Thursday, September 25, 2008

Grace

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.

And your best days are never so
good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

Every day should be a day of relating to God on the basis of His grace alone.

~ Jerry Bridges

Godly Logic

Faith is not logical. But it isn’t illogical either. Faith is theological. It does not ignore reality; it just adds God into the equation. Faith is not mindless ignorance; it simply refuses to limit God to the logical constraints of the left brain.
~ Mark Batterson

Separation Anxiety

"Thou shalt not mention specific deities in public prayers." That's how Julian Walker of the Virginian-Pilot began her report from Richmond, VA about six State Police troopers who work as chaplains had resigned the religious part of their jobs in protest to new policies being enforced which forbid the mention of a particular god by name.

Some Republican legislators see it as an "attack on Christianity" and as a violation of the chaplains' First Amendment right to freedom of expression. In a written statement issued by the office of House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R-Salem), the decision was attacked and he accused Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's administration of banning "references to Jesus Christ."

Controversy flared up when Col. W. Steven Flaherty, the State Police superintendent, instructed his department's 17 chaplains to abide by a recent federal court decision upholding the constitutionality of nonsectarian prayers at government functions. Chaplains provide much needed spiritual guidance and counseling to troopers and their families, but at public functions officers are permitted to use only nondenominational prayers.

Flaherty emphasized the importance of those representing a state government agency to "be inclusive and respectful of the varied ethnicities, cultures, and beliefs of our employees, their families and citizens at large." Not surprisingly, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State supports the policy, but wondered whether it goes far enough.

I, like Barack Obama, pray to Jesus. I am a Christ follower and a staunch advocate of First Amendment Rights and deplore any government intrusion upon a person's free expression of their religious beliefs. In private counseling sessions these chaplains should pray with the family as they feel led and in a way that is most helpful to that family.

If prayers are said at government events then those voicing those prayers need to police themselves and be respectful of the religious mix of their audience. I usually pray "in Jesus name", but at City Council, School Board or other public events I have found that addressing God as "Our Heavenly Father" works just fine.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Divine Masterpiece

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV)

I love that this is plural, "we", together, collectively -- the Body of Christ. And I have have a new appreciation for the word translated "workmanship". It carries the idea of a masterpiece, the work of a Master Craftsman. The word in the Greek language in which this passage was originally written is poêma , like our word "poem".

We are God's epic poem, a masterpiece of poetry, and through us He is writing and demonstrating the story of His grace. In the verses just before the one quoted above, the Bible declares "For by grace are you all saved through faith--not of yourselves, it is a gift of God-- not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship... (Ephesians 2:8-9)

It is God's work, not our works. His effort, not ours. It is pure grace on God's part. Grace. Once we have received it from God we are to demonstrate it to others.

"Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it." That's how author and pastor Mark Batterson describes it. I like that. I like being on the receiving end of that. Demonstrating it to others I'm not so good about--but I want to be.

It is interesting that if you ask people to describe Christians you often hear words like arrogant, judgmental, hypocritical, fake, close-minded and mean. Jesus told his followers they would be known by their love (see John 13:34-35). We are to love God with every fiber of our being--our heart, soul, strength and mind--and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Loving our neighbors. That's the hard part. Love and grace. Loving people when they least expect it and least deserve it. Jesus was often condemned for being non-condemning, labeled a "friend of sinners", intended to be a verbal knife to the heart it became a badge of honor. It took on a whole new meaning when spoken by the fallen--the prostitutes and tax-collectors--as opposed to the faithful Pharisees who coined it as a insult.

If today we focus on being recipients of God's grace, and demonstrators of that grace, loving people when they least expect it and least deserve it, then we might become known as "friends of sinners". The faithful may condemn us for being non-condemning, but those in need of God's grace will find life in Jesus, as he writes his epic poem through our words and actions.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Possible

If I were to wish for anything I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of what can be, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints; possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating as possibility.

~ Soren Kierkegaard

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Palin Predicament


In USA Today earlier this week David Gushee penned an Op/Ed piece entitled The Palin Predicament that raised some interesting questions for Evangelical Christians regarding the role of women in church leadership positions. For conservative Christin men who believe that "God intends for women to be subservient to men", yet who are supporting Sarah Palin’s candidacy, the article is especially thought-provoking.

Gushee, himself an evangelical Christian who is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University in Atlanta, makes a valid point:

"It is an uncomfortable fact that many of the theologically conservative Christians who have endorsed Palin's nomination would not be willing to endorse her or any other woman for service as pastor of their church...actually, at the local church level many congregations would not consider it appropriate for her to stand behind a pulpit and preach a sermon, or teach from the Bible, or lead a praise chorus, or offer a prayer, unless her audience consisted entirely of women or children."

One blogger responded to the article by paraphrasing JFK (a catholic) and Mitt Romney (a mormon), "Family leadership is over family things, religious leadership is over religious things, and civil leadership is over civil things." Another commentator pointed out Deborah in the Old Testament, one of Israels Judges who was the nation's leader and military commander, to show that there is no biblical contradiction with a woman such as Palin serving as Vice-President or President. Good points!

