Anaotomy of The Apostolic Body

I just read somewhere a question as to why Christ would choose Paul as an apostle, being an educated upper crust Hebrew, when the others were uneducated smelly fishermen and tax collectors. This is a good question, one for which I have an opinion.

"...but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong." 1 Corinthians 1:27

In Israel at the time of Christ, religious success was attained by the educated religious leaders. They controlled the religion of the Jews to a large degree. They set up the traditions and rules of men and the common people followed. Much of it was contrary to God's idea of righteousness. Uneducated men would be the perfect tools of God to confound the haughty leaders, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who was a better teacher than all the teachers of Israel. When the common people saw what their peers did, it was easier for them to identify and to side with God.

Paul on the other hand, was an apostle to the Gentiles. They did not have God's law, not being Jews. What better tool of God than somebody who knew God's requirements for life in intimate detail. A Hebrew who was connected to the core of God's revelation in his law. Paul's task was to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into a language that theologically ignorant Gentile Christians could understand. The other apostles weren't initially as qualified as Paul for this task. His epistles are littered with OT quotes. The simplistic message of the cross and resurrection would confound the wisdom of Greek philosophy.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 12) - Checking Your Problems At The Door

Read the entire series here.

Quite often in the typical church service we're admonished to check our worldly cares and problems at the door on Sunday morning. This is supposedly so we can worship God with more focus and purity. But more than this it guarantees that our cares and problems will greet us at the door on the way out unchanged.

Wouldn't it be great if there could be some measure of edification from other members of the body while the church meets that could be more tailored to people's needs?

Part 11 . . . . . . . . Part 13

Mourning and Dancing

...A time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:4b

How often do these things alternate in life? It seems that most often they come in seasons. Seasons of mourning, seasons of dancing. Occasionally they come close to each other. I'm looking for some dancing. I already have my dance partner picked out. Maybe a week's work is necessary prior to a Friday night out.

What I Used To Believe, What I Now Believe

Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church continues a meme started by a friend of his named Lew at The Pursuit. The format of the meme is what one used to believe contrasted by what one believes now. Here is my list:

I used to believe that Romans 13 commanded believers to obey the state. Now I believe that it limits the state to punishing only a small number of sins that are also crimes, and that Paul cuts Caesar down to size (a common table waiter) rather than threaten believers who would dare drive 66 mph on the freeway.

I used to believe that one had to become a member of a church. I now believe that all baptized Christians are already members of a church simply by assembling with that church.

I used to believe in a pre-trib Rapture. Now I'm a postmillenialist who thinks that rapture theology is nonsense.

I used to believe that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Arminians, charismatics and anybody attending a group listed in Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults couldn't possibly be a true Christian. Then I believed that people in these groups could be true Christians, but that their duty was to leave those groups. Now I believe that not only Catholics, Orthodox, charismatics and Arminians can be true Christians, but that the percentage of true Christians within Catholicism and Orthodoxy is probably the same as in Protestant churches.

I used to believe that one had to know the doctrine of justification by faith to be saved. I now believe that one is justified by faith regardless of whether one understands this to the same level I do.

I used to believe in Reformed theology. I now believe in reforming theology. [Clarification 05/06/09: I used to think of Reformed (past tense) theology as something already accomplished in the past by 400 year old dead guys. But, I've come to see a need for always reviewing old ways of thinking and doing things, and making changes where necessary.]

Come to think of it, most of my blog is about things I used to believe but now don't. Read on into my archives for the entire list.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 11)

Read the entire series here.

In Part 7, I noted that the 1 Corinthians passage showed all the members of the assembly involved in edifying the whole body. The typical American church model, though, has one person - or very few - doing all the work on Sunday. This is made odd when a good deal of preaching is in telling the church attenders that they are a bunch of pew sitters that don't do much, and should get involved in helping the body.

So, a very many church people are hindered from doing the work of building up the body, then condemned for not doing the work of building up the body. I can see why so many people want to leave church.

Part 10 . . . . . . . . Part 12

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 10) - Participatory Church Gatherings

Read the entire series here.

Alan Knox on his Assembling of the Church blog posts about a new website called Participatory Church Gatherings by Andrew Wilson (read the introduction here). [Update: blog link no longer available.]  Wilson quotes D. Martin Lloyd-Jones on questioning the sit-on-our-hands-while-two-or-three-people-do-everything model of church. I'll be following this site as it moves forward with its ideas.

Part 9 . . . . . . . . Part 11

Solomon and Luther: Don't Be Too Righteous

"Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?" -Ecclesiastes 7:16

Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, writes a post around a quote of Martin Luther on the remedy for nagging legalisms that plague us. Luther's quote:

“Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: do not drink, answer him: I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to.” -Martin Luther

Adding CS Lewis into the mix, iMonk continues:

"But Lewis (and Luther) were especially aware of the spiritual dangers of trying to not sin. Yes…trying to not sin. Since encouraging people to try and not sin is a major occupation of confused evangelicalism, Luther sounds strange."

Indeed.

Ugly Death Leads to Resurrection

Andrew Sandlin argues that death must be viewed as an ugly thing in order to have a correct view of the Resurrection. He uses Grünewald's painting as an illustration. He links to Oscar Cullman's thought provoking piece "Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead?" Cullman shows Christ's death was experienced with fully human fear and suffering. Not a piece for sensitive gnostics.

Opening Day!

Today is Opening Day for the San Francisco Giants! Baseball is back! Only one problem. It's raining hard and the game might be cancelled. I've always believed Opening Day should be a national holiday. Should a national holiday be rained out?

I'm Back

I'm back from the conference. It was very good. More later.

Wanna Be A Writer?

Okay, never mind the Beatles song. I will be attending the Christian Writers Conference the next few days at Mt. Hermon Conference Center located in the beautiful California redwoods close to Santa Cruz. I have developed an interest in writing over the last five years, and feel that such a conference might confirm for me if writing will be a big part of my future. I have blogged for this period of time and have thought of bigger and better things. I have a major book idea, and several smaller ones. I have thought about making use of my blog series for book ideas.

Being unemployed might just be the motivation for me now. The job search is bleak, with layoffs in the building industry continuing. Over the next four days, this blog will probably be re-posts from the past or scheduled postings written now. Stay tuned. If nothing new shows, it's because I've been too busy.

Love of Labor (2)

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor - it is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

In a previous post, I wrote about Solomon's observation that it was a blessing of God to eat, drink and enjoy his labor. Here again in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, he repeats something similar. As a basic theme in life, laboring that results in eating one's food and drinking one's wine is a gift from God. Not only this, but labor that can result in eating and drinking is a labor that is good. Solomon notes several times in Ecclesiastes that laboring only to have the product of one's labor go to others is a severe evil.

I desire to rejoice over eating and drinking from my labor. I am praying for this gift from God. To my readers: What about you? Do you ever pray for anything like this? Is this what Jesus means when He teaches us to pray, "give us this day our daily bread"? I'd like to hear your opinions.

The Wisdom of Solomon

For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, and I saw among the naive, I discerned among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing through the street near her corner; and he takes the way to her house... Proverbs 7:6-8

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2

King Solomon wrote a good deal of wise things, and much of his writing found in the bible is found in what are considered the "wisdom books." Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. In my estimation, I would say Solomon was a "people watcher." He watched other people's actions and lives. He took note of them. He saw patterns in living. He made special notes of cause and effect. He was informed. He knew God's precepts and the advantages and disadvantages of following them. He knew what blessings and curses were. He knew what certain life situations "felt" like to people; even to himself, and he knew these things aside from what God's word really meant.

If I could summarize Solomon's writing in a short quote I would say the following. "I spent a good part of my life acting like a fool, and all of my life watching others act like fools. I've learned my lessons, and I'm telling you about them so you don't have to suffer quite as many consequences. Everybody suffers simply from being human, but listen to God so that your suffering might be less."

