A Good Year to Change the World

   At the threshold of a New Year, we have fresh in our minds the stories pertaining to the birth of Jesus.  We continue to bask in the glow of the Good News that God the Son would care for us enough to choose to be with us--even more, that He would come amongst us in such a vulnerable mode.   A baby seems so helpless.  It must trust to the love and care of others for its survival and growth.  Interesting, isn't it, that Jesus would begin His mission to change this world forever...in the form of an infant, who is totally dependent and not able to accomplish much of anything.

   Also intriguing is that, according to the story we read in Matthew 2:13-18, Joseph was forced to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt when Jesus was just a toddler.  King Herod was filled with homocidal paranoia at the prophecy of a "King of the Jews" who was to be born in Bethlehem, and he wanted Jesus killed.  Again we find the Messiah, destined to conquer sin, death, and eventually the whole world, in a completely vulnerable state.  Neither one of these pictures of Jesus makes sense to human thinking -- the Savior of the world, God the Son, on the run?  A helpless Baby, born to a poor family and laying in a feed trough seems an inauspicious start; how could such a start lead to the Kingship of heaven and earth?  And yet these paradoxical pictures are part of what makes the Kingship of Jesus yet more glorious: a poor baby, a political refugee, a Servant King, whose court isn't filled with nobles and guards, but with the blind, the lame, the lepers, sinners...and little children. 

   As the New Year begins, we Christ-followers find ourselves embedded in a world awash in violence and hatred.  There are wars happening, not just in Iraq and Ukraine, but our city streets are virtual war zones too.  The protests are wreaking violence, destruction, and murder wherever we find them.  Things only seem to be getting worse, as those entrusted to keep the peace are being gunned down, one by one.  Juxtapose these violent scenes with the various places that completely peaceful scenes have been constructed: the state houses where a simple Nativity scene has been displayed.  These harmless images as an infant Prince of Peace have been banned by courts, or mocked by atheistic and Satanic displays quite nearby.  As a godless world rips itself to shreds, it also makes clear that it wants nothing to do with our Servant-Messiah, nor those who follow Him.

   Do you, my brothers and sisters, feel overwhelmed by the culture that destroys itself and blasphemes Christ who died to reconcile God and men?  Do you feel vulnerable?  Do you wonder how we could possibly make the slightest dent in such a world as we have today?  I need to remind you..and me...then, that a Servant King, constantly vulnerable and in danger of His life, changed the world forever.  He conquered sin and death.  His Church transformed the culture.  All of this from a starting point of complete vulnerability.  If Jesus started out so seemingly low, and ended up so exalted, you and I should not be cowering in a corner somewhere.  

   The Gospel we carry is the antidote to a world that is rotting away from a terminal, spiritual cancer.  As much as they proclaim that they want nothing to do with our Christ, there is nothing they can do to stop the Gospel from spreading its Light, and ransoming individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities from the kingdom of darkness.  That's because the worldly regime, directed from the shadows by the "prince of the power of the air," knows only aggression to force its way.  The Gospel advances by methods that the worldly kingdom has no idea how to counter.   We use, not force, but...Love.  Grace.  Mercy.  Humility.  Service.  Compassion.  Kindness.  Prayer, even for our enemies.  And a quiet, loving courage that proclaims the atoning sacrifice of Jesus even as the world shrieks that it won't bow to  our Servant King.  The worldly regime has no effective counter for the methods used by Christ's Church.  It tries to use violence against us, but even as they apply their force to muzzle us, we simply pray, "Father, forgive them.  They don't know what they're doing."  The enemy has literally nothing that it can do in the face of such love.

   So, my friends, use 2015 to change the world.  How?  Simple--change your corner of it, with Christ's help.  All around you there are friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, people you see in the store, many of whom desperately need Christ.  You can bring the light of Christ to everyone you encounter.  Love them.  Serve them. Bring them joy.  Show them that they matter to you, and to Jesus.  When the opportunity comes, tell them about the Jesus who can transform their lives just as He has yours.  As they accept the Servant King as their ruler, teach them how to do the same thing you just did, and send them out to change their corners of the world.  Put the proper tools and tactics in their hands--not the weapons of this world, but the unconquerable love, humility, and service of Jesus.

Call Forth the Best

    This has been a very blessed month for the Jones family. Many of you know about the concerns we have had for our son, Nathanael. We have taken two trips to the Cleveland Clinic, and our son has undergone a lot of poking and prodding—he stood up to all of that like a real champ. Though his mom and I were concerned, we knew that the Lord was going to see us through the challenge. And He did: the results were that we wouldn't have to come back for more tests until he is seventeen. There was no immediate crisis, and we were extremely thankful. We were particularly moved by how many of you expressed your caring by calls, cards and visits. We even received help with transportation and expenses.

     In addition, you were all so kind and generous to us during Pastor Appreciation Month (and my birthday). We received an outpouring of cards, treats, and gift cards. The church's generous gift of a shopping trip to Men's Wearhouse will be a real God-send for us; my wardrobe has been in real need of updating for some time. So, for all your expressions of love and concern, we want to thank you so much. Thank you that you allowed the Lord to love us through you! As I said a couple Sundays ago, the greatest gift you give us is yourselves: your hearts that are full of love and welcome. Even though our relatives call the Midwest “home,” you have made us feel that our home is right here, sharing life with you all.

