Uncommon Musings

Update and new Blog

2010-04-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I will begin preaching my last series for Missio Dei Church, Asheville beginning this Sunday, May 2. We will take 12 weeks and work through Habakkuk: wrestling with faith. I hope that it will be an encouraging series for our community.

This is the final post for this blog. With the transition to plant a new church, I am blogging here.

Sermon from Cancelled Gathering

2009-12-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

Because the kids will not have the option of Treehouse and Sprouts and the nature of the sermon, combined with the desire to keep on track with our sermon schedule, I thought it would be helpful to cover the text here.

Below is an abridged version of my sermon notes from Sunday (Dec. 20). I hope that it is readable and helpful.

Intro:
God is going to reveal His rule over all things to the world. He’s going to use us to accomplish that task (all of us) – in particular, He’s revealing this through a “sexually whole us.”

Text: Eph. 5:3-14

What does the text say?
Paul turns from self-sacrifice to self-indulgence
(v. 3) Three main subjects, sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness (greedy)
o These things are not to be named among the set apart ones
• These should not characterize the life of the believer
o These things are completely alien to a god-honoring lifestyle
o Paul works from the broken outward expression (sexual immorality) to the inner working of the heart (greed)
o It's interesting to note how greediness is ultimately expressed through sexual perversion

(v. 4) No filthiness, foolish talk, or crude joking…instead thanksgiving
o Not only is the expressed act wrong, so are perverted discussions, because this is really about what's going on in the heart.
o These types of speech are “out of place” for a people who have been rescued and given new hearts
o Thanksgiving stands in contrast to sexual innuendo, because it recognizes God’s generosity rather than a selfish attitude
o SEX IS NOT AN AMUSEMENT FOR GREEDY PLEASURE
o Casual, vulgar, discourse about it cheapen it’s beauty, steal it’s pleasure and reveal a darkened heart.
• We don't behave this way toward sexuality because we are ashamed or afraid of it, but because we have a high and holy view toward sexuality.

What does the text mean?
• Participation in sexual immorality, “impurity,” and greediness demonstrate a relationship that is broken from God and each other
• We want joy and God-honoring sexuality – our experience is often perverted because our view of sexuality is too permissive or too restrictive.
• There are both proper and improper ways to express sexuality (in practice and in conversation).

How do we resist?
• We are so exposed to sexuality in promotional and negative forms that we lose the wonder of it.
• Divorce
o The number 1 reason for divorce in the US is infidelity
o 80% of those who are unfaithful are caught (the other 20% either admit or simply walk away from the marriage)
• Only 3% marry the person with whom they committed adultery and 75% of those marriages end in divorce (devastation)
o 78% of marriages that have experienced infidelity yet remain together describe the marriage as unhappy or empty (devastating)

• Our view of sexuality is usually too loose, or too restrictive
• Too loose = Sexuality (in all forms) is good and should be liberally pursued
o Anything and everything goes (“as long as you’re comfortable”)
o We should talk openly and graphically
o Exposure to sexually explicit material has no effect on how we express our own sexuality (lie)

• Too restrictive = Sexuality (in most forms) is bad and should be fervently avoided
o It’s a necessary evil
o We shouldn’t even discuss it
o The church has embraced this view OR has only highlighted what is bad about sex and doesn’t “reconstruct” with a biblical view of sex

• Some of us have had bad experience with sexuality because we’ve sinned or because we’ve been sinned against and so sex is gross for us.
o What we need is to have our minds renewed, so that we can have a fresh perspective on sex.
o When there is betrayal, then we need to go back to the foundation of the marriage, because trust has been devastated and the whole thing has exploded. We need community around us during this time

• Most of us don’t have to look at our lives for too long to realize that we have some unbelievable brokenness sexually
o We’re either trying to recover from devastation, or we’re having problems connecting sexually, or we’re struggling with feelings of guilt and shame…on and on.
• We need something with power to come and rescue us…from ourselves.

Why does this matter?
(v. 5-6) Sexual immoral, impure and covetous (greedy) has no inheritance
o Those who act that way and talk that way are excluded
o Not just in the future, but also in the present “has no inheritance”
o Don’t be deceived…exclusion is certain!
o These things invite the wrath of God
(v. 7) Therefore, don’t participate with those who do such things
o This doesn’t say to stay away from them, but not to participate with them!
• Joy/wonder/intimacy and the picture of God with His people is lost when we treat sexuality lightly

How is Jesus the hero?
• Jesus’ death on the cross breaks the back of Satan’s deception about sexuality
• We can be forgiven for past sexual sins and have the opportunity to have future security, peace, comfort etc. that godly sexuality brings
• Jesus' Kingly rule frees us to use our sexuality as joy-filled acts of worship
(v. 8) You used to do this, but now you are “children of light” so act like it.
o Main motivation is not simply punishment (or withholding of blessing), but a living out of the mighty change that occurs because of Jesus.
• We should set godly examples when participating and talking about sexuality
(v. 9) Your walk should be categorized with what is good, right and true
o SHOW THAT YOU ARE NOT GIVEN OVER TO IMMORALITY, IMPURITY, ETC
o The Bible does not forbid talking about sex or engaging in sexuality, but it does outlay the right picture of it.

What does repentance look like?
(v. 10-14) Strong encouragement to change way of life – no longer be consumed with darkness, but expose the right view of sexuality on your former dark past = Jesus offers wholeness, even among the sexually broken
• Sexuality is not to be God, nor is it to be avoided, but to be sacred, enjoyed and valued in it’s place, for what it is.
• Even the sexually broken can experience wholeness
Sex is a gift – an act of worship within marriage
• Marriage is the context of sexuality – leave mom and dad (grow up), cling to wife (get married), become one (sexuality of persons)
(v. 10) Be discerning = there isn’t an absolute standard here
• NOTE – there is not an outline of how to participate and talk about sexuality – there are prohibitions and freedom
Guidelines for sexuality
• Sexuality should promote “oneness”
o This means it is part of a lifetime commitment to one another (not a one night commitment to yourself
o This means that others are not allowed into your bedroom (Heb. 13:4).
• Lust for anybody besides your spouse is sin (Matt. 5:28)
• Unmarried = fornication
• Married = adultery
• No porn, no fantasy life, don’t encourage your spouse to look like other people. Your spouse is your standard of beauty.
• It should not be accompanied with shame for one of the partners
o We all come into the marriage relationship with some sexual “baggage,” which will relent as the relationship grows.
• One of the ways Missio exposes light on this issue is through our Hope House ministry – a recovery home for teenage girls who have been tricked/forced into prostitution

Questions for Reflection
• What are the top three things that need to change in me?
o The views I have that are greedy or dark
o The practices that do not promote “oneness” with my spouse.
o Confess those to Jesus, to your spouse (if applicable)

Theology of Spirit Gifts

2009-11-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

While some deny Jesus as God in the flesh, others, in an attempt to protect His God-nature, end up unwittingly denying His humanity and miss the power of the Holy Spirit in His life. Jesus was full of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and did works in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1-14). This enabled him to live the perfect human life without sin as our substitute and as our example (Matt. 4:1-10; Heb. 4:14-16). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a new spirit for His people (Ezek. 36:26-27). Not only was Jesus our substitute in life, but also being full of the Spirit (Is. 61:1-2), He laid down His life as our substitute so that we could receive the Holy Spirit (John 16:7, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). After the resurrection and before His ascension back to the heavens, Jesus promised that the Church would continue the new Spirit-filled lifestyle (Acts 1:8). Because of Jesus, God’s Spirit brings the reality of God’s presence to God’s people (Ezek. 39:29, Joel 2:28, Acts 2:1-22).

This becomes the theme of the Scriptures at the book of Acts. The NT era is uniquely the age of the Spirit. We are called to be a people “filled” with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). What this looks like has been the source of much dissention in the church, in particular over the last several decades. At least three camps have surfaced in explaining the relationship and the evidence of the Spirit-filled life.

The first is the “charismatic” camp. These Christians have an earnest desire to practice the supernatural gifts (predominantly speaking in tongues and healing) as proof of God’s presence among His people. Their practice stems from a movement of independent churches known as “Pentecostals,” whose history can be traced back to about 1901. The movement was a reaction to the sterility and dead orthodoxy that was plaguing many American churches at the time. They placed emphasis on an emotionally charged, personal, and mystical experience with God, evidenced by supernatural gifts. By the 1960s, the term “charismatic” was used to describe those who exercised a Pentecostal understanding of the gifts, but were among other denominations. The term comes from the Greek word “charismata,” which literally means, “Grace gift.”

Recognizing the dangers of appealing to the subjective experience of people engaged in charismatic practice, the more orthodox in the Church responded with a teaching called “cessationism.” This is the belief that the supernatural gifts mentioned in the Bible were for the apostles and prophets as they were used of God to lay the foundation of the Church. However, with the completion of the New Testament, those miraculous gifts are no longer necessary or available, in other words, the miracle gifts have ceased.

There is a third camp that recognizes the dangers and unbiblical practices prevalent in many charismatic groups, but is unwilling to make the claim that the miracle gifts have ceased. These are known as “continuationists.” This group has an earnest desire for the higher gifts (I Cor. 12:28-31), with an understanding that the gifts are not the point, but are to work toward a proclamation of the Gospel that demonstrates a people lovingly united under Jesus’ rule of all things. This is the most Scriptural of the three views since one doesn’t have to do interpretive gymnastics to make the Spirit gifts disappear, but keeps the right perspective on how they are to be exercised (I Cor. 14:33).

This view points out that a spiritual gift is a God-given ability for service (I Cor. 12-14, Eph. 4:7-16), that all believers are gifted by the spirit in some way (I Cor. 7:7; Eph. 4:7; I Peter 4:10), and that no believer has all of the gifts (I Cor. 12:12-26). The gifts are something that every believer should long and pray for (I Cor. 12:31; 14:1), not for an emotionally charged, mystical experience, but in order to build up others (I Cor. 12:7; 13:1-3; 14:26; Eph. 4:12).

The purpose of the gifts is to unite the people of God for the praise of God. The Spirit’s work in the book of Acts was often marked by miraculous gifts…but it is clear in the Bible that gifts were not the goal, spiritual transformation was and should still be. Filling with the Spirit produces fruit (Gal. 5:22-26), which is played out in the way that we live our lives.

Theology of Prayer

2009-11-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

The Bible is flooded with stories about people who in many and various circumstances (both beautiful and tragic) pour their hearts out to God in prayer. For many of us, however, our prayers are often few and far between. When we pray we are often moved to do so out of guilt instead of joy, praying not for the connection with God, but because it’s something we’re “supposed” to do. Perhaps we pray because we believe it will manipulate him into giving us more toys to distract us from the vanity of our lives. Perhaps we don’t pray because so often it feels as though we are simply talking into the air.

If we’re honest, many of us are completely confused about why we should pray and how to do it. While explaining how we should pray, Jesus tells us, “do not heap up empty phrases,” because, “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt. 6:6-7). So then, why pray? Why does God, knowing what we need instruct us to ask for it?

Asking this question gives us tremendous insight into the purpose of prayer. It teaches that prayer is not a magic formula for the acquisition of health and wealth, but is something higher and deeper. It teaches that prayer is among the most tangible ways to express faith in God. It teaches that what we need, more than things is communion with God. We pray so that we don’t draw our joy primarily out of circumstances or possessions, but out of talking with a God who listens. Prideful, independent people who, in their own estimation, have no need of instruction or guidance do not pray.

But those who realize the realities of life continually pointed out in Scripture, “ought always to pray and not lose heart” because God “will give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night” (Luke 18:1-8). It’s interesting that Jesus compares prayer to crying. One author put it like this, “The cry is the force with which the stream of prayer rushes on. It is possible to have correct words, and deep thinking, and yet no real intensity of heart, no agony of soul” (Smith, James. Handfuls on Purpose, series VII, p. 86-87). Why are we not a people who cry out to God in faithful prayers day and night? Because our joy is drawn far more from our goods and situations than in God. So prayer is, as the Westminster Divines described it, “an offering up of our desires to God” (WLC Q178). It’s not so much a change of our state of affairs as it is a movement of God’s Spirit to transform our perspective.

Jesus gave his disciples a helpful pattern in Matt. 6 where he says, “Pray like this” (v. 5-13). We don’t have to abide by formulas, but they are helpful in structuring times of prayer. The pattern he offers has four basic elements, which can be remembered by the acrostic ACTS. First, prayers can be opened in a time of Adoration where God’s name and work is honored (i.e. “Father…Hallowed by your name…Your kingdom come…”). Second, we can move into Confession yielding an opportunity to be forgiven and cleansed (i.e. “Forgive us our debts”). Next, we can offer up Thanksgiving recognizing that God is the give of all things (i.e. “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever). Finally, we can close with Supplications asking God to move on our behalf (i.e. “Give us this day our daily bread…and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”).

