With the addition of a long-lost friend who has actually been a reader since 2006 (still haven't gotten the story as to how he even found my blog), the cadre is up to 13. WhitemoonG kept dropping hints as to his identity, but it took a long time for my middle-aged brain to figure out who he is. Now as I read back over his clues, it makes perfect sense.
I imagine that is the way it will be with certain aspects of our theology. When we look back from the vantage point of new bodies, new heavens, new earth we will stop seeing through a glass darkly and be amazed at the clarity of face to face. All the pieces will make sense. And as I did today, our faces will light up with a smile of recognition and we will rejoice at God's goodness and faithfulness.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Turn Us Again
Reading through the Psalms this morning I came across Psalm 80. In this song, Asaph three times uses the phrase "Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!" My ESV has a footnote that the words "restore us" can be translated "turn us again." I love that imagery. Our problem is that we turn away from God, which naturally results in thoughts and actions that are contrary to God's character and His desire for us as His children. The result of being turned back to God will, of course, cause us to be restored to fellowship. But for the me the phrase, "turn us again" makes clear that the restoration comes not by God looking the other way, pretending we didn't sin or calling "All the other outs in free." Restoration comes by us turning in (returning to) the right direction. God's direction.
It reminds me of what John writes in his first letter. "If we confess our sins..." Confession is saying the same about our sin that God says about it. It's wrong. It is contrary to what God desires for us. We must acknowledge that our sin is sin. We must turn again to God. Then we can enjoy our fellowship with Him because we will both be walking in the same direction. Our sin doesn't cause God to change directions. It causes us to change directions. What we need is to turn around. What earlier generations of Christians referred to as repentance.
Whether its an obvious sin (by our standards) or a subtle drift away from God's revealed will, we need to pray daily, "Turn us again, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!"
It reminds me of what John writes in his first letter. "If we confess our sins..." Confession is saying the same about our sin that God says about it. It's wrong. It is contrary to what God desires for us. We must acknowledge that our sin is sin. We must turn again to God. Then we can enjoy our fellowship with Him because we will both be walking in the same direction. Our sin doesn't cause God to change directions. It causes us to change directions. What we need is to turn around. What earlier generations of Christians referred to as repentance.
Whether its an obvious sin (by our standards) or a subtle drift away from God's revealed will, we need to pray daily, "Turn us again, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!"
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Avoiding the Long Thoughts
Taking a break from an early draft of my goals for 2009 this afternoon I read another chapter in Frederick Buechner's collection of sermons entitled, Secrets in the Dark. The chapter, A Room Called Remember, returned me to the theme of the importance of these days away.
"We are all such escape artists, you and I. We don't like to get too serious about things, especially about ourselves. When we are with other people, we are apt to talk about almost anything under the sun except for what really matters to us, except for our own lives, except for what is going on inside our own skins. We pass the time of day. We chatter. We hold each other at bay, keep our distance from each other when God knows it is precisely each other that we desperately need.
"And it is the same thing when we are alone. Let's say it is late evening and everybody else has gone away or gone to bed. The time is ripe for looking back over the day, the week, the year, and trying to figure out where have come from and where we are going to, for sifting through the things we have done and the things we have left undone for a clue to who we are and who, for better or worse, we are becoming. But again and again we avoid the long thoughts. We turn on the television maybe. We pick up a newspaper or a book. We find some chore to do that could easily wait for the next day. We cling to the present out of wariness of the past. We cling to the surface out of fear of what lies beneath the surface. And, why not, after all? We get tired. We get confused. We need such escape as we can find. But there is a deeper need yet, I think, and that is the need--not all the time, surely, but from time to time--to enter that still room within us all where the past lives on as part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves to the long journeys of our lives with all their twistings and turnings and to where our journeys have brought us. The name of the room is Remember--the room where with patience, with charity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived."
"We are all such escape artists, you and I. We don't like to get too serious about things, especially about ourselves. When we are with other people, we are apt to talk about almost anything under the sun except for what really matters to us, except for our own lives, except for what is going on inside our own skins. We pass the time of day. We chatter. We hold each other at bay, keep our distance from each other when God knows it is precisely each other that we desperately need.
