Monday, November 30, 2009
Tanenbaum 2009
This is the 2009 Jackson Family Christmas Tree. We think it is our best tree ever! Of course - we say that every year. - We hope your Thanksgiving went well and you are as excited as we are about Christmas this year. If you are in the Cumming area over the holidays, be sure to join us for a service at NewSong Church.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Surprised By Joy
This Sunday is November 22nd. Ask almost anyone you meet who died on that day and they’ll correctly answer John F. Kennedy (on November 22, 1963). But someone else died that same exact day; someone who I believe was greater in God’s eyes than the “Prince of Camelot.” His name was Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, or simply “Jack” to his family and closest friends. In a scenario eerily similar to Farah Fawcett’s death earlier this year, which was totally overshadowed Michael Jackson’s passing on the same day, Lewis’ death went virtually unnoticed as the world was stunned by the assassination of our thirty-fifth president.
Even though his death went largely unnoticed by the public, death has been no hindrance to C. S. Lewis' career. His fame continues to grow as new generations of skeptics and believers alike are introduced to his clear and convincing arguments for Christianity (Mere Christianity), his humorous but insightful narratives (Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, A Grief Observed), and, most recently, moviegoers have been introduced to Lewis’ work through the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I recently reread all seven of the short Narnia books and was again thrilled by the ways Lewis reveals deep spiritual truths in engaging stories reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work.
The similarities with Tolkien’s work are not coincidental. Lewis was a contemporary of Tolkien and the two were actually close friends. In fact, it was a conversation with Tolkien that helped Lewis move a little further along the way in his journey from atheism to faith.
Lewis was raised an Anglican, but was only nine years old when his mother died of cancer. Shortly after her death, Lewis' father sent him and his brother Warren off to boarding school. It was during this time that Lewis decided he wanted nothing to do with a God who could be so cruel as to take his “mum.” Lewis, an extremely intelligent man, became an atheist and eventually an Oxford Don (professor) teaching English literature.
So how did this philosopher-cum-intellectual, this man who wrote over fifty books, some of which were penned as a youthful atheist, become a Christian? Lewis describes his journey of conversion in his spiritual autobiography Surprised by Joy. Lewis claims that at the time of his conversion he was "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." He describes his passage from atheist to Christian in words and images that are familiar to many of us: The joy of childhood which gave way to the harsh realities of the adult world, followed by a rigorous and intense investigation of competing truth claims, followed by being Surprised by Joy with a child-like faith again.
There’s a lesson for those of us who are too educated or too modern to accept the claims of Christianity. As an atheist, Lewis was unafraid to ask the difficult questions. Lewis’ conversion process was a long road that involved lots of reading and thinking (and eventually praying), meeting and talking with mentors, and gathering data from a variety of sources. Finally, on September 28, 1931, at age thirty-two, Lewis was… “riding to the Whipsnade Zoo in the sidecar of Warren’s motorcycle. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did." Like John Wesley's heart which was "strangely warmed," something happened on that 40 mile motorcycle ride, and Lewis simply knew he now believed.
Today God is still using this reluctant convert’s legacy to populate the Kingdom of God. Lewis’ faith journey and conversion are certainly unusual, but it also contains echoes that I’m guessing are familiar to some of us. What happened on that motorcycle ride to the Whipsnade Zoo? I’m not sure, but my guess is it has something to do with a conversation Jesus had with another smart man one night when he said, “Just as you can hear the wind and can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit (John 3:8). Where are you on your spiritual journey? Can you feel the gentle winds of the Spirit blowing? Don’t be afraid of the questions. Don’t be afraid of the journey. Just know that the destination is sure; and enjoy the ride…
Even though his death went largely unnoticed by the public, death has been no hindrance to C. S. Lewis' career. His fame continues to grow as new generations of skeptics and believers alike are introduced to his clear and convincing arguments for Christianity (Mere Christianity), his humorous but insightful narratives (Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, A Grief Observed), and, most recently, moviegoers have been introduced to Lewis’ work through the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I recently reread all seven of the short Narnia books and was again thrilled by the ways Lewis reveals deep spiritual truths in engaging stories reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work.The similarities with Tolkien’s work are not coincidental. Lewis was a contemporary of Tolkien and the two were actually close friends. In fact, it was a conversation with Tolkien that helped Lewis move a little further along the way in his journey from atheism to faith.