If we do not have disciplined times of prayer, there will probably not be fullness in spontaneous times of prayer. What matters is not the amount of time we spend in prayer (15 minutes, 3 times/day), but the intensity of the focus of prayer. Our focus should be a desire for Christ. It should aim toward asking God to satisfy your heart and free you from sinful desires so that you exalt Christ and employ sacrificial love toward others.

Theology of Justification

2009-11-02T07:49:00.001-08:00

One of the fascinating features of Christian thought is the idea that God is involved in rescuing people and creation from sin and restoring all things into a right relationship with Him. The Scriptures refer to this activity of God using the broad term “salvation,” but being “saved” has various aspects.

The theology of justification is one of those aspects. It is defined as a legal declaration from God that a sinner is not counted as guilty, but as truly righteous because he receives by faith the righteousness of Jesus (Rom. 3:21-26, 5:6-10, 18-19, Gal. 2:20-21, I Pet. 3:18). Justification is a one-time objective event, not a process. The process of being saved from sins is known in the Bible as sanctification, another aspect of salvation (Rom. 6:22, I Thess. 4:3).

The doctrine of justification is what makes the Christian faith truly unique. It is the one faith tradition granting assurance that those who have failed at perfect morality can be forgiven and restored to life. Justification declares that a sinner has right standing before God because of Jesus, the one who didn’t fail morally, but paid the ultimate price of death as if He had.

Since the basis of being declared righteous is not the ability of people to live a certain way, the apostle John assures believers that we can “know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13), because they are counted as righteous (Rom. 4:1-8, Phil. 3:7-9) or have Jesus’ righteousness credited (the theological term is “imputed”) to them. Paul explains it this way, “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 Cor. 5:21).

This doctrine was the central issue of the Protestant Reformation. While the clarity was elaborated because the Roman Church was abusing its members with a false understanding of salvation, the implications of a correct understanding were too great to be ignored. The Reformers wanted a return to the biblical teaching that believers work from a position of justification with glad hearts, sincere joy, and bold confidence instead of for it, allowing our works to prove our faith rather than earn our justification (Heb. 10:19-24, James 1:22-25).

In many ways we need this reminder today since people profess justification by grace through faith, but do not live as if they have been justified. Churches are filled with people who think that they have to perform to earn God’s approval and are motivated by guilt and fear of condemnation. If any do not live as men and women who have “escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire,” then he is “so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (II Pet. 1:4, 9). Jesus’ life and work were sufficient and our hearts can rest believing “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

Theology of Depravity

2009-10-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dialogue over the creation of the universe, God makes a remarkable comment about creating humans in Gen. 1. He says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (v. 26, 28). So humans have the special privilege of being created with the unique dignity of reflecting and representing God; glorious and holy, powerful and good, righteous and giving; we could go on and on.

The problem we have in believing this is that the stories of our lives seem to lack these qualities. We experience among other things, frustration, heartbreak, misunderstanding, abuse, confusion, and tragedy in a way that makes us feel powerless and insignificant. So what happened?

In Creation, God created Adam as a representative for all people. Gen. 1 describes the creation of humans generally as male and female and in Gen. 2, God describes creating Adam as the specific representative head of the human race. To Adam was given the rule of not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and Adam was the one responsible for keeping that rule. Yet, he could not contain himself and decided to stray and blame others for his distrust of God, trampling of his image, forsaking of responsibility, etc. (Gen. 3:6,10-12). Eve had been deceived, but Adam, who was “with her,” was willfully disobeying (I Tim. 2:14).

God doesn’t weakly and powerlessly overlook Adam’s rebellion. In holy justice, He responds by cursing Adam. The curse involved losing intimate communion, right standing and becoming defiled and cursed enemies of God (Matt. 25:41, Rom. 5:12-14, 6:23, Eph. 2:3-5, II Thes. 1:9). This affliction was passed on to all humans as all now have a heart after Adam’s image and likeness to rebel spiritually (Gen. 5:3, Gen. 6:5, Rom. 5:12). While in popular thought, it is often taught that people are condemned because they commit sin, the Scriptures teach that we are condemned because we are sinners, that we commit sin because it is in our heart to do so (Eccl. 7:20, 29, Jer. 17:9, Rom. 3:9, 10, 23, Gal. 3:10, Eph. 2:3-5, I Jn 1:8).

This is what is meant by “depravity.” Humans were created for greatness, but have been corrupted. They do what they shouldn’t (what the Bible calls, “trespass”) and don’t do what they should (what the Bible calls, “sin”) (Rom. 7:15-20, Eph. 2:1). This perversion saturates people to their very depths. Though many want to celebrate a “free-will,” human will is held in captivity to this corrupting influence, evidenced by our inability to live perfectly or live forever. People need God to intervene over their wills (Psalm 51:1-12, John 6:44, 16:8-9, Rom. 7:18, 9:16).

This begs the question, how can we explain beauty and justice if we are corrupt? In other words, how do people who don’t indicate any inclination toward God do such good things? The Bible points out that although we are defiled, we still bear the image and purposes of God (Gen. 9:1-7). All people have exposure to the truth of God through creation and through the law written on their hearts (Ps. 19:1, Rom. 1:19-20, 2:14-15). This is called “Common grace,” and it explains why God allows good fortune to fall on all people (Eccl. 9:2, Matt. 5:45) sometimes causing trouble for those who lean into God (Psalm 73).

So what is our hope of escaping the curse of God? We need a representative who is not depraved and does from the heart what people were created to do. The good news is that Jesus is that representative (Rom. 5:16-19, Rom. 8:1-4). He became cursed for us and was raised in victory over God’s curse (Gal. 3:13, I Cor. 15:1-4). We now have the hope of being reborn, recreated, renewed and restored (John 3:1-21, II Cor. 5:17-21, Eph. 4:20-24). And our hope is to return to the urban garden where we have unbroken fellowship and joy in life as we reflect God (Rev. 22).

Theology of Holy Spirit

2009-10-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Unique to the Christian faith is the confession that God is One; united in power and substance yet distinct in the person of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This formula, One God in three persons, is known as the Trinity. As one of those persons of God, Holy Spirit is God. He is called God (Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10, II Cor. 13:14) and does works as God (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13, Titus 3:5). Lying to Spirit is lying to God (Acts 5:3-4). He is equal to Father and Son in addresses to God (II Cor. 13:4, Rev. 1:4-6, Matt. 28:19).

Holy Spirit is often the most abused or ignored person of the Holy Trinity. Generally speaking, He is nearly bypassed in circles that apply diligence to studying the Scriptures and have high views of doctrine and theology. Others who don’t know much of what the Scriptures actually say credit Holy Spirit with chaotic nonsense that doesn’t reflect the glory of Christ, but feed the selfish desires of men using God for toys. This not only causes frustration among those trying to communicate the Christian faith, but also, unhealthy division that grieves God.

Part of the confusion is from the difference between His work in the Old Testament (OT) and in the New Testament (NT). In the OT, the work of the Holy Spirit among people included the generation of life (Gen. 2:7; Psalm 33:6; Psalm 104:30) and the inspiration and qualification of people to works of service (Ex. 31:3-4; I Sam. 16:13). Jesus, during his ministry in the NT, explained that the age to come would be the age of the Spirit and that His ministry would be more dramatic and personal (John 16:7-15).

The ministry of the Spirit in the NT would include sealing, indwelling, and filling true believers of the Gospel. Sealing is God’s securing of believers, marking them as God’s purchased possession (Eph. 1:13-14). Indwelling is God’s personal dwelling among believers of all nations (not just Israel), enabling them to live in the likeness of Christ (John 7:39; Rom. 8:9, Gal. 5:22-25). Filling is yielding to the Spirit as the dominant influence of the believer’s behavior (Eph. 5:18). So in the OT, He was the power and presence of God among His people, and especially of some, while in the NT He is poured out on every class and race of people who truly believe the Gospel.

One of the most divisive teachings, which began to surface in the early 1900s, is the false idea that there are multiple stages to belief and that one does not have access to Holy Spirit upon believing in Jesus, but that subsequent prayers for Him will be met with the gift of speaking in “tongues.” One only has assurance that he belongs to God if he evidences it by spouting off random jibber-jabber and ecstatic utterances. This teaching ignores the Scriptural statements that believers are “sealed and indwelt” with the Holy Spirit upon believing in the Gospel (John 7:39, Eph. 1:13-14) and besides perverting the biblical teaching of tongues, overemphasizes a subjective experience over a more objective teaching of Scripture desiring to elevate a particular gift of God beyond its proper measure (I Cor. 12:4-11, 13:1).

As we encounter these false teachings, we should bear in mind two things. Not every claim of spiritual gifting is valid (I John 4:1-2), nor is it appropriately exercised (I Cor. 14:6-12). However, we must not overreact as some have and deny legitimate filling of the Spirit that encourages men and women to remember the Gospel of Jesus (John 16:14-15). Much of the chaos and unbiblical practice among so-called “charismatic” believers makes the worship of Jesus into a circus sideshow, but proper response isn’t the gagging out of the Holy Spirit’s power. Those who do not consider themselves “charismatic” can be guilty of ignoring the work of the Spirit. His presence is the fulfillment of the many promises of Jesus about God’s presence with His people and Ephesians points out that He is the guarantee of our future hope and our power for daily living and confession and faith. He is the most personal presence of God among us and we do well to take notice and be filled by Him.

Theology of Predestination

2009-09-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Predestination for a myriad of reasons is a very controversial doctrine. The abuse and misunderstanding of the doctrine has lead to fights and divisions among congregations and denominations and the fallout has been ugly. Much of the dissention occurs because of the need for someone to be right, but usually involves the promoting of an implication of the doctrine rather than the doctrine itself. It is impossible to simply ignore predestination and hope that it will go away, because its prevalence throughout Scripture proves that it’s not a secondary or imaginary doctrine. It needs to be dealt with in a way that is true to Scripture. Our presuppositions should be challenged, even changed when held up to the doctrine, rather than the other way around.

There are several words that are tied up in the doctrine of predestination (chosen, elect, predestined) and the majority of times these words are used, they refer directly to God’s action in choosing people to receive eternal life. Some examples include Deut. 7:6-9, Matt. 24:31, Rom. 8:29-30, Rom. 9:11,16-26, Eph. 1:5, 11, II Thess. 2:13-15, and I Pet. 2:9. The best way to define the doctrine is to say that predestination is God’s choosing, before the foundation of the world people to be saved, not on account of any foreknown merit in them, but because of His sovereign good pleasure.

There are at least three primary misunderstands of the doctrine of election that instigate debate. The first is to present it in a way that is fatalistic and denies mankind the ability to make choices that have real effects. According to this view, the decisions people make have no influence on their standing before God because He has already predetermined everything that will come to pass. Scripture teaches that this is not the case. We see in John 3:16-18 and Rom. 10:14 that our decisions have eternal consequences, both for ourselves and for others. In Acts 18:9-11 God uses the doctrine of predestination (not fatalism) to encourage Paul to remain in the city of Corinth so that people can respond.

The second misunderstanding is much more prevalent and fiercely defended. It teaches predestination in a way that is not predestination at all. Instead it is taught as God’s foreknowledge of events, without providentially directing those events. God is helpless to intervene in the “free will” of people, a concept which consequently is not explicitly taught anywhere in the Bible. This view misrepresents Rom. 8:29 to teach that God’s choice is based on a foreknowledge of how people will respond when they hear of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. The passage actually teaches that God foreknows people. While it would include response, the emphasis is placed on personal knowledge of individuals. Scripture NEVER speaks of our faith as the reason God chose us. In fact, it clearly teaches the opposite. Rom. 9:16 explicitly states that election “depends not on human will or exertion, but on God.” It is more biblically honest to embrace predestination than to present God as a cosmic fortune-teller with no influence on the affairs of mankind.

The third misunderstanding, while serving as a motivation to bad views of predestination actually stems from a misunderstanding about God himself. This view is that election is unfair. After all, doesn’t God want to save everybody as in I Tim. 2:3-4 and II Pet. 3:9? The problem with that conclusion is that we know that not everyone will be saved (Matt. 13:41-42, I John 5:10-12 among many others). So we accept the truth of Deut. 29:29, that God expresses in His revealed will the command to repent and be saved, but has a secret will of who is chosen. The question of equity in this was raised in Rom. 9:20-21, where the answer is that God has the right to do as He wishes. We count on the injustice of God for salvation. Jesus had to die to earn salvation, yet He was innocent. We all believe this on a practical level. Personally, we counted on God contradicting our wills so that we could come to faith in Jesus. We also pray for God to providentially contradict the will of those who don’t know Him so that they will repent of their sin and trust Jesus. God’s unfairness actually results in our good.