Wisdom is applying knowledge to life. Solomon knew how to do that. We should listen to him.

PILGRIMS PUB: A Learner's Permit for Drinking

PILGRIMS PUB: A Learner's Permit for Drinking

Jason at Pilgrims Pub posts a letter from a high school student asking why there is no means for an adult to learn to drink responsibly, with practice and preparation, instead of suddenly being allowed by law one day.

In the eyes of the all-knowing state, we become adults when we turn 18, yet aren't allowed to drink until 21. I wonder if anybody else ever realizes that most of the problem drinking in our country is for those aged 18-21 (read: college underclassmen). Coincidence? Hardly.

Mt. Diablo

I grew up with a mountain in my backyard, Mt. Diablo (Devil's Mountain). Located 35 miles east of San Francisco on the edge of California's great Central Valley, this mountain stands a modest 3,849 feet above sea level. Yet, because of the valley and proximity to the ocean, in terms of viewable land area from its summit Mt. Diablo boasts the second grandest view on the entire face of the earth. Only Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa has a greater view.

The summit is accessible by road, and the views are spectacular. One can see over the Oakland Hills and view San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge and on a clear day, the Farallon Islands 35 miles out into the ocean. East, one can see Half Dome at Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada mountains. North, one can see Lassen Peak, and each direction the views through the valley are extensive. The Sacramento river delta is easily seen, as are many cities and towns all over the area.

There are many hiking trails, and a museum on top of the peak. Hang gliders jump off the south ridge and out into the sky. I took my seven year old up there week before last. I hope to have more pictures soon.

127

"Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces..." Esther 1:1

Mrs. Scott was invited to a women's bible study by a friend, and they were reading the book of Esther. She commented that she wanted to read it. Yesterday we parked at the train station, where the stalls are numbered. I parked in stall 127. Numerology? Nah, I just wanted to have an easy way to remember where we parked.

Ecclesiastes Thread?

I'm reading Ecclesiastes right now, and it seems that a thread on Solomon's thinking is in the works on this blog. I don't think I'll make these posts into a series of connected ideas, but may just offer random comments on Solomon's observations.

Love of Labor

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. Ecclesiastes 2:24

I have been reading the book of Ecclesiastes lately, and have been pondering it for a while now. Being out of work and trying to decide what more to do in life, what to do next, why do it at all, I keep coming back to certain sayings in the book that have long given me a sense that there is something missing. There are several verses that say something similar to this one. These are Solomon's versions of Miller Time.

A day of labor, even if hard, can result in satisfaction. Taking joy in the labor of one's hands and marking the progress. Celebrating the accomplishment of labor with a cold beer with friends. The end of a day of labor can bring a sense of completion. I've lacked this in much of my professional life in the business world, but have found it in home projects, whether woodworking, consructing a patio, or a kitchen remodel. I always find it extremely difficult to relax in life. I'd like to get some kind of work that will allow me to do that.

Whatever I do next, I pray that I might be able to see the end of each day as a gift from God's hand. Am I dreaming or asking too much?

Division of Labor (2)

An anonymous commenter anonymously commented on my division of labor post:

"I wonder if this applies to "outta sight, outta mind"? The other problem I see/experience in this is if people can't afford it, it doesn't matter how good it is, if people can't afford it, they won't buy it."

Yes, I thought about this. So, maybe making yourself available/scarce is a double edged sword? I've probably thought about these things so many times, just not in certain terms.

Division of Labor: Excellence as Scarcity

Julie Neidlinger at Lone Prairie writes about scarcity. Excellence is a form of scarcity, as a book she's reading puts it. I've never thought of it in those terms, but I quickly identified it with the biblical concept (an economic one, too) of division of labor that Ron McKenzie is writing about at Blessed Economist. The concept of division of labor means that people can focus on things they are good at - becoming excellent in those things - and increase the overall standard of living in society.

Being scarce means that with you in low supply, the price fetched for your services can increase. If somebody has general knowledge and skill in a particular area, and you have specific knowledge, you demand a higher price. The buyer can pay one amount for an okay level of service, or a higher amount for excellence. With everybody making themselves more scarce, they can command greater prices, thus making more and being able to hire more people who specialize in more things. This can work with people relationships, too, as Julie points out when she says, "making oneself scarce is no foolish thing." Now, if I can apply this to looking for a job...

Remember The Joy? What Happened to the Spark?

I've heard numerous times from people, and often from sermons, "Remember the joy you experienced upon your conversion to Christ? Remember how you could hardly contain yourself, and you had to go out and tell everybody you knew about your new faith? Remember how you witnessed the gospel to everybody? How you couldn't stop praising God? How you couldn't stop reading your bible? What happened since then? What happened to that spark? You need to have that spark renewed in your life."

It is amazing how many people take this view of converting to Christ. To them, it's as if this is the only way it does ever happen. But for me, it didn't happen anything like this at all. Far from it. My conversion was one of much confusion. Fear. I heard the gospel, yes, and realized the need to repent from my sins, but I saw God as a figure of terror, not so much as a loving Father. I was terrified to tell others about my experience. My first group of religious leaders were legalists and they really twisted the meaning of Christianity. I heard about Christianity for years, then my conversion didn't happen in a single moment, but somewhere within a period of eight or nine months.

One troublesome thing for me is in just how often people have a narrow idea of what Christianity, and all of its smaller pieces, looks like for other people. I think next time I hear something like this, I'll try to inform the one who is speaking that life isn't like his/her expectations.

Preaching To The Poor and Blind and Naked

"Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see." quote from The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God - Revelation 3:17-18

I reflected on a conversation I had with a friend about something in my church past. I have rarely ever desired to be a preacher, but on those rare occasions, the above text might have been tempting.

Proper Church Authority and Submission To It

Ron McKenzie at Blessed Economist paints a portrait of pastoral authority in the church and what submission to that authority looks like. What Ron describes looks nothing like what most of the church today looks like. Quoting:

Christian submission is different from worldly submission, because its purpose is protection against error. Christians submit to an elder by giving the elder permission to speak in to their life. ... The elders will know the Christian well, so they will notice any mistakes. Elders have authority ask the tough questions, that no one else will ask. ... Elders must know their disciples well enough to see their hidden mistakes, and they must love them enough to challenge them, even at the risk of losing their friendship. Many Christians fall away when they make a bad decision or slip back into persistent sin. This often happens, because no one loves them enough to challenge them, at the time of their first mistake.

I constantly hear of people leaving churches in large numbers. What I never hear is how these people departed only after the shepherds left the other 99 sheep in the flock to pursue them. Either shepherds don't know their sheep or they know enough about how to control them with improper authority that they leave. I suspect both in today's evangelicalism.

Ice [Cream] Follies

NT WT ONE HALF GALLON (64 FL OZ) 1.89 L

So reads the lid of the Costco (Kirkland) brand vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Obviously whoever designed the packaging was suffering from ice cream brain freeze while at the drawing board. I should send them a resume and offer to proofread.

Mrs. Scott Solves Screen Resolution Issue

Mrs. Scott did some troubleshooting for me. The dropdown "view/text size" settings were somehow re-set to "largest" for many of the blogs I frequent. No wonder the text sizes were wacky. Thank you, Mrs. Scott!

Baseball On The Radio!

Today is a wonderful day on the calendar. It was the first game of the cactus league season for the Giants (spring training) and the first game broadcast on the radio. After an entire winter of silence, simply hearing a baseball game on the radio is the best music I can think of. I occasionally write here on this blog about my love for baseball (but my baseball blog, From the Bleachers is dedicated to baseball, and this piece is cross-posted there). I am a fan, and an avid fan at that.

But, my fandom does not mean that I hang on every pitch of a game and ignore all else. For me, listening to games on the radio is a daily event during baseball season, but I enjoy it at least as much as background music as I do paying attention to every pitch. It is soothing to the soul and easy upon the mind. That we are completely spoiled here in the Bay Area with wonderful announcers that communicate the game so beautifully makes me want to live here forever.