"And it is the same thing when we are alone. Let's say it is late evening and everybody else has gone away or gone to bed. The time is ripe for looking back over the day, the week, the year, and trying to figure out where have come from and where we are going to, for sifting through the things we have done and the things we have left undone for a clue to who we are and who, for better or worse, we are becoming. But again and again we avoid the long thoughts. We turn on the television maybe. We pick up a newspaper or a book. We find some chore to do that could easily wait for the next day. We cling to the present out of wariness of the past. We cling to the surface out of fear of what lies beneath the surface. And, why not, after all? We get tired. We get confused. We need such escape as we can find. But there is a deeper need yet, I think, and that is the need--not all the time, surely, but from time to time--to enter that still room within us all where the past lives on as part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves to the long journeys of our lives with all their twistings and turnings and to where our journeys have brought us. The name of the room is Remember--the room where with patience, with charity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived."
I Am Not Finished...Yet
One of the great aspects of my current ministry is the monthly/yearly rhythm of "coming apart before we come apart." That is, each month we are required to unplug from our usual routine so that we can make sure we are still plugged into our relationship with God, with our families, with our District staff and that we have not drifted too far from what we are supposed to be doing in our ministry. It is a day of extended prayer, time in the word, rest and reflection. Once a year we are required to unplug for three days to look at the bigger picture of our life and ministry. It is the one day personal retreat "writ large."
Today is Day Two. Having spent most of yesterday reading through Psalms, walking along the beach in Newport, praying, reading Tom Garasha's book, Vital Signs in which he speaks of those things in our lives that fill and drain us, as well as those leaks we develop, I was once again feeling quite inadequate to the task to which God has currently called me. The task is large. The District is large. The leaders in our EFCA churches are wonderful and, at the same time, quite capable of being thoroughly exasperating. I find myself agreeing with Gore Vidal, "There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise." And then I remember that they probably have felt the same way about me in the course of our interactions.
Who wants to spend three days being reminded how much further I have to go? Impatience, lack of humility, anger, quick to judge. I've known Jesus for over 30 years. When will I be finished? Then a few minutes ago I read a quote from Eugene Peterson from his book, Reversed Thunder. "No person we meet from the moment we open our eyes in the morning till we shut them in sleep at night is finished." Isn't that part of the good news? We are new creations in Jesus Christ who are capable of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This side of eternity, none of us, including me, is ever finished. But as Paul wrote the church at Philippi, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Today is Day Two. Having spent most of yesterday reading through Psalms, walking along the beach in Newport, praying, reading Tom Garasha's book, Vital Signs in which he speaks of those things in our lives that fill and drain us, as well as those leaks we develop, I was once again feeling quite inadequate to the task to which God has currently called me. The task is large. The District is large. The leaders in our EFCA churches are wonderful and, at the same time, quite capable of being thoroughly exasperating. I find myself agreeing with Gore Vidal, "There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise." And then I remember that they probably have felt the same way about me in the course of our interactions.
Who wants to spend three days being reminded how much further I have to go? Impatience, lack of humility, anger, quick to judge. I've known Jesus for over 30 years. When will I be finished? Then a few minutes ago I read a quote from Eugene Peterson from his book, Reversed Thunder. "No person we meet from the moment we open our eyes in the morning till we shut them in sleep at night is finished." Isn't that part of the good news? We are new creations in Jesus Christ who are capable of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This side of eternity, none of us, including me, is ever finished. But as Paul wrote the church at Philippi, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Way It's S'posed to Be
Tomorrow I will finish a year-long series of 4-6 hour meetings every other month with a group of 9 pastors from the Southern California area. What brought us together is their desire to improve their theological understanding, specifically as it relates to the Statement of Faith for our denomination. When we gather, we have each written on two of the 12 articles in our SOF. Someone goes first. They read what they've written and then we, as a group, affirm what is positive and ask questions about what is not clear.
My role is that of facilitator. My job in the district is Director of Credentialing. I'm the "expert." But my commitment to the group was to start with a blank sheet of paper and write my own paper as well. It's easier to see what is missing or unclear in someone else's paper than it is to make sure my paper is complete and clear. But that's the point. I'm not the expert. I don't know it all. I'm still figuring out much of what is in Scripture.
I have learned so much from these men. While working on my re-write I've stolen (oopps, used as a resource) their wording on some of the statements or some of the Scripture references that were much clearer than what I had used.