     In the wake of your many expressions of appreciation and support, I have been thinking a good bit about Hebrews 10:24-25...”And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The challenge given here really inspires me, and I hope it will do so for you as well.

     Have you noticed how predisposed the human mind is to gravitate toward the negative aspects of our lives and the people in them? The adage, “nothing sells like bad news” is seen everyday. Watch any news program, and you will see nothing but an hour of bad news. “Human interest” stories get thrown in occasionally as the merest token—an afterthought—and everyone says, “Awww.” But it seems no one pays that much attention to them. The stories we remember, and talk about at the water cooler, are the fires and the robberies and the shootings and the maniac cop-killer hiding in the forests of eastern Pennsylvania and the Ebola and, and, and...ad infinitum. All of these things are just horrible, and we should not pretend they don't exist. But, is that the whole picture? Is human nature so debased that we never do anything noble or loving—are we all nothing but monsters? Of course not! So, where's the balance? If we are shown nothing but the blackest aspects of human existence, how will we know that there is an alternative—that we actually can hope and aspire to true community, charity and compassion? We need to see and celebrate the best parts of people so that we will see those examples and make the noble part of humanity our focus and goal.

     This tendency toward a focus on the negative reaches into our relationships. I notice it from time to time with my own children. I have really great sons—I love so many things about them. They are far from perfect, but in general they are very respectful, loving, sensitive, intelligent, hard-working, and really very funny. These things are such a dependable part of my sons' character that it becomes commonplace, expected, and, I am ashamed to say, taken for granted. Instead of continually praising and appreciating the absolutely wondrous things about my sons, my attention gets drawn to the times when they do slip up, drop the ball on their responsibilities, and require correction. I'm not about to say that we shouldn't correct our kids; my sons will be the first to tell you how readily I will correct them. But again, where's the balance? Are my sons nothing but trouble, constantly in need of rebuke? Absolutely not! How will they know, however, that they are precious to me and full of qualities that positively thrill me, unless they hear that from me more often than they hear the rebukes? Given what my sons hear me say to them, how would they answer this question: “My Dad thinks that I am _______________” Fill in the blank. If they think my opinion of them is mostly negative, how will they know that they can actually aspire to fulfill the greatest things about themselves? Oh, and by the way, if you are wondering whether our little scare with Nathanael's health has brought me to this season of soul-searching, you'd be right on-target.

     I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. We are surrounded with people given to us by God as priceless gifts. We are further given the overwhelmingly powerful privilege of seeing and helping them to become the best they can possibly be for the Lord. Too many of us think that the path to that is to aggressively attack the less-than-excellent qualities about them. So we do little but focus on and criticize the negative things we see in them. We might even think we're doing them a favor. But in general, people tend to live up to your expectations of them. If your comments toward them hover on times that they have been incompetent or untrustworthy, chances are they may live right into that mold. If, however, you come at the people in your life with the expectation that they they have been created by God with real gifts and excellence, they may just be inspired by the vision you cast for them and strive to live up to that great vision you have for them. Expect the best from people, and you will be amazed at how often they will give you that. Even when they don't, make it clear that your expectations haven't dropped a bit. That will motivate them to know they can get right up, let God dust them off, and get right back on the road toward being the priceless people God has redeemed them to become.

    This Pastor's Appreciation Month has been so encouraging for my family and I. I know that I am far from the ideal pastor, preacher or anything else. But when you tell me that you're praying for me, and when you say that you appreciate the small things I can do to live out Christ's love among you, that inspires me to live into that vision even more. The great thing is, we can all show appreciation to the people that are gifts to us from God. Take the time to appreciate and praise what has been created in them by God, and makes them truly a unique and valued person in God's and your eyes.

Follow the True Shepherd

"The word of the Lord came to me:  ^'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.  So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.'" --Ezekiel 34:1-5 NIV

Another church has been in the news lately, due to scandal surrounding its pastor.  This sort of thing, tragically, crops up all too often.

The church is in a different denomination than ours, and it's way out in Seattle, Washington.  It's also one of those younger, seeker-sensitive churches with a very contemporary worship style.  For all those reasons, you may or may not have heard of it.  The church's name is Mars Hill Church, and the pastor's name is Mark Driscoll.  Unfamiliar, perhaps, but important because Driscoll is named in a recent listing of the 25 Most Influential Pastors of the Past 25 Years on www.preaching.com.  He has been a prolific author, sought-after speaker at national conferences, and an inescapable presence on the internet and social media.

Along with great celebrity, unfortunately, has come great controversy.  Driscoll is affectionately referred to as "Mark the Cussing Preacher" in Donald Miller's popular book, Blue Like Jazz.  Obviously, I can't identify with a church culture that would view cussing affectionately.  The nickname is somewhat justified, however.  Driscoll has employed language that would jeopardize many pastors' ministries--hopefully most.  Despite that, he has been lauded for his sophisticated theological formulation.  Driscoll is staunch proponent of Calvinism, of which I am decidedly not, but among prominent Calvinist preachers he has received rave reviews--until recently.

I know that a lot of people try to make light of profanity, and excoriate those of us who take it seriously, calling us self-righteous, judgmental Pharisees.  However, the reality of profanity is this: those words rise from undisciplined anger.  The Bible has warned us repeatedly to keep all obscene talk out of our mouths (Colossians 3:8; Ephesians 5:3-4), so obviously God takes it seriously Himself, and it isn't clever, cutting-edge, or cute.  The reason talk matters is that all talk is heart-talk.  Jesus Himself said that "the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Luke 6:45 NIV)  And so, when you hear a person who regularly employs angry, profane words, you are listening to a reflection of an undisciplined, angry heart.

