Author Archives:
Living as if the Gospel is true
There is a yearning for justice inherent in the lining of every heart, and a synapse that tells us things are not as they ought to be in this world.
But it is a glorious and unique endeavor to fight against the disconnect of our privileged culture and start to breathe and move and embody the mandate to act on the yearnings, and respond to the senses, and ultimately live as if the Gospel is true, and freedom and justice are worth every ounce of blood, muscle, and thought we could possible offer.
–Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay and Blood:Water Mission
In Need of a Social Media Detox?
Social media is all well and good, except when it’s not. Do you and I need a detox from social media? I’m ashamed to say that I do suffer from at least one of the following symptoms of social media overload. (Click for a larger view.)
Like this:
Learning from Fellow Mountain Climbers: A Guest Post from Ben Whisenant
Today’s guest post comes from my awesome brother, Ben Whisenant. He’s a writer, student of theology, and an overall great person to know. He’s taught me more than he’ll ever know and I think you’ll enjoy what he’s got to say about pursuing Christ. Take it away, Ben…
I work for a Christian publishing company. Slightly lame to work in the Christian bubble? Maybe. But I love the company anyway. I work down in the staging warehouse, and since it is a Christian company, we seem to get into religious discussions fairly frequently.
There was a set of commentaries sent back that was missing a volume. I was hoping that, since it was no longer sellable as a set, I could acquire it for free. I’d been asking about it for a few weeks. Today, I asked what happened to the commentaries since I did not see them. Another employee told me that they had been shipped back and were going to be sold anyway. Next, he told me that I did not need the commentaries; I did not need John Calvin’s word but should just read it myself.
Really? It sounds like the good, Bible-believing answer doesn’t it? You don’t need anyone to tell you how to better understand the Counsel of God; you have the capacity in and of yourself. Nice thought. But I don’t know if it’s completely true.
Now, some of the barb in that comment comes from the fact that the commentaries were written by that dreaded father of Calvinism, John Calvin. I am Reformed and hold to the doctrines of Grace, a view shared by John Calvin, not invented by him, but that is a tangent for another day. Anyway, clearly my coworker, a man that I respect and consider a friend and brother, thought that I did not need Calvin’s help. There is something deeper there than a mere dislike of Calvinism; it stems from the idea that we do not need others’ thoughts on Scripture. I would respectfully submit that we do.
Just take the case of Apollos in Acts. I think Apollos must have been a cool fellow. His name is Greek and manly. I like to picture him as a tanned, muscular theologian in a red robe with those little labyrinth squares. (In other words when you read about Apollos, picture me.) Apollos lets me know that I am justified in reading commentaries. Apollos got commentary and correction from Priscilla and Aquila. Acts 18:26 says: “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” You and I won’t always be able to understand everything in Scripture on our own.
Don’t get me wrong: I am Protestant like nobody’s business and believe in the laity reading and understating of Scripture (don’t have to be highly trained or in ministry to make sense of what the text is saying), but that doesn’t make everyone an expert. You are not more spiritual for reading the Bible in a vacuum without other books. In fact, this can lead to us not understanding the overall context and meaning of Scripture.
God’s Word is a mountain: we need experienced mountain climbers to come along with us and show us how to ascend and drink deep the Glory of God in the Face of Christ in the totality of Scripture.
May you and I learn to drink deep the Glory of God, as we work together to know Him better. Thanks for sharing, Ben! You can catch more of Ben’s thoughts on life, faith, and football on his blog No Addition to My Doings and on Twitter (he resisted long enough, but finally gave in to social media peer pressure!)
The Poor Will Always Be With Us…Really?
The biggest reason the poor are still with us is simply this…
We expect that they should be.
Could it be that we use “the poor will always be with us” argument to avoid the work of justice?
Maybe we need to change our expectations. Maybe we shouldn’t just accept poverty as a cultural norm. Maybe we shouldn’t be ok with the fact that poverty still exists in 2011. Maybe.
Thoughts?
To Be Known in Our Full Humanness
I have come to believe that by and large the human family all has the same secrets, which are both very telling and very important to tell. They are telling in the sense that they tell what is perhaps the central paradox of our condition—that what we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet that is often just what we also fear more than anything else.
It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are—even if we tell it only to ourselves—because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing.
It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier that way to see where we have been in our lives and where we are going. It also makes it easier for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own, and exchanges like that have a lot to do with what being a family is all about and what being human is all about.