Rather than keep this a distant theological topic, it is good to consider why Paul includes this in the letter to the Ephesians. Every time Scripture talks about predestination, it is used to encourage God’s people to faithfulness. It is NEVER, EVER used to challenge a person or get him question his ability to be close to God, etc. It is a promise of comfort. Your standing with God rests on the promise of God, not on your feeling of status or worth. Rather than get defensive and divisive, let us take comfort in this great doctrine.

Who Were the Recipients of the Letter to the Ephesians?

2009-09-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

This seems like a ridiculous question considering all English versions of the Bible include the phrase “in Ephesus” in the first verse (except the RSV, which almost always favors unorthodox translations). But reading the footnote of a worthwhile translation (ESV or NASB) reveals, “Some manuscripts do not contain ‘in Ephesus.’”

As far as we know, only three manuscripts do not contain the phrase, however, they are three significant copies of the original NT writings. More doubts arise in light of the fact that some of the earliest commentators show no awareness that the letter was addressed to Ephesus; one thought it was written to Laodicea.

Given that Paul spent the majority of his known ministry in Ephesus, traveling there on multiple occasions, significantly impacting the city’s economy to the point of a riot, and bidding a sorrowful farewell to the Ephesian community (Acts 19:21-41, 20:36-38), we would expect a considerable amount of personal appeals, greetings, etc. as was his custom in other letters. However, this letter is by far Paul’s most impersonal and general, including phrases such as, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints” (1:16). No Ephesian individuals, groups, or issues are addressed in the entire letter.

With the considerable evidence against Ephesian reception, at least two things prevent complete dismissal. First of all, the letter had an intended recipient. Even among those copies that do not include “in Ephesus,” the text literally reads, “To the saints who are and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.” Without a designation the remaining wording is clumsy. Secondly, copies of this letter were designated to the Ephesians from early in its history. Ancient copiers would not arbitrarily add words to sacred texts. The only sufficient reason for including the phrase, “in Ephesus” is that it was copied from what was believed to be an authentic copy.

Perhaps the best way to decipher the destination comes from the similarity between this letter and Colossians. Explanations in both point out that they were delivered by Tychicus and that Paul expected them to be circulated throughout Asia Minor. Ephesus would be a reasonable starting point as it was the gateway city to the region. It had influence because of geography, population and because of the temple shrine to Diana (or Artemis), containing an image said to have fallen from heaven to earth, making it the religious center. When Jesus addresses the churches throughout Asia Minor in Rev. 2, he starts with Ephesus.

Because he spent a considerable amount of time in Ephesus, Paul wouldn’t have to address specific issues by letter and would certainly have “heard” of the faith and love of those in the region. Instead, he could write a general theological letter reminding Christians of their position before God so that they can live it out, regardless of their circumstance or situation. Whether or not we can claim with absolute certainty that this book originally included the phrase “in Ephesus,” we still have an invaluable resource for anyone to live out his or her faith in Jesus.

New Series - Death to Life: The Letter to the Ephesians

2009-09-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we will begin our new series on Epheisans.

Along the way, I will be writing theological articles on topics that come up throughout the book. We will have these available on Sundays and I will publish them here.

Solo Soul Retreats

2009-08-19T09:02:00.002-07:00

There's a little phrase that the Gospel writer, Luke, uses that has for the past several months wrecked me in terms of conviction and comfort.

The night before Jesus arrest, trials and crucifixion, spent by all that has come to pass and in the midst of all that is to come, Luke writes, "And he came out and went, as was his custom...and knelt down and prayed" (Luke 22:39-41). This was not something out of the ordinary for Jesus. Never ceasing to be "very God of very God," he had regular times of going away alone from the busyness and urgency of His ministry and this night was no exception.

That remarkable little phrase "as was his custom" challenges me to consider how much of my life is lived in dependence upon the Spirit of God to guide and direct in the midst of overcrowded life and struggle.

With this provocation came the encouragement to do something about it. Beyond regular times of reading Scripture, I have worked into the rhythm of my life quarterly prayer retreats. I get away with my Bible and a journal and nothing else. I spend some time catching up on the days I missed on my "read through the bible in a year" schedule and working through some personal evaluation questions that I found a few years back from Dr. Tim Keller. Questions include:

- In what ways do you acknowledge your own limitations as a pastor and not Messiah?
- In what ways do you work out of a flexibility that recognizes God's sovereign authority over all things?
- How do you demonstrate that you are responsible to God first and foremost?
- How are you demonstrating a disciplined lifestyle?
- In what ways are your family commitments a proper priority?
- How are you staying faithful to the commitments to which God is calling you?
- In what ways are you leading people to and in worship of Jesus?

At first, these retreats were a terror, as I am an extreme extrovert and verbal processor. However, I cannot endorse them strongly enough for times of clarity, refreshment and gaining a renewed sense of purpose and encouragement from God.

I will be taking this retreat this weekend and would appreciate the prayers.

Dealing with Forgiveness

2009-08-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

Many people, who profess faith in Jesus, operate under a Christianity that is functionally moral, but is actually devoid of Jesus and devoid of transforming power. I recognized this, yet again, at a conference last week when a speaker, professing faith in Christ gave a great moral definition of forgiveness, but not a gospel, Jesus-centered definition. What he shared could have been said, by Oprah, or anyone whose main goal is to simply get along and be "nice." The people listening responded with obvious emotion, including tears, proving the scenario a desperate one.

The man's definition of forgiveness was this, "Forgiveness is the releasing of your right to seek revenge when wronged." Morally, this sounds good. If we're going to operate in a world broken and ravaged by sin and sinners, then we're going to encounter constant situations where we must forgive the wrong-doing of others and hope that they will extend the same grace in kind.

While me must forgive, I can think of at least three reasons why this moral definition is weak and problematic:

1. This form of moral forgiveness, while it allows you continue in a lifestyle of niceness, does not release you from being a perpetual victim. When wronged, you have nowhere to carry your grief, no one hear your case, no real sense of justice. You simply release your right to demand justice. The result is a culture of pretenders who put on plastic smiles in the midst of devastating grief, whose only hope is that enough time will pass so that the pain that can only be ignored will eventually go away and history will be re-written to have never included that episode of misery. It does not offer the true freedom that Gospel-forgiveness promises.

2. This view perverts the Biblical portrait of Justice and challenges God's holiness. If forgiveness amounts to "letting it go," then God is cruel for demanding justice and taking vengence upon evil and not a God who hears the cries of the upright in heart and moves on behalf of the oppressed. But the Scriptures teach that He is (Deut. 32:4, II Sam. 22:7, Psalm 18:4). He does not simply release the right for revenge. Over and over in the OT, we witness God making the promise to put an end to all wrong doing. In the response of God to the wickedness of the serpent and Adam and his wife Eve, we have the promise that this will be put to an end (Gen. 3:15).

We must refrain from attempting to change God so that He is a cosmic Santa Claus who strictly withholds reward from those who are "naughty." The Scriptures paint a picture of a God whose justice demands payment and who desires His people to do the same (Ex. 34:7, Lev. 16:16 & Gen. 18:19, Ex. 23:2, Deut. 16:19-20, etc.).

3. Most devastatingly, this view of forgiveness, when professed as a Christian view actually changes the very Gospel that we count on to be reconciled and see the world made right, because it removes the centrality of the cross for forgiveness.

Paul reminds the church at Corinth of the primary points of the Gospel in I Cor. 15. He points out that Christ died for sinners. That he was buried, that he raised and appeared. These things are of utmost importance to the Christian Faith and it is eternally dangerous to change that message (Gal. 1:6-9). The death of Jesus is the very act that makes forgiveness possible. The debt for wrong doing is not "let go," but paid. It is condemned in Jesus and sets the guilty free (Rom. 8:1-3). It was not a simple release, but the brutal murder of the guiltless, eternal son of God.

The Passion of the Christ 20th Century Fox and Icon Productions 2004

Gospel forgiveness would be defined as "releasing the right for personal wrath in recognition that the injustice has been dealt with." As my friend Mike pointed out, the axiom goes from "Eye for an eye" to "Jesus for an eye."

There is power in realizing that justice has been served. The condemnation that you rightly wish to execute has not simply been arbitrarily let go, it has been carried out. The Gospel changes EVERYTHING. In the resurrection, there is newness to life and the promise that the death of innocence and safety is overcome by the mercy and grace of God. Realizing this grants freedom to see the relationship renewed with a foundation other than brokenness. May we learn to apply a forgiveness in keeping with the Gospel.

New Series - Rethinking Church

2009-08-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Our next series is a five part topical series aiming at a working definition of the Church.

In his book, Vintage Church, Mark Driscoll rightly points out that "for much of the history of the church the definition of church has simply been assumed" (p. 35).

We will work through the following topics:
1. What is the Christian Life?
2. What is the Christian Community?
3. What is the Mission for Individuals?
4. What is the Mission for Local Culture?
5. What is the Mission for Global Culture?

We'll follow this up by having my friend David Speights from Thailand come and share what he's been doing and how we can get involved.

This series will begin on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 10:00 am at our building in downtown Asheville.

Needing Some Feedback

2009-07-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have two issues that I'm batting around that I'm curious about:

1. Missio Dei on the City
Bryan and I have batted around the idea of setting up a social network for Missio Dei Church, similar to Facebook, but available only for members so that we can engage in frank "family" discussion. The website is called, "The City" and was developed at Mars Hill Church. We utilize this heavily in the Acts 29 Network and find it to be a remarkable tool.

The positives:
This would allow our members a way of continuing spiritual dialog that arises out of sermons, community groups discussions, service projects, etc.
It would offer another connection point to assist in communication.
The dialog can take place in an environment of safety as it will not be open to anyone and everyone.
The site would allow us to keep upcoming events in front of people as we can utilize it to advertise things.
The site would serve as a place to share prayer requests that come up in the middle of the week, so that we can pray as a community.
The site could facilitate planning meetings and provide a place everyone can come and continue a discussion.

The negatives:
It is one more social networking tool that isn't necessarily streamlined to other places you may already be connected (i.e. Myspace, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, blogs).
It is not free.

Would you utilize this if we offered it?

2. Fall Series on Ephesians
As I begin prepping for the fall series, I am curious if it would be helpful to put together a study guide to aid your study of the book as we work through it together. The study guide would include background information that would be helpful, but not timely for a Sunday morning setting (i.e. in depth look at authorship, setting, etc.). Would this be a helpful resource, or would we be picking them up from the floor on a weekly basis?

Feedback highly anticipated.

A Crack at Simplifying "Missional"

2009-07-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

So the term is here to stay and everybody is laying claim on what it means to be "missional." Trying to distinguish it's meaning proves a daunting task.

Some use the term to describe a new way of doing ministry, as opposed to more traditional congregations, which would be branded as "attractional," due to the amount of effort, promotion, expectation around programs at or around church property. Often these folks tend to see building wells in Africa for clean water as good (which it is), but telling people to repent from sin as bad (which it is not). This critical over-reaction poses missional against attractional in a way that I think is weak, unbiblical, and unfaithful to the gospel.

Others use the term to describe a new way of doing church, so that whatever is traditionally done during worship gatherings is replaced with new ways of doing things. For example, if growing up you heard preaching and sat in pews, this crowd of missional now sits on couches and engages in dialogue. This approach wrongly places emphasis on methods, which are not weighty while neglecting principles that are. For example, Scripture doesn't specify what songs, in what style, with what instruments are used in the church. To be adamant that a contemporary style is more faithful is just as ridiculous as saying that guitars are Satanic.

While there may be a new word to describe what should be happening, it often only amounts to new ways of being disobedient to Scripture in an attempt to being novel and innovative.

At Missio, we're not interested in being innovative for novelty's sake. We believe that we are to strive to remain faithful to the ancient and historic faith (Jude 3). We believe that craftiness and innovation are actually signs of immaturity (Eph. 4:14) and we long for obedience to Jesus commission (Matt. 28). This means that we are not hip or cool, but are a people sent out to proclaim the ugly truth that humanity is broken, but the good news that Jesus is Savior, Redeemer, and Lord and teach them how that applies to the places they live everyday life, whether we go across the seas or across the street.