The chief part of the controversy that has arisen has been about Driscoll's admitted anger issues.  Recently, a group of 21 former pastors and elders of Mars Hill have come forward with charges against Driscoll, claiming character deficits which have disqualified him as the pastor of the church.  They allege that Driscoll has a long pattern of spiritual abuse which has driven many leaders from the church, and a few parishioners claim they have even left behind the Christian faith as a result of the treatment they received.  Citing a culture of fear, the charges list many incidents during which Driscoll has allegedly met any questioning or opposition with explosive anger, firings, threats of firings, obscenity, slander against former pastors, threats to destroy their new churches, and a few other things which wouldn't be proper for me to even repeat here.  His accusers claim that he has also ordered the church to completely cut off a former elder from all social contact--just because the elder opposed some of the decisions being made.  Most recently are allegations of plagiarism and hiring a PR firm to artificially manipulate sales for his recent book release--and using church monies to do so.

Driscoll has recently stepped away from leadership at Mars Hill for a period of six weeks, to give the elders a chance to investigate the charges made against him.  Some of the accusations have been admitted to by him.  Some, he says, are issues which arose years ago, which he owned up to then and from which the church has moved on.  Some, he claims, are outright fabrications.  His opponents claim that, despite frequent apologies and claims of reform, Driscoll hasn't changed at all.

So, who is on the side of truth, Driscoll or his accusers?  More than likely, the truth is somewhere in between.  Since we didn't witness any of this, we've no ability to judge.  But whether true or no, the situation itself brings forward some strong cautions for churches everywhere.

First and foremost, church, never follow a man.  It's unavoidable that pastors end up being the public face of a church; he's the guy you see up there behind the pulpit every Sunday.  He's usually the big talker, and many pastors have charisma.  However, the pastor's job is to serve the Lord and the church by pointing past himself and directly toward Christ.  Understand that your pastor can't save you.  He's not Jesus.   Jesus, and only Jesus, is Lord, and He is the only one any of us should be following.  A pastor is only an under-shepherd, and he is only doing his job if he's following Jesus, not his own agenda.  The way he follows Jesus is by loving you, serving you, and doing everything he can to step back and boost you closer to Christ. 

Second, it's all about the fruit.  Every time a story like this pops up, I'm reminded it's time to take a hard look at myself, and then give myself a swift kick.  I don't have any books to sell.  I'm not flown around the country to speak at conferences, and I don't have nationally-known preachers speaking my name, good or bad.  Still, the exact same expectations are on me from Christ as any of those other bigwigs.  Those expectations have nothing to do with how well I can speak, or sing.  I could be the greatest preacher around (I have no such illusions), or sing like an angel, or have really exceptional theological understanding.  But remember this: content and delivery skill do not make a pastor.  It makes a good preacher or singer, but that's it.  As the Bible pictures it, God is not looking so much for pastors who are good at speechmaking as He is interested in those who will convey something of the character of Jesus to his congregation by the way he lives.  His character should be marked by the fruits of the Holy Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, all qualities which Jesus personified, should be growing in the pastor's character. Please note I said "growing;" perfection in these qualities will only be found in Christ himself. 

That list of fruits excludes the kinds of responses to people that Driscoll is accused of having.  But more importantly, it puts me and other pastors on notice that Jesus will not have the kinds of power politics and arrogance that are often practiced in secular relationships and businesses.  The Church is not a business; it is a community called to be an embassy of the Kingdom of God.  In this Kingdom, the rules, ethics and relationships are pretty much opposite of worldly communities.  That Christ's Church is part of His Kingdom, not a corporation, is a truth that I wish more churches would come to understand and expect.  Along with that shift would come a realization that pastors are to be shepherds, not CEO's.  A shepherd deals with his flock much differently than a CEO would treat his underlings.  2 Timothy 2:24-26 lays out how pastors should respond to people--even those who would bring criticism:

"And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." (NIV)

Again, a pastor's relationships with his parishioners should carry something of the fragrance of Christ.  Far from anger and defensiveness, he should be known as a person who doesn't want to quarrel.  Instead, he should be kind, gentle, and respectful.  When a criticism is brought, he should be humble enough to take heed and consider it carefully.  It may be that the critique carries the truth with it, even in part, and if so he should admit it and seek forgiveness.  Even if the criticism is unfair or ungodly, he must instruct the person gently and respectfully, teaching instead of arguing.  This is because a pastor must truly love the erring individual, and seek to bring them out of the devil's trap and into a right relationship with God.  If the pastor is seeking to just be right and protect his turf, he is showing little of the love that Jesus has for his straying sheep. 

One more thing I'd like to point out is that it's all about the Church, not the individual.  I can understand how that might be a difficult thing to keep in mind for some of the more famous preachers out there who planted churches and watched them grow under their leadership.  After all, if they're the ones who set the tone, thought up the strategy, cast the vision and did the pioneering work with a local area, it would seem reasonable to feel a sense of ownership for the work.  They're the ones whose blood, sweat and tears went into the place, right?  I'd be the first to agree that they did, in fact make great sacrifices and invest great passion into the work.  I really do respect those risk-takers who are willing to take on such an enormous task.  There's only one problem.  Even if a pastor planted a local church, the moment it becomes a church, it's not his.  Every church is under the headship of Jesus Christ.  Each one is a part of the Bride of Christ.  Every church is under the complete and total ownership of Jesus, who paid with His blood to redeem and sanctify His church.  We pastors are only under-shepherds whom Jesus has called to love their churches like He does, and to faithfully feed those churches with the Word of God.  Stewards, that's all we are.

