The “Becoming” Type of Christianity

Well, Richt’s motivational celebration order worked last Saturday, as his dawgs entered The Swamp and had a gator feast. 42-30 is certainly more exciting to watch (if you’re a Georgia fan) than the 31-14 Mississippi State upset of Kentucky (if you’re a Kentucky fan) last Saturday. I’m both … at least I’m becoming both.

1200 pages of reading per class in grad school (I took at least 3 classes, sometimes four per semester) was not exactly condusive to the college football junkie lifestyle. College was not much better … that is if I wanted to make good grades. However, now I’m out of school with some time on my hands. I’ve decided to jump into the college football scene.

A man asked me today if I was Georgia fan or was I simply wearing the hat. You know, I had to think about that one. Two weeks ago, someone noticed my Georgia hat and asked me who they were playing that day. I didn’t know. Some fan, huh? I think it’s more accurate to say that I’m “becoming” a fan. I certainly do enjoy the games.

Though seeing every team I pull for while watching them on TV lose is getting pretty annoying. It’s crazy! I watched Kentucky lose to Florida two Saturdays ago. Yet while traveling on the road and unable to watch any games, both Kentucky and Georgia had victories. Kentucky beat LSU of all people!!! I was out in the yard most of this past Saturday and also involved in a church social that evening–which meant I wasn’t watching TV. Georgia rolls over Florida. However, that night I was watching the South Carolina–Tennessee game with a friend later that evening. South Carolina loses! I watched Georgia get steam-rolled by Tennessee and Kentucky get crunched by Florida on the same day. Watching Kentucky beat themselves in the South Carolina game was depressing. Hey a “becoming” fan could get a complex!

(I guess I should mention that I did see LSU beat Florida, Auburn beat Florida, and Georgia beat Alabama. But this tidbit of information would rain out my pity party!)

I’m having a great time “becoming” a college football fan. I’m also loving the process of “becoming” something else. Paul writes “For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Corinthians 5:21, ESV). Wow, that is App-State-beating-Michigan-at-Michigan huge! Such an approach to Christianity is holistic, involving every aspect of my life becoming the righteousness of God. Every aspect of my life including my work life, sex life, diaper-changing life, apologizing to my wife life, etc. is to be becoming the righteousness of God. This is also huge, considering that I should have wound up institutionalized, either in the penal system or the state hospital system. This also means I need other believers and other believers need me!

The Christianity I grew up with was simply signing on the divine dotted line, God sending in his angels for a celebration on the field (like Richt’s dawgs), and simply waiting for the hear-after. Yet, such traditional Southern Christianity (southern U.S.) is boring!!!!!!!!! God intends so much more. The “becoming” type of Christianity involves becoming personally involved in the lives others (who may not look, think, smell, or act like me) and helping them to become the righteousness of God. Such a “becoming” type of Christianity is certainly messy, but it’s so much more exciting!

Team logos are from the website: http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827.

Signs of Revolution

“As Christians, we must be rubbed into the fabric of this world,” Dr. David Jeremiah poignantly suggested (suggested in name only) to authentic believers in Charlotte, NC last Thursday night at his Signs of Life rally. Christians are to be the “salt of the earth.” I certainly don’t want an amazingly stale Christianity. Yet, if I only stay hold up in Ft. God, fending myself off from the savages of Sin, Satan, and the World, waiting on eternity, then my bread of life will have been bought at the day-old discount store. It will taste even worse.

However, for many believers this presents a moral delimma. For some who do brave the trek into the worldly jungle, mission work should merely consist of telling people to accept Jesus. I have been told in no uncertian terms before, “I would rather save their soul then simply give them a piece of bread.” For others missionary work is what has corrupted this world and if not cast aside all-together should at least have the decency to only do good works. Clearly both of these ideas represent the extremes of conservative and liberal philosophies of the practice of Christianity. To be fair my ultra-conservative friend sought to retain the essential reason for venturing into the great unknown worldly wilderness in the first place–namely to people reconciled to God. And the presence of the ultra-theologically liberal attitude cited above fans the flames of fundamentalist fear.

Is it possible to have somewhat of a happy medium? Jeremiah emotionally recalled sitting around his father’s dinner table as a kid. His father, who helped to found the historical Fundamentalist movement, often lamented that many had given up the heart of Christianity by only doing good works. Though sympathetic to his father’s camp, Jeremiah insisted that they neglected to read the whole message of Salvation as seen in Ephesians 2:8-10:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ESV, italics mine).