Simply put, we understand "missional" to mean that we are obedient to preaching, as clearly as possible, the gospel in whatever circumstance or context we find ourselves. The Gospel deals with our rebellion in substituting ourselves for God and in love, God's substituting Himself for us, dying for our sins, being buried, and being raised again in victory over sin, death, hell, brokenness, Satans, demons, weaknesses and failures, struggles and heartaches, on and on.

This gives the church her mission, a reason why our congregation takes on the name, Missio Dei. We are simply participating with God in what He does. "And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15).

Fight Club: Men's Conference

2009-06-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Fellow Acts 29 Network Pastor, Jason Martin, of the Journey Church in Atlanta is hosting a day-long men's conference on Aug. 1.

Talk One: Why the church needs fighting men (Scott Thomas - Executive Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle and Director of Acts 29 Network)

Talk Two: Fighting for Gospel Transformation in your Family (Keith Watson - Acts 29 Member, Pastor of New City Church in Macon, GA)

Talk Three: Fighting for Gospel Transformation in your Job (Leonce Crump - Acts 29 Candidate and planting Renovation Church in Atlanta)

Talk Four: Fighting for Gospel Transformation in you Time (Matt Adair - Acts 29 Member and and Pastor of Christ Community Church in Watkinsville, GA)

Talk Five: Fighting for Gospel Transformation over your flesh (Jason Martin - Acts 29 Member, host pastor)

Talk Six: Fighting for Gospel Transformation in your Church (Scott Thomas)

The conference is from 8:30 - 5 and cost will be low. Sign up by filling out a connect card at our worship gatherings, or by emailing Pastor Kurt (kurt@mdcasheville.org).

Studio Stroll

2009-06-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

Worth your time to check out the various studios and artists.

One you will want to check out...
Curve Studios where our own Cassie Ryalls creates.

Ministry Structure at Missio Dei Part 1

2009-05-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Missio Dei Church began with a general dissatisfaction with the many and varied forms by which church was being done. It seemed as though the grand story of God’s Gospel and Kingdom were at best forgotten and at worst, being ignored, minimized or changed.

While it’s very easy to deconstruct church paradigms, it takes heavy reliance on the Spirit through prayer and Scriptural study to “reconstruct” what the church should be. Many are asking good questions, but not digging into the Bible and thus are coming up with creative and new ways of being disobedient to God and the Gospel.

The dream at Missio Dei was that we would not come up with new ways of doing church. Our intention has been to always “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), so that things such as virgin birth of Messiah, inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, authority of Scripture, necessity of faith in Christ alone, etc. were not up for debate. Missio Dei, to be a faithful, Christ honoring church would have to remain committed to an unchanging Gospel, contextualized to a changing culture. The Gospel would be the foundation of our community.

The Gospel, as presented in Scripture is not simply a way into the Kingdom. It is the way of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel expressed in the Scriptures teaches us that human beings were created to be perfect reflections of God, husbands and wives, parents, developers of culture, etc. (Gen. 1:26-28). In essence, humans were to be a people who rule over creation by living according to God’s truth, in communion with God and one another. Adam, our first father, failed and since the fall of our father Adam, by nature and by choice, we are fallen in our capacities and abilities from being what we were created to be. And because of this, God Himself curses us (Gen. 3:17-19, Rom. 8:19-22). Albert Wolters describes it precisely saying, “Whether we look at societal structures such as the state or family, or cultural pursuits such as art or technology, or bodily functions such as sexuality or eating, or anything within the wide scope of creation, we discover that the good handiwork of God has been drawn into the sphere of human mutiny against God” (Creation Regained, p. 54).

The good news is that there is One who would perfectly rule over creation, live according to God’s truth and commune with God and man. Jesus was the perfect image of God and came to rescue (John 6:38-40). Jesus form of rescue was not simply an example of a better way to live (though it was that), but He was condemned in humanity’s place. Three days after his unjust murder on a Roman cross, He rose from the dead and ascended to the Father (Rom. 5:6-11). The aim of Jesus is to bring new life and vitality to the fallen, broken creation; to restore creation’s original purpose (Col. 1:15-20).

Jesus is working to restore creation through the church, whose call is to promote renewal in every area of creation (John 20:21, II Cor. 5:17-21). This authoritative sending activity of God is not simply propositional (Matt. 28:18-20). The goal of making disciples takes place in the context of relationships. This means that, in everything we do, we are to be engaged in building friendships and showing the beauty of the gospel (the hope of redemption) to the world around us. We attempt, though imperfectly, to spell out personal and corporate (group) beliefs and behavior patterns that show the larger society what the Kingdom of God is all about.

With this Gospel-centered vision for the church community, and a desire to organize in simple and honest ways, I began reflecting on how we would express the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:27)and mobilize the church to effectively go into the city with the Gospel. The convictions that formed our ministry design included the commitment to facilitate environments where the Gospel is preached for clarity, applied to life among fellows on the journey, and shared with our culture through service. These environments lined up neatly with the offices Christ came to fulfill and the areas in which he succeeded where Adam failed.

The offices are Prophet (declaring the truth of God), Priest (communion with God and people), and King (ruling over creation). They shape our environments of gathering for explanation/proclamation of the Gospel, community groups for exploration of the Gospel, and lifestyle service for expression of the Gospel.

In future articles, I’ll unpack how these environments are played out in the context of Asheville, a creative urban hub for the spiritually and morally disenfranchised of the Southeast.

Missio Dei Praxis: Faith Worth Sharing

2009-04-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

Our Spring Membership class is underway and next Wednesday, May 6, we'll kick off our practical theology (Praxis) class. Theology that doesn't connect to and challenge the way we do life, so we're going to do our best to connect the mind to the heart to the hands. We hope to inform your thinking, motivate your heart, and process the tools to make sharing the gospel a reality (without being sales pitchy).

Week 1, we'll look at the tension of the absolute control of God in all things and the responsibility of people to respond to God. Week 2, we'll explore the reasons that we're not fully engaged in sharing the Gospel (lack of information, opportunity, trust, concern, relationship, etc.).
Week 3, we'll coach through some ways to develop a lifestyle that communicates trust in the Gospel.

You can sign up by filling out a connect card at Sunday's worship gathering or emailing Pastor Kurt (kurt@LivingUncommon.org).

Art Opening: Cassie Ryalls

2009-04-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

Cassie Ryalls, a ceramics artist in our congregation is having an opening at Clingman Cafe (in the River Arts District) this Friday, May 1 from 5-7pm. If you've participated in communion at Missio Dei, then you've not only seen her work, you've utilized it. More about Cassie and her art can be found on her website, www.cassieryallsceramics.com.

Vintage Faith: Unpacking Hebrews 11

2009-04-15T08:02:00.001-07:00

Our next preaching series is underway this Sunday, April 19. We're going to spend several weeks looking at the exemplary faith of those in the OT, who were grounded in the promise that God was working to make all things new.

This series is directed at anyone who has not experienced the Christian faith and for those who have, but have considered (or are currently considering) walking away from it.

Join us as we look at the beauty and worth and value of enduring in faith, holding on to the promise that God has worked in Jesus to make all things new and what tangible results should flow out of our lives as a result.

Holy Week at Missio Dei

2009-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

This Lenten season, we have participated in ancient fasting in remembrance of the suffering of Jesus before His final and greatest work. Some of our community groups will be partaking of Passover Seders this Thursday evening and our building will be open on Good Friday for guided prayer according to the following schedule:

7am - Meditation: Incarnation of the Christ
10am - Meditation: Trials and conviction of the Christ
12pm - Meditation: Mockery, torture and crucifixion of Christ
3pm - Meditation: The death of the Christ
6pm - Meditation: Burial of the Christ

The schedule roughly follows the timeline of the cruicifixion (not trying to be precise here). Prayer times will last between 15-20 minutes and we'd love to have you participate.

On Sunday, we will consider what Jesus accomplished in death and celebrate the resurrection. Both of our bands will be combined for a fuller sound. I've relented and we are going to sing, (big gulp) "I'll fly away." Looking forward to celebrating with you all.

Why not polygamy? It's in the Bible, you know...

2009-02-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I made some bold claims that polygamy is not for God's people in light of New Testament revelation. While I stated this emphatically, and generally everyone seems agreeable, there is a mountain of evidence in Scripture and throughout history that contradicts that claim. Let me introduce this topic by offering a few examples.

Just because we understand very little of ancient Israelite culture, does not permit us to overlook and flippantly dismiss passages of Scripture that should be strikingly shocking. One such shocking passage is Deuteronomy 21:15-17:

"If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his."

Many things are occurring in this passage that are culturally unfamiliar. While Americans are not far-removed from understanding inheritance law, the first phrase, “If a man has two wives,” causes many to scratch their heads and ask, “Why would anyone want two wives and why keep a wife who is unloved?” This is not the first or last mention of polygamy in the Bible. There is another passage that gives instruction on the legal dealings with polygamy.

The text is Ex. 21:10 and the context of the passage is the dealing of a master with a female slave, which he has taken as a wife. If the wife becomes displeasing, the master has several options. The last option in the passage reads thus, “If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital (NASB reads, “conjugal”) rights." In essence, this ordinance requires that the man provide for and carry on a physical relationship with more than one wife.

Not only do these passages deal with the legal handling of polygamy, several examples where polygamy is practiced can be cited. Abraham, the man with whom God made an everlasting covenant, had more than one wife at a time. “So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife” (Genesis 16:3).

Later, in Genesis 21:12-13, we see that God blesses the results of the polygamous marriage, “And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.” Interestingly, though, God does not refer to Hagar as Abraham’s wife. He refers to her as “the maid.”

Moses too had multiple wives. In Exodus 2:21, Moses takes the daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest and in Numbers 12:1, Miriam and Aaron complain about Moses as a result of his marriage to a Cushite woman.

An example where God seems to bless polygamy is found in II Samuel 12:7-8 with King David, a man after God’s own heart, another man with whom God would covenant. Nathan the prophet is rebuking David, but he points out that God “gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and…if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.” God gave David more than one wife and if David had asked, He would have given him more. While there are further examples, it is primarily with these that God seems to bless the practice of polygamy.

Moving from Scripture to historical practice, the ancient historian Josephus, writing about Jewish leadership at the time of Christ stresses “it is the ancient practice among us to have many wives at the same time” (The Works of Josephus 451-52).

In a letter to Philip of Hesse, Martin Luther writes, “I confess for my part that if a man wishes to marry two or more wives, I cannot forbid him for it does not contradict the Scripture.”

So how do we get from these passages and practices to the conclusion of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which reads, “Marriage is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband; at the same time,” without explanation of how this was lawful, or even allowed, in the Old Testament or subsequent historic practice? We’ll unpack this in anther post.

Exposed: The Naked Truth...

2009-01-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

Title and graphic for our series on roles, relationships and sexuality. The series starts this Sunday, Jan. 11 at a new time 10 am.

Some great questions are currently being asked. Feel free to continue posting questions as anonymous (or known) replies.

Winter Preaching Series: Relationships and Sex

2008-12-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

Given the wide and various assumptions and prohibitions many of us have experienced in the church when it comes to relationships and sexuality, we thought it pertinent to explore and unpack what God actually tells us.

This winter, we will begin a series entitled, "Relationships and Sex." As we have been prepping the teaching for this series, we wanted to make you aware that we'd like to answer questions that you might have, so we'll be saving two weeks to strictly answer questions that a) are already on your minds and b) come up during the study.

You may already have a plethora of questions and can begin asking immediately.

The series will include the following topics:
Manhood
Womanhood
Singleness
Sexuality
Marriage
Kids
Dating
Divorce

You can post questions to this blog (questions will not be answered on the blog) or fill them out anonymously on a connect card during a gathering.

Plant & Thrive

2008-12-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

I cannot express enough gratitude for the influence and sharpening that I get personally and Missio Dei recieves through the Acts 29 Network. Their concern for the clear preaching of the Gospel and the attention and care for the men preaching the Gospel is top notch.

In February, Vintage 21 in Raleigh will host the Acts 29 bootcamp Plant & Thrive.

This bootcamp is required for all Acts 29 applicants and is helpful for anyone thinking about church planting, no matter your denominational affiliation.

Main sessions include speakers, Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church, Seattle), Tyler Jones (Vintage 21, Raleigh), Daniel Montgomery (Sojourn Community Church, Louisville), Dr. Wayne Grudem, and Dr. Andreas Kostenberger among others.

You can get more information including registration on the Acts 29 Network website.

I'll be there assisting with assessments and if you're thinking about going, would love to get a chance to dialogue about your plant.

Cal Thomas Endorses Missio Dei Church

2008-11-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

Below is an article published last week by Cal Thomas, a famously known Social Conservative who is reiterating the very purpose for Missio Dei Church. Whether or not the typical Cal Thomas conservative opinion resonates with you, he is resounding many of the same things we have been talking about for the past two years. I've highlighted some of his most pertinent points.