Since I've entered the ministry, I've served established churches.  I'm thankful for that in many ways, but one of the biggest is that when you come to serve an established church, you instantly know that this church isn't yours.  It was around a long time before you got there, and it will be around long after you've gone.  You know that you're part of something much bigger than you.  The church isn't mine; the head and sole owner of this church is Jesus.  Of course, it's important to remind you all of the same thing; no matter how many years you've gone to this church, and no matter how many generations of your family have gone here, it's not your church either.  It's far bigger than you, and bigger than all of us.  My agenda for this church is unimportant, ultimately.  So is yours.  All that matters is what the Head of this church, Jesus, wants for us.

When I realize who the church really belongs to, it completely changes my ideas about why I am here, what I'm supposed to do, and who I'm doing it for.  The first passage I shared from Ezekiel 34 is a solemn warning of impending judgment for the shepherds of the nation of Israel.  They lost sight of the fact that the one and only job they had was to see to the well-being of their flock.  They were to feed, serve and protect.  Instead, they decided to make themselves richer and fatter at the expense of their flock.  They "fleeced" the flock, clothing themselves with the wool, and they slaughtered the choice sheep to feed themselves.  Instead, God says, they had been put there to seek out the sheep that were lost, to heal the sick and bandage the injured. Because they served their own interests instead, the judgment of God was coming.

I worry for many churches who are following mere men instead of following Jesus.  There are wolves out there in sheep's clothing, false shepherds who will serve their own interests and amplify their own power at the expense of the church.  By God's grace, I am growing to love this church more and more, just like its True Shepherd does. I want to do a better and better job of loving and serving you.   But God forbid, if I would ever fall into sin and begin seeking my own good at the expense of the church family, you should replace me as quick as you can.  Don't let me, or anyone, damage the flock to serve their own interests, or set the sheep against each other.  Follow Christ, and Him alone.

Beyond "Dead Right"

     As we progress through life, we come to learn the twin importance of both knowledge and experience.  I have definitely learned this as a pastor.   I attended seminary, where we delved deeply into the knowledge side of things.  There were Old and New Testament studies, church growth and leadership, Biblical exegesis, systematic theology, hermeneutics, homiletics, and a bunch of other things whose very names are intimidating.  I am thankful for my seminary education; it forced me to think through my faith on a level unprecedented for me.  The rationale for seminary education is that if you are going to teach people about God’s character and works, and the response He wants from us, you had better be able to portray Him faithfully.  This can only come by reading, learning and reflecting deeply on His word.  

If we are flawed in our understanding of who God is, we cannot really know Him as He is; we merely become experts on own skewed images of Him.  Imagine that for some reason, I might have become deeply convinced that my wife was a standup comedian who loved to dine on anchovies while listening to heavy metal music. (Nothing could be more opposite to my wife’s true nature.) With this firm idea in mind, I might believe I had come to know her perfectly.  However, I would only know my image of her; I wouldn’t know her at all as she really is.  You have to know some fundamental, correct information about a person in order to actually know that person.  When you apply this point to our relationship with God, you come to understand that doctrine is important.  For this reason, I am thankful  for my education, and I strive to present good doctrine as a pastor.

I have also come to learn, however, that experience is just as essential as knowledge.  We see this often in the job market.  Successful applicants for a job will list their experience in that field, and in a case where two applicants have identical educational backgrounds, the employer will invariably choose the applicant with more experience.  The reason for this is that experience yields learning that the collection of knowledge simply can’t produce. I’ve learned this, slowly and soberly, throughout my years as a pastor.  Seminary filled my head with all manner of information.  By the time I had my M.Div., my theological formulation was fairly tight.  I knew tons of background context on Bible history that I hadn’t known before.  I was enthused by all sorts of cutting-edge ministries that the really “with it” churches were engaged in.  I couldn’t wait to put all this amazing stuff into effect once I became a pastor.  

I didn’t realize at the time that seminary hadn’t made me into an expert pastor.  It had only helped me become a passable theologian, preacher and teacher.  

White hot with all kinds of amazing things I was about to do, I entered my first pastorate.  All the slogans, catch phrases and trends gushed forth from me in a mighty torrent.  I filled the pulpit with fiery oration about what churches like ours must do--or else.  I pushed and prodded and cajoled…and fumed and sulked and pouted when nothing happened.  It’s amazing that my first church even put up with me.  

I was just beginning to learn that knowledge is no substitute for experience--and it was experience that I lacked.  I had a head full of information about church leadership, but I could not lead effectively because I hadn’t the slightest idea of how to really work with the people who make up the church.  The ability to shepherd and lead people can’t come from a book, or any number of books.  This can only be learned by experience, because you can only truly know and love people experientially.  