Lewis was raised an Anglican, but was only nine years old when his mother died of cancer. Shortly after her death, Lewis' father sent him and his brother Warren off to boarding school. It was during this time that Lewis decided he wanted nothing to do with a God who could be so cruel as to take his “mum.” Lewis, an extremely intelligent man, became an atheist and eventually an Oxford Don (professor) teaching English literature.
So how did this philosopher-cum-intellectual, this man who wrote over fifty books, some of which were penned as a youthful atheist, become a Christian? Lewis describes his journey of conversion in his spiritual autobiography Surprised by Joy. Lewis claims that at the time of his conversion he was "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." He describes his passage from atheist to Christian in words and images that are familiar to many of us: The joy of childhood which gave way to the harsh realities of the adult world, followed by a rigorous and intense investigation of competing truth claims, followed by being Surprised by Joy with a child-like faith again.
There’s a lesson for those of us who are too educated or too modern to accept the claims of Christianity. As an atheist, Lewis was unafraid to ask the difficult questions. Lewis’ conversion process was a long road that involved lots of reading and thinking (and eventually praying), meeting and talking with mentors, and gathering data from a variety of sources. Finally, on September 28, 1931, at age thirty-two, Lewis was… “riding to the Whipsnade Zoo in the sidecar of Warren’s motorcycle. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did." Like John Wesley's heart which was "strangely warmed," something happened on that 40 mile motorcycle ride, and Lewis simply knew he now believed.
Today God is still using this reluctant convert’s legacy to populate the Kingdom of God. Lewis’ faith journey and conversion are certainly unusual, but it also contains echoes that I’m guessing are familiar to some of us. What happened on that motorcycle ride to the Whipsnade Zoo? I’m not sure, but my guess is it has something to do with a conversation Jesus had with another smart man one night when he said, “Just as you can hear the wind and can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit (John 3:8). Where are you on your spiritual journey? Can you feel the gentle winds of the Spirit blowing? Don’t be afraid of the questions. Don’t be afraid of the journey. Just know that the destination is sure; and enjoy the ride…
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hope
There’s a great line in the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” where Clarence the angel is summoned to help a troubled human. “Is he sick?” Clarence asks. “No, it’s worse than being sick,” the head angel replies, “he’s discouraged.” My guess is some of you reading this today are discouraged so I thought I would write about the antidote to discouragement, which is hope.
What is hope? Where does it come from? How do you get it? Turns out the word has quite a storied history. In Greek mythology, hope was personified as Elpis, the spirit (daimona) of hope. She along with the other daimones were trapped in a jar by Zeus and entrusted to the care of Pandora, the first woman. When Pandora opened the jar all of the spirits escaped except for Elpis. Without hope to accompany all their troubles, humanity was soon filled with despair. It was a great relief when Pandora returned to her jar and let out hope as well. Elpis was usually depicted as a young woman carrying flowers in her arms. Her opposite was Moros, spirit of hopelessness and doom (where we get our English word, “morose”).
The nineteenth century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had a more cynical take on this Greek legend, complaining that Zeus “did not want man to throw his life away, no matter how much the other evils might torment him, but rather to go on letting himself be tormented anew. To that end, he [Zeus] gives man hope. In truth, it is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man's torment.”
Like the word we’ve been studying so much these “Forty Days,” “love,” the term “hope” has been cheapened by the ways we use it so loosely. We say things like, “I hope it doesn’t rain today,” or “I hope my car starts this morning,” or “I hope the Falcons win on Sunday.” “I hope. I hope. I hope.”
The dictionary defines hope several ways, the most common of which is that hope is “the feeling that something good will happen.” The act of hoping is to, “wish for something with the desire that the wish will be fulfilled.” The words “feeling” and “wish” are indefinite and vague words, but this definition of “hope” exemplifies the understanding most people have of hope as “wishful thinking.”