Jeremiah emphatically appealed that we are most certainly saved by grace through faith alone, but that we are saved for good works. Towards the end of his message he said that he dreamed of starting a revolution of true believers who take God’s Word seriously enough to move out from the four walls and into true service of the poor and those caught in sin. I believe his Signs of Life rally is but one of the amazing signs of revolution currently going on in orthodox Evangelicalism.

Dr. Jeremiah’s picture is from the website: http://www.nelsonministryservices.com/nms/bio.asp?cid=924

Behind the Curtain

There are days when I “feel” less spiritual than others. Certainly, changing diapers or fighting with my wife does not exactly bring me into the ecstasies of God. Some days, for any number of reasons (caffeine, good sleep, good sex, great exercise, watching Elmo on TV?) can surely lift my spirits. During those times is my relationship with God more secure? Does God like me more and thus make me feel better? In short does feeling good necessarily indicate that God is pleased with me?

If by “feeling good” we mean to say feeling “pleasurable,” then I can “feel good” while gluttonizing myself at the Ryan’s buffet on Sunday (after fanning the flames of hell concerning drunkenness during my earlier sermon). I can feel rotten about having to live up to my promise to help my wife with diaper duty. My feelings can go in any number of directions and lure me in any number of ways. The sirens sing when I am least likely to wear ear plugs.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19 & 20). The writer is speaking of a hope that is no mere wish, but a “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” Confidence. Much like a weighty diaper, my feelings can stink. I need a soul confidence that is anchor-like. The writer says “we have this….” The “this” that we (Christians) have is the inheritance of the promises of God (Heb. 6:12). And “this” is partly my soul’s anchor.

I say “partly” because we don’t just inherit a paycheck from Grandpa God. The writer speaks of a “hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” This is an allusion to the ancient Hebrew temple. The “inner place behind the curtain” was known as the Holy of Holies. Only once a year was anyone allowed to go “behind the curtain.” And not just anyone, but only the High Priest–and only if he had purified himself adequately. He entered “behind the curtain” to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the whole Hebrew people to God to atone for their sins. Yet, we see Jesus has taken up perpetual residence “behind the curtain.” Not only that, but he is “a forerunner on our behalf.” Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only did Jesus atone for our sins, but we also have constant access to the presence of God through Jesus, our high priest.

So, my Christianity is based on something more than my feelings, which like my 21 month old daughter, are at times all over the place and bouncing off walls. My Christianity, my faith is firmly anchored in Jesus, who has redeemed and reconciled me to God. May I constantly live “behind the curtain” with Jesus in the presence of God.

A Tribute to the Gamecocks

I have a friend at one of my churches whose birthday was last Friday. Steve Spurrier did not deliver a good birthday present for him, yesterday. Vandy is reportedly eating fried chicken in Columbia today before returning to Nashville.

I must hand it to Spurrier, though. Carolina is a totally different ball program under him. What I have been told through the grape vine is that upon arriving at Carolina, he sent several ball players on scholarships to the slaughter house. Though mama and daddy had purse strings, these players weren’t earning their keep. Reportedly Spurrier has said that he is here to serve South Carolina, not simply to keep a few prominent parents happy. He plays the players who want to play, and want to play bad enough to be good enough. Out of this bunch players are selected for scholarships. I can easily see Carolina winning the SEC in the next year or two, if not a national championship.

Oh that we in the church would strive for excellence in the Christian life and in our church lives. How serious do we take Jesus? Serious enough to reach out to people that are completely different than us? Serious enough to reach out to people ravaged by sin? Serious enough to passionately serve at church (in other forms than simply supervising other people that actually work)? Serious enough to believe that the pastor is not simply paid to do everyone else’s ministry for them? Serious enough to actually show up at church? May we, who claim to wear the most excellent name in heaven and under heaven–Jesus–actually strive for excellence in Christianity!

Photo is from http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827

His Image or Mine?

When waiting tables quite some time ago, my understanding of Christianity was radically transformed. Perhaps very few other professions feel the weight of the consumer’s power quite like the restaurant server. Let the tea in the glass fall without the server’s immediate attention, the his tip will likely evaporate. If the food is a bit slow in coming to the table, it is obviously because the server is out back smoking; instead of pulling the smoking ribs off the grill herself. Her tip will likely go up in smoke.

Hey, I thoroughly enjoyed waiting tables, despite my depreciating comments. And I very much appreciate the economic system wherein we live, which provides a measure of accountability for providers of goods and services. However, I am afraid the power of the consumer has bought the would-be serious worshipper a spoiled brat, sense of entitlement. Jesus supposedly sits on His throne with nothing else in the world to do but make sure your tea glass is properly maintained and the choir director choosing my favorite songs. While, yes, those in Church leadership must be kept accountable to their “constituency,” Jesus desires to be so much more than a Hooters girl. He demands our worship of Himself in His all-consuming Glory. Jesus may have been born to “serve” us at the cross. However, He conquered death and hell and now deserves our absolute worship on His terms.