Snail Mail You’ll Actually Enjoy
Snail mail is so 1998.
Nothing good ever comes through snail mail. It’s always a bill or a reminder from the dentist or coupons for the hole-in-the-wall restaurant near my house.
There are, however, some pieces of snail mail that I actually enjoy getting. These letters come from friends of mine. They live out of town. Like out of the country out of town.
A letter from Victor
The mail that I love to get comes from my sponsored boys Victor and Ryan through Compassion International. Victor is from Ecuador and Ryan lives in Brazil. Through the work of Compassion, I’m able to see these boys grow up and learn about a God who loves them passionately.
I get to read about how Victor likes to play soccer. Ryan tells me about the new friends he’s made this year in the 5th grade.
I’ve learned that Victor’s favorite food is ceviche (a seafood soup) and that Ryan has trouble in science class, but he promises me that he’s studying hard to do better.
I’ve seen how Victor has grown, both physically and spiritually. He tells me that he prays for me and that God would guide my steps. This 6-year-old tells me that he’s praying for me.
Ryan writes to me and says, “Jesus loves you and so do I.” This 9-year-old reminds me to rest in the love of Christ.
In their simple letters and awesome artwork, these two boys remind me about the power of grace and love. They remind me that life isn’t just about me. And they remind me that ending poverty is not just an idea, but a very real possibility…if you and I will just step up to do something about it.
Some artwork from Ryan
God doesn’t need me to be a part of his redemptive work in the lives of Victor and Ryan. At all. But He chooses to let me be a part of seeing them grow up and live a life free from poverty.
And He invites you to be a part of that redemptive work too. I believe in the work of and mission behind Compassion International. They are committed to integrity and to those kids like nobody’s business.
Bringing an end to poverty starts with you and me. It starts with us getting so mad at the fact that it’s 2011 and poverty still exists. You can be a part of God’s work among the nations by becoming a sponsor for a child living in poverty. From my personal experience, I can promise you that you’ll never be the same when you take that leap and become a sponsor today!
On Understanding God: A Guest Post from Benton Oglesby
Today’s guest post comes from my friend and former coworker, Benton Olgesby. Benton is an awesome musician, worship leader, and writer here in Nashville. He’s passionate about justice and faith and writes about such over on his blog, Taking Off the Mask. Today’s he talking about trying to understand God. It’s all you Benton…
Have you ever noticed that there are usually only two sides to any debate?
Republican vs. Democrat
Arminianism vs. Calvinism
Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice
Piper vs. Bell
Beatles vs. Stones
Growing up it always seemed the every argument had two clear-cut sides.
One side was always the antithesis of the other. Each side held onto its opinions so tightly that convincing them otherwise was not an option. No matter what the particular debate was, how the arguments played out between the two sides always seemed the same. Both sides would try and portray the other in a negative light. They would try and make the other side look like the bad side.
Republicans make Democrats look like god-less liberals while Democrats make Republicans look like over-zealous kooks. Arminians make the Calvinist doctrine look exclusive and judgmental, while Calvinists make the Arminian doctrine look inconsistent and weak.
When debates become like this, it honestly doesn’t matter who has the better information. If one side can make the other side look evil, facts no longer matter! It no longer matters which side makes the better argument, it only matters which side looks more attractive. No information is exchanged and nobody learns anything.
Recently, a certain preacher from Michigan released a book that many found controversial (mainly because of the promotional video but that’s not my point). This preacher was known for asking questions about God that made people a little uncomfortable. This time was no different. Opinions came flooding in by the millions from those who agreed and those who disagreed with the content of this one book. A fury of blogs, tweets and even more books were written to voice an opinion about this pastor’s ideas.
I haven’t read the book so I don’t feel I’m entitled to an opinion on the matter (though that didn’t stop other people), but I do feel the need to comment on something else. I noticed that both supporters and those opposed to the book had opinions so unbelievably strong that there was no possible way that anyone was going to change their mind. They held to their opinions with a firm grip and anyone who spoke otherwise was simply wrong.
I was amazed by how sure each side was of their position.
They seemed so confident that they had this particular issue figured out. They were so certain they had God figured out in this particular issue. I’ve grown up in church my whole life. I’ve listened to sermon after sermon depicting what God is like.
After 22 years of listening to what God is like, I only know one absolute fact about Him: no one will completely understand Him.