Thankfully, the Bible puts “hope” in a totally different light. Far from being something we “wish for,” biblical hope is a “confident expectation of something good in the future.” Hope, then, is not simply an emotion, attitude, or a feeling. It is a confidence that literally defines us. Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will occur. And that moral certainty leads us to action and, in time, to faith.
Secular hope is often passive in the sense of being a wish; often against rational belief that the thing wished for will actually occur. Biblical hope, on the other hand, is active as a plan or idea, and is usually accompanied by persistent, personal action to execute the plan or prove the idea. Consider a prisoner of war who never gives up hope for escape and, against the odds, plans and accomplishes that very thing. By contrast, consider another prisoner who simply wishes for freedom, but without any genuine hope it will ever occur. Planning and action are useless. In time this prisoner will eventually give up all hope of freedom (if they, in fact, had “hope” to begin with).
The New Testament declares “hope” to be an absolute, a guarantee without a doubt meaning, “to expect or anticipate with pleasure.” For instance in Romans 5:2 Paul writes, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We rejoice in the glory of God, not with uncertainty but with joyful anticipation — guaranteed. Or consider Colossians 1:5: “For the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth the gospel.” The Hope of Heaven is not a maybe — but an absolute and definite guarantee by the Word of the Truth of the Gospel.
Now that we’ve defined hope, where does it come from? By now you’ve probably figured out that hope like this can only come from God. God is the source and the object of our hope. Without God we have no hope and life is meaningless, a “chasing after the wind” to use the immortal words of Solomon.
How do you get this hope? Perhaps that is not quite as clear. My personal belief is that the answer about how to appropriate the hope God makes available to us is simply this: Focus your thoughts on God, and not on your problems. As has been pointed out several times in our current series, we have a tendency to turn into that which we focus on the most. If we stare at our problems, our disappointments, and our defeats all the time, they will quickly overwhelm us. If, on the other hand, we focus on God, our mountains will soon turn into molehills. Don’t focus on your need. Don’t focus on your lack. Don’t focus on your problem. Focus on God. Where does your hope come from? Hope comes from Him. Be encouraged today. Let hope be reborn in your heart; hope has a name: Jesus Christ. Ask Him to come into your life anew today (or for the first time!) and hope will be born in you!
What is hope? Where does it come from? How do you get it? Turns out the word has quite a storied history. In Greek mythology, hope was personified as Elpis, the spirit (daimona) of hope. She along with the other daimones were trapped in a jar by Zeus and entrusted to the care of Pandora, the first woman. When Pandora opened the jar all of the spirits escaped except for Elpis. Without hope to accompany all their troubles, humanity was soon filled with despair. It was a great relief when Pandora returned to her jar and let out hope as well. Elpis was usually depicted as a young woman carrying flowers in her arms. Her opposite was Moros, spirit of hopelessness and doom (where we get our English word, “morose”).
The nineteenth century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had a more cynical take on this Greek legend, complaining that Zeus “did not want man to throw his life away, no matter how much the other evils might torment him, but rather to go on letting himself be tormented anew. To that end, he [Zeus] gives man hope. In truth, it is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man's torment.”
Like the word we’ve been studying so much these “Forty Days,” “love,” the term “hope” has been cheapened by the ways we use it so loosely. We say things like, “I hope it doesn’t rain today,” or “I hope my car starts this morning,” or “I hope the Falcons win on Sunday.” “I hope. I hope. I hope.”
The dictionary defines hope several ways, the most common of which is that hope is “the feeling that something good will happen.” The act of hoping is to, “wish for something with the desire that the wish will be fulfilled.” The words “feeling” and “wish” are indefinite and vague words, but this definition of “hope” exemplifies the understanding most people have of hope as “wishful thinking.”
Thankfully, the Bible puts “hope” in a totally different light. Far from being something we “wish for,” biblical hope is a “confident expectation of something good in the future.” Hope, then, is not simply an emotion, attitude, or a feeling. It is a confidence that literally defines us. Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will occur. And that moral certainty leads us to action and, in time, to faith.