RELIGIOUS RIGHT R.I.P.
on November 05, 2008
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Media Services

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, he will do so in the 30th anniversary year of the founding of the so-called Religious Right. Born in 1979 and midwifed by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Religious Right was a reincarnation of previous religious-social movements that sought moral improvement through legislation and court rulings. Those earlier movements — from abolition (successful) to Prohibition (unsuccessful) — had mixed results.

Social movements that relied mainly on political power to enforce a conservative moral code weren’t anywhere near as successful as those that focused on changing hearts. The four religious revivals, from the First Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s to the Fourth Great Awakening in the late 1960s and early ’70s, which touched America and instantly transformed millions of Americans (and American culture as a result), are testimony to that.

Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed. The question now becomes: should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else?

I opt for trying something else.

Too many conservative Evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture. The futility inherent in such misplaced faith can be demonstrated by asking these activists a simple question: Does the secular left, when it holds power, persuade conservatives to live by their standards? Of course they do not. Why, then, would conservative Evangelicals expect people who do not share their worldview and view of God to accept their beliefs when they control government?

Too many conservative Evangelicals mistake political power for influence. Politicians who struggle with imposing a moral code on themselves are unlikely to succeed in their attempts to impose it on others. What is the answer, then, for conservative Evangelicals who are rightly concerned about the corrosion of culture, the indifference to the value of human life and the living arrangements of same- and opposite-sex couples?

The answer depends on the response to another question: do conservative Evangelicals want to feel good, or do they want to adopt a strategy that actually produces results? Clearly partisan politics have not achieved their objectives. Do they think they can succeed by committing themselves to 30 more years of the same?

If results are what conservative Evangelicals want, they already have a model. It is contained in the life and commands of Jesus of Nazareth. Suppose millions of conservative Evangelicals engaged in an old and proven type of radical behavior. Suppose they followed the admonition of Jesus to “love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison and care for widows and orphans,” not as ends, as so many liberals do by using government, but as a means of demonstrating God’s love for the whole person in order that people might seek Him?

Such a strategy could be more “transformational” than electing a new president, even the first president of color. But in order to succeed, such a strategy would not be led by charismatic figures, who would raise lots of money, be interviewed on Sunday talk shows, author books and make gobs of money.

Scripture teaches that God’s power (if that is what conservative Evangelicals want and not their puny attempts at grabbing earthly power) is made perfect in weakness. He speaks of the tiny mustard seed, the seemingly worthless widow’s mite, of taking the last place at the table and the humbling of one’s self, the washing of feet and similar acts and attitudes; the still, small voice. How did conservative Evangelicals miss this and instead settle for a lesser power, which in reality is no power at all? When did they settle for an inferior “kingdom”?

Evangelicals are at a junction. They can take the path that will lead them to more futility and ineffective attempts to reform culture through government, or they can embrace the far more powerful methods outlined by the One they claim to follow. By following His example, they will decrease, but He will increase. They will get no credit, but they will see results. If conservative Evangelicals choose obscurity and seek to glorify God, they will get much of what they hope for, but can never achieve, in and through politics.

(c) 2008 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

Election Day

2008-11-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

I wanted to remind/encourage all of you, who either vote or out of conviction (not laziness or apathy) do not vote, to proceed prayerfully. Bryan and I spent yesterday fasting and praying asking wisdom on behalf of our congregation and all of God's people.

Do not forget the words of St. Paul, who said, "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Rom. 13:1). Remember that "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to (Jesus)" (Matt. 28:18). We need not put our hope in the election, but in Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father and grants His people true freedom.

If your guy does not win, it will be okay. If your guy does win, Jesus is still the Savior.

PS - I WAITED IN A LONGER LINE FOR MY FREE STARBUCKS THAN I DID TO VOTE - HA!

Human Slavery and Sex Trafficking

2008-10-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Our event with International Justice Mission was a tremendous success. We were pleased with the turnout and response at UNCA for Victor's presentation.

While he demonstrated the ugliness of human trafficking, we'd like to take a deeper look into some of its causes. Therefore, tonight, we will be screening the documentary, DEMAND produced by Shared Hope International.

The documentary features investigative footage of the dark and hidden world of sex traffickers, pimps and buyers. It exposes the roles that pornography and prostitution play in viscous crimes against our neighbors, even when the actions seem private.

We will be screening the film tonight at 7 pm at our building downtown 297 Haywood St., at the corner of Patton and Haywood, across from Hunter Volvo.

Because It contains graphic images, nudity and sexual content, the film is inappropriate for anyone under age 18.

Shocked by Grace

2008-10-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Our friend Carolyn is fighting cancer. About two weeks ago her kidneys shut down. She's now on dialysis and among other things is unable to walk. I spent some time with her at the hospital, just listening to her story and praying with her. I've since been following up and checking in.

Today I phoned her as I have a headcold and didn't want to risk getting around her while her immune system is not up to par. I called to listen and to encourage and to pray. As soon as she heard my voice, she began asking how I was feeling and praying for me, asking what she could do to help. She can't even get out of bed and her desire is to encourage and help. I was shocked at the picture of grace she painted for me.

I feel physically down, but spiritually loved. Thanks for praying for me Carolyn.

Sarah Palin and Point of Contention

2008-10-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

The choice of John McCain to name Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential running mate was both stunning and politically brilliant. While the left wing is still dazed over the thought that perhaps he was choosing her to win over the Hillary Clinton supporters, my guess is that he actually chose her to prevail among the right wing camp; particularly, the right wing, conservative, evangelical camp. And triumph he did.

While prior to the Palin choice, I could get away with not supporting the Republican ticket among Christian social conservatives, I no longer have that luxury. I have been inundated with pro-Palin messages via email, facebook, etc. as if she were the Republican candidate for President of the U.S. all of which carry the message that if I don't vote for McCain-Palin, then I'm lined up with a Muslim terrorist who wants to kill my babies and eat them on national t.v.

What is so disturbing to me about this (besides the obvious absurdity) is that it seems to blindly follow partisan politics. Very few and far between are conservative evangelicals who even raise the question of the appropriateness of this choice. In fact, the first public statement I have seen on the issue was raised in an LA Times article just over a week ago.

Here's the point of contention: Is it really a God-centered, biblical family value to support a woman who has a teenager with a "crisis" pregnancy, a baby with Downs-Syndrome and two other daughters living at home, to neglect her role as wife and mother to advance a political career? And without a doubt, if she is going to effectively execute the office of Vice-President of the U.S., she will most certainly neglect the precious gift of being Mom. Perhaps we're seeing a little of that fruit in Bristol (Palin's 17 year-old, pregnant daughter) already at the governor level.

Men whom I greatly admire for their stance on the biblical, complementarian role of men and women have suggested that we compartmentalize and advocate that such roles are good for the church and the home, but that politics is a separate arena. I couldn't disagree more. Just as she cannot incise her home life from her political life, we cannot either. Perhaps Palin could offer glorious public service as Vice-President, but not during this season in her life.

Scripture unequivocally places family relationship as the priority. I am not raising the question due to a chauvinistic belief that women cannot work outside of the home, since Prov. 31 states that the virtuous woman does, in fact, work outside the home, but not at every season. And we are beholding a woman who is making political advancement a priority over her family, which according to Paul "has denied the faith and is worst than an unbeliever" (I Tim. 5:8).

I must caveat this with the fact that I'm not pushing a pro-Obama standpoint as there is much to his political agenda with which I prayerfully struggle. I simply ask, are we blinded more by a cultural expectation to vote Republican, no matter how unbiblical the choice or do we think more creatively (like third party write-ins). Wish I had more answers, but we're in a season where we should be asking tougher questions.

I post this with hesitation as I'm unsure of the willingness of evangelical Christians to dialogue...

Big Sweep Clean Up

2008-10-13T12:13:00.001-07:00

Special thanks to all who came out and pitched in to clean up our section of the Swannanoa River.

Robbie & Kelly Greene
Josh & Sarah Lowe
Jackie Raffa
Michelle Robinson
Joshua Janis

From the pictures below, it appears that Robbie did the majority of the work (at least in front of the camera).

John 13: Part 2

2008-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

The passages in John 13, 18, and 19 taken together seem to indicate that the Passover supper had not been eaten before Jesus was crucified. However, it is clearly taught in Matt., Mark and Luke that Jesus instituted the Eucharist after the Passover supper, which he consumed with His closest disciples. I suggested that the contradiction is only interpretive and that the text in John's account does not teach that Jesus was crucified before the Passover. Let's take a look at each verse:

1. John 13:1 - "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come...." This verse is not setting up the timeline of the footwashing, but is telling the time when Jesus knew that His hour had come. In the original language, the participle "knowing" (translated "knew" in the ESV) refers to the time when the knowing took place. In this case, "Before the Feast of the Passover." John was pointing out that the events about to take place were no surprise to Jesus. He knew them before they came. The context reinforces this. The second point will make this a little more clear, but if the footwashing took place "before the feast of the Passover," then it could have been before Jesus was annointed at Bethany. But that doesn't flow with the text.

2. John 13:29 & 18:28 refer to "the feast" and "eat the Passover." It is an interpretive error to force these versus to refer strictly to the day when the Passover supper took place. Passover was a 7 day Feast (Ex. 12, Lev. 23, Deut. 16:1-3), much like the other multi-day feasts throughout John's account. The Lamb's were slain and consumed (Passover supper) and unleavened bread was to be the feast for seven days.
In John 13, the disciples could anticipate (even after the Passover supper) that more would be needed to continue the feast, especially in light of how hastily the supper was planned.
In John 18, the officers and chief priests and Pharisees would not want to participate in anything that would prohibit them from continuing to participate in the Passover feast.

3. John 19:14 states, "Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover..." and Jesus is rejected by the chief priests and sent to be crucified. Again, the text is not stating that this was the preparation "for the Passover," and if you notice, "Preparation" is capitalized. The reason is because the Preparation day was for the Sabbath on Passover week (i.e. Friday). We get this explanation in several other passages (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54 and even in John 19:31).

The only way to get the text to teach that the Passover supper had not taken place is to make some interpretive mistakes. Hopefully, looking at this a little more carefully will instill in your faith an uncompromising, steadfast hope in God's Word to us. It is reliable and without error and you can trust it.

Human Slavery

2008-10-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Missio Dei Church is joining up with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Montreat College to bring in Victor Butros of International Justice Mission to present his work.

We are also taking a look at the domestic problem of Human Slavery and Sex Trafficing by inviting Susan Hinz of the Hope House Project to present ways that we can get involved in assisting those who have been devastated by this horror.

The Hope House Project
International Justice Mission

John 13: Did Jesus Eat the Passover Supper or Not?

2008-10-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

This week, we are approaching yet another controversial passage in John's account of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. A cursory read of a few passages seem to indicate that John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, didn't accurately record the details of Jesus' last night before his brutal murder, or that he changed the details so that he could emphasize a certain theology about Jesus.

If you consider the accounts in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), it is very clear that on the first day of Unleavened Bread, the day when the Passover Lambs were sacrificed, that Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover supper the night before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. The accounts can be found in Matt. 26:17-25 (which mentions the first day of Unleavened Bread, but not the lamb. This was because the Hebrew audience to whom Matthew was writing would know the details of the day of Unleavened Bread), Mark 14:12-21, and Luke 22:7-23.

When we arrive at John's account, several passages seem to indicate that the Passover meal is a day later. John 13:1 starts, "Now before the Feast of the Passover..." and then tells the story of the footwashing, the betrayal by Judas and the denial by Peter. In John 13:29, after Judas has left the supper, the disciples think that Jesus told him "Buy what we need for the feast," indicating that they had not yet eaten the Passover supper. A few chapters later, after Jesus had been arrested and was being taken to the governor's headquarters, those who arrested Jesus refused to enter, "so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover." And finally, in 19:14, John mentions that "it was the day of Preparation of the Passover" when Jesus is delivered to be crucified.

I am of the persuasion that there is no disagreement. Contradiction can only be found in interpretation, but not in the text. In the next post I'll explain how and why this works.

September Sessions

2008-10-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

September was a busy month for Missio Dei Church. To bring you up to date (and to give you an excuse as to why I haven't posted anything for nearly 7 weeks), here's what's been happening.
1. We've moved into our new building and I have been praying through and writing out a theology of ministry to "walk-ins."
2. We've nearly doubled in attendance at our Sunday morning gatherings (around 80 or so adults in worship gathering)
3. We have been enfolding our people into community groups (60 adults committed and 5 groups around the city).
4. We did a four part series called "The Space Between" exploring our experience from the tree in the garden at Eden to the tree in the city of God.
5. We conducted a Free "Sale," which was a huge yard sale where we gave everything away for free to be a blessing to the working folks in the neighborhoods around our building. A tremendous success.
6. We conducted a baptism and baby dedication.
7. We are organizing a river clean up for this weekend and have a speaker from the Dept. of Jusice to present his work with the International Justice Mission at UNCA

It's been a busy month.

