be in England. An unless you want to use the internet, they don’t expect that you will buy something (though I have a hard time being here and not doing just that).

Starbucks, then, fills a niche, serves a need, and people seek it out. To many, the church fills no niche and serves no need. It is seen as so peripheral to most people. How do we change that?

Many of you who read this blog read my associate Geoff Henderson’s blog as well. Geoff and I are in some respects as different as… well, I wanted to insert a clever simile, but Geoff recently used the most creative simile I’ve seen in some time, so I’m hesitant to try and top him. (He remarked that two sermons we preached apparently “went together like the Tampa Bay Rays and first place.” How can I top that?) We are different, but in other ways we are very much alike.

Geoff has run a very interesting reflection on persecution as a measure of our Christian faithfulness. If you’ve not seen it, you can read it here, here, here, and here. He wrestles with the question in a challenging way and as he does he acknowledges that sometimes Christians can be too timid (that shoe fits comfortably) and others can be bold to the point of obnoxious.

Apparently wrestling with proper Christian demeanor is not a new struggle. There in the back is Jonathan Edwards raising his hand to be recognized. Yes, Mr. Edwards?

“There is a pretended boldness for Christ that arises from no better principle than pride. A man may be forward to expose himself to the dislike of the world, and even to provoke their displeasure, out of pride. For ’tis the nature of spiritual pride to cause men to seek distinction and singularity; and so oftentimes to set themselves at war with those that they call carnal, that they may be more highly exalted among their party. True boldness for Christ is universal and overcomes all, and carries ’em above the displeasure of friends and foes; so that they will forsake all rather than Christ and will rather offend all parties, and be thought meanly of by all, than offend Christ. And that duty which tries whether a man is willing to be despised by them that are of his own party, and thought the least worthy to be regarded by them, is a much more proper trial of his boldness for Christ, than his being forward to expose himself to the reproach of opposers. The Apostle sought not glory, not only of heathens and Jews, but of Christians; as he declares (I Thess. 2:26).

“He is bold for Christ, that has Christian fortitude enough, to confess his fault openly, when he has committed one that requires it, and as it were to come down upon his knees before opposers. Such things as these are a vastly greater evidence of holy boldness, than resolutely and fiercely confronting opposers.”

Religious Affections, page 352 (The contractions are Edwards’ own. That’s the way he did ’em.)

Thank you Mr. Edwards. I believe your sentiments echo well those spoken by Mr. Henderson. However, I think you would agree as well that timidity, my own and others, easily grows from the same root, our insidious pride.

Technorati Tags: Edwards, Ministry, Outreach, Persecution

Pour me a glass of wine
Talk deep into the night
Who knows what we’ll find

– “Born”, Over the Rhine

* * * * *

My wife and I recently enjoyed a few days in Chicago celebrating our 30th anniversary (we married VERY young, of course). We had a great time, but removing us from our ‘native environment’ of work and children and schedules and deadlines and the rest showed us that though we still are deeply in love with one another, we may have forgotten how to really talk with one another. And talking (to, not at, one another), I am convinced, is one of the keys to a deep and meaningful relationship. So, the trip was a good reminder of some important things that we should seek to nourish between us.

The importance of maintaining a deep conversational relationship is captured in the experience of the husband and wife musical duo Over the Rhine (whose music I love). The husband, Linford Detweiler, tells the story this way:

A few months into our national tour, Karin and I realized that although good things were happening with our music, there was just very little energy or creativity or time left over for our marriage, and it was taking a toll on us. I think we had to learn that putting a long-term relationship on autopilot indefinitely can be dangerous if not fatal. We decided we had to pull the plug on the tour and go home and figure out if being together was something we were still committed to.

We opted to start over, reinvent our own relationship, dig deep and do the homework to see if we could make our marriage sing. We decided to redirect the same thought and energy, that we had been putting into writing and performing, toward our life at home together. We prayed a lot. Our friends prayed a lot. It was the beginning of a wonderful new chapter for us. And hopefully, some of what we’ve learned has not only made us better people, but better songwriters as well.