Listen to how James L. Mays describes the demands the Psalms make on the serious believer. Indeed these are the same demands the whole of Scripture, as well as the living Word (Jesus Christ) make on us:

It is traditional, not contemporary. It works with poetry and metaphor instead of science and technique. It unites rather than compartmentalizes. It sees the world as a project in creation rather than a problem of physics. It centers on a sovereign (G)od instead of sovereign self. Its ideas are those of monarchy rather than liberal democracy. It emphasizes the finitude and fallibility of the human rather than its autonomy, sees the human essential in trust and morality rather than psychology, thinks of the individual in terms of community rather than community as an aggregate of individuals, persists in speaking of good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, instead of values, and so on and on (The Lord Reigns–A Theological Handbook to the Psalms, p. 9).

Perhaps I am finding my spiritual credit card maxed out. In short am I coming to the altar to die and be remade into His image? Or is my overweight sense of entitlement demanding Him to be remade into my piggish image?

I Find the Impossible Far More Interesting

http://imdb.com/title/tt0414055/

The red, hot Spanish Armada boils with the Spanish Inquisition cresting on England’s horizon, ready to crash over Queen Elizabeth’s Protestant (non-Roman Catholic) Christianity. Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin Mary is a few conspiratorial letters and an assassin’s bullet away from inheriting England’s throne and “saving” England from the clutches of the Protestant devil. Elisabeth’s beloved citizenry and court ravish the possibility to see their “virgin queen” hook up and knocked up. Her own desires for true love and friendship increasingly lurk around every corner of her private chambers…and actually mug her heart in public. Cosmo would certainly have a royal feast!

“That is the difference between you and I … I find the impossible far more interesting,” Queen Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) pointedly suggests to her loyal chief advisor (Geoffrey Rush). The impossible is poignantly captured in the recently released “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” In a word this film is powerful, and is so precisely because flawed, but real, human flesh painstakingly clothes the painfully naked realities of the real world in which the real Queen Elizabeth once lived. Simply glossing over an air-brushed history book often cloaks the tenuous high wires on which history’s models have balanced their struggles, fears, hopes, and dreams. While our world is certainly under the ever-watchful eye of the Almighty, the consequences we have to live with spawned from our all-human choices are all-real.

As believers, whether we like to admit it or not, we live in God’s very real world inside very real human flesh. Tenuous are often our choices that are fraught with very real consequences and entangled in very real, intricate, and often intimate contexts. This may not be “super spiritual,” but it is super scriptural. And we are still yet commissioned for Gospel, cross-centered Mission. What will we do with our days (or opportunities) given to us by God? Will we succumb to the same-old, same-old? Will we give up out of desperation? Or will we dream God’s dreams of Spirit-empowered ministry and world-transformation. Every choice is fraught with risk. Personally, I find the impossible far more interesting.

God Is Looking for a Few Good Worshippers

During college I served in the Marine Forces Reserve. It was often said of us that we were “weekend warriors.” However, upon being called to active duty in January of 2003, we “part-timers” showed up in force and proudly served our country at Camp Lejeune, NC with great honor and distinction. In fact we reservists (as a whole) vastly out-preformed our “Active Duty” comrads by a margin wide enough to drive a Bradley Tank through. Granted many of us had college and career experiences in which being overachievers is not an option. Yet Parris Island gave us no choice but to be transformed from the inside out into Marines through and through. In other words, though our duty as Reservists only beckoned our presence once a month, Parris Island called our hearts to attention every waking moment. There was never a moment we were (or are) not Marines. “Honor, courage, and commitment” flow through our veins long after we no longer wear the uniform.

“Please join us for worship today.” “I like contemporary praise and worship.” “Hymns are the tried and true choice of worship for the church.” Such phrases are quite commonly heard in many churches today…and belies an understanding of “worship” that is vastly too narrow. Perhaps many of us are Worship-Reservists not only in deed but also in heart, showing up for part-time duty on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Scriptural worship, however, is vastly more consuming. The call of Jesus is for us to “present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God” (Romans 12:1). Note Scripture’s use of the phrase “present your bodies as living sacrifices.” Such a radical call demands not only our church attendence, but indeed every aspect of lives being given over to God as worship. For the true believer there is never a moment when we are not in “worship.” Loving God with all of your heart, soul, and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself continues to flow through your veins, long after you as a true believer leaves the church grounds. God is looking for a few good worshippers. Will we answer His call to duty?