Over the years I have gained experience in being a pastor--and I will continue to gain experience.  Looking back to that overzealous seminary graduate that I once was, I am a bit embarrassed at how very little I knew back then.  I had a head full of books, but the textbook of relationship is not text.  It is a book of the heart.  And that textbook must be read slowly, deeply, and sometimes even painfully.  The learning that arises from such a reading is agonizingly slow, but it is immensely more vivid--something like comparing a walk through a fragrant pine forest to a child’s crayon drawing of a Christmas tree.

As it is with our human relationships, so it is with our walk with Christ.  Correct doctrine--accurate information about who He is--is an absolutely essential ingredient.  It is, however, only one ingredient.  Being able to grasp a reasonably true picture of Christ’s character and works must be matched by a personal and transforming imprint of His life upon ours.  If volumes of theoretical knowledge about Christ are not accompanied by a deep experience of Him in relationship, that knowledge will be sterile and fruitless.  This emptiness is expressed by the Apostle Paul, who in 1 Corinthians 13:2, wrote, “...if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  Stellar theological, and even miracle-working, credentials are utterly stillborn without the transforming love and presence of Christ. 

When I was a child, my mother carried around an embarrassingly-tattered King James Bible. (Its condition was a very healthy sign, though I didn’t know it at the time.)  The pages were loose from the binding, and not always in the right places.  I think the book of James had migrated to somewhere in the neighborhood of Habakkuk.  The margins, and the front and end papers, were crammed with her handwritten notes.  Among them was a saying which, for some reason, fascinated and stuck with me.  As I tried to recall the wording, I looked it up on the internet.  I don’t think that this is the saying, verbatim, but it is very close.  Her note read something like this: “Knowledge without devotion is cold, dead orthodoxy. Devotion without knowledge is irrational instability.”  Every now and again, that saying floats to the surface of my memories.  Back then, the words were mysterious, but seemed powerful.  As I have grown, I have slowly come to understand that those words encapsulate the two essential sides of the “coin” of my faith.  Doctrine and relationship must accompany each other in equal measure, or the life of faith will be sterile, stillborn, and perhaps even doomed to shipwreck.

“Dead orthodoxy,” as the quote puts it, is dangerous for a couple of reasons.  First, it can result in a drifting away from the faith as its adherents note an abundance of “answers,” but a disturbing absence of meaning and life-change.  This lack is felt in evangelical churches all over America.  It is felt in the lives of Christians who encounter nothing but blandness and lack of passion.  Of course this makes perfect sense, given the circumstances.  People are raised in churches which strongly preach the absolute truth of God’s inerrant word.  Certainly, we should applaud this emphasis; we ourselves have a high view of revealed truth.  There is no true life without it.  However, it is too rare that we translate the correct formulas of theology to inspire a dynamic relational experience with Christ.  Doctrinal formulas about Christ have no power to change lives.  Only a dynamic walk with Christ Himself can unleash Living Water, bringing us to a life charged with meaningful purpose.

What we are really talking about is a life indwelt by the Holy Spirit, pervaded with His fellowship and inspiration.  In the absence of it, a person is quickly overcome with a feeling of emptiness which cannot be filled by all the right answers in the world.  Passion and joy in Christ seem unattainable, and thus a person might well begin to question whether the whole thing is even worth it.  Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expresses this beautifully in his book, Revival:

But now I am indicating that there is a terrible danger of our putting the doctrines, the true doctrines, about the persons into the place of the persons. And that is absolutely fatal. But it is a very similar snare, which traps evangelical people, and orthodox people. You can be orthodox but dead. Why? Well, because you are stopping at the doctrines, you are stopping at the definitions, and failing to realize that the whole purpose of doctrine is not to be an end in itself, but to lead us to a knowledge of the person and to an understanding of the person, and to a fellowship with the person...Dead orthodoxy, in practice, is as bad as heterodoxy, because it is quite useless.

And so it is that uncounted people in our time have left behind the church, and in many cases even the faith.  It seemed quite useless to them, because no amount of theology--or even ritual--can remedy the emptiness inside.  That can only be filled by a daily, sweet, enlivening fellowship with Jesus.

The sense of emptiness brought on by “dead orthodoxy” leads to the other danger I wish to discuss -- a greater susceptibility to error.  It’s ironic; most people would think that a head full of the correct Biblical worldview would form an impregnable fortress against false doctrine.  Without being personally impacted by the fellowship and leading of Christ, however, there are more cracks in the wall than you might suspect.  

First, the nagging sense of spiritual vacuum can overwhelm our better judgment.  God created us to be spiritual beings, and when we are spiritually barren we will instinctively seek to fill that empty space.  If a new spiritual idea comes along, seeming to offer something beautiful and transcendent, we may be lured to embrace it even if our church background and teaching set off enormous alarms in our head.  Spiritual yearning is just too great; we will often turn to things we know to be wrong if only we can fill the vacuum.  It’s the same phenomenon for those who become involved in romantic relationships with people who are no good for them; the desire for “love” and fear of being alone often causes people to unite with those who will end up wreaking havoc in their lives.  There are some needs that people cannot ignore.  If they are not met by healthy things, people will turn toward unhealthy things.

Second, the lack of Christ’s active presence in your life can deprive you of a crucial filter in discerning truth from error.  In the beginning of John 10, Jesus compared His relationship with us to how a Good Shepherd leads His sheep.  In verses 3-4, Jesus said, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”  Shepherds in Bible times did not lead sheep through intimidation.  They spent so much time with their sheep that their flocks came to know them, and trust their voice, implicitly.  They led through relationship.  Jesus leads us like that.  Over a period of time walking with Him, in a heart-to-heart relationship, we too come to know the voice of our Shepherd.  When Jesus calls us by name, it’s a voice we recognize and trust.  We know we are safe when we follow His lead, because He loves and feeds us.