(The emphasis is mine.)

One of the methods they used to connect is reflected in Detweiler’s notes regarding their song ‘Born‘:

When we came home from the tour, we bought two cases of wine and decided we were going to put a bottle on the kitchen table every evening and start talking until nothing was left. The idea was not to get piss-drunk, but to talk face to face deep into the night.

I cannot imagine what the implications might have been for a popular band to cancel a tour. I’m sure it was costly for them. But I find it rare that couples are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to address the deep issues that are affecting them. There is a good model for us here.

* * * * *

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I’m gonna learn to love without fear

(By the way – clicking here will take you to a site where you can listen to the song.)

Technorati Tags: Marriage

Twice I’ve been directed to an thoughtful article by John Ortberg on opposition.

It is refreshing to hear it be stated in print what we pastors all know to be true, that

“Opposition is an inevitable reality of pastoral life.”

Of course, I am not quite sure I really thought about that before becoming a pastor.

Opposition happens, and whether we want to admit or not, we pastors can at times bring opposition on ourselves because we are careless leaders.

Certainly, though, opposition can be a gift, because through it we learn more than we could imagine. Ortberg puts it this way:

“I have given up the idea that there is an opposition-free church out there. But I have gained something else—an appreciation for the gift of opposition. When it comes, I learn something about my motives. When it comes, I get to test my courage. When it comes, the truth about my humility (or lack thereof) is revealed. When it comes, blind spots get exposed that would otherwise do damage. When it comes, I am given the opportunity to grow strong. When it comes, I discover that I am the opposition in more lives than I ever would have guessed.

”And then I meet the force stronger than any opposition. The force that can call opponents a brood of vipers. The force that can also forgive opponents because “they know not what they do.” In opposition, there is grace.“

Well said.

Technorati Tags: Church, Ministry

In the Nicene Creed we profess to believe in ONE holy catholic and apostolic church. One church.

In appearance, anyway, it seems that we abandoned the idea of ‘one’ church long ago in favor of myriad divisions and denominations.

Yet, in principal, we do believe in one church. There is one church of Christ. But how do we manifest that really?

In reflecting upon how the members of the Trinity glorify one another, John Frame in his book The Doctrine of God ponders Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that his people might be ‘one as we are one’. As he puzzles over how that can be, he makes a simple and yet profound point that is worth reflection as we consider how we look at and talk about other Christians.

“One way toward a oneness that reflects the Trinity is for us to glorify one another as do the persons of the Trinity. That means loving one another, serving one another, praising one another, honoring one another. If we really sought to glorify one another, we would seek, even across denominational and traditional lines, to make one another look good, to enhance one another’s reputations, rather than to make ourselves look good at everyone else’s expense.”

Is that a reasonable application of Jesus’ prayer?

Frame says that he develops this point here and here. I have not read his expansions, but this quote seems challenging in itself.

Technorati Tags: Church

Starbucks ‘free’ WiFi may not be ‘hot’ but it is sweeter than advertised. I’m posting this from my local Starbucks where I’m only supposed to get two hours free online access. It’s been over two and one half hours! I think I could go on forever, but don’t tell them.

It only took my computer 8 minutes today to complete the log in process at my favorite Starbucks. That is a new all time record. Not a ‘hot’ spot yet. But improving. (At Panera I’m up and running in a matter of seconds.)

I’m still curious if anyone else has tried logging in and what their experience has been.

When Charlotte weaves the word “humble” in her web above Wilbur’s pen, we know she weaves the truth. The evidence of Wilbur’s humility was his ignorance of it.

Jonathan Edwards would see genuineness in Wilbur as he sees it in the Christian truly awakened by the Gospel. He says:

An eminent saint is not apt to think himself eminent in any thing; all his graces and experiences are ready to appear to him to be comparatively small; but especially his humility. There is nothing that appertains to Christian experience, and true piety, that is so much out of his sight as his humility. (Religious Affections, page 334

Technorati Tags: Edwards, Grace