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In case you’re wondering, there are floods on the Mississippi River just north of where I live in the St Louis area. We are fortunate in that the flooding was only along the Mississippi River. The Illinois River and Missouri River all converge just north of St Louis. It is the massive sizes of those rivers that are absorbing some of the additional water flowing down from Iowa where the flooding is worse than anything in a hundred years or more. In Iowa, people’s homes are flooded. The water is up to the eaves of the houses – or more. Some houses have simply been swept away. Who can forget the video of the house at the bridge where the roof is ripped off and the former home becomes a floating pile of wooden splinters just past the bridge? It reminded me of a story that Jesus told. We read in Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 6: 46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." A couple of things struck me as interesting in Jesus story. The obvious is that the foundation must be solid but the parallels go deeper. First, you must “build the house.” Too many times people try to flit about from one thing to the next. They do not sink roots into anything. There is a temptation to go it alone – “just you and me, God!” That isn’t building the house. It’s pitching a tent. And if the house is swept away, well, so much worse for the tent. There must be an effort to sink roots into something. That something must be what strengthens us and builds us up. It is God’s Word first and foremost. Second, building a house can take time but goes much faster with skilled laborers and many of them. Take time to learn from others who have been there. Building the house, even with a good foundation does not keep the house in place until the roof is on. Get help from Biblical scholars, teachers and preachers – and from those who you trust and admire in their spiritual walk. They are the skilled laborers. Let them help. The roof gets on faster and the house becomes secure sooner. Third, get good construction material. Just like the laborers help, good materials help as well. These can be study guides, devotionals, or prayer. Talk with the Master Builder. Who else can give you the best advice? Finally, look for a piece of land that is NOT in the flood plain. Unless you are a skilled builder and have much experience in flood-proofing, even the house that did not get washed away will suffer flood damage. Repair and clean-up will take much effort and energy. In spiritual terms, it could be devastating. A house is not built in a battlefield.
God will protect us – but not from stupidity. Jesus also tells us that we are to plan our actions carefully before jumping into them. Luke 14: 28"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Build the foundation on solid rock, with as much help as you can get, from as many skilled people as possible, as quickly as you can, in a safe place.
Then help others.
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I just got back from the 2007 Central States Synod (ELCA) Assembly. WOW!
What a great time!
The overarching theme of the Assembly was the new slogan - stated in the title above. Hallelujah! The "head-folks" are getting back to being doers. The problem with the mainstream denominations is that they have become maintenance facilities not R&D shops. Too often they have been so much about Bible study as a means of addressing our daily walk and the Sunday messages have been about applications of the scripture to our individual situations. But that's missing the point.
Jesus did not die for those who were religious people. He died for those who were sinners and knew they were. And what He taught was about how our life should be but also about how it should relate to others. If you read most parables there is a theme about someone being "outside" and someone being "inside." And the insider is always told to look outside and act accordingly. In the parable of the talents, the servant was to do something with the money for someone else. In the story of the rich man, he was to make a sacrifice so that others might be blessed (by giving all he owned to the poor) according to his riches. And the most striking is the sheep and goats. Jesus is VERY clear in that it is about "doing to the least of these" that shows the difference between acknowledging Jesus and being a disciple. Which are you?
We had 400 people from Kansas and Missouri spend time together since Thursday evening. The compositino was 1/3 professinoal church workers (ordained, rostered, various positions) and 2/3 lay people. We prayed, listened, read the Bible, ate (Oh yes, Garrison Keiller is right about how Lutherans like to eat), talked, discussed, contemplated, worshipped and rejoiced. It was gooooood. I was fortunate enough to be able to help discuss our new outreach effort yesterday and to help with communion during worship this morning.
And, there was love. The thing I like about the slogan is that it applies to the birth process for new Christians but also for the day to day walk of Christians.
So what do you think about the new slogan?
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I heard a cute story today. It's one of those "Little Johnny" jokes. This one, however makes a statement in addition to being funny.
Johnny's mother looked out the window and noticed him "playing church" with their three kittens. He had the kittens sitting in a row, and he was preaching to them.
She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the kittens in a tub of water. She called out, "Johnny, stop that! Those kittens are afraid of water!"
Johnny looked at her and said . . . "They should have thought about that before they joined my church."
How often does this happen "in the real world?"
And no, this is not a commentary on baptism.
People should be very careful about what they are buying into when joining a particular church or denomination. Not everything that appears to be right and rosy is exactly as it seems. I am not one to be in a position to provide the "right" answer. I don't think that anyone here is. But a word can be offered about the "wrong" answer.
The Apostle John wrote a letter of warnings. In the fourth chapter of his first letter he writes:
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
Let me make this clear.