    I often worry about my church and pray for them.  My concern is that they may spend too little time in active fellowship with Christ, and that as a result they may not be able to accurately discern His voice when He calls them.  This is a danger, because the devil is very skilled in twisting the Scriptures in order to lead us into poisonous error and destructive behavior.  He did this successfully with Eve, and he made a very good attempt at it with Jesus--though Jesus was not fooled.  Our adversary is so good at constructing deadly snares out of ideas that seem so very close to complete Biblical truth.  The clever counterfeit--the subtle detour--has caused the shipwreck of so many lives of faith.  That’s what makes me brood with concern; do my people walk closely enough with Christ that they can recognize when it is truly Him calling them?  When an imposter beckons, will they know it is not the true voice of their Good Shepherd, and will they turn away?

    Like you, I have been exposed to many errors as I have grown in faith.  Some of them have been very clever--so close to the truth that it has been hard to pinpoint exactly where the problem was.  I cannot tell how how many times that my first sense of danger came from the nagging sense that this new idea did not line up with who I knew Jesus to be.  In our time together, a basic sense of His heart, His motivations and purposes has formed in my own heart.  To be sure, a great portion of this has come from my study of God’s Word!  Our experience with Christ must always accord with what He plainly reveals about Himself in Scripture.  If our image of Him contradicts Scripture in any sense, we have a false image that needs correcting.  Having said that, the presence of Jesus in my life carries a certain feel...a fragrance...a majestic, loving, gracious tone which I recognize when He guides me.  My first sense of error has often been this caution that sounds in my heart--almost as if Jesus were saying, “You know me, and that’s not me.”  That cautious instinct is what tips me off; I investigate the idea more thoroughly in light of God’s Word, and He leads me to understand just where it subtly deviates from the truth.  Without the active, living presence of Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit, all those theology classes would have fallen short in guiding me to the truth.  You have to know more than just the right answers; you have to experience Jesus’ heart.  You must come to know His voice.

    Many churches excel at formulating doctrine precisely.  They execute Sunday services with quality.  Many Christians can answer questions about God’s nature, will, and works with great accuracy.  They are dead right about so many things.  And yet, their orthodoxy, with all its precision, is devoid of life.  There is a form of godliness, but no power.  You can be right, but also quite dead inside.  It is so very important that you go beyond being dead right about everything.  If your correctness isn’t enlivened by the presence and love of Christ in your daily living, you have nothing.  Strive beyond dead orthodoxy, and toward a transforming relationship with the true Good Shepherd.

Blood Moons and Yearning for Theophany

     I hate Tax Day.  Every year, it stresses me out.  I'm always just gritting my teeth to find out how much I owe this year.  Even after I discover just how bad the damage is, it's a relief, because at least the anticipation is over.  Once April 15 comes and goes, I breathe a bit easier.

     This year, at least there was something a little out of the ordinary to add some interest to what is usually a pretty rotten day.  That night, for those of us intrepid enough to be awake, there was a blood moon.  Of course, here in western Pennsylvania, most of it was obscured by clouds.  But it was up there, if you kept your eyes open.  My wife even got a couple little snapshots of it, mostly shrouded, but recognizable.  Unfortunately we don't have a camera with a proper telephoto lens, so it ended up looking like a tiny, orange-ish LED on something electronic.  Still, I appreciated the effort.  As for me, I was tired, and I knew about the clouds, so I stayed in bed.  I thought it was great that my wife was interested enough to stay awake, though.  She never does that, normally.

     It's always fascinating when God arranges for something unusual to happen up there in the heavens.  Most days roll into the next day, and the next, with little variation.  There's a sameness about it all that can feel tedious--especially when part of the sameness is a world that is torn by wars, violence, murders, and nations raging against the sovereignty and goodness of God.  Even the U.S. seems to be practicing its impersonation of a Psalm 2 nation.  In the midst of the tedium and the darkness, a change--any change--is good.  So when a sign in the heavens appears, people take note, and hope.

     Of course, the blood moon phenomenon carries particular fascination with evangelical Christians.  Most of us Joel 2:31 somewhere in the back of our psyches..."The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."  Powerful stuff, right? That's why evangelicals get a little excited when there's a blood moon.  Coupled with the phenomenon itself is the double-whammy: when blood moon tetrads (four of them) happen on Jewish holy days.  Historically, that has happened almost never.  Only eight times in the last two millennia, if I remember correctly.  On the few times when it has, something really momentous has happened in the life of the Jewish people.  In 1492, for example, Ferdinand and Isabella issued an edict expelling all Jews from Spain.  A tetrad of blood moons also happened in 1948, which is when God regathered the nation of Israel again for the first time in almost two thousand years.  The phenomenon happened again in 1967, which is when God give Israel the victory in the Six Day War.  So you see, the correlation is a little spooky.  John Hagee, and other prophecy experts, predict that something major will happen over the next two years as this tetrad covers four Jewish holy days.  Implicit in the tantalizing prospect is the question: "will the Lord come again?"  So there's been considerable buzz about this.