What's Up With Blogger Screen Resolution?

[Update 02-25-09: problem solved, thanks to Mrs. Scott]

Last night, somtime in the middle of the night, all of my Blogger based sites on my blogroll had a screen resolution explosion (implosion?), so that now all non-toolbar space on the screen is hyper enlarged. One site, Gene's, is showing up with about 256 pt type. I can hardly read it, as even moderate length words in margins are displayed on several lines. Some sites have extreme text and photo overlap. Yahoo and Comcast home pages are also affected. Wordpress and several others don't seem to be affected.

One post title in Gene's right margin looks like this to me:

Dancing as
a Bride
with her
Bridegroo
m


I have a high resolution screen, the 1280 x 1024 max, but the non-toolbar spaces on these sites show up like some 800 x 640 kindergarten viewability. No, I'm not losing my eyesight.

My Blogger post editor has like 1/4" characters on my screen. All these things are screaming at my face. Any ideas out there?

Adding OrthoCuban

I am adding the OrthoCuban blog to my blogroll. This blog is owned by an Eastern Orthodox priest named Father Ernetso Obregon, who is Cuban born (pre-Castro) and came to the US in 1961. I found him through comments and sometimes invited contributions on the internetMonk blog. As with most Americans, I know little about the beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. I find Fr. Ernesto's writing on Orthodox theology enlightening, and he relates it often to the American way of doing religion. I have found his blog to be a good read for a Protestant, especially of the Reformed Calvinist variety.

Friday Night Potpourri

Random thoughts on a Friday night:

• It was raining hard on my way home tonight. We're in a drought here in CA and need all the H2O we can get.
• We have a mountain here in the Bay Area, Mt. Diablo (Devil's Mountain), about 35 miles east of San Francisco (right in my back yard). Although only 3,849 ft. high, with California's vast valleys, etc., the viewable land area from its summit is the second grandest view on the face of the earth. Second only to Kilimanjaro in Africa. It really is a great view from up there. On a clear day one can see Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
• Speaking of Mt. Diablo, it rained heavily last night, and the snow level was down to about 1,500 ft. This morning the upper half of the mountain was a brilliant white. By sundown, most of the snow had washed away, leaving only the top few hundred feet white.
• The Oscars are coming up, and that means I'll be an awards ceremony widower.
• No matter who you are, I caught you doing something very embarrassing on Google Street recently.
• Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 9) - The Church Meeting Described In The Bible (4)

Read the entire series here.

In keeping with Part 8 where I was writing about all the members in the church service involved in edifying the whole body, Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church posts about spiritual gifts in the assembled church. To quote:

Scripture only gives two requirements for someone to exercise their gift when the church is assembled: whatever they do must be motivated by love (1 Cor. 13) and must edify the church (1 Cor. 14:26). No gifts should be refused, and no gifts should be elevated above the others - as long as the gifts are used to edify other people. Similarly, the people should be given the opportunity to use their gifts when the church is assembled, and they should be reminded that God holds them responsible for this. In other words, if someone is in charge of the meeting time, that person should make sure that others are given opportunity to edify the church. And, the people gathered should be reminded that God wants them to participate and expects them to participate in building up the body.

Giving all the people an opportunity to edify others, in the context of the church meeting, when the entire church is together, is a good example of "power to the people." Leave it to God to design such a thing. Those who are "nobodies" in the eyes of the world can have great power in Christ's church. No wonder so many poor people throughout history have become Christians.

Part 8 . . . . . . . . Part 10

Good Economy, Bad Economy

Right now the economy is "bad." Really bad. Just a few years ago, it was "good." Really good. Now, things may be a bit different where you live, but in my experience, a "good" economy doesn't really mean that things are all that better. I work in the building industry, and as housing goes, so goes the economy. Our industry is a multiplier of the overall economy, so things are said to be feast or famine. Right now is "famine."

But, when the economy is "good", goodness is offset by other things bad. In my metro area, the San Francisco Bay Area, a good economy brings people in droves to Silicon Valley, where all the "good" jobs are, of course, so supply and demand means that the cost of everything shoots up dramatically. Rents and home prices skyrocket, forcing existing dwellers to move further out from the epicenter as newbies force their way in and veterans force their way up. So much economic activity occurs that there really isn't a "feast", but mostly working all the harder and faster to simply keep up with the work load. A feast also includes the free time necessary to enjoy the extra food, by the way. Clients are extra hard on you, cracking the whip in expectation of the impossible in ever tightening schedules. Then the extra work load becomes necessary to keep up with rising costs.

During an economic housing boom, everybody in the industry is employed, so bidding wars start and work shortages occur. Try to hire a contractor during a "good" economy. "We'll get back to you next May." Even if you have an agreement, if you are outbid by somebody else, you are left holding the bag.

Now as the economy is "bad", I'm hearing that many people are "going back to the basics; family, home cooked meals, staying in." During a "good" economy, meals are picked up "to go" from a restaurant so the worker can head back to the office to work late. During a "bad" economy, people stay home to eat with family, but the quality of food is not as great.

I'm not convinced that we are living in an age of prosperity, where things get slightly better all the time, but in an age of roller coasters and merry-go-rounds where things seem to get better, followed by a period where things seem to get worse. We seem to simply trade off catch-22 periods.

Favorite Movie Scene

My favorite movie scene of all time is from a comedy. It happens to be my favorite movie as well. In this scene, which is only about 3 minutes long, King Arthur argues with a peasant about systems of government. Classic.

Divorce: The Unpardonable Sin (2)

Imagine your very best friend gets engaged, and he comes to you and says, "I would be honored if you were the best man in my wedding." Now imagine this same best friend has said to you that if you ever got married, not only would he not be your best man, he would not even attend your wedding. Your ex-wife left you before you even became a Christian, and for you to ever get married again would be to commit adultery. Attending a wedding that is an adulterous act would be to give a blessing to adultery, something a Christian cannot do in good conscience. Yes, this very thing happened to me. Imagine being told that even though you're divorced, you're still a married man, and as a married man, you should avoid any close fellowship with women, and that your area of ministry will be solely to men. Imagine that women in the church are told that you are a married man and to shy away.

Now imagine attending another church that believes that there are only a few scenarios where a divorced person is allowed to remarry, but you're one of them! Not only do they believe you are free to remarry, they take "It is not good for man to be alone" to an extreme and tell you to get out there and find a wife. Imagine the confusion in being held to mutually exclusive, extreme imperatives by two groups of people (still having friends from the old group) claiming to believe the same bible.

Now imagine thinking that you've come to a place of believing that you're okay to remarry, and that you're going to a church that believes the same. You find interest in a young woman, and everything is fine until her parents, who were raised in the first line of thinking, find out your ex-wife left you once upon a time, leaving you divorced. Your relationship is immediately shunned. Actually, this one had a happy ending. No, I didn't marry the girl, but the gravity of the situation over time encouraged her family in examining and re-thinking their position. They sought out wisdom from others, studied it for themselves, and changed their minds.

I've also served as a deacon in a church. This required much agonizing before allowing the elders to lay hands on me. Our church sees situations where divorced people are able to remarry, but I had to have discussions with the pastor about potentially explosive situations caused by members who didn't believe in remarriage in my case or in allowing divorced people to serve. I know of a church that split over the discovery of a divorce in the past of one of its leaders.

Fun stuff, marriage, divorce and remarriage is.

(1) .

Divorce - The Unpardonable Sin (1)

Okay, I'm about to drop a bombshell on the blogging world. I'm divorced. Or, maybe I should say, I was divorced at one time. Yep. Now that I've lost a percentage of my readers just on this bit of information alone...

I look back and laugh at it now, but there was a time early on in my Christian life that my pre-conversion divorce was a huge blot on my character. I was a divorcee. Okay, well actually, since the people I hung around with back then claimed that there's no such thing as divorce, that I'm still married to that other woman in God's eyes, now that I'm married again, I now have two wives, and am an adulterer, and probably not a true Christian because of it.