THERE ARE WRONG CHOICES.
There are many choices that are right. But there are wrong ones as well.
The only way we can determine what the right answers are is by study. First and foremost we must study the Book of the collections of books - the Bible. This is the inspired Word God has given. We need first and foremost to know what it says - not what people tell us it says.
Second, we must study books about the history of the Christian existence. Only by knowing where we've been as a church can we avoid the mistakes of the past and know that we are embracing the church as it was founded. There are many riches in Christian tradition. There's an expression about the baby and bath water - don't simply dismiss it because it was done for some tradition. After all God has given traditions to his people through the Bible and some of the Christian traditions are interpretations of these very things.
Third, we need to study books about the Bible. This is third on the list behind the stories. When we read the stories, we understand the experiences that took place - and Christianity is a very "experience oriented" existence. We are to experience Christian living - not read about it. And by reading what other say (this third path) we are reading what other people think about the Bible. there are many great things in there but it is opinion and only as good as the worth of the author.
Fourth, we need to witness the practice of these things in the lives our ourselves and others. Do people do as they say? True there are hypocrites in every crowd and we are all struggling to follow the life as we believe Christ set out for us; but, are there special "loop-holes" for special people? Why and how do certain individuals or groups get special "privileges" either human or spiritual? Observe. That is how we test the spirits.
And cover it all in prayer. Prayer is our desire to hear God and have God hear us. If we do these things, we can avoid that drowning sensation.
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(not Lost Books of the Bible)
A recent blog by Professor PZ Myers of the University of Minnesota noted a prank by a couple of Toronto college students (click here to open the blog in a new window).
They moved all the books except one to all the other shelves in a bookstore.
That's Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation sitting all alone there.
According to the pranksters own blog on the issue, they were simply having fun. Books were moved to "Fiction, Humour, Sexuality, Erotica, Cuisine, Parenting, Mental Disorder, Parapsychology and the Occult."
Makes sense to me.
Why do we segregate all the stories into various categories when the essence of a religious life is to have the thought process incorporated into all aspects of life?
So, for the Song of Solomon; Milk and Honey; Absalom; and much more. . . be a daily partaker in it.
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(Part 5, and last, in a series) I’m reminded of a song by the Beatles which was written by Paul McCarthy – Lady Madonna. It begins: Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who find the money when you pay the rent
Did you think that money was heaven sent
And ends: Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
I wonder too. I wonder who’ll find the money for the sake of the Gospel. I wonder how we’ll manage to make ends meet.
Influence is not the same as power. America still can wield tremendous influence in the new era that is coming upon us. Just as the “British Invasion” brought a new music to America after America had established itself as a world leader in the new sound of rock-and-roll, the Christian Church in America can continue to offer influence. The coach is still a powerful influence although not the power player. The power centers of the world are becoming progressively less Christian. This is the key. As we move to a new position for world power, we (America will have to take a seat at the table alongside the rest of the nations. The support and identity of “Christian America” will cease (if it hasn’t already). It will be up to those in the new power centers to bring about a continuation of Christian belief in whatever new form it takes. It is up to us to seek it identify it and pray about it. The Protestant Church was not viewed politely by the Roman Catholic hierarchy 300 years ago but much of that has since been forgiven. Similarly, we may not think politely of the new order that we see in Christianity. What shape will it be? What will be its face and how will it emulate the teaching of Jesus and the apostles? To these questions I have no answers. What I do know is that it will look a lot different than what we have now. The major players will be from "over there" bring ideas that are not American. The face of Christianity will look quite different - not only in ethnic composition but in its rooting. Just as American Christianity has been influenced by those who immigrated here for religious freedom, Christianity "over there" will be influenced by cultural heritage. Just as Christianity here sometimes gets mixed up in politics and conservatism/liberalism, the new face of Christianity will express issues that are true for non-Americans over what Americans may like to see. More importantly, because Christianity "over there" is much closer to many other types of religions, we may see a number of influences and expressions that are not "traditional" but which still support and espouse the Gospel as Jesus gave it to us.
If you're from"over there" and reading this, you have a pretty good idea about what I'm talking about. The non-American flavor will be the predominate taste. Americans (and Anglos in general) should be willing to embrace what God is offering in this new face of Christianity. Personally, I'm glad that there are no photographs, portraits or sculptures of Jesus or the apostles that are based on what they actually looked like. We know that they weren't European but sometimes we forget. This new face will similarly represent non-European characteristics. I know not what that will be.
I only pray that I am able to see clearly enough when the time comes to recognize Christ in my brother and the Holy Spirit in my sister when the time comes. I pray you will too.
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