     Along with the buzz has come the disdain, of course--and it may surprise you that it doesn't just come from secular voices.  Among evangelical clergy and theologians, it has become trendy to pooh-pooh any excitement over Jesus' imminent return.  Many of them are rejecting the rapture and the Millennial, earthly reign of Christ, which I consider to be sad and misguided.  But I won't delve into that here...that's a whole other article, or series of them.  The part of the disdain I want to focus on for our purposes is a rant that goes along these lines: These Christians that are obsessed about blood moons and the end times are enemies of the Gospel.  They just want the Lord to return and spare them the responsibility of reaching the world for Christ.  That particular rant is often parroted to the point of being overplayed.  It's getting old, really--even older than the prophecy programs that really do jump to far too many conclusions.  At least those are upbeat...the trendy end-times naysayers just negate, and that's very tiring to listen to.

     Don't get me wrong; there's a needed caution within the anti--end-times-exuberance of the eschatological Ebenezers. (I saw a chance at alliteration, and I went for it.)  There really is a big problem with the idea that Christianity consists of 1) pray the salvation prayer and get baptized; and 2) sit in a church pew, sing hymns, and watch for prophetic signs until Jesus comes back to rescue us from all these sinful people.  That's unrepentant sin, as it is a willful disobedience of the one, big job Jesus gave us before He ascended: the Great Commission.  Remember the Parable of the Talents? The master gave his servants funds that, while he was away, they were to put to good use.  Remember what happened to the guy who did nothing--who buried his trust money in a handkerchief? None of us want to be that guy.

     So, sensible precaution, granted.  We get it.  Aside from that, I really believe that the trendy, anti-end times-exuberance police are missing the point.  They paint the motivations of us all with too broad a brush in assuming that everyone that gets pumped about blood moons is a Gospel-slacker.  For one thing, being vigilant about the quickly-advancing return of Christ has historically not served as a wet blanket for evangelism; just the opposite.  If we have any love for people at all (and how can you actually know God and not love people--1 John 4:7-8), prophecy fulfilled is a reminder that we're on a deadline!  It's getting closer all the time!  Prophecy spurs evangelistic fervor, instead of dampening it! Furthermore, we watch for His returning because....He told us to.  If you haven't done so lately, I'd encourage you to read the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.  The closing verse has Jesus giving us the moral of the story: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." Vigilance about Christ's return is simply a matter of obedience--as long as that vigilance doesn't detract from our other obedience to the Great Commission.  So the next time someone rolls their eyes at you in response to your eager watchfulness, I encourage you to remember that our job isn't to be fashionably cynical, or to impress those who are; it's to be obedient. Keep watch.

     Here is another reason, however, that watching the signs of the times is a perfectly natural, and healthy, thing to do for Christians.  It's not that we don't love people; it's that we really, really want to see God.  Let me give you one of those $100 words that we're taught in seminary.  Don't worry, there won't be a quiz.  The word is: theophany.  Theophany is a fancy word for an exciting event: when God breaks through into human history.  Historically, God sometimes determines that the best route is to cut out the middle-man and come to us directly.  When God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, that was theophany. The biggest example was when Jesus was born in human form of a virgin and lived among us.  MAJOR theophany.  These are the stories in the Bible that fill us with wonder and awe.  Just think of it; how powerful those encounters must have been!  The Red Sea parts.  God leads His people by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. How can anyone not thrill at the idea?  

     On the other hand, the fact is, God hasn't done that in, well, quite awhile.  Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to the Father.  The Holy Spirit came upon the Church in flames of fire on the day of Pentecost.  He did pretty amazing things throughout the New Testament.  We live in a time, however, when it seems like God hasn't broken through to human history in quite some time.  This links us back to what we were discussing earlier: the world seems a mighty dark place. Wars, violence, murder, persecution against Christians...all of this amounts to a heavy weight that Christians feel deep in their souls.  The church in the Western world, furthermore, seems to be dwindling.  Church attendance is down everywhere.  Most churches are plateauing or declining.  Dare I ask it?--do we fight with a temptation to feel that the Gospel is actually losing in our culture?  If this is the weight we carry around in our souls, it's no wonder that many of us really want God to break through.  We're tired. We're lonely.  We're sad.  We feel lost.  We just want some assurance that the Lord is still there, and that He's still on His throne.  We desperately want Him to come and save this wretched world from itself.  

     Do you know what's wrong with that desire?  Nothing.

     Still, I'd like to gently suggest there are some things we might be missing, and it might be because we just aren't looking in the right places.  Maybe it's hard for us to see it, since we spend so much time in our self-made boxes of wood, steel, concrete, glass, and drywall.  The truth, however, is that there are plenty of signs that God is right here with us.  Think with me on the words of Psalm 19:1-4...