John 8: Part 4

2008-08-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Most of you have lost interest in this thread, but I am no quitter and I mean to finish sharing my thoughts.

Let me recap the arguments against the inclusion of the story regarding the woman caught in adultery at John 8.
1. The author couldn't be John because of the use of uncommon words.
2. Oldest collections of the text put it somewhere else in John, the NT, or do not include it.
3. No comments are made about the story from bible commentators in the first and second centuries.

The first argument was already concluded to be unsatisfying as it proved too restrictive to limit an author's vocabulary, fails to note that there are other places where the author uses unique word choice, and does not explain how the story fits so well into the context.

In dealing with the second and third arguments, it should be noted that by the time the Bible was being circulated as a whole (the 66 books of the OT and NT), the episode was included at its location in John 8 and was received as authoritative.
In the early 300's AD, Eusebius, a critic of Constantine's administration (he felt Constantine made it too easy to take on the name "Christian"), "the most eminent of early Church historians” and “usually discriminating in his evaluation of data” believes that this story is a part of John’s gospel and should be included in the text (Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity, vol. 1, p. 91-92). He equates it with a story that is told by one of John’s disciples (Papias) in other places.

St. Augustine explains why it is difficult to find the earliest copies of the story. He states, "Certain persons of little faith or rather enemies of the true faith, fearing, I suppose, lest their wives should be given impunity in sinning, removed from their manuscripts the Lord's act of forgiveness toward the adulteress, as if He who had said 'sin no more' had granted permission to sin." If the story was removed from the lessons, then early teachers would not make comment on the text.

Given the wide support for the historicity and the likelihood that the event took place, the fact that it follows the nature of Jesus' attitude toward sinners, the fit into the context, the tie to Papias (a disciple of the Apostle John), and the inclusion into the formal Scriptures, the burden lies with detractors to prove from where the story came, and why it became associated with the Apostle John and his gospel if it were not part of the original.

We follow the conclusion of William Hendricksen who writes, "Though it cannot now be proved that this story formed an integral part of the Fourth Gospel, neither is it possible to establish the opposite with any degree of finality. We believe, moreover, that what is here recorded really took place, and contains nothing that is in conflict with the apostolic spirit. Hence, instead of removing this section from the Bible it should be retained and used for our benefit” (Hendricksen, William. New Testament Commentary, The Gospel According to John, Vol. 2, p. 35).

The Urban South

2008-08-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Missio Dei moved into our new building at the beginning of July in time to gear up from a core group to a church "in the city, for the city." But moving from our West Asheville location to the edge of downtown is causing me to pray very differently.

Our building is located just two doors down from the Western Carolina Rescue Mission and the Labor Ready Building. We're around the block from the Salvation Army and from the ABCCM (a relief organization funded by many of the churches in Asheville and around the county). That said, most of the physical needs of the homeless can be met (food, clothes, work, a place to sleep), and yet, on nearly a daily basis, I've got people showing up needing some assistance.

I've not wanted to turn anyone down, but as the pastor of a church start up with little financial stability and as the father of three kids, I'm going broke trying to help.

Thankfully, we've got some big hearted creative thinkers at Missio and we are develop a system to build bridges and restore the dignity to many of our friends on the streets.

My confusion, anger, and frustration with the problem grew today on my walk from the building to meet one of our guys for lunch (only about a 6 block walk).

First, I ran into a guy whom I bought lunch for a few weeks ago. I was glad I could remember his name and when I asked him how he was doing, he tapped on his ear and walked away saying, "I'm on the phone." He was talking on a mobile phone with an earpiece. Too poor to buy food, but not to own a mobile phone.

Then, after about a block, I watched as three police darted across Patton Ave. to arrest a homeless man who was being fed by someone sitting outside a restaurant. The guy offering the food tried to defend the guy eating, but the police instructed him to "keep your mouth shut...sir."

About 2 blocks later I saw a guy sitting in front of the Sister's McMullen with a cup, begging for change. Having just watched a dude get cuffed for getting some food and knowing that it's against the law in our city to panhandle, I thought I'd let the guy know he needed to watch out. As I dropped some change into his cup I told him, "Be careful, the police are right down the street making arrests." At that point, the dude started yelling, "well then get going...I know what I'm doing...just because you're white and I'm black don't mean anything." I thought to myself, "your welcome."

All in all, I ran into a guy I helped who doesn't seem to need help, a guy who was being helped that constituted a crime, and a guy who resists when help is offered. All this in a 10 minute walk in the urban South.

Men's Midrash (מדרש)

2008-08-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

I will try to conclude the John 8 post in the next week or so, but have been sidetracked by various events at Missio lately.

We have been planning to kick off the fall with our first "public" gatherings. Up to this point, we have been trying to develop a core group to develop a Gospel embracing community. Over the past several weeks, I have been developing our theology of community and Bryan and I have been teaching the various aspects of that community (possibly fodder for more posts on this blog). Two of the main aspects we have been developing include small group life and service to the city. Developing these has been time constraining, and has kept me from blogging, but as things are being put into place, I will have more time to publish.

That said, we are holding our first Midrash tonight at Barley's Taproom. Midrash is a Hebrew term that involves study, interpretation, and commentary. For four weeks, we will discuss various questions about Jesus. tonight we will ask, "Is Jesus the only God?" We've had a decent number of our guys sign up and look forward to some good discussion.

John 8: Part 3

2008-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I hope that the thought process has been convincing to either embrace the episode of the adulterous woman (the Pericope Adulterae or P.A. from hereon) and learn from it as inspired by God, or to remove it from the texts of Holy Scripture and consider a nice story, but not as authoritative in how we learn of God's grace and Kingdom. We cannot have our proverbial cake and eat it on this.

There are basically three arguments against including the P.A. in the text of Scripture:
1. Some of the words used in this passage are not common in the rest of the account (i.e. terms like "Scribes," etc.).
2. The most ancient manuscripts (collections of Greek texts) do not have the story, or it is placed somewhere else (usually at the end of John's Gospel or after Luke 21:38).
3. The earliest church Fathers (Ante-Nicene) do not comment on the story.

The focus of this post will address the first argument.

It is entirely indecisive to determine that a Scripture text was not written by a particular author simply because of the use of vocabulary. The same argument has been made by many to claim that Paul was not the author of the book of Ephesians. This is far too assumptive and restrictive as it limits an author to a particular vocabulary, style, etc. which is far too narrow in reality.

Probably the nature of the story required John to use words that he didn't use elsewhere. John includes a comprehensive view of Jesus life and ministry, from His creative activity to time before calling out the first disciples to time spent after the resurrection. Therefore, his vocabulary would be broad and many of the individual stories would include words not used in other writings (i.e. the way John uses "Word" to refer to Jesus is unique in Chapter 1, this does not mean he didn't write it).

Beyond this, the story fits quite well into the surrounding context. Consider the following:
a. While subtle, the story fits into the theme of light and darkness, as Jesus is presenting himself as light in contrast to the darkness of the woman caught.
b. The religious leaders are consistent in John's account as being more concerned with the Law of Moses than with broken people (consider the cleansing of the temple in John 2, the discussion with the Samaritan woman at John 4, the healing of the lame man at John 5...)
c. The teaching of Jesus is consistent with what he has been teaching in regards to the religious leaders. Namely, that they expect people to keep a law that they themselves do not keep (consider the argument about circumcision at John 7:19-24).
d. The character of Jesus that John is stressing is also consistent. Jesus is presented in this account as coming not "to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17). Here he tells the woman, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."

The grammatical argument falls far short of being convincing and we must dismiss it as a legitimate reason for doubting the authorship by the Apostle John and authority of the P.A.

John 8: Part 2

2008-07-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

We are evaluating the inclusion of the adulterous woman episode in John 8. The main issue that must be resolved in determining the authority of the episode is whether or not this story is part of the original text that was inspired by God.

If the self-disclosure of God is contained in the Bible, then to ignore the words of Scripture is equivalent to ignoring God. But to say, "Thus saith the Lord," when God didn't say it, is taking His name in vain, a practice which is tragically too frequent various churches and is equally offensive as ignoring Him. This is one of the "big ten" rules that we're not supposed to break (it's number three).

Most theologians (i.e. the theologians who go by their initials) consider the event to be a true event in the ministry of Jesus. In fact, Stephen Harris, a fellow of the Jesus Seminar (a group of college professors who got together to vote over which sayings of Jesus could be attributed to the Jesus they considered "historical") says, "Whether this episode belongs in John or not, it is consistent with Jesus’ nonjudgmental attitude toward individual ‘sinners’ in all four Gospels” (Harris, Stephen. The New Testament, p. 180). Harris seems okay with the text because it promotes something he wants Jesus to be, "nonjudgmental." However, we don't have the luxury (or perhaps the audacity) of voting on which texts are authoritative and which are not. It would be a better practice to simply reject the Scripture as authoritative at all, rather than picking those teachings that we like best (I realize that people do this practically all the time, but that does not mean it is a good practice and we all could stand to repent on this one).

Determining whether or not the episode took place in the life of Jesus is superfluous and is not the issue. John tells us at the end of his account that, "There are many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25).

If the episode was not in the original text, then it cannot be said to be Inspired by God and it is not useful for preaching and teaching as a source of authority. It should be demoted from the text into a footnote or removed entirely.

In the next post, we will take a look at the arguments against including the adulterous woman episode and whether or not they are strong enough to constitute removing it from the text and we'll look at the arguments for inclusion....

John 8: The Issues

2008-07-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

At Missio, we believe that the Bible (the 66 books comprising the Old and New Testament) were verbally inspired in their original languages. While some teach that God was directly involved in the translation of these copies into English (i.e. the King James Version), we do not. But we believe that the texts, in their original form are inspired by God and seek translations that preserve the original form.

Thus, John 8 presents a big question. If you have a copy that is worth reading, it will note that the episode involving the adulterous woman brought to Jesus is not found in the most ancient copies of the text. Untold amounts of ink have been spilled speculating on this issue and because it directly effects us in the study of the Gospel according to John, we are looking into this matter.

At Missio Dei, we utilize the English Standard Version (ESV) for teaching and preaching. In the spirit of the NASB, the ESV follows a word-for-word translation of the original languages and in the spirit of the NIV translates it into a readable format. This seems to be a good corrective for the often difficult syntax of the NASB and the idea-for-idea translation of the NIV.

At John 8, the ESV includes in the text, "The earliest manuscripts do not include John 7:53-8:11." This poses a big problem for our view of Scripture and our approach to the text. If it is not an original part of John's Gospel, should we view it as the authoritative word of God?

Many conservative scholars including B.B. Warfield and A.T. Roberston exclude the passage from John, but consider it authoritative. In fact, D.A. Carson (there must be something about writing theology books that allows one to drop his name and go by initials), a scholar whom I lean upon heavily, writes, "Modern English versions are right to rule it off from the rest of the text (NIV) or to relegate it to a footnote (RSV)…. On the other hand, there is little reason for doubting that the event here described occurred” (Carson, D.A. The Gospel According to John, 1991, p. 333).

This approach seems too good to be true and severely untested for my taste. If this is not an original text, then I cannot say with confidence that it is inspired and authoritative. While I respect the work of these men, I do not embrace this approach to the text. And, for those of you in the Missio Dei community, you are aware that I preached from the text and consider it to be authoritative. I will explain further reasons why in a later post....

A29 Pastor's Retreat

2008-06-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

I can't say enough good about our retreat in Vail. The accommodations were superb, the time spent with brothers "in arms" was unbelievably uplifting, and since Shannon and Evangeline came, I got to spend time with my girls.

Probably the biggest lessons I'm taking away from the retreat (though there are too many to recount), are two. They came from Mark Driscoll's talk with us this morning.

1. Bitch less and pray more
2. Be careful who you're shooting at

Is John 8 part of John's Gospel?

2008-06-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

In three weeks, after the move into our new building, I will be preaching in the first story of John 8.

Much debate surrounds the inclusion of this text in the English Bible. In the coming days, I will post some thoughts on how we should approach the passage.

Something to Do

2008-05-16T05:19:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for something to do, tonight kicks off Downtown After 5 on Lexington Ave. at I240. There is food and drink and free jazz music.

Downtown After 5 is a monthly event sponsored by the Asheville Dowtown Association.