Secular hope is often passive in the sense of being a wish; often against rational belief that the thing wished for will actually occur. Biblical hope, on the other hand, is active as a plan or idea, and is usually accompanied by persistent, personal action to execute the plan or prove the idea. Consider a prisoner of war who never gives up hope for escape and, against the odds, plans and accomplishes that very thing. By contrast, consider another prisoner who simply wishes for freedom, but without any genuine hope it will ever occur. Planning and action are useless. In time this prisoner will eventually give up all hope of freedom (if they, in fact, had “hope” to begin with).
The New Testament declares “hope” to be an absolute, a guarantee without a doubt meaning, “to expect or anticipate with pleasure.” For instance in Romans 5:2 Paul writes, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We rejoice in the glory of God, not with uncertainty but with joyful anticipation — guaranteed. Or consider Colossians 1:5: “For the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth the gospel.” The Hope of Heaven is not a maybe — but an absolute and definite guarantee by the Word of the Truth of the Gospel.
Now that we’ve defined hope, where does it come from? By now you’ve probably figured out that hope like this can only come from God. God is the source and the object of our hope. Without God we have no hope and life is meaningless, a “chasing after the wind” to use the immortal words of Solomon.
How do you get this hope? Perhaps that is not quite as clear. My personal belief is that the answer about how to appropriate the hope God makes available to us is simply this: Focus your thoughts on God, and not on your problems. As has been pointed out several times in our current series, we have a tendency to turn into that which we focus on the most. If we stare at our problems, our disappointments, and our defeats all the time, they will quickly overwhelm us. If, on the other hand, we focus on God, our mountains will soon turn into molehills. Don’t focus on your need. Don’t focus on your lack. Don’t focus on your problem. Focus on God. Where does your hope come from? Hope comes from Him. Be encouraged today. Let hope be reborn in your heart; hope has a name: Jesus Christ. Ask Him to come into your life anew today (or for the first time!) and hope will be born in you!
Monday, November 2, 2009
God-Cam
Last Sunday I watched the Vikings-Packers game and Brett Favre's highly-anticipated return to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. The hoopla surrounding Favre’s ‘homecoming’ to the field where he won so many games was incredible. Recognizing this, FOX television had a special camera dubbed the “Favre-Cam” trained on the 40 year-old quarterback from the second he took the field against his former team until the moment he ran back into the locker room after the game. This constant video feed was available to fans by logging on FOXSports.com. It was actually pretty cool; even during commercials you could look on your PC and there was Brett; Brett looking at press box photos of the Packers defense, Brett chatting with his receivers, Brett on the phone to his coaches upstairs, Brett blowing his nose, Brett ribbing a referee, Brett grinning, Brett frowning, and so on.
While I admit it was pretty cool to watch, it was also just a little creepy. It reminded me of the Truman Show – that movie where Truman’s (“True Man?”) every move was watched over by Christof (‘Christ?”) and caught on camera and televised to the whole world. It was almost that bad; I halfway expected the camera and live feed to never shut off. Imagine that; Favre snapping towels in the locker room, Favre in the shower; Favre stuck in traffic; Favre arriving at home….
I remember when I was a little child I imagined God had a camera trained on me all the time. I guess I got the idea from the old Christmas song, remember? “He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” Like Santa Claus, I figured God was watching me 24/7 so I’d better behave. There were times when this thought was comforting; I figured I could always call out to God and he’d rescue me if I got in a really tight spot (perhaps if I was, say, drowning). But as I grew older, more often than not, the thought that God was always watching made me very uncomfortable.
God does see, you know. Job 28:24 says, “God views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.” Yes, he is watching. Yes, he does know. And yes, like Santa, God loves us. He wants to see us happy. He gives us many of the things we ask for. But, also like Santa, God can be very stern, and he doesn’t hesitate to punish (see the Old Testament).
Is it fair to lump God and Santa Claus together like this? Is it fair to perceive of God as a great cosmic Santa watching, or perhaps even worse, 'directing' every move we make? Is God really an adult version of Santa as this might lead us to believe? If not, then how can we move toward a better understanding of God than the one many of us presently have? Speaking for myself, I must admit I have some work to do here. Watching the “Favre-Cam” last Sunday afternoon made me realize that.