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

    The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;

    night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or word;

    their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

    and their words to all the world. (NLT)

     As you know, I didn't grow up around here.  I come from the Land of Flat.  That said, western Pennsylvania still blows me away, even though I've been here awhile.  I sometimes ask myself whether you guys experience what I do when I'm outside.  When you see the huge hills covered in green timber...when there's a morning mist wisping among the trees, and a river sparkling down there at the bottom of a ravine...does it still seem like magic to you?  It sure does to me.  Of course "magic" isn't the right word--"miracle" is better. Remember Dr. Suess' famous book, Horton Hears a Who?  The people on the little micro-world were saved from oblivion by shouting in unison, "WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE!"  Also, this beautiful world that God has made practically yells itself hoarse glorifying God, day in and day out.  He designed it to do that.  He knew that we would feel lonely and frightened sometimes.  He knew that, as a toddler anxiously scans the room to make sure that daddy is still in view--that he is safe--we would need that reminder that God is still in charge.  So He made a good world for us.  He filled it with heart-stopping beauty, just so that we would have no doubt that a miracle-working Father created, and sustains, this masterpiece of His.  There's no way that a world like this just happened to happen.  And it's not like He finished the work, signed it, and walked away.  No, this is a work of art that requires constant, creative power just to continue existing.  It's a work in progress, in fact, and it is Christ's own creative power that keeps it spinning.  As Colossians 1:17 reminds us, "He holds all creation together."  So you see, every day is theophany, when you think about it.  Every bird that sings, every sun that sets--God made that happen, just then.  There's your Abba gently saying, "I'm right here, my son.  I'm here, my daughter."

     More significant than the theophany that is daily happening around you is the theophany that constantly happens in you.  We picture God the Father sitting up there on His Throne, and Jesus, God the Son, sitting at His right hand.  We know He will come back for us someday, but we get stuck in Acts 1 mode.  We scan the skies, waiting for Him to come back.  We track global earthquake frequency.  We stay up to the wee hours to catch glimpses of a blood moon.  Like I said earlier, there's nothing wrong with this, so long as the motives are right.  In all this watching for His return, however, we lose sight of the fact that He is also here.  We get stuck in Acts 1, forgetting to turn to Acts 2.  It was never Jesus' plan to leave us hanging, alone, waiting forlornly at the train station for Him to come and take us home.  When He started talking more and more about "leaving," His disciples started to get scared, and sad.  He hastened to tell them that He wouldn't be leaving in the way they thought.  He would never truly leave them alone.  In John 14:18-19 He reassures them: "No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me." (NLT)  The wonderful thing about God's love is that He knows it is not good for us to be alone.  He loves us, and wants to be with us, more than we're even able to suspect.  Even at the time of Jesus' departure, He made this promise: "...be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (NLT)  In John 14, Jesus was describing how He would keep His promise, even though He would ascend.  We wouldn't be orphans.  He didn't want our hearts to be troubled (vs.1).  Instead He laid out the arrangements already made so that they would continue to experience theophany all day, every day: "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you." (vs. 16-17, NLT)  "Later," of course, means the Day of Pentecost.  That promise was fulfilled long ago.  If we walk with the Lord, we now have the full blessing of the permanently-indwelling Holy Spirit.  

     Even while we wait for the return of God the Son, we should never feel that we have been left alone in a big, evil, scary culture.  So, why do we?  We, of all people, should be the last ones to lament, "where is God?"  Those are the world's lines, according to Jesus.  A lost world has no frame of reference for experiencing a God who is here with us, now and always.  They are missing the spring of living water, welling up to eternal life.  They do not have the Holy Spirit abiding 24-7 in their souls, breaking through into their personal stories every day.  It's understandable for them to feel lost and alone.  It does not make sense for us, however.  Again, why do we feel like that?  The answer is that we do not listen.  We do not walk with Him as we ought.  It is no wonder that we feel God is nowhere to be found if the sum total of our relationship with Him is to spend a couple of hours singing hymns and listening to someone preach on a Sunday.  Too many of us sing about Him, and listen to someone talk about Him, yet never taking the time to get to know Him, to experience Him, for ourselves.  Let's be honest: it's not likely that we will, either, unless we take a critical look at how we are living.  Every waking second, we fill our time, our minds, and our ears with so many distractions.  Not to say that we shouldn't be about our responsibilities, but all of those things can and must flow from the friendship, strength, and center that we experience as we talk to Him and listen, really listen, to Him as He speaks to us from His living and active Word. He doesn't want you to be alone, so He gave you brothers and sisters in the church to listen to, pray for, and support you. In fact, He sometimes comes to you through them.  If you do not make the time to live with your Christian family in authentic community, you will feel needlessly alone.  If all you are and do does not proceed from that center, you will feel just like the orphan that Jesus pointedly does not want you to be.  God's perceived absence is not His fault.

     Will this particular series of blood moons usher in the return of Christ?  Wouldn't it be fantastic?  But the answer is the same as it's always been.  Maybe, maybe not. I'm in the same boat as you.  I get tired, and burdened, and I really want Him to come and take me home with Him.  There's nothing wrong, or unscriptural, about being vigilant, watching the signs, yearning for theophany.  If this doesn't turn out to be "the big one," however, I don't want you to get all downhearted.  In a real way, you don't need to wait for God to break through into your personal history; He is already right there, with you.  He never left you to begin with.  His Holy Spirit is a seal upon your heart, an inner beacon which constantly whispers, "I am here, and you are my child" -- if only you will listen.  In the meantime, you and I have a job to do.  There are plenty of people that you see, every day, that ARE orphans, lost and alone.  God put you where you are so that you can reach out your hand to them and say, "come home with me."  He put you there to love them home.

And if this tetrad of blood moons doesn't turn out to be THE time, you and I can still be very much encouraged and hopeful.  I definitely take them as a sign.  At the very LEAST I take them as God's message and sign to His children. The message goes, "I haven't forgotten my promise, no matter how it may seem to you.  I'm trying to get as many to come home as possible; I don't want anyone left alone. But I will come, when the time is right.  And it will be soon."

 

"The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief."  -- 2 Peter 3:9-10 (NLT)