Everything That's On My Mind

Well, 6+" of snow overnight with more still coming down coupled with high winds led to canceling service this morning. That's Michigan for you. It does, however, give me a unique opportunity to post a summarized version of what I was going to preach as a blog entry. I don't generally write my sermons as some preachers do. I preach from a simple outline and rely on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to take it from there. So that makes this an interesting exercise, at least for me.

Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Most Christians would answer "To remember the gift of Jesus that God gave us." That's not a bad answer, but I wonder if that's really true. Do we really give gifts to remember or honor the gift of Jesus, or do we do it for other reasons?

How do we honor a person or an event? For example, if I truly wanted to honor my grandfather and the time he spent with me as a child, I'd need to do something that connected to him and what he did for me. I could say, "I'm playing this round of golf in honor of my grandfather" but it really wouldn't mean anything. My grandfather never played a round of golf in his life. Now, if I were to go bowling in his honor, that would be better. My grandfather took me bowling at least once a week my entire childhood. If our Christmas gifts are to remember and honor the gift of Jesus, then our gifts should somehow reflect that. To that end, I want to highlight one important characteristic of the gift of Jesus that I think we've forgotten. As the angels announce the shepherd in Luke 2:8-14, the gift was "good news of great joy that will be for all people" (emphasis mine, of course). So why then do we primarily (or perhaps solely) give gifts to those we know and love, or perhaps more accurately, to those who already love us?

We've been taking some cues this Christmas from Charles Dickens' classic book "A Christmas Carol". One of Dickens' main themes within the book is a call to a return to charity and brotherly love, especially at Christmas. When asked for a donation for the poor, Scrooge responds that public welfare services should take care of the poor, he shouldn't be bothered. The Ghost of Christmas Present rebukes Scrooge for his cold-hearted attitude, and perhaps we should hearken to his rebuke as well. Care for our fellow man has always been part of God's call to His people. Time and again in the Old Testament, the Israelites are commanded to care for "the alien, the fatherless, and the widow." Deuteronomy 24:17 is just one example. In Jeremiah 22, God rebukes Shallum (King Jehoahaz) for not following his father's example:

"Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 22:15-16 (NIV)

The Apostle John brings this same thought into the New Testament canon in 1 John 3:16-18 where he boldly states that if we don't care for those in need, the love of God is not in us.

In "A Christmas Carol" the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge "the children of men", a boy and a girl named Ignorance and Want. These children still exist today. Those involved in foreign missions have always recognized this. That is why overseas missionary endeavors are so often tied to schools, hospitals, and orphanages. Missionaries understand that the gospel of Jesus is not just a message of forgiveness, but a holistic message of restoration. Scot McNight highlights this very effectively in his new book "A Community Called Atonement". Jesus' miracles of healing were not just a way to prove His identity, they were an expression of God's love for mankind and His desire to see mankind restored from all the effects of the Fall. They were an integral part of the mission of the Messiah and the meaning of the Gospel. The forgiveness and salvation we have received is not just for our benefit, but "so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

I'm certainly not advocating an end to gift-giving at Christmas. I think it is a fine way to remember and honor the gift of Jesus. To truly honor the gift of Jesus, however, I think we need to look at how we're giving and to whom we're giving them. Jesus was given not just to the righteous but to all mankind. He was given to those who loved God and to those who were opposed to God. To truly honor the gift of Jesus, perhaps we need to broaden our gift list. Our "Giving Tree" project is certainly a step in the right direction for our church, but I think it's only the beginning. I think the folks at the Advent Conspiracy have some pretty good ideas about spending less and giving more, to cut back on what we're spending on those who love us so that we can give more to those in need. To truly honor the gift of Jesus, our giving should more closely reflect the love of the Giver and the universality of the Gift.

I'll close with another passage from "A Christmas Carol", where Dickens subtly rebukes the church for offering judgement and condemnation without offering mercy and justice:

`Spirit,' said Scrooge, after a moment's thought, `I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about us, should desire to cramp these people's opportunities of innocent enjoyment.'

`I?' cried the Spirit.

`You would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day, often the only day on which they can be said to dine at all,' said Scrooge. `Wouldn't you?'

`I?' cried the Spirit.

`You seek to close these places on the Seventh Day,' said Scrooge. `And it comes to the same thing!'

`I seek?' exclaimed the Spirit.

`Forgive me if I am wrong. It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family,' said Scrooge.

`There are some upon this earth of yours,' returned the Spirit, `who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.'

...or better yet, with Jesus' own words:

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

Matthew 25:41-45 (NIV)

P.S. Don't miss Keith Schooley's excellent blog post on Christmas gifts.

There’s an email being forwarded around this Christmas season regarding sending Christmas cards to the ACLU. If you haven’t received it, a copy of the email is below.