Many of our favorite restaraunt vendors will be on hand as well as a majority of our favorite local microbreweries.

Organic Community

2008-05-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

Church planting for Missio Dei is not the development of a Sunday morning worship activity. Rather, it is the development of a community that is shaped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As such, we've been doing a considerable amount of praying and reading on the development of community.

In a very short time and in many ways, I've witnessed tremendous failure and moderate victory as God uses me to develop a gospel-centered community. But I am always looking for refinement and growth. This lead me to read the book Organic Community by Joseph Myers.

Overall, some very helpful questions were asked, but as is often the case in the "Emergent Village," when conclusions are made, they are often over-reactionary in nature. This treatment is no exception.

Myers has an either/or attitude that comes across as arrogant and downright untrue. He presents several false dichotomies in an attempt to welcome a new way of thinking.

While there were several helpful tools that I was able to pull from the book, I'd like to see a more synthesized approach to community. One that doesn't guarantee success if you follow certain prescribed methods, nor look at suspiciously every method prescribed as if it were evil and oppressive.

Tax Rebate and Good Stewardship

2008-05-01T10:50:00.001-07:00

I am very disquieted in my soul about the Economic Stimulus rebate the US government is poised to disseminate beginning this week. Most of us (Christians included) are not thinking much beyond "What can I get for myself with this free money," and that troubles me.

I recognize that the purpose of the rebate is to give a boost to the economy by encouraging spending. Perhaps this will work, but perhaps not. If I decide to put the money in a savings account, am I giving to Caesar what he requires?

Yet, if I give to Caesar, and I put the money into the economy by spending on, say, a flat screen tv, am I giving to God what is God's?

Perhaps, the most Gospel oriented thing we can do is to buy something for another's sake and not be selfish and greedy, like we are most of the rest of the time. Or is there enough Gospel pictured by making an offering with the money and spending a portion giving thanks to God for the bountiful provision?

Thoughts?

New Direction

2008-04-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'll be taking the blog in a new direction over the next few months. In the past, I've used the blog as a sounding board of sorts to process ideas and occasionally rant about...whatever. I would like the blog to serve as a tool for growth in understanding how the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth has bearing on modern life and culture. Therefore, I will be using the blog to supplement sermons, counseling sessions, classes, etc. When it seems like I can't fit ideas into the time frames I have when I meet with people, I will do my best to articulate them here. Perhaps when we kick off the new Missio Dei Church website, we can have others join me in sharing their thoughts.

Baseball Season

2008-04-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've lived in the South for almost 12 years and have only found a handful of baseball fan buddies in all that time. By fan, my standard is one who enjoys watching the games. Unfortunately, when we moved to Asheville, we moved away from those guys.

So now, with baseball season underway, I'm going to go where the fans are made. I will be coaching my four year-old's t-ball team. Spring training gets going tomorrow and the games begin in two weeks. My purpose and goals for the season are to make it as much fun for the players and parents as I possibly can.

Sports are an often overlooked and under-rated tool for development. Sports teach many biblical values like community (learning how to function as a team), accountability, setting priorities, humility, etc. In fact, Brian Kilmeade (one of the obnoxious guys on FOX and Friends on the Fox News Channel) wrote a book that I read several years back entitled The Games Do Count. He relates the role sports played in very prominent cultural figures and how various aspects of sports shaped their lives.

So this Spring, our family will pack into the white whale (our minivan) and head out to the ballpark to celebrate my four year-old's development. And perhaps we'll homegrow a baseball fan, because the Braves are playing the Mets and the Braves have not started their season well thus far...and I need someone to cheer them on along with me.

Men's Night

2008-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Join the guys of Missio Dei Church every first & third Thursday at Barley's Taproom on Biltmore Ave. We hang out on the second floor to shoot pool, throw darts, enjoy a pint and discussions of theology, politics and life. The next Barley's night is this Thursday between 5 and 8.

The Reason For God

2008-04-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Tim Keller released a book earlier this year entitled The Reason for God. Below, he gives an explanation of why he wrote it.

Perhaps this would be a good resource for you. For more on the book, check out the link The Reason for God.

We're Moving

2008-03-21T10:14:00.001-07:00

For the past several months, our community has been renting space from a Baptist Church in our West Asheville neighborhood. While it has worked out "okay," it has not been an ideal situation.

In Jan., I caught wind of a downtown congregation that was dissolving and contacted several people to find out what was happening with their building. They are doing good things with it and we wanted to join them in keeping it a multi-use facility and continue the worship of God in their "sanctuary."

After several months of proposals and discussions we have secured use of the building to house our offices and worship space. We are elated at this move as it will allow us to move out of our core group phase and into a public worshipping community. Please continue to pray for us as we are seeking to bring the gospel of the kingdom of God to the people of Asheville.

We will continue to meet as a core group in West Asheville and in July, we will make our move into the new location at the corner of Patton and Haywood St. downtown.

Thanks!

2008-03-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

I want to give an extra special thanks to folks that are part of our Missio Dei Church community.

I spent Holy Week taking care of my boys while my wife traveled up to Cincinnati to help her parents as her mom was recovering from Emergency surgery.

Our people pitched in to help so that I could prepare to preach for a group at UNC-Asheville on Tuesday and prep for our Passover Seder for Holy Thursday. I wouldn't have been able to minister without God's people ministering to me. Our people continually checked in on us and prayed for us.

It's great to see that folks who just months ago were total strangers have, in the name of Christ, very quickly gelled into a believing community that behaves like a family. Thank you my brothers and sisters.

Vintage Jesus

2008-03-21T09:45:00.001-07:00

One of the fringe benefits of being part of a great network like Acts 29 is the resources. Mark Driscoll, the founder and president of the Acts 29 Network, of which Missio Dei Church is a proud member, has just released his latest book, Vintage Jesus. I received my copy early this week and have been thoroughly enjoying it.

Vintage Jesus offers a fresh, winsome, down-to-earth look at the real Jesus. One doesn't need a Masters degree to unpack the bold truth in the book.

Let me whet your appetite with a quote from chapter two, "How human was Jesus?":

Jesus was a dude. Like my drywaller dad, he was a construction worker who swung a hammer for a living. Because Jesus worked in a day when there were no power tools, he likely had calluses on his hands and muscles on his frame, and did not look like so many of the drag-queen Jesus images that portray him with long, flowing, feathered hair, perfect teeth, and soft skin, draped in a comfortable dress accessorized by matching open-toed sandals and handbag. Jesus did not have Elton John or the Spice Girls on his iPod, The View on his TiVo, or a lemon-yellow Volkswagen Beetle in his garage. No, Jesus was not the kind of person who, if walking by you on the street, would require you to look for an Adam's apple to determine the gender.

Men & Women: Similar, but NOT the Same

2008-02-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

I've been hanging on to this resource for some time. I'd like to introduce you to Wendy Alsup. Wendy and her husband Andy were members at the South Carolina congregation that helped to plant Missio Dei Church before moving out to Seattle and becoming a part of Mars Hill Church. Wendy is now a deacon at Mars Hill Church and has a tremendous resource in the form of a blog. Check it out at Reforming the Feminine.

Awakenings

2008-01-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a crazy few months since my last post. Things have been unbelievably busy to say the least.

The good news is that Missio Dei is capable of paying me a full time salary (at a reduced rate for the next six months to one year, but full-time nonetheless), and we are looking at moving into our own building in June. Pray that things keep going in a positive direction.

We have published a new community blog for lent season 40 Day Journey.

Peace

New Shoes: I wish it were that easy

2007-11-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already heard him, I'd like to introduce you to the Scottish soulful pop singer Paolo Nutini. This will cause you to react in one of at least two ways:
1. You won't be able to help but tap your feet at the catchy rhythm
2. You won't be able to help but tap your feet, but to save face as an indy rocker, you will only listen to it in private.

It would be nice if all it took to remove the kinks out of a painful life was to put on a pair of new shoes. Maybe this song can put a smile on your face.

The Golden Compass Halfway Through

2007-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

So far, I am really enjoying the read. The thing I find curious about the Golden Compass is that most of the story, thus far, borrows from other, better known stories.

For example, the main character, Lyra resembles Lucy from Clive Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, even to the point of discovering a new world by stumbling into a wardrobe. An ice queen of sorts lures a "gyptian" boy away by inticing him not with Turkish delight, but with chocolatl.

Pullman also borrows heavily from some biblical stories, like an affair and love child by high powered people who attempt to cover it up (David and Bathsheba). He also borrows from the Moses story. Lyra, spent her infancy being nursed by a woman who traveled the waterways and continued to keep an eye on her after she was "adopted" by the Scholars at Jordan College.

The gist of the book, thus far, seems to be leading to human freedom in a libertarian sense, where any and all restrictions are viewed as oppressive and evil. My guess is that the characters are being set up to rescue humanity from "what the religious think they know." We'll see how this plays out...

The Golden Compass Pre-Read

2007-11-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to B&N to purchase the His Dark Materials triology so that I could read first-hand the Phillip Pullman book, The Golden Compass. While Shannon got drinks from the cafe and Asheton played at the Thomas the Train table, I read a quick book called Discovering the Golden Compass: A Guide to Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials.

The Discovering book described in the author's words his upbringing and his purpose in writing the story. During his childhood, Pullman lived and had fond memories of his grandfather, an Anglican parish pastor who nurtured Pullman. He reminisced with keen affection the time he spent with his grandparents and said nothing antagonistic toward the church or the faith of his grandfather.

While many of the critiques I have read charge Pullman with writing this novel to promote his atheist/agnostic philosophy, I have not read anything from Pullman himself to validate the claim. In the book Discovering and on Pullman's website www.philip-pullman.com, he emphasizes telling a great story. On his website, he continually downplays the notion that his aim is to promote atheism; or to deal with difficult questions like God, the Church, good and evil, and love; or that he demands a particular interpretation of the story.

While his atheist/agnostic world-view will make its way into the story and, no doubt, find its way out, the shock reviews about Pullman's desire to brainwash your children is ridiculous. I read on one review that the movie was bait to get your kids to read the book, which will rob them of their belief in God. If your child's faith is being nurtured in such a way that a movie and a fantasy novel can rob his faith, you are failing as a parent.

Since this is a pre-read introduction, I will withhold the practical implications of the world-view of the story and how the readers can and should respond to the characters. At this point, I want to be very cautious about making Pullman the big bad Boogey man who wants to steal away our children.

More to come...

Evangelicals & Films = Controversy

2007-11-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

The soon to be released film "The Golden Compass" is a toned down version of the book Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman. It is the first in a series by the name of His Dark Materials. I am anticipating a great deal of controversy around the release of the film, no doubt fueled by thoughtless emotionalism on every side. Therefore, I am going to read through the books and attempt to give an honest critique including a theological reflection and practical applications for believers. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer, the filming looks superb.

The Festival of the Reformation

2007-10-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

Our Associate Pastor, Bryan Robbins posted a humorous blog about the influence of Martin Luther upon the Christian Church. While Luther's rediscovery of the biblical teaching of justification by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus, and his boldness in calling the church to return to a pure Christian faith are invaluable, his latter life views on the Jewish people left a stain on his influence and upon the Christian Church.

Many scholars attribute Luther as a fuel to the Nazi's anti-Semitic worldview and subsequent horrific actions of the Holocaust. His writing, On the Jews and Their Lies, spews God-less sentiments toward the Jewish people advocating stripping their monies, possessions, and even their lives.

While we are indebted to the wonderful truths that Martin Luther rediscovered after the Medieval corruption in the Roman Church, we must distance ourselves from his views on the Jewish people.

Traction

2007-10-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

A year ago, my family was unsettled. I had resigned from my position as family pastor at an established congregation in South Carolina, sold my house and moved to Asheville to start up a new church. We were being ripped off by the buyers of our old house and ripped off by the seller of the new. We had three families committed to starting the new church, but we were the only ones living in Asheville. The winter was cold, and long, and lonely and cramped in our tiny house in West Asheville.

Yesterday, the tribe we call Missio Dei Church, a congregation of about 65 adults and 15 or so kids, allowed me to ordain a pastor and we baptized three dudes in the French Broad River. We've been meeting regularly as a church since early Sept. and have high hopes of being a missionary presence for Jesus in our city. Praise God for the Gospel, and for the people He allows me to pastor.

Praying over Bryan Robbins

Baptisms in the French Broad River

Rayne Evangeline

2007-10-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

Above is a shot of momma and Evangeline after everything calmed down. Shan was phoning her mom to let her know what we had just done.

So it turns out that Evangeline was a chunk. She weighed in at 8lbs. 14oz. and was 20 3/4in. long.