All this to say, this is the way it's s'posed to be. That is, no matter where we are in our walk with Christ, there is more to learn from one another. Paul repeatedly emphasizes, as does Peter, that we learn and grow in relationship with each other. Even the experts have much to learn. God placed us in the family so that we can grow as His children. If only we could all work together in discovering who God is through His word and through our relationship instead of simply setting up classes where we take notes, take tests and assume we've learned. I praise God for these men who continue to challenge me through their questions, their observations and their challenge to go further up and further in to my relationship with Christ.
My role is that of facilitator. My job in the district is Director of Credentialing. I'm the "expert." But my commitment to the group was to start with a blank sheet of paper and write my own paper as well. It's easier to see what is missing or unclear in someone else's paper than it is to make sure my paper is complete and clear. But that's the point. I'm not the expert. I don't know it all. I'm still figuring out much of what is in Scripture.
I have learned so much from these men. While working on my re-write I've stolen (oopps, used as a resource) their wording on some of the statements or some of the Scripture references that were much clearer than what I had used.
All this to say, this is the way it's s'posed to be. That is, no matter where we are in our walk with Christ, there is more to learn from one another. Paul repeatedly emphasizes, as does Peter, that we learn and grow in relationship with each other. Even the experts have much to learn. God placed us in the family so that we can grow as His children. If only we could all work together in discovering who God is through His word and through our relationship instead of simply setting up classes where we take notes, take tests and assume we've learned. I praise God for these men who continue to challenge me through their questions, their observations and their challenge to go further up and further in to my relationship with Christ.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
And Jean Makes 12
I knew it would happen. You know how it is when you get up in front of a group and begin to thank all those who made the event possible. Then you forget someone. And they let you know you forgot them And they mention it so you know they know you forgot them. Well, I forgot to list Jean as one of my readers. So I already have a dozen readers. Who knew I would attract such attention by simply writing what comes out of my mind?
But before I get too excited by this popularity, I need to remember that Jesus had 12. And look what happened to him. Maybe I should have stopped at 5 or 6.
But before I get too excited by this popularity, I need to remember that Jesus had 12. And look what happened to him. Maybe I should have stopped at 5 or 6.
...and Counting
O.K., so we're up to 11 readers of this blog. Sharon, Paul (also known as anonymous), (Although I read my own blog, this Paul is not me.) Dan, Bernie, Christopher, Creig, Kristi, Lana (#8 here), Aaron (Mr. Silent 9), Aileen, Bonnie (the prime number). At this rate, my blog may be read by a dozen people by year's end! I'm going to go lie down until the swoon passes.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Putting the Shotgun Away
In a conversation with an early candidate for the position of pastor at SMCC I was maybe 10-15 minutes into the phone call when he said, "Why do I picture you sitting there cleaning your shotgun while we talk?" Without skipping a bit (since I had used this line with my then future son-in-law) I replied, "If you hurt them, you die."
Last Saturday night Sharon and I had the privilege and joy of sharing a meal with the "pastor-elect" of SMCC. I shared that story with Robert as we were parting. On the way home I told Sharon I can put the shotgun away. This morning I read Robert's blog in which he assured me that SMCC will be safe with he and his family. Let me state publicly (to the 9 of you who read this blog) that we know that God has graciously and providentially brought Robert and his family to SMCC for this new season.
Two years ago as we left Margarita, by faith, I gave each person who attends SMCC a card that read, "He's not Paul and that's a good thing." The Body was told to pull out that card when necessary during the interim pastor's season with them and during the new pastor's first year. The more I know Robert, the more I'm convinced I got it right two years ago before I knew that "he" would be Robert. Chances are good they won't even need the card during the coming year. He's not Paul. And that's a good thing.
Last Saturday night Sharon and I had the privilege and joy of sharing a meal with the "pastor-elect" of SMCC. I shared that story with Robert as we were parting. On the way home I told Sharon I can put the shotgun away. This morning I read Robert's blog in which he assured me that SMCC will be safe with he and his family. Let me state publicly (to the 9 of you who read this blog) that we know that God has graciously and providentially brought Robert and his family to SMCC for this new season.
Two years ago as we left Margarita, by faith, I gave each person who attends SMCC a card that read, "He's not Paul and that's a good thing." The Body was told to pull out that card when necessary during the interim pastor's season with them and during the new pastor's first year. The more I know Robert, the more I'm convinced I got it right two years ago before I knew that "he" would be Robert. Chances are good they won't even need the card during the coming year. He's not Paul. And that's a good thing.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Where is Our Treasure?