“Then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.” (Ecclesiastes 8:17)
I think Michael Gungor summed up this idea rather nicely when he sang, “God will not be boxed in.” Despite all the apologetics books we write, despite all the doctrines we create, despite all the philosophies we come up with, God will never be fully comprehended.
I say this not to discourage the scholarly in his or her pursuits or stop anybody from trying to learn anything about God. I say this because the Church has become so divided in these lines we have created. Our bitter and petty arguments have caused us to turn on one another. We no longer love our neighbor, but we try to label him a heretic!
We need open discussion without fear of excommunication.
We need an exchange of ideas without hateful backlash. We need disagreements without our pride. We need to love our neighbors!
This is my prayer:
God, I pray that we as the Church try to discover who You are. You are so much bigger, greater and mightier than anyone on Earth can possibly fathom. I pray as we discover who You are that we would understand that people have different ideas about You. I want us, as Your church, to able to discuss these different ideas in a loving way. I pray we never get so prideful that we believe our way of thinking has You completely figured out. God let Your Church be the Church again! Amen.
We need disagreements without our pride. Wow! Well said, Benton. Thanks for sharing some of what God’s teaching you. You can read more of Benton’s musings on life and faith on his blog, by following him on Twitter, or friending him on Facebook.
Weekly Reading Roundup
Reading pushes us to see things differently and expand our knowledge. In the immortal words of the great philosopher Dr. Seuss, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Hence, I give you the Weekly Reading Roundup for the week ending July 15. These are just some of the posts I’ve come across this week that I liked and I think you’d enjoy them too.
Social Media
- 140 Character Friendships by Ben Arment. In using social media, many of us (me included) aim to have wide relationships with a lot of people. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, but Ben suggests that deeper relationships beyond our standard 140 characters are what matter.
- The Power of the Question Mark by Michael Buckingham on the Church Marketing Sucks blog. There’s a reason it’s called social media…implying that there’s some interaction and conversation within the medium. Although Michael talks specifically about social media strategies for churches, his point can be applied to the individual too. There’s value in asking some questions sometimes, instead of just making statements.
- 5 Ways to Get Twitter Traction by Jonathan Pearson. In a world where more than 98,000 tweets are posted every 60 seconds, how can you get traction when users already have overloaded Twitter feeds? Jonathan offers some tips he’s learned through his own Twitter experience.
- Is Building Your Social Media Platform in Conflict With Christ’s Kingdon? by Stephanie S. Smith in a guest post on Kyle Reed’s blog. This one hit me like a ton of bricks this week. In my constant effort to get more blog views, retweets, and Facebook friends, have I missed the point? Am I trying to build my platform at the expense of what I claim to be most important in my life? Stephanie breaks down the struggle between self-promotion and seeking the Kingdom in social media.
Writing
- Dear Young Writer: Advice to Your Younger Self by Edward Paz in a guest post on Jeff Goins’s blog. As a young writer, I’m often easily discouraged in the writing process. A lot of times, I even doubt that I’m a legit writer. Edward speaks some truth about the life of the writer and assures sometimes shaky and unsure writers like myself that engaging in the writing process is indeed worth it.
- Conquering Doubt by Janna Barber on the Rabbit Room blog. Ask any writer what his or her biggest struggle is and one of the answers you’ll likely hear will have something to do with doubt. Doubt is the archenemy of anyone who tries to string words together in a coherent manner. A recovering doubting writer herself, Janna offers some perspective on fighting that doubt that so quickly appears for every writer.
Poverty and Justice
- Poverty’s Other Lie by Tim Glenn on the Compassion International blog. The individual living in poverty has to do battle with the lie that they don’t matter and that they aren’t loved. The individual living in comfort has to do battle with the lie that poverty is too great a problem to do anything about. Tim suggests that in order for the church to see an end to poverty, we have to believe that it can, in fact, come to an end.
- Hand Outs Do Not Equal Social Justice by Wendy McCaig on the Burnside Writers Collective blog. In discussing poverty, we often use the words “justice” and “charity” interchangeably. Wendy helps clear up the distinction and argues that for lasting change to occur, justice and charity have to go hand in hand.
Faith
- I’m Okay With That by John R. Wallace. I always have more questions than answers when it comes to this whole following Jesus thing. And sometimes that drives me crazy. John offers a different perspective, though, and discusses being okay with the questions about God…because He’s God and we’re not.