While I admit it was pretty cool to watch, it was also just a little creepy. It reminded me of the Truman Show – that movie where Truman’s (“True Man?”) every move was watched over by Christof (‘Christ?”) and caught on camera and televised to the whole world. It was almost that bad; I halfway expected the camera and live feed to never shut off. Imagine that; Favre snapping towels in the locker room, Favre in the shower; Favre stuck in traffic; Favre arriving at home….
I remember when I was a little child I imagined God had a camera trained on me all the time. I guess I got the idea from the old Christmas song, remember? “He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” Like Santa Claus, I figured God was watching me 24/7 so I’d better behave. There were times when this thought was comforting; I figured I could always call out to God and he’d rescue me if I got in a really tight spot (perhaps if I was, say, drowning). But as I grew older, more often than not, the thought that God was always watching made me very uncomfortable.
God does see, you know. Job 28:24 says, “God views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.” Yes, he is watching. Yes, he does know. And yes, like Santa, God loves us. He wants to see us happy. He gives us many of the things we ask for. But, also like Santa, God can be very stern, and he doesn’t hesitate to punish (see the Old Testament).
Is it fair to lump God and Santa Claus together like this? Is it fair to perceive of God as a great cosmic Santa watching, or perhaps even worse, 'directing' every move we make? Is God really an adult version of Santa as this might lead us to believe? If not, then how can we move toward a better understanding of God than the one many of us presently have? Speaking for myself, I must admit I have some work to do here. Watching the “Favre-Cam” last Sunday afternoon made me realize that.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Passion
Growing up in the sixties one of my television heroes was Mr. Spock, of Star Trek Fame. Spock rocked my world – a world filled with cowboy shoot-em-up shows (Rawhide, Gunsmoke, etc…) and war shows (Combat! 12 O’clock High, etc…). The Vulcan’s rational detachment and lack of ego seemed to usher in a new era and gave me something different to think about. Of course on the show Spock’s passionless behavior was always juxtaposed against the fiery demeanor and “shoot first, ask questions later” ways of Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy's considerate ways. Spock was dispassionate, Kirk was passionate, and Dr. McCoy rounded out the trinity by being compassionate.
These three are engaging examples of that somewhat mysterious word, ‘passion.’ Passion has multiple meanings and is defined as: a) strong feelings or emotions; b) something that is desired intensely as in, "His passion for fame destroyed him;" c) mania: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action as in, “It was a crime of passion;” d) feelings of strong sexual desire; and e) the suffering of Jesus at the Crucifixion. Wow, talk about a wide variety of meaning!
Our English word ‘passion’ comes from the Greek word pathos, which, like the English word, has more than one meaning. It can mean something that happens to you that is either good or bad, but it usually means something bad; something that happens to make you suffer. It can also be something that you suffer for, such as a passionate desire. Pathos is where our English word pathology comes from, which is the study of disease; what went wrong. It’s also where we get our word pathetic, which means pitiful. Pathos in literature and art is what arouses feelings of pity or sorrow. Any way you turn it, the word is associated with feelings.
The question remains though; is passion a good thing, or a bad thing? Passion causes us to do stupid things, but it also beckons us onward and upward to our greatest achievements. Perhaps that’s why passion has remained “front and center” in matters of faith. In Christianity there was the Passion of Christ, which was a good thing, then along came the monastic fathers, who urged believers to check their passions, then came the religious awakening in the 18th century where Christians once again proved that passion has its place in Christianity. In Buddhism passion is what leads you astray and is a problem to be overcome through renunciation.
Personally, I believe passion has its place in Christianity and is almost always a good thing. Yes, we need to logically think through our doctrine and beliefs, but eventually a leap of faith is called for – a passionate leap to breathe life into our stale dogmas. Something that causes the heart to beat faster, tears to flow, and a lump to form in the throat. Something you can feel.
To return to my opening words about the Star Trek trinity; perhaps what we need most today is an amalgam of the three: The cool calculating Spock, the heat-bringing zest of Kirk, and the kind and caring doctor, McCoy. Each needs the other to be whole; each is less without the other. So are we; the same could be said for our faith.