There's a line of thinking in some strains of fundamentalist Christianity, a foul smelling doctrine of marriage, divorce and remarriage that makes anybody who has ever been divorced - even if they were the unwilling innocent (and willing reconciling) party in a marriage that was broken by the other person - an equivalent of the disease leprosy. Toss every imaginable sock of sin into the washing machine with the bleach of Jesus' blood, and out come the socks of murder, lying, theft, abuse, drug addiction, harlotry, whoredom, profanity, all pure white. Yet the socks of divorce and being divorced remain soiled. For many in the church, divorce is treated quite literally as the unpardonable sin and a dead end roadblock to any advance whatsoever in the Christian life. Divorcees, no matter how innocent, have the scarlet letter "D" tattooed branded on them, and are banned from remarriage, fellowship, even simple conversation with members of the opposite gender.


I'll take a few posts in a short series to discuss how bad theology and a misunderstanding of biblical teaching can really screw up people's lives. First hand experience, here.

. (2)

Adding Alan Knox Link

I'm adding a link to my blogroll. Through Abu Daoud's Islam and Christianity, I found Alan Knox's The Assembling of the Church. He assembles with a church that practices every-member participation, and his area of specialization is ecclesiology. He has many good points in why a lot of churches don't operate very well.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 8) - The Church Meeting Described In The Bible (3)

Read the entire series here.

In Part 7, I noted that the 1 Corinthians passage showed all the members of the assembly involved in edifying the whole body. It would be interesting to know how many people were there in Corinth. Although I see no limit placed on the number of people in an assembly, I think it might be rather difficult to do this in the context of a 10,000 member mega-church. Does this say anything about the size of a church? Maybe it does. But there are successful large churches who claim to succeed by breaking down into much smaller groups at other times during the week for more personal interaction. Are large churches that don't break down into smaller groups as successful? Can edification take place in these smaller groups? Is there an advantage to doing things this way? Could we call these smaller groups "church"? Questions, questions, questions.

Part 7 . . . . . . . . Part 9

Friday Night Potpourri

Random thoughts on a Friday night:

• It's Friday night and unlike in my 20's, it's the night to stay home and rest.
• I don't do squash. I don't play squash, I don't eat squash. Any squash. In my last potpourri, I mentioned the winter beers I received for Christmas. One was a pumpkin ale. Eeeew. The other nine were great.
• Weekend ride home: the past four Friday nights I've left work for home have had stressful happenings. One, I was rear-ended a block from work. I heard the tires skid behind me, and I knew it was coming. The skid slowed the other car down so that the only "damage" was a transfer of license plate paint, but it was still a jolt. Two, I was the last one to leave work and saw as I drove away, but realized only later, that somebody left the Christmas lights on on our lobby tree, and I feared a fire that weekend. Three, just on the freeway from leaving work, I witnessed a small pickup roll over about 80 yards in front of me. Freeway speed, it bounced about 10 feet up in the air as it turned. It landed upside down with the driver hanging from the seat belt. I stopped about 50 feet short. Contents spewed all over the road. Minor injuries. Four, I came upon about a six car smash up on my way home tonight. I can't wait for next Friday.
• Mrs. Scott just bought 8 pairs of pants for me. One fit.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 7) - The Church Meeting Described In The Bible (2)

Read the entire series here.

In Part 6, I concluded that the passage found in 1 Corinthians 11:17 through chapter 14 was in the context of the church meeting. I also noted how many people were involved in the church meeting, and this can be seen by the following:

• "But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (12:7)
• "For to one is given...and to another... and to another...and to another...and to another...and to another...and to another...and to another...and to another..." (12:8-10)
• "...but that the members may have the same care one for another" (12:25)
• "...but if all prophesy..." (14:24)
• "...when you assemble, each one has a..." (14:26)
• "For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;..." (14:31)

It seems here, whatever the interpretation of Paul's exhortation that the women shouldn't speak, that either all members of the assembly speak and contribute to the edification of all, or at the very least, all the men do this. All of the members are active in the edification of all the others? This isn't the modern American model at all.
This isn't, either, a primer for charismatic church services. If the biblical model has everybody doing the task of edification, and the sign gifts of tongues and prophesy (whatever that was in the NT era) have since ceased, then does that necessitate the complete abandonment of the "everybody involved" so that only the preacher and choir do edifying things? Wouldn't we still follow this model (even without tongues of prophesying) that includes everybody edifying everybody?

Part 6 . . . . . . . . Part 8

Congratulations Rickey Henderson

Congratulations to Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice for making Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. I watched Rickey's career, much of it in my own backyard. Read about it at my baseball blog, From the Bleachers by clicking here.

Happy 80th, Dad

Today was my dad's 80th birthday. We had a family gathering over at their house and had dinner. We all celebrated and gave thanks for a dedicated father and grandfather. He has always fixed things and helped out greatly with all of our doings.

My brother asked him which decade for him was the biggest in terms of change. His reply was the 50's because that's when he got his bride (this would be my mom) and started his career. All the grandkids got him cards, and my mom made a cake with two candles, an "8" and a "0."

Happy birthday, dad. We love you.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 6) - The Church Meeting Described In The Bible

Read the entire series here.

The apostle Paul describes the church meeting in a large chunk of Scripture, from 1 Corinthians chapters 11 through 14. In a direct context of the entire church meeting together, I'm going to use the following section of Scripture. It's a fairly large chunk to read to get the context for a blog post, but reading it through will help you to understand where I'm coming from and where I'm going. The text is 1 Corinthians 11:17 through chapter 14. Click through to the Bible Gateway passage.

Here, I'm going to point out all of the locations in this text where Paul specifically talks about the church meeting, where all of us gather together. He does so in the following verses:

• But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. 1 Cor. 11:17
• For in the first place, when you come together as a church... 1 Cor. 11:18
• Therefore when you meet together... 1 Cor. 11:20
• So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 1 Cor. 11:33
• If anybody is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. 1 Cor. 11:34
• And God has appointed in the church, first apostles,... 1 Cor. 12:28
• ...however, in the church, I desire to speak... 1 Cor. 14:19
• Therefore if the whole church assembles together... 1 Cor. 14:23
• When you assemble, each one has... 1 Cor. 14:26
• ...but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church... 1 Cor. 14:28

The above Scripture references are merely those verses that deal specifically with the church meeting. It is abundantly clear from reading the whole passage that all the rest of the passage in between all these verses is talking about the same context. This context is the meeting together of the church. Paul speaks much in this passage about the body of Christ, which is the church, and all of its members, how those members relate to each other, what types of gifts each member has, how those gifts are to be used, how all the members are necessary, and how each respective gift of all those members are necessary, what effects the exercise of those gifts have on one another, and not only that, but what effect the exercise of gifts has on unbelievers who happen to be there, different offices that God appoints that have certain gifts, the Lord's Table and how we should relate to one another during it, how many people should speak in church and what the result should be, and that it should all be done orderly. Whew! That's a lot of stuff, and all this is in the context of meeting together as the church.
(I'm not going to address the end of this passage with respect to whether women should be allowed to speak, etc., as this has other issues tied to it, and doesn't affect what I'm trying to point out in this series. I included it just to show that it is still in the context of the meeting of the church.)
It is simply amazing how many members are involved in the church meeting that Paul describes. This passage is quite different from the standard American tradition of church where a very select few (or even one!) actually do anything that affects all the others. For Paul, the goal is edification. With the American model of church, it's amazing to me to that our system hasn't fallen completely apart with so few involved in edifying one another every week. In many cases it has fallen apart, as the number of church closures and people who leave their churches testifies.

Part 5 . . . . . . . . Part 7

Peace On Earth

I wanted to post this on Christmas Day, but you know how it goes.