I had a brief conversation recently with a young man who has suddenly found himself unemployed. I was so busy empathizing with the feelings that swirl at such a time that I was
What I wish I would have asked, what I wish I had thought of at the time, is the simple question, "Where would you find that in the Bible?" Where stands it written that everyone who follows Jesus and works their job with integrity will end up in at least a middle-class neighborhood, if not an upper middle-class neighborhood? Where stands it written that a good retirement package awaits those who are faithful to Jesus? Where stands it written that we're supposed to "slow down" in mid-life and live off our investments? How do we explain the millions of Christians throughout the world who walk in faith and trust Jesus and go to work every day and give of themselves to their jobs, families and churches and go home to barrios and squalid high rises and simple grass huts? How do we explain the millions of Christians throughout the world who go to bed hungry and give what food they have to their children?
I had to wonder if he has been reading books that promise a "better you."? Did he miss the part at the end of Hebrews 11 where Christians, of whom the world is not worthy, were tortured, mocked, flogged, chained, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, killed with the sword, wore skins of sheep and goats, were destitute, afflicted, mistreated, wandered about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth?
In his defense, he is still trying to figure out what to do next and he does have children to feed and a wife to support. But therein lies the power of his statements. In his pain he speaks what he believes. In his distress he speaks without screening his words. In his worry about providing for his family, he removes the mask. And it is in recognition of that pain, distress and worry that I find myself moving from dismay to compassion for this brother who has a lot to sort through and figure out (about himself and about God) during this season of transition.
Release
Last Sunday, Santa Margarita Community Church overwhelmingly voted to call Robert Campbell as their new pastor. I will always love and care for the people whose lives are so immutably intertwined with mine, but with the beginning of this new season in their history, I can also release them to Robert's love and care under the Great Shepherd who loves and cares for them far more than I or Robert ever could.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Vacation Reading
While Sharon took her class at Regent this summer, I got 3 (mostly uninterrupted) hours of reading each afternoon.
The first book was "The Year of Living Biblically: one man's humble quest to follow the Bible as literally as possible" by A.J. Jacobs. A fun read and a reminder that we all read Scripture with presuppositions and we all explain away aspects of what is there. It may be one of the strongest arguments for having an intentional hermeneutic when you come to the Scriptures.
The second was "Dialogue, Catalogue and Monologue: personal, impersonal and depersonalizing ways to use words" by Craig M. Gay. More technical than I expected, but a vivid picture of how we have all been impacted by our culture's use and abuse of words. Rather than bringing us together, they can divide us or are simply used to sell us something.
I am halfway through "Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community" by Robert D. Putnum. I have gotten through the "What" section, am beginning the "Why" section and then I'll finish with his "So What?" and "What is to be done?" sections. It is based on much research and though it is not written from a "Biblical" position or, as far as I know, by a Christian, the author points us to the wisdom behind God's calling us into His family and emphasizing the necessity of living our lives in community.
The first book was "The Year of Living Biblically: one man's humble quest to follow the Bible as literally as possible" by A.J. Jacobs. A fun read and a reminder that we all read Scripture with presuppositions and we all explain away aspects of what is there. It may be one of the strongest arguments for having an intentional hermeneutic when you come to the Scriptures.
The second was "Dialogue, Catalogue and Monologue: personal, impersonal and depersonalizing ways to use words" by Craig M. Gay. More technical than I expected, but a vivid picture of how we have all been impacted by our culture's use and abuse of words. Rather than bringing us together, they can divide us or are simply used to sell us something.
I am halfway through "Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community" by Robert D. Putnum. I have gotten through the "What" section, am beginning the "Why" section and then I'll finish with his "So What?" and "What is to be done?" sections. It is based on much research and though it is not written from a "Biblical" position or, as far as I know, by a Christian, the author points us to the wisdom behind God's calling us into His family and emphasizing the necessity of living our lives in community.
My Lover, My Best Friend
Well, we're home. This morning Sharon went to work, facing a couple large tasks. I arrived, opened Outlook and watched the inbox number reach 240 and the Junk E-mail go to 18. Not bad for two weeks. We had a wonderful vacation and we discovered, once again, that we not only love each other after 34 years, we also like each other and love to spend time together. We even had things to talk about when we got home after all those hours in the car.