I’ve always felt it takes a combination all three of these to make a good sermon too. Hopefully you’ll experience that this week when I preach. If not – if my ears get a little pointy, or if my finger itches to pull the trigger, or if I get too mushy, give me a sign, will you? Meanwhile, live long and prosper.
These three are engaging examples of that somewhat mysterious word, ‘passion.’ Passion has multiple meanings and is defined as: a) strong feelings or emotions; b) something that is desired intensely as in, "His passion for fame destroyed him;" c) mania: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action as in, “It was a crime of passion;” d) feelings of strong sexual desire; and e) the suffering of Jesus at the Crucifixion. Wow, talk about a wide variety of meaning!
Our English word ‘passion’ comes from the Greek word pathos, which, like the English word, has more than one meaning. It can mean something that happens to you that is either good or bad, but it usually means something bad; something that happens to make you suffer. It can also be something that you suffer for, such as a passionate desire. Pathos is where our English word pathology comes from, which is the study of disease; what went wrong. It’s also where we get our word pathetic, which means pitiful. Pathos in literature and art is what arouses feelings of pity or sorrow. Any way you turn it, the word is associated with feelings.
The question remains though; is passion a good thing, or a bad thing? Passion causes us to do stupid things, but it also beckons us onward and upward to our greatest achievements. Perhaps that’s why passion has remained “front and center” in matters of faith. In Christianity there was the Passion of Christ, which was a good thing, then along came the monastic fathers, who urged believers to check their passions, then came the religious awakening in the 18th century where Christians once again proved that passion has its place in Christianity. In Buddhism passion is what leads you astray and is a problem to be overcome through renunciation.
Personally, I believe passion has its place in Christianity and is almost always a good thing. Yes, we need to logically think through our doctrine and beliefs, but eventually a leap of faith is called for – a passionate leap to breathe life into our stale dogmas. Something that causes the heart to beat faster, tears to flow, and a lump to form in the throat. Something you can feel.
To return to my opening words about the Star Trek trinity; perhaps what we need most today is an amalgam of the three: The cool calculating Spock, the heat-bringing zest of Kirk, and the kind and caring doctor, McCoy. Each needs the other to be whole; each is less without the other. So are we; the same could be said for our faith.
I’ve always felt it takes a combination all three of these to make a good sermon too. Hopefully you’ll experience that this week when I preach. If not – if my ears get a little pointy, or if my finger itches to pull the trigger, or if I get too mushy, give me a sign, will you? Meanwhile, live long and prosper.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Windows 7 Released Today
Today is a big day in the computing world as the latest operating system from Windows, Windows 7, is being released. This event will cause nary a ripple in the life of 99% of the world’s population (including, for instance, my wife Donna’s world), but here I am sitting at my laptop typing using the “old” Vista operating system and suddenly I feel totally outdated. Why is that? I wasn’t outdated yesterday. Why do I feel that way today? What kind of hold do technology vendors like software companies, television makers (HD, 3D, 780p, 1080i, etc….) and telephone makers (Iphone I, II, III, etc..) have on me? What kind of power do they have over my mind that they can suddenly make me feel old fashioned with the release of the latest, greatest device or program that will instantly change my life?
The truth is, it’s impossible to stay updated with technology unless you are Warren Buffett, and he doesn’t appear to care about technology. And so I sit and wonder; should I spring for the $119 upgrade to Windows 7? Should I trade in my old-fashioned Blackberry for a sleek new Iphone?
Naah…the best things are the oldest. Give me a good old book – the paper and ink kind, not a Kindle. Give me a telephone that makes calls and doesn’t do everything else in the world. Give me Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Most of all, give me Jesus. He alone can satisfy that emptiness that makes me think I need to update my PC or buy a new television.
It does occur to me that the church has something to learn here however. Imagine if we could create the kind of thirst for God and the things of God that technology companies do for their products. Imagine driving up to your church on Sunday morning and seeing the line to get in going around the block like you see whenever the latest Iphone is released? Wouldn’t that be awesome? What can we learn from them? Food for thought….
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
And the Winner Is....