We packed up the kids to go over to grandma and grandpa's house for Christmas dinner. The off ramp for their exit makes a T-intersection with the desired boulevard. Sitting at the light, I glanced straight across the street at the Target store there. The store was closed, the parking lot was completely empty, as was the whole rest of the shopping center.

The first thing that popped into my mind was, "Peace On Earth."

Can A Christian Be A Bartender?

Most Christians I know believe that Christians are allowed by the bible to drink alcohol. But can a Christian be a bartender? Own a brewery? A winery? A distillery? Some people who think a Christian can drink tend to shy away from believing these other things. Why?

It's quite okay to go to a bar, order a beer, sit and drink it, play the juke box, but to pour the stuff is questionable. Some might object out of fear that such a person would only be helping people with their vices. But with Christians supposedly holding to higher standards of morality, I would think that these people would rather have Christians in those positions than non-Christians. They would have a larger influence against drunkenness and vice, according to their own theology. Why not be salt and light from behind the bar as opposed to just in the lounge?

Happy Pew Year

Happy New Year. I hope you have a blog of a year.

Was The Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) The Rich Young Ruler? (3)

Read all posts on this idea here.

After posting part 2 of this series last night, and reviewing comments left by a reader named Chadwick, many new angles to this idea popped into my head and I had a hard time sleeping. After church today I hit up my pastor with a theological question. I occasionally broadside him with something theological out of the blue, so he humorously braced himself. "Is there a reason you know of off the top of your head that prohibits the rich young ruler from being Saul of Tarsus?" His reply floored me. He was just discussing this very thing with his wife last night!

So, here I'm going to outline what I suspect so far as briefly as I can, and I will include my new thoughts. I may save detailed explanations until later. So, here goes...

A few years ago I started wondering about the Apostle Paul's past. Where did he come from and why did he persecute the church so much? Specifically, since he is first mentioned in the bible as Saul of Tarsus who was standing by during the stoning of Stephen, could he have been both alive and in Jerusalem during Christ's ministry? The early happenings in the book of Acts occurred just weeks or months after Christ's death, and revolved around the temple in Jerusalem. If so, would he ever have had occasion to meet Christ? He was after all a Pharisee, and the Pharisees spent much time in Jesus' face as He ministered. Specifically, I wondered (I don't know why) if he could have been the rich young ruler that asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. People just don't wake up one morning and decide to persecute followers of a religion, so Paul would have had a good understanding of Christianity and a fairly large chip on his shoulder to persecute it the way he did.

The rich young ruler encounters Jesus in the passage of Matthew 19, asking him how to inherit eternal life. When Jesus replies that he needed to keep the commandments, he asked which ones. Jesus read the second table and its summary, to love one's neighbor. But he purposely left out the tenth commandment against coveting, which was the rich young ruler's problem. Rather than picking up on this, he used his own keeping of Jesus' list to justify himself. Jesus told him to sell all and give to the poor and follow Him. He left disappointed because he owned much. But after the rich young ruler leaves, Jesus and His disciples continue to talk about him. He is the context for the subsequent conversation.

Jesus said to His disciples that it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The context here was... the rich young ruler. In fact, it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter. The context here was... the rich young ruler. The disciples asked then who could be saved, if a rich young ruler couldn't. Jesus' reply was "With men this is impossible..." This is in reference to the man who just claimed to have kept all the commandments, the context here being... the rich young ruler. By now you might be noticing a pattern here. Each statement has as its context Jesus' interaction with the rich young ruler. I believe this pattern continues throughout the discussion. Jesus continued with, "...but with God, all things are possible." Now, contrary to many commentaries I've read about the rich young ruler leaving Christ for good, and God never desiring to save him because of his attempt at salvation by law, I'm now convinced that Jesus might be secretly prophesying to His disciples that this young man who they just heard would in fact enter the kingdom. There is grace even for him. So when Jesus said that all things are possible with God, the context was... the rich young ruler.

The reason I believe this is because the very next statement by Peter has, again, as its context... the rich young ruler. He said, "Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?" Jesus just said the same thing to the rich young ruler, selling everything and following Him; he is still the context. Now for the exciting part. In answering Peter, Jesus told them about the kingdom, "...you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Okay, there's a minor glitch here that the disciples didn't know about yet. Only eleven of them would sit upon the thrones. Judas Iscariot would betray Jesus and commit suicide. A substitute apostle would need to be selected (personally by Christ, like the others, and not by men casting lots - sorry, Matthias). Since the context hasn't changed yet, why should we expect it to change right now in the middle of Jesus' discussion? The context would still be... the rich young ruler. Yes, the rich young ruler, whom the disciples just met a few minutes ago, would be the twelfth apostle to sit on the thrones. This apostle would later be recognized as Paul. Jesus then concludes this section of His discussion with something very interesting. "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first." Interesting indeed, if just like throughout the entire discussion so far the context is still... the rich young ruler. This rich young ruler would be the last apostle appointed by Christ, yet in some way would be first. It is necessary to point out that Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, and wrote the majority of epistles in the New Testament. He is the poster child for persecution and the major player in hashing out major doctrines. He is the key instigator of church planting, and writes extensively about church life and his relationship to the churches in the New Testament. He has become an apostle of first importance.

Now I'd like to back up and discuss how the rich young ruler encountered Christ. Matthew 19:16 says, "And behold, one came to Him and said, 'Teacher...' " But just before this (the first half of Matthew 19), Jesus had an encounter with the Pharisees that ended with, "And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there." It seems most likely to me that the rich young ruler wouldn't have come out of nowhere to meet Christ just after He left the place where He talked to the Pharisees. The rich young ruler would most likely have been one of the Pharisees interacting with Jesus, who then followed Jesus when He left and asked his question shortly thereafter. It is human nature for the most inquisitive among us to follow an authority figure out after his speech to engage in a smaller Q and A session. Saul was a Pharisee, so if he were the rich young ruler, he would fit this account.

More evidence for me that this is true comes from very striking parallels between topics in Matthew 19 and in Paul's writings in Romans 7 and 1 Corinthians 7. When we encounter several things together in important events in life, we have a tendency to repeat those things together when we tell other stories or make certain points later on in life. First, Jesus pointed out to the rich young ruler that coveting was his problem. Paul mentions in Romans 7 that coveting was his problem. It is the only commandment of the Law that he says that about. Now, if Saul were present at Jesus' discussion in the first part of Matthew 19, he would also have heard Jesus discuss God's Law with respect to marriage and divorce. A discussion of marriage laws followed by a discussion of the law against coveting. How coincidental, then, that in Romans 7 Paul discusses God's law concerning marriage followed by his own struggle with the law against coveting. Paul personalizes coveting, which is what Jesus was pointing out to him. Coincidence? Or is the rich young ruler the one and same as the Apostle Paul? He would be recalling his encounter with Jesus - a life changing one at that - in his writings to others.

Another parallel occurs between Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7. After Jesus discusses marriage according to God's Law, noting that Moses' inclusion of a divorce clause in the Law was only for the purpose of showing grace to those who were burdened with a marriage to heard hearted people, His disciples question whether it would be good to never marry. Jesus' response is mystical and personal. "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given...there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it." Paul was unmarried. Hmmm. In Matthew 19, Jesus combines talk of marriage with talk of remaining single for the sake of the kingdom. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul combines talk of God's law regarding marriage with talk of remaining single for the sake of the kingdom. Jesus' reply to His disciples would also have been a personal message to a listening Saul that Saul would use years later in writing to a church. Additionally, when Paul writes, "But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord..." and, "But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever...", I believe he has his personal encounter with Christ in mind. Jesus gave instructions that divorce shouldn't happen. Paul would have been there to hear this command directly from Jesus. This is why he could say, "...I give instructions, not I, but the Lord" because he was there that day to hear it directly from the Lord's mouth. But, when he says, "But to the rest I say, not the Lord...", he means that Jesus didn't teach that day on what to do in case you are married to an unbeliever. Jesus came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and not to the Gentiles. Marriages that Jesus would have come in contact with would have been between two members of the covenant. He ministered in Judea. Paul now had to deal with Gentile marriages where one became a Christian. He was now proclaiming his authority as an apostle to state that there should still be no divorce if the other party desired to remain.