With all due respect, this is absolutely the WRONG thing to do at Christmas. Even if you disagree with the ACLU, maliciously trying to “freeze their operations” is absolutely ANTI-Christian; a violation of Christ’s teachings and the Christmas spirit. What happened to “love your enemies”? (Matthew 5:44) What happened to “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” (Romans 12:20) Not to mention the idea of dishonestly writing “contribution enclosed” on the envelope. Don’t tell me “but I contributed a bible verse!”…please. We all know it’s intentionally dishonest and SINFUL. Have we completely forgotten how Christ calls us to behave? This is exactly the kind of thing that gives Christians the reputation of being malicious, hateful, and petty. How can we proclaim “God is love” and act in such hateful ways?

While the ACLU is involved in trying to get nativities off government property*, they have NOTHING to do with stores changing from “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays”. Stores are doing that as a business decision because fewer and fewer of their customers are actually Christians. The solution to that is NOT to protest, but for Christians to MAKE MORE CHRISTIANS!!!

Please, please, please, I beg you, DO NOT do this and DO NOT forward it on to other people. The only thing it will accomplish is to make things more difficult for people who are actually trying to share the Gospel.

Sorry for the rant, but these things really get under my skin.

* Personally, I don’t think getting nativities off government property is such a bad thing. I don’t want my Savior associated with corrupt politicians. Why do we want people who aren’t living according to Christ’s words promoting Him, anyway?

Here's the email in question:

This is coming early (really early) so that you can get ready to include an important address to your list. Read on ...

Fun with the ACLU ... Wanna have some fun this CHRISTMAS? Send the ACLU a CHRISTMAS CARD this year.

As they are working so very hard to get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of this holiday, we should all send them a nice, CHRISTIAN card to brighten up their dark, sad, little world.

Make sure it says "Merry Christmas" on it!

Here's the address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's Not the Christian Way, you know!)

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. (Put "contribution enclosed" on the envelope and inside contribute a bible verse!!) So spend 39 cents and tell the ACLU to leave Christmas alone. Also tell them that there is no such thing as a "Holiday Tree" ... It's a Christmas Tree even in the fields!!

REMEMBER send a card that says MERRY CHRISTMAS not HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

And pass this on to your email lists. We really want to communicate with the ACLU! They really DESERVE us!!

There's a great uproar in certain Christian circles regarding the new movie The Golden Compass, which comes out next month. This movie is based on the first book of a series by Philip Pullman. Pullman is one of the new "evangelical atheists" (my term, AFAIK) along with Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, who are actively trying to rid the world of all religions. I have not read Pullman's books, and I expect you haven't either, but author and film reviewer Jeffery Overstreet has and you can read his summary over at the FamilyLife Culture Watch blog.

Historically, a movie like this generates massive protests, email campaigns, and cries for the destruction of Hollywood. Such protests are silly and counter-productive to the extreme. They provide free marketing for the movie in question and in the end probably cause more people to see it rather than less. If it weren't so sad it would be funny.

Christians spend far, far too much time worrying about the "competition" and screaming about how wrong they are. What happened to the Good News? Have we lost faith in the power of the Gospel to the point that we feel it needs our protection? Michael Spencer (the iMonk) has expressed this more eloquently than I could in his fantastic post called "I'm Not Afraid of Atheists (or Their Movie)" which I highly recommend reading. We need to "overcome evil with good", not with a culture war. Paul never needed to attack his opponents, he just preached the Truth. That's what we as Christ-followers need to get back to.

I'll close with this quote from Leadership Journal:

"Paul doesn't bash Artemis. When you tell the story well, you don't have to bash. It's clear. In fact, in Acts 19, the city clerk says to the rioting mob, "Paul has never blasphemed the goddess." One of the distinctive things about the Jesus revolution is they never blasphemed the gods of the cities, and yet the whole city became Christian. That has unbelievable implications for what Christians are doing right now—preachers bashing Hollywood—When you tell the story well, you don't have to."

~ Rob Bell

If you grew up in the evangelical church during the '70s as I did, Brother Andrew's autobiography God's Smuggler was unofficial required reading. In case you've never read it, it tells the story of Brother Andrew's efforts smuggling bibles into communist countries during the Iron Curtain days of the '60s. Needless to say when it comes to passion for the Gospel and the courage to do something about it, his credentials are flawless. That's why when he talks about a Christian response to radical Islam in Christianity Today, I take notice. I highly recommend taking some time to meditate on this article. What should a true Christ-centered approach to radical Islam look like?

Ben Witherington seems to be on a pilgrimage of sorts this summer. His recent post about the city of Ephesus is excellent. It must be nice to have summers off.

Scot McKnight's series "Letters to Emerging Christians" has been full of interesting nuggets. The most recent letter addresses how to explain the Gospel simply and accurately.I like his Kingdom focus. Rick Meigs (the Blind Beggar) posted on a similar topic recently.