If you're reading this and are not yet married, look for a person of the opposite sex who is a good friend. If you're already married, work on the friendship. It's interesting to me that when Paul writes Titus about what older women should teach younger women, it is to "love their husbands." But Paul doesn't use the word "eros" which has to do with sexual attraction or "agape" which has to do with unconditionally loving or "storge" which refers to natural affection (like what most people feel toward children and pets). He uses "phileo" which refers to side by side, working together camaraderie and friendship. Paul's intentional use of this word tells me he knew that amid everything else, couples need to be friends. I thank God often that I married my best friend.
If you're reading this and are not yet married, look for a person of the opposite sex who is a good friend. If you're already married, work on the friendship. It's interesting to me that when Paul writes Titus about what older women should teach younger women, it is to "love their husbands." But Paul doesn't use the word "eros" which has to do with sexual attraction or "agape" which has to do with unconditionally loving or "storge" which refers to natural affection (like what most people feel toward children and pets). He uses "phileo" which refers to side by side, working together camaraderie and friendship. Paul's intentional use of this word tells me he knew that amid everything else, couples need to be friends. I thank God often that I married my best friend.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Like George Foreman?
At our B & B in Vancouver I've made the mistake twice now of asking the couples at the table what they do for a living. Not that that is a bad question. But socially it requires them to reciprocate. And then I'm stuck. What is it I do and how do I describe it to those who have no church background (which it was quickly clear these couples did not)? In the past it was awkward when I said pastor, because sometimes they weren't sure what a pastor was or did and other times because it carried negative connotations for them. Now I work for a District in a Denomination. How do you describe that in English, let alone to someone for whom English is not their first language. I oversee the credentialing of our pastors. What does that mean to someone who is unchurched? Too late I realized I should have stayed with questions related to home countries, vacation plans and the weather.
With the first couple I fumbled through descriptions of what I did using analogies. The second time I simply said, "Pastor" thinking that would be easier to explain. Except that the second couple was from Spain and looked blankly at me. I didn't want to say, "Priest" to try to further explain as this would have confused further since I was there on holiday with my wife. I tried, "El pastor" which generated a flicker of recognition, followed by the question, "Like George Foreman?"
I have been in pastoral ministry for 34 years. In all those years as I have been outed on airplanes or around a breakfast table or in other settings I have never once been asked if I was a pastor like George Foreman. But think about it. They couldn't have asked, "Like Eugene Peterson?" "Like John Piper?" "Like Paul Schliep?" Evidently the only pastor they know about is the former heavyweight champion of the world who currently pastors "The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ" in Houston, Texas. Funny, when I think of George Foreman I think of his boxing career and his grills. For this couple from Spain, they thought of his role as pastor. In a way, I'm glad that his role as pastor was as well known to them as his career as a boxer. What do people think of when they think of me?
With the first couple I fumbled through descriptions of what I did using analogies. The second time I simply said, "Pastor" thinking that would be easier to explain. Except that the second couple was from Spain and looked blankly at me. I didn't want to say, "Priest" to try to further explain as this would have confused further since I was there on holiday with my wife. I tried, "El pastor" which generated a flicker of recognition, followed by the question, "Like George Foreman?"
I have been in pastoral ministry for 34 years. In all those years as I have been outed on airplanes or around a breakfast table or in other settings I have never once been asked if I was a pastor like George Foreman. But think about it. They couldn't have asked, "Like Eugene Peterson?" "Like John Piper?" "Like Paul Schliep?" Evidently the only pastor they know about is the former heavyweight champion of the world who currently pastors "The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ" in Houston, Texas. Funny, when I think of George Foreman I think of his boxing career and his grills. For this couple from Spain, they thought of his role as pastor. In a way, I'm glad that his role as pastor was as well known to them as his career as a boxer. What do people think of when they think of me?
Chopsticks Update
I know that both of you who read this blog are wondering if we ate at the Ethiopian restaurant. Due to scheduling issues, we were never in the Commercial Drive area again when it was time to eat dinner. So, unfortunately, we never had the opportunity. We'll have to scour OC for an Ethiopian restaurant. A couple who are staying at the B & B ate at the Nepalese restaurant last night and loved it.
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