One last thing. Matthew 20, a continuation of the discussion in Matthew 19, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Jesus pointed out that the first laborers who were paid last shouldn't be envious because the late comers were paid first. They were simply getting what was agreed to earlier. This could have been a lesson to the eleven to not be envious of Paul who arrived last, thus working fewer hours.

Okay, I'm pretty certain given all this that the rich young ruler was Saul of Tarsus who would later become the Apostle Paul. The coincidences are simply too freaky to me to suggest otherwise. All comments are welcome and especially solicited. More later?

Was The Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) The Rich Young Ruler? (2)

Over the last few years I have compiled a small number of fascinating pieces of circumstantial evidence that suggest that the Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was the rich young ruler spoken to by Jesus in Matthew 19. I've already written short posts about a few pieces of evidence here and here. Take a minute to read them before proceeding.

With Paul alive at the time of Christ's ministry, and asking Him what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus' reply to keep the commandments wouldn't have needed to include the first table of the law. Paul, being a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee, blameless in the keeping of the law (or at least the letter of the law) wouldn't need to be told to love God as a summary of the first table. When Saul asked which commandments to keep, Jesus replied with the list of commandments in the second table - all except one - and the summary of the table, to love one's neighbor as himself. Jesus left out the tenth commandment against coveting. Saul, being a ruler, would have known the law well. He surely would have noticed that Jesus left one commandment out. At this point, Jesus was helping him out by leaving that commandment out. Saul should have replied, "Hey, you left one commandment out, thou shalt not cov... Oh, I see. Coveting is my problem!"

But coveting was the rich young ruler's problem. It seems that he sought to justify himself by refusing to acknowledge the missing commandment, and instead confirming that he kept all the others that Jesus mentioned. It became obvious that coveting was Jesus' point, since He asked him to sell all his possessions and follow Him. The interesting tie-in with the Apostle Paul is that Paul singles out this very commandment in Romans 7 about coveting. "What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, 'Thou shalt not covet.' ...and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me..." Romans 7:7, 10. [emphasis mine]

If Paul were the rich young ruler, his encounter with Jesus would have driven him away in sorrow, because he owned much property. He would have then used this tragic encounter to persecute Christ's followers. His coveting would have been too important to him to follow Jesus. But the Law would have convicted him of the magnitude of his problem, the pinnacle of conviction taking place on the Damascus road. That he would have allowed himself to persecute Christ Himself because of his coveting is why he could refer to himself as the chief of sinners. More circumstantial evidence to come in future posts. Read all posts on this topic here.

Friday Night Potpourri

Okay, it's early Saturday morning, but I'm still awake. It's still Friday night. Here are some odds and ends; random thoughts.

• Having a liquid Christmas. I received an assortment set of winter beers from my "Secret Santa." (* indicates it's empty) *Spaten Optimator malt liquor; Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale; Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Ale; Mendocino Brewing Company's Blackhawk Stout; *Sierra Nevada Porter; Pyramid Snow Cap Ale; Warsteiner Dunkel; Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale; Mactarnahan's Blackwatch Cream Porter and Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA.
• "Where is the church, that I might find it?" I read an interesting bio (fairly long) on RJ Rushdoony's early ministry to an Indian tribe in Nevada in the 40's, and how his depression turned to optimism.
• It's 3am and the whole family was just awake. The two youngest played musical chairs sleeping places, rotating beds, cribs, chairs, sofas, and in bed with Mrs. Scott. All the crying woke up our oldest. Yawn.
• Our seeded back lawn area is growing in, but it will be a while before it is up to normal use.
• Our middle son is a baseball fanatic, and he received a self-pitch hitting machine for Christmas. He loves it. But it's cold out on the back patio, even in the sun.

Merry Christmas

No holiday dinner would be complete without at least one child wearing his or her olives. This was at our third Christmas in 24 hours. We have at least four each year. Mrs. Scott's family (mom + sisters' families) traditionally have Christmas on the 24th, our "nuclear" family on Christmas morning, my family on Christmas day, and Mrs. Scott's dad's family in January. Tonight we had olives for dinner.

Mara

"...and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?' And she said to them, 'Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." Ruth 1:19b-20

Naomi's name meant "pleasant." Mara meant "bitter." Naomi had ventured into Moab with her husband, Elimelech because of a famine. Both her husband and two sons died there. She returned to Israel with only one daughter-in-law, Ruth. The other stayed behind with her gods. Both of Naomi's sons married Moabite women, and it appears from the passage that they did not worship Yahweh.

What was the cause of Naomi's bitterness? Was it her fault that she found herself in that situation, having lost everything? Was it Elimelech's fault? Her sons'? The passage doesn't say. Yet, she knew that God had dealt bitterly with her. Or did He really? Was that simply her perception? God turned the situation into a part of Jesus' genealogy. Ruth married Boaz and was David's great grandmother.

Did Jesus Go To Hell? An Explanation

The Apostle's Creed states that Jesus descended into hell. I've read less common alternate versions that say that he descended into hades, or descended to the dead. But did Jesus go to hell? I've never really heard an adequate explanation of this. I've read several books on the creed, with scores of comments and reference verses for every statement in the creed - except this one. I've also never seen any reference to it in the most important book of all, the bible.

I recently posted my concern on John Armstrong's blog as a comment, with one reply. Just today Andrew Sandlin posted this question with a letter reply to somebody who asked him, giving a different reply than the one on John's blog. Whatever the answer, something was lost in history, and the answer to this isn't cut and dried like the other statements in the creed.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 5) - If I Miss Church Am I Missed At Church?

Read the entire series here.

And the eye cannot sat to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it us much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 1 Corinthians 12:21-25

My family has missed a lot of church over the last six months or so. We had some issues in our family - some that were church related in a way - that were extremely difficult, and it left us physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. We decided to take a month off from church because we simply needed the extra day of rest. We were also out of town maybe a couple of weekends, and we've all been hit with nasty colds and flu between some or all of us so that we've missed a number of more Sundays at church. Sometimes, we've stayed home with sick kids, or brought sick kids with us (not letting them attend, but sat with them outside). We may have missed more than a third of Sundays during this time; I can't count now.

In light of the above quote from the bible on the church meeting, I'm asking a question. If I miss church, am I missed at church? Does my presence matter? The passage makes it seem so. But is this the case only if abundant honor is bestowed upon me? Let's say, oh, about 238 people meet in the service on Sunday. If I'm missing, let's say, oh, about 237 people meet. Given the structure of the service - sitting down, standing up, singing, listening to the preaching, singing, listening to a prayer, going home - does one person missing make a difference? If I'm not there, does the rest of the congregation notice? Is one less voice during singing going to make a difference? Are two fewer ears listening to the sermon a big difference? Will somebody notice and say, "Hey, your presence was direly missed last week, and it affected our meeting. We really want to encourage you to be here next week, because we desperately need your caring, your gifts and your help"? If my experience is any clue, I doubt it. If my experience is reality, then, uhm, no.

As was pointed out in part 3 of this series, most people who attend church are passive. The pastor, the choir and maybe a few others do all the work, and the rest just sit there. Okay, there is singing, but like I asked above, is the difference between 238 and 237 going to make or break the worship of God? The pew sitters, it would seem from the passage I referenced at the top of this post, being less seemly in a great way, would have some kind of abundant honor bestowed upon them. But is this the case? I think not.

What is the difference between having your absence from church going completely unnoticed and some other member saying to you, "I have no need of you"? as is the case in the text? I can't see any difference. The passage claims that the minor players are cherished. Experience tells me that they are ignored or even dismissed. How did such a difference between God's word and reality come about? I'll discuss this more in upcoming parts to this series.