Earl Creps recently wrote a very convicting piece entitled Landfill Repentance.

Mark Roberts recently had the opportunity to debate Christopher Hitchens, author of the recent book god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything on Hugh Hewitt's podcast. He's been elaborating in a series on his blog.

Finally, Angie sent me this link. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Probably both. Yikes!

Here's an interesting video about a church just across the river to the South that's creatively loving their community with the love of Christ. Pastor Kevin asks a good question at the end of the video. What do you think the answer is?

More info about this church can be found here.

HT: Missional Jerry

This campaign bugs me a bit. It reminds me of all the mud-slinging political ads we get around election time. Now, I couldn't care less what kind of computer you use, any more than I care what kind of hammer you use to hit your thumb. The ads would bug me just as much if they were Microsoft ads poking fun at Mac users. It's a matter of trying to win an argument by degrading your opponent through personal attacks. Yes I know, it's just humor. Just like all the jokes played on me when I was the nerd in high school.

The ad campaign got me thinking, however, about the church and our "marketing". How do we "sell" people on the gospel? Do we try to degrade all other options to make Christianity look more attractive? Do we paint caricatures of other belief systems so they're easier to knock down? I hope not. The transforming power of the gospel of Jesus is all that is needed. For too long, Christians have tried to "help" the gospel by degrading everyone from homosexuals to liberals to Hollywood. It's called a "culture war". The problem is, as I said in a sermon recently, we're fighting the wrong battles and the wrong weapons.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

P.S. My Windows-based PC has a built-in camera, just like a Mac, and it works great!

Rick Meigs has a good post this morning over at The Blind Beggar about the tyranny of personal preferences. For too long Christians have considered the church service to be their refuge from the outside world, just like the "hideout" most little boys have growing up. It's a place to escape, to feel comfortable and safe, to be reassured and "fed". It's a place where we can pretend we're superheroes without actually having to fight any monsters. We've turned the church service into a clubhouse meeting.

Don't misunderstand, we need to be safe and reassured. We need to be comforted and healed. The church (i.e. the body of Christ) needs to perform that function. The church service (i.e. the main meeting where we invite the community to show up) should be a time when we set aside our personal preferences and do our best to communicate the Gospel in terms and forms that the "uninitiated" can grasp. Of course, that assumes that we actually care enough to invite the community to show up.

Rick quotes Breaking the Missional Code* which is a book I've just finished reading. There's a whole lot there to digest, but I'll probably reference it more in future posts. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is concerned about the growth of the Kingdom of God in North America. We no longer have the "home field advantage" trying to reach our community. We're living in post-Christian society and we need to start acting like it.

* You may be asking "what in the world does 'missional' mean?" You could just read the book to find out but if you just can't wait, check out Rick's other site, Friend of Missional.

Erika Haub has a great post on the simplicity and difficulty of servanthood. I particularly liked the insight about the situations ("dipstick moments") that reveal the depth of our commitment to servanthood. To paraphrase her post, the measure of a servant's heart is not how often you take on the role of a servant, it's how you react when someone else treats you like a servant. That's powerful stuff.

HT: Jesus Creed

On New Year's Eve, I preached a sermon entitled "How Deep Is Your Love?" and challenged our congregation to pursue a deeper commitment to loving God, loving each other, and loving the lost in 2007. I intend to blog more on this topic throughout the year but for now I highly recommend checking out Keith Schooley's variation on a theme from that message over at The Schooley Files.

Politics

It's quite a challenge figuring out who to vote for when you're as disillusioned with politics as I am. I've come to the conclusion that one of the main problems with our government is the two-party monopoly on political discussion. To quote Shakespeare, "A plague on both your houses." I've decided I'm going to take a very hard look at the alternative parties like the Constitution/US Taxpayers Party. I hear you say "but they'll never get elected!" So what? My responsibility is to vote my conscience, not to back a "winner".

Religion

Keith Schooley posted a great list of characteristics to determine if a church is more interested in "maintenance" or "mission." The list is from a book by Harold Percy called Good News People. Boy, my reading list is getting longer and longer.

Culture

I don't even know where to begin to address the Ted Haggard situation. All Christians should be praying for Pastor Haggard, his family, and his church. There are trying times ahead and they all need our prayers. We should also be reminded of the truth of the scripture "there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed." We all need to guard our hearts very carefully and stay close to Jesus and to our spouses. Satan seeks to destroy us and our witness, but he can only accomplish it if we cooperate with him.

The Blind Beggar has a great post on being missional. I know I'm not officially supposed to advocate everything he suggests (you'll know what I mean), but the principles behind his post are dead-on.

HT: Missional Jerry via The Schooley Files

Would you eat a live bug to get someone to come to church with you?