Gushee asks those evangelicals who support a Palin candidacy to think about the implications of that support when he posed these challenging questions:
  • Is it now your view that God can call a woman to serve as president of the United States? Are you prepared to renounce publicly any further claim that God's plan is for men rather than women to exercise leadership in society, the workplace and public life? Do you acknowledge having become full-fledged egalitarians in this sphere at least?
  • Would Palin be acceptable as vice president because she would still be under the ultimate authority of McCain as president, like the structure of authority that occurs in some of your churches? Have you fully come to grips with the fact that if after his election McCain were to die, Palin would be in authority over every male in the USA as president?
  • If you agree that God can call a woman to serve as president, does this have any implications for your views on women's leadership in church life? Would you be willing to vote for a qualified woman to serve as pastor of your church? If not, why not?
  • Do you believe that Palin is under the authority of her husband as head of the family? If so, would this authority spill over into her role as vice president?
  • Do you believe that women carry primary responsibility for the care of children in the home? If so, does this affect your support for Palin? If not, are you willing to change your position and instead argue for flexibility in the distribution of child care responsibilities according to the needs of the family?

Provocative! Challenging questions, indeed...and worth answering honesly and thoughtfully. I agree with Gushee's final assessment: "The groundbreaking nomination of Palin offers conservative Christians significant opportunities to rethink a theology on the role of women that often restricts them from the full exercise of their gifts. This is an unexpected gift from presidential candidate John McCain to evangelical Christianity."

Friday, September 19, 2008

With Which Candidate Do You Most Agree?

Here's a fun little quiz from the folks at ABC news and USA Today. Play the game and see which candidate agrees with your view of things. Enjoy!

PS: It's really fun to watch "the other guy" get thrown off the see-saw and go flying! :)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Thankful Thursday

We often say "prayers of petition" where we ask God for help; and "prayers of intercession" where we ask God to help others. I find that I don't voice "prayers of thanksgiving" often enough.

The truth is that thankfulness is vital to our spiritual well-being. What are you thankful for today? Say to God, "every blessing you pour out I will turn back to praise".


"Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies." (Psalm 103:1–4)


Take a moment and thank God for at least one thing right now. Maybe consider keeping a written record, a "Gratitude Journal", where each day you write down at least one blessing for which you are grateful. Keep it simple.


Celebrating Thanksgiving once a year is not enough. So I'm beginning a weekly habit, Thankful Thursday, to celebrate Thanksgiving every week. I even had a turkey sandwich for supper.


"Tonight as I watch the news reports about the devastation along the Texas coast, I thank you, God, for the house in which I live, for clean water and electricity. God, watch over the people who've lost so much during the recent storms, and prompt those whom you've blessed with 'more than enough' resources to share with those who are without. Amen."

Saturday, September 13, 2008

"Would you still love me if you knew the 'real' me?"

I was so good at pretending
like an actor on a stage
but in the end nobody knew me
only the roles that I portrayed
and I would rather have you hate me
knowing who I really am
than to try and make you love me
being something that I can’t”


(from “God Knows I Tried” by Ray Boltz).

"Would you still love me if you knew the 'real' me?" It's a universal question. And because of fear many never verbalize it. And because of fear many never have the courage to be authentic and let the chips fall where they may. No doubt, with recent news of a popular Christian singer 'coming out' about his sexuality, there will be many former fans lining up to condemn him..

But I like the way he put it: "I really had no master plan here. I’ve just been trying to go with the idea that you can either live your life out of love or out of fear."


Being honest with ourselves and honest with God (who already knows anyway) is crucial. Choosing not to live out of fear is freeing. I hear Ray's story repeated quite frequently, often by church leaders... or their children:


“I’d denied it ever since I was a kid. I became a Christian, I thought that was the way to deal with this and I prayed hard and tried for 30-some years and then at the end, I was just going, ‘I’m still gay. I know I am.’ And I just got to the place where I couldn’t take it anymore … when I was going through all this darkness, I thought, ‘Just end this.’”


When I read the story I felt sad. Not sad about the truth, but sad that Ray had lived in fear and captivity for so long. What kind of reaction will he get from the adoring crowds who applauded, bought his CDs and sang his songs in their worship services? That remains to be seen, but I have a pretty good guess, and it's not pretty.

The sad thing is that many who will be 'throwing stones' and removing his songs from their praise band's playlist have their own secrets, their own dual lives. Too many of us live in the same fear and with disparity between our private and public lives. We worship every week, lives veiled in secret bondage while singing songs of freedom.

Spiritual freedom begins with honesty. One reason church attendance has dropped off in recent decades in America is for this very reason. People are tired of the hypocrisy; tired of faking it (or being told to fake it). Those with the courage to live honestly are tired
of being judged by people who aren't.

I am blessed to have a small group of friends with whom I can 'lay my cards on the table' and still be accepted and loved. We honestly share our failures and weaknesses, our struggles and fears. We encourage each other to face our giants and live authentically.

I think that's part of what makes for heaven on earth; no skeletons in the closet. Not that there are no skeletons, just that they're not kept secret, therefore the fear of them being revealed holds no power over our daily lives. That is freedom. And in that freedom is peace and joy.

I pray for Ray, that as he lives authentically he will know that freedom, joy and peace. And I pray for all the other 'rays' out there, some of whom will be his harshest critics, who don't yet have the courage to live honestly, and who, as a result, are still locked in their own prisons. I pray they will truly hear the invitation of Jesus and find freedom...and rest.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

(Isaiah 61:1-2; repeated by Jesus in Luke 4)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
(Matthew 11:28-29)

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Counter-Cultural

"Take your everyday, ordinary life— your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life— and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it."

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)