Part 4 . . . . . . . . Part 6

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 4) - Disconnectedness

Read the entire series here.

It is possible to feel loneliness, disconnectedness and a sense of helplessness in a large crowd of people. Many who live in the big city can attest to this. Some even find anonymity in large crowds. When one is in a group of people where they are supposed to be intimately connected - and yet aren't - the disconnectedness can be amplified. A bad marriage can be an example of this. Or a marriage where the two simply go through the motions. The marriage is supposed to be a close relationship, and when it isn't, it is much more obvious than if the two were mere roommates.

So it is with church. We are supposed to love one another, to bear one another's burdens, to fellowship with one another, to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. When this doesn't happen, the feeling of loss is increased. Something big should be happening here but it isn't. Like Solomon said, "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

Part 3> . . . . . . . . Part 5

Dense Fog

For the last week or so we've had some very dense fog, especially at night. I love the fog and the feeling of being socked in. Fog is peaceful and dampens noise. I've had the pleasure of jogging in the foggy morning several days this week and I could hear the fog horn at the marina in the distance. Okay, it can be less than fun to drive in, but I'm not always driving. Typically in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco and the coast get fog in the summer (higher fog) and inland areas get ground fog in the winter.

I always had first period PE class in high school, so we had many foggy mornings. The coach would send us out to run laps, and some would venture out only as far as the coach could see, then join the rest of the runners back on the way in, feigning being out of breath. I grew up between two ridges of hills, so the fog would settle in between. I had many experiences of sticking my head out of an open driver's door to see the dashed line on the road as the only way to navigate.

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 3)

Read the entire series here.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." Hebrews 10:23-25.

It is interesting that this verse is quite often used as a biblical command to go to church. Is this what it says? Going to church is not even the context of the passage. The immediate context is loving one another. Stimulating one another to 1) love, 2) good deeds, and, 3) encouraging one another are the three actions that form the immediate context. The context requires community, or "one another." Forsaking assembly with others doesn't foster love towards others. For some, this was a habit that shouldn't be a habit. Assembling with one another seems to be a secondary thought to loving one another in this passage.

So, if this verse is used as a proof text for the command to go to church, and the greater context is stimulating one another to love, stimulating one another to good deeds and encouraging one another, doesn't it follow that these three things should be very prominent in the church meeting? As my friend Bruce asks on his blog: [Update: link is no longer available]

The above mentioned text gives three reasons for meeting together:
* Stir up one another to love
* Stir up one another to good works
* Encouraging one another
Pray tell me how going to a building to watch a paid religious worker perform even comes close to these three reasons for meeting together?

Most people who attend Church are passive. The staff does the work and they sit in the pew judging the performance based on their own personal feelings and preferences.

Maybe if the Sunday Church Service were much more geared toward Christians loving one another, fewer problems would exist in the church. Loving one another always seems to be expected outside of church, outside of the church meeting where meeting with one another is more difficult.

Part 2 . . . . . . . . Part 4

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 2)

Read the entire series here.

I'm going to take Part 2 of this series to tell why I chose the series title I did. Simply, "The Sunday Church Service" is what most of us can relate to. As my friend Bruce points out in his post What Hebrews 10:25 Doesn't Say, [Update: this link is no longer available] much of our own personal experience or ecclesiastical opinion is read back into the text. I'm the first one to point out that the Greek word ekklesia, most often [mis]translated into English as the word "church", has as its root meaning "assembly" or even "congregation." I'm providing two links that deal with this issue here and here. I'm not claiming to agree with everything said in both of these links, but if the good Protestants in my theological past can use this definition of ekklesia against the structure and teachings of the Roman Catholic church, I can surely use them against the structure and teachings of the Protestant church who have adopted nearly the same things over the centuries.

Most of us are accustomed to the Sunday Church Service (or "worship" service). Meeting on Sunday is nowhere forbidden in the New Testament. Neither is meeting in a building, with a cross. Neither is meeting at the same time every week. Neither is stained glass. Neither are chairs instead of pews. Neither is preaching, nor a sign outside telling passersby what is being preached. Neither is a choir or making tapes of the sermon or pastors, elders and deacons or fellowship meals in the basement. I'm not saying, either, that structures other than the ones most of us are familiar with are wrong. I'm just going to focus on what most of us know and address the possibility of reforming it from within. I'm going to address what I think is a lack of application of Scripture that results in a lack of real community, a lack of a sense of belonging and a lack of a sense of being useful.

Part 1 . . . . . . . . Part 3

Re-Thinking The Sunday Church Service (Part 1)

In this new series I will look at some things I think are ailing churches in America today. And have been for quite some time. Many people are leaving churches because they find no difference in church than they do outside of it. They either don't fit in, or if they do, they don't see a difference church makes in their lives. They see a lack of community in church.

I'm not going to talk about the obvious absurdities like mud wrestling pastors to increase attendance. Nor am I going to talk about music and which instruments are appropriate for church; nor about what women should wear on their heads or whether Calvinism is better than Arminianism. I'm going to look at problems in churches whose theology is fairly decent; churches that have had a rich tradition and history. I will touch on liturgy, but not as a main topic.

I will focus primarily on relationships within the church, most specifically the actual Sunday church meeting itself. These relationships are described by the bible. I will write about the relationships between God to man, and man to man.

A main area of focus will be this:

Has our American church tradition so focused on the worship of God - loving God according to the first great commandment - that we have neglected the second greatest commandment - loving our neighbor as ourselves - when we gather on Sunday?

I'm still sorting out things in both my own experience and in what the bible says about our relationships, so this series will develop over time. Hope you enjoy it, and as always, comments are welcome.

Part 2 .

Read the entire series here.

John Elway's Great Last Minute Comeback

John Elway was one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He is probably most famous for his last-minute comeback victories. He has more come from behind victories than any other quarterback ever. Joe Montana is in second place and isn't even close. What is perhaps Elway's greatest last minute comeback isn't even remembered by most people. He was confronted by tremendous odds and circumstances.

It came in the last minute of the last game of his senior year of college. He was faced with a 4th down and 17 yards to go from his own 13 with less than a minute to play and down by 2 points. It was his school's rivalry game (I was in my freshman year at this rival school!). It is one of the ten biggest rivalries in college football, and the ninth oldest. A win would guarantee them a bowl game. A loss would keep them home on New Year's day. A win might give him the Heisman Trophy. He drove his team 87 yards in five plays taking 45 seconds. They scored. The drive was simply amazing.

But... Elway might have made the biggest blunder in history as he called their last time out before looking at the clock. Even though he pulled off a miracle, nobody remembers because of his mistake. Watch his amazing last minute drive by clicking here. Keep watching after they score to find out why nobody remembers his great feat. It will be obvious.

The Line Between Faith and Stupidity

There is a line between faith and stupidity. Where is it? We've all done stupid things. Some were done "in faith", or so we thought at the time. Radical things are done. Sometimes those things are successful, sometimes not. Abraham left Ur and the disciples followed Christ. But these things were directly from God. David took on Goliath, in "faith", without direct urging from God. It could have been a disaster. He took a risk.

I've known Christians that have done wild, risky things, only to have God use those things greatly. I'm included in that group. Other things are failures and in hindsight they look really, really stupid. I'm included in that group. Where's the line? I don't know. I guess if we knew, then it really wouldn't be faith. Would it?

Busy With Other Stuff

I've been busy with other stuff and haven't been able to blog regularly this last week. Hopefully I'll be back this week to a regular amount of blogging.

Dial "1" For Long Distance

For about a year and a half, I've been receiving voicemails on my cell phone from somebody in the medical field. They contain extremely personal, confidential, detailed and in some cases embarrassing medical information meant exclusively for the patient. A typical call might be outlined by the following: "Hello, X, we have a dose of Y for your problem Z. We need to fill out the insurance form A by Tuesday so you don't end up with a B that will require a C." On and on. These calls don't come every day so I'm not completely insane, but they come often enough that it's annoying. They always come when I'm not connected to my cell phone for some reason.