This past weekend was one of those rare weekends when all the “good guys” won. On Friday night all four of our county high school teams won their games, Georgia and Georgia Tech won on Saturday, and the Falcons won a thriller on Sunday night to finish the hat trick. That’s pretty amazing; in fact I don’t remember a time when it has ever happened before.
Let’s face it, winning feels good, doesn’t it? For some reason, when “our team” wins, we feel better about life; everyone loves a winner. We especially love those improbable wins; those times when the underdog wins over a highly favored opponent. Thinking about that this weekend it occurred to me that we have a God who specializes in just that kind of victory. We have a “David over Goliath” kind of God; a God who took a weak and defenseless group of slaves and liberated them from Egypt – the most powerful nation in the world at the time. A God who told Gideon to leave all but 300 of his 22,000 soldiers behind before going into battle to defeat a highly favored enemy. Clearly God’s choice is to pick those whom the world sees as “losers” to win. Our God is a God who “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise,” and the “lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are” (1 Cor. 1:27).
I am convinced that our desire to associate with winners is, at least in part, the reason many people are so enamored with mega-churches. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got nothing against mega-churches, but I honestly believe that the reason some people attend them is to associate with a “winner.” That says a couple of things to me. First, it indicates that there is definitely something to be said for at least having the appearance of a winner; people are attracted and the message gets out, which is a good thing. But second, it speaks to our need (in the church) to make sure the world’s definition of success hasn’t become our definition. Our definition of success is not the same as the world’s definition. Full pews, overflowing parking lots, and tons of programs do not necessarily indicate a healthy, successful church. Nor do full bank accounts or even the absence of conflict within a church.
If you turn to Scripture you find a different indicator of success. Success in the church equals one thing: disciples of Jesus Christ are being made. Success is not just great worship or evangelism or social action. All of these are wonderful, but they are not the main thing. The main thing is to help people grow into fully committed Jesus-followers who, in turn, win and disciple others. Everything the church does should point people to Jesus and help them grow in their relationship with him. According to the Bible, a church doing that is successful - it is a winner – in God’s eyes. Doing anything less is not worthy of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.
That said; ask yourself this: “Is my church successful? Is my church a “winner?” I hope you can answer that question in the affirmative.
Let’s face it, winning feels good, doesn’t it? For some reason, when “our team” wins, we feel better about life; everyone loves a winner. We especially love those improbable wins; those times when the underdog wins over a highly favored opponent. Thinking about that this weekend it occurred to me that we have a God who specializes in just that kind of victory. We have a “David over Goliath” kind of God; a God who took a weak and defenseless group of slaves and liberated them from Egypt – the most powerful nation in the world at the time. A God who told Gideon to leave all but 300 of his 22,000 soldiers behind before going into battle to defeat a highly favored enemy. Clearly God’s choice is to pick those whom the world sees as “losers” to win. Our God is a God who “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise,” and the “lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are” (1 Cor. 1:27).
I am convinced that our desire to associate with winners is, at least in part, the reason many people are so enamored with mega-churches. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got nothing against mega-churches, but I honestly believe that the reason some people attend them is to associate with a “winner.” That says a couple of things to me. First, it indicates that there is definitely something to be said for at least having the appearance of a winner; people are attracted and the message gets out, which is a good thing. But second, it speaks to our need (in the church) to make sure the world’s definition of success hasn’t become our definition. Our definition of success is not the same as the world’s definition. Full pews, overflowing parking lots, and tons of programs do not necessarily indicate a healthy, successful church. Nor do full bank accounts or even the absence of conflict within a church.
If you turn to Scripture you find a different indicator of success. Success in the church equals one thing: disciples of Jesus Christ are being made. Success is not just great worship or evangelism or social action. All of these are wonderful, but they are not the main thing. The main thing is to help people grow into fully committed Jesus-followers who, in turn, win and disciple others. Everything the church does should point people to Jesus and help them grow in their relationship with him. According to the Bible, a church doing that is successful - it is a winner – in God’s eyes. Doing anything less is not worthy of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.
That said; ask yourself this: “Is my church successful? Is my church a “winner?” I hope you can answer that question in the affirmative.
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