I've called the medical lady back several times telling of the wrong number. I even talked directly to her once saying that she keeps calling even though I've left messages before and to update her records. Well, today we played phone tag with me explaining yet again the wrong number problem. Finally, she called when I could answer. I diagnosed the problem while we were on the phone. All this time she has been calling a real number in a different area code without first dialing a "1".

Back when cell phones were gaining popularity, the phone companies decided to use what used to be exclusively area codes as the new cell phone prefixes so they wouldn't run out of numbers. A long distance call would now require a "1". But if somebody calls a long distance (123) 456-7890 without first dialing a "1", the local number 123-4567 will be reached, with the last three numbers making no difference. My prefix is also an area code so my number is the first seven of their ten digit long distance number. So, I hope she knows to dial a "1" now, or if the number was programmed somewhere maybe she can fix it. I hope nobody I know ever has to deal with X, Y and Z and have it end up in somebody else's voicemail.

What Happened To The 80's?

When I was growing up back in the 70's, nostalgia with remembering the 50's was in. Happy Days, Lavern and Shirley and Grease were popular. Everybody dressed like Fonzie. T-shirts and blue jeans, '57 Chevys. Fifties dances at school, etc. America seems to look back on its childhood about twenty years removed. In the 80's there was a nostalgic return to the 60's. Woodstock era music, tie dye, Berkeley demonstrations. Radio stations played psychedelic and others 60's music. In the 90's, flared pants, choker necklaces, Marsha Brady hairstyles, Greg Brady sideburns came back in and were all the rage. Avocado refrigerators and lava lamps. BTO, Thin Lizzy and other 70's arena rock music was everywhere. That 70's show appeared on TV.

But now it's the 2000's. Where's the 80's? Leg warmers? Top siders? Sweaters tied around the waste? Parachute pants, Izod polo shirts, hair metal bands, video games? Did I miss something, or did a retro decade pass us by for the first time in 30 years?

Beautiful Fall Day

The weather was beautiful today. Late this afternoon I looked out the back window of our office. The shadows were long and the light was crisp. Somehow in the fall and winter the long shadows provide more contrast and sharper images. I just love it. Mornings are colder and blankets are part of sleeping. Getting up is harder because it's cozy inside those blankets.

What Would Jesus Brew?

Greg Qualls at The Beerean reflects on a great CNN question: What would Jesus brew? He links to CNN's article.

Voting No For President

Just like for many of California's ballot propositions, I'll be voting "no" for president. I don't like either candidate, so I think I should vote no. Maybe that should be an option. If a majority of the people don't like either candidate (or any of the other party's candidates) we should have the right to vote no on a president. No president would be elected, none would take office. All bills passed by Congress would sit unsigned and would never pass. Neither major party would be able to shaft the people. Maybe I can start a trend on Tuesday. Pass it on. Vote No for president.

According To Yahoo, You're A Spammer

Here's how Blogger works. Every time somebody leaves a comment on my blog, Blogger sends an email to me at a previously designated email address. This would be a Yahoo account of mine. Suddenly, and without any reason, Yahoo has decided that all comments sent to me from Blogger are spam and sends them to the spam folder. Then I have to go in and read them and tell Yahoo they are not spam, placing them in the inbox. Supposedly, by marking all this email as "not spam" it will help Yahoo in its filtering of my email. Anyway, keep commenting.

I Love Geography

I've always loved geography. I've looked at maps and globes my whole life, and now with Google Maps and Satellite, I can discover many new things at the click of a mouse. Highways, items of interest, people's houses. What was going on that day the satellite took the photo? Google recently updated their satellite photo of our house. The ugly dog house of the previous owner is gone, and our brick patio can now be seen.

I'm always amazed at how large the western US is compared to the east. Atlanta and Cincinnati are the same distance apart as from my house in the San Francisco Bay Area to Disneyland. And we're a six hour drive south of the Oregon state line. Metropolitan areas back east are so close together. Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore and DC (four of the seven largest metro areas in the US) are all within the driving distance from San Fran to San Diego. Denver is seen as a western city, yet it is almost half way across the country from here.

If you head due south from Detroit, Canada is the first country you will hit. The county I live in, one of the smaller ones in California, is as big as Rhode Island. And when the big earthquake hits California, it will be the rest of the country that will fall off into the Atlantic Ocean.

World Serious

It's World Series time, and I love to watch. Of course, my Giants are absent, as usual, but I still watch. After three games, this one is turning out to be a good one. I hear that it is going to have the lowest TV ratings ever. I don't understand why. But those who don't watch are missing out. The Fall Classic always have something to remember.

Leaves A-Changin'

I've been really slow this year to notice fall arrive in all its color. I've felt the weather change, but this last week as I was out driving, there were bunches of trees that had already turned red. How did I miss all that? I even slacked on noticing our own silver maple turn. About a third of the leaves have started turning red, with most of those being only partially red. A few more weeks and we'll need to rake. This means jumping in the pile for the kids, an annual ritual at our house.

Latest Glasses Fads

Female: Sarah Palin
Male: Joe Maddon?

Childhood Memories

I still remember a great many things from my childhood. We never moved, and my folks still live in the house I was born into. We lived on a cul de sac on a private street. There were many kids close to my age, most of them boys. I still recall distinctly each parents' call of their kids to dinner. Both mother and father. I can still hear each door closing. Front doors, garage doors, screen doors. My next door neighbor's radio in his garage was one of the old wood boxes, tube operated, that had its own tonal quality. I can still hear, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog!" streaming out.

We played touch football between all the mailboxes and driveways. Telephone wires were goal posts for kicking field goals. We painted our own baseball diamond in the turn around. We had open hills behind us, where subdivisions now stand. Every year a grass fire came over the hill and headed down toward our houses. Neighbors scrambled and connected garden hoses together to soak shake roofs before the fire department showed up. A father and son down the street raced sprint cars for a hobby that was closer to a living. Their garage was their workshop.

Eleven houses grew to fourteen. Only two original families remain, but most were there for decades. It was a great place to grow up.

Blessed Are The Readers

Our oldest, now seven, came over to the other side of the table to sit next to me before I read the bible just after dinner. He wanted to read along. He's learning how to read so all the words wouldn't be familiar, and I was reading out loud faster than he could read, but he picked out a word here and there. I read the beatitudes. Every now and then something sparks and he is interested in reading. It's great to see enthusiasm like this. It will be great to see him read on his own. I wonder if he'll be a book worm, or just a boy who likes to play outside.

Internet Monk Link Added

I'm surprised I didn't already do this, but I'm adding a link to my blogroll for the Internet Monk, or iMonk for short. Michael Spencer is the Internet Monk, a "Southern Baptist" preacher, evangelist, thinker, apologist, etc. He lives in southern Kentucky. I put the term "Southern Baptist" in quotes because although he is a Southern Baptist, he often seriously questions many things that the SBC does and has become. I like him because he stirs the pot and even if I sharply disagree with him, at least he gets people thinking about things and welcomes differing views.

Affliction and Confirmation

Make us glad according to the days Thou hast afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil. Let Thy work appear to Thy servants, and Thy majesty to their children. And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and do confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands. Psalm 90:15-17

This Psalm was penned by Moses near the end of his life. Our pastor preached using this Psalm on Sunday. Years of affliction and evil were Moses' experience. God's people wandered in the wilderness 40 years.

Oftentimes I think of affliction in the world today; even in my life. I hate the news. It is a continual reminder of how bad some things are. I refuse to watch it anymore. I wonder how I've contributed to affliction, and constantly feel it upon me. Sometimes it seems like the harder one works, the less effective that work is. I long for confirmation of the work of my hands. Most often I don't see how God could - or better yet, would - confirm it. I think sometimes that would be a miracle in itself.