While the pictures look like two different kids, I assure you, they are the same. Now I get to track down some way to get a birth certificate.

Baby Update

2007-10-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Because we are in week 42 of Shannon's pregnancy, we traveled to Greenville to try some natural induction remedies. We spent the whole day and wrapped up the methods at 7pm with no results. After discussing things, we decided that since nothing was happening, we would travel back home to Asheville, pick up the boys and sleep at home in our own beds.
At about 11pm, Shannon was starting to have some contractions. This was nothing new, so I was timing them and watching Shannon's responses. By 11:35, we decided it was time to head back to the birth center and so we called Ginny Landrum to come stay with the boys so that we could head out.

Ginny arrived within 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes were very productive. Shannon gave me one of those looks, like, "we're not going to make it." Shan's contractions picked up and by midnight, it was obvious that the baby would be delivered in our home. Our midwife was planning to have us jump in the car and meet us half way, but when we decided that we were staying put, there was nothing she could do but coach me through the birth process.

God miraculously allowed me to hold it together and after 3-5 minutes of "pushing" contractions, I delivered for Shannon, Rayne Evangeline Hannah (our first daughter) at 12:34am this morning. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Her little head came out and my heart started racing. I said something about the large amount of jet black hair she had and remember thinking to myself, "I don't see the birth cord anywhere near her head; good!" Next came her little shoulder, which I helped come through, and the baby came right out. As Shannon began to cry with relief, I turned my attention to continually getting the mucus out of the baby's mouth and nose with a bulb plunge. She gave out a tiny gargle and I knew things were great.

There's so much more to the story, but those details should suffice for now. We'll get official weights and measurements later. Thanks for all your prayers.

Pictures to come!!

How to give a proper "man hug"

2007-10-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

In light of Bryan's comments about "man hugs" at Missio yesterday, I thought this short instructional video would be helpful to all of our dudes:

AT ALL COSTS, AVOID INAPPROPRIATE NUZZLING!

Persecution

2007-10-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Missio Dei Church currently supports Acts 29 International to resource church plants and pastors. To give you a taste of what is going on internationally, below is a letter to our A29 International director, Mike Gunn.

"Dear pastor Mike Gunn,

I am very much comforted by seeing your letter. I know there are some people who love me and pray for me which is my strength to push forward in times of trouble and persecutions.

Today the Judge will decide wether i will get anticipatry Bail or not. please pray.

Four anti- communial groups called RSS, VHP, Bajarangdal and Hindu Vahini together attacked me and our church people.

Hindu Vahini is the worst among these groups who killed two pastors brutually three years back in our city. They poured Acid, cut the pastors into peaces and put them in a gunny bag and thrown thier bodies in the outscirts of the city.

These days the persecutions are increasing and as many non christians in my area are turning into christianity now they have targetted me.

I know without Gods will nothing will happen to me and at the same time i am trying to be careful and vigilant.

I really appriciate your prayers and concern for me. I will let you know the court proceedings as time goes on.

pastor sudhakar"

I thought this would be a good wake up call to those of us who bitch and moan about inconveniences we experience in light of our great freedom to boldly preach Jesus. Please bend your knees on behalf of Pastor Sudhakar and his people.

I'm Officially a Soccer Mom

2007-09-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Check out the new space wagon.

We had to go suburban casual since we now have three kids (any day until Rayne is born) and my little pick-up could only fit one.

Notice the mis-matched hubcaps!

So now, I have to drive the Xterra (or get to drive, even though it's not my truck) and Shannon gets to cruise through the city in the big white torpedo.

It was sad getting rid of the truck. Ashe gave it a kiss and a hug goodbye. At least it's a comfortable ride and it's a Ford, which gets me brownie points with the in-laws, since Shan's dad works at Ford.

Text and Context

2007-09-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am feeling the weight of this more and more in my city where paganism and consumerism reign and have wreaked havoc upon those who claim to follow Jesus.

Without an external authority and a bold proclamation as sent ones with authority, anything goes, and right now, things are going down the toilet.

Donations for the Timothy Blakeney Family

2007-08-31T09:46:00.001-07:00

Due to the large volume of requests to assist the Blakeney family in their recovery, some of his closest friends have put together the Tim Blakeney Family Fund. Missio Dei Church is sponsoring this fund so that donations can be streamlined and it doesn't become a financial nightmare for Tim and Bonnie at tax time. All donations are tax deductible. There are three ways to donate:

You can write a check to Missio Dei Church with a note in the memo that reads, "Tim Blakeney Family Fund," and address the envelope to Missio Dei Church, 797 Haywood Rd. suite 002, Asheville, NC 28806.

You can click the "donate" button on this weblog to make a secure online donation to the Tim Blakeney Family Fund. This button affords two options. Option 1 is to pay through your own Pay Pal account. Option 2 is to use a credit card and work through Pay Pal's secure online payment form.

We really appreciate your thoughts, prayers and gifts. Tim and Bonnie are still unaware of this fund, so let's keep a lid on that as long as possible. We'd like to present them one large check within a few weeks from all their loving friends and neigbors.

UPDATE!!! - A blog has been established to keep current on Tim's recovery. You can go to www.timblakeneyfamily.org
and make donations from that site as well.

Our dear friend, Tim

2007-08-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't yet know, yesterday, our worship leader, elder candidate and a great personal friend, Timothy Blakeney was struck by lightening. He was coaching his varsity soccer team through a practice on a relatively clear day after school when a sudden and very stray lightening bolt struck. All the players were on the ground and in the aftermath, Tim and the team's captain, Alex Holbein did not get up.

The original reports were that Alex was revived on the scene and nobody was releasing information on Tim's condition. Sadly this was terribly wrong. Both were taken to the local hospital where Tim was treated and where tragically, Alex was pronounced dead. I spent a good amount of time with my friend and while he was physically in a great amount of pain, the emotional trauma of hearing the news about the loss of his student was inexplicable.

Tim was released this morning and needs to get his rest. He is still incredibly sore. Apparently, lightening strikes cause every muscle in the body to contract causing the whole body to be sore. His phyiscal recovery is very certain, though it will be a few days before he's on his feet. The emotional recovery is going to take a considerable amount of time.

We are lining up some meals for the family, but they need some time to be alone and would rather wait for visitors when Tim, Bonnie, and Todd can enjoy the company. Please pray for the Holbein family, Oakbrook Prep School, and for Tim. I hurt deeply for my friend. This is all so very sad.

The "Next Blog" Button

2007-08-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine informed me that when he clicked on the "Next Blog" button in the navigation bar at the top of the blogspot page, that objectional and offensive content stared him in the face. The "Next Blog" button randomly takes you to another blog. I have looked into this and am in somewhat of an ethical dilemna.

Removing the "Next Blog" button, as far as I can tell is not possible. In order to remove it, I would have to remove the enitre navigation bar. However, it would violate the agreement with Google to remove the navigation bar from the blog. I am requesting that Google fix the problem as I certainly didn't agree to link my blog to some of the trash that is so prevalant in cyberspace.

I strongly urge you to not use the "Next Blog" button for any reason. The potential for risk far exceeds any benefit. If and when Google acts, I am not sure it would be safe practice to randomly surf through various blogs.

They Like Jesus, but not the Church

2007-08-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is a review from a book that I read a few months back, but I thought it would be helpful to resurrect it for all of you.

Kimball does a good job of grappling with the way the church is percieved in culture. Too often, he is overly apologetic for the things he says, which quite often are not as biting as the apology makes them seem. For example, he profusely apologizes for calling pastors, "weaklings." I wouldn't think to apologize for this and would probably choose a more colorful vocabulary to describe these guys. Sometimes it is the thing to do to grab someone's attention. Paul did this in his letter to the Galatian false teachers (i.e. consider Gal. 5:12, "I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!").

The book does what it sets out to do, which is to explore and expose how people feel about Jesus and the Church. People are oftened turned off to methods used in the church rather than the Gospel. A lot of guys get excited about this as a sort of freedom to radically change methods in the church. Unfortunately, the result is a lot of guys motivated by methods and new ways of doing church trying to start new congregations. The problem is that when our motivation to start a church is anything besides the Gospel and the glorification of Jesus Christ, we are actually starting immature religious clubs at best and cults at worst.

The answer to our culture's criticism of methods and culture is to measure it against the truth of the Gospel. Some things that are done in the name of Jesus are no longer culturally relevant and even offensive, but because they are NOT intrinsicly tied to the Gospel, we can change those methods. An example of this would be door to door sales (I mean visitation). In generations past, it was an effective way of disseminating the Gospel story to a culture that by and large recieved it. No longer is this method effective in all cultural situations. Our calling is to prayerfully reflect on new ways of pointing out man's greatest need; a right relationship with God through the death and resurrection of our sinless Savior Jesus.

When we celebrate our style or method of doing this, we celebrate something other than Gospel transformation and we dishonor God. This could be the celebration of old methods or new. If your congregation gets really excited about the rockin' music or the casual atmosphere or the bible version you use or anything other than the risen and ruling Christ, you may be a part of a religious club, and not a church. You may be an offense to God and not the aroma of Christ to a dark and dead culture. Our desire at Missio Dei Church is to be a people called out of culture that lives and proclaims the good news of a restored relationship to God and each other to our city. So much more could be said, but that's all for now.

Best Kids Bible Ever

2007-08-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

I spent many years as a family pastor looking for good resources to give to parents who wanted to teach their kids the Bible. If you've ever rummaged through the kids section of Christian book stores, you've probably already realized that there is not much to offer in this vain. The shelves are full of poorly illustrated children's bibles whose main applications are "be nice," and "use God to get what you want" (not surprising since many of the adult bestsellers are identical). My ambition was to one day be involved with the writing of a children's bible that would be worth reading to kids to point out to them the Gospel of Jesus.

I no longer have this ambition because author Sally Lloyd-Jones published the "Jesus Storybook Bible." This book is fantastic. It presents the Bible as a cohesive story with Jesus as the hero and main character and wonderfully ties in the redemptive historical perspective of God's kingdom that is central to understanding Scripture. In her retelling of the Biblical stories, Lloyd-Jones emphasizes faith in God who keeps His promises to redeem mankind instead of emphasizing rule keeping Christianity that is faithless and dead. The beautiful prose and illustrations have kept my three-year-old captivated and made his little prayer life more vibrant. Consider the following exerpt:

"You see, God knew, however high they reached, however hard they tried, people could never get back to heaven by themselves. People didn't need a staircase; they needed a Rescuer. Because the way back to heaven wasn't a staircase; it was a Person.
People could never reach up to Heaven, so Heaven would have to come down to them.
And, one day, it would" (from the closing of the story about the tower in Babel from Genesis 11).

I highly recommend this resource to anyone with kids and have jokingly mentioned to my wife that I may begin preaching out of this book.

Better Parties

2007-08-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

For my 30th birthday, my wife thought it would be a good idea to make a big deal about it. I couldn't complain because I love birthdays. I love the celebration of the gift of life (and a great life at that) to such an undeserving schmo like myself. So Shannon rented out the top floor of Barley's Taproom and invited about 45 of our friends. The deal was this: for a flat rate, you get great pizza and an open bar, as well as multiple pool tables, dart boards, and foosball (even though the foosball was coin operated).

This was by far, the best birthday I've had. My last milestone birthday (age 21) was spent on top of Mt. Elbert in Colorado held up with one of my closest buddies in a snow and lightening storm about 1500ft. from the 14,000ft. summit. I wasn't sure I was going to make it back down. This birthday was spent watching people enjoy themselves and talk about God, life, and everything else.

Thanks especially to my God who lavishes upon me good things, to my wife who worked hard to make all of this happend and to my beloved friends who came out and celebrated the gift of life with me.

Terribly Frustrated

2007-08-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

So the stubbornness of the older folks at the dying church has been frustrating for Missio Dei and for me personally. After our proposal was submitted and negotiations began, the deal continually went South. We got to the place where we were willing to alter the worship gathering time for our 55 adults plus kids for their 15 people, but in the end, they gave us a definitive "no" on any use of their building. What is so frustrating is that their main reason for holding out is "we've been doing it this way for 40 years and aren't about to change now," a death sentence for anyone claiming to follow Jesus. If the Gospel of Christ is not the motivation for everything and anything you do, not only are you in danger of leading people to dead end roads, but also you really cease to be a church that is faithful to Jesus. You are more akin to a religious country club that takes in people that accommodate to your standards.

On a slightly funnier note, I had to correct my three-year old on a drive back to the house from being out for the evening. I mentioned that we would be going home and having ice cream and he asked, "What game are we going to play while Mommy fixes our ice cream?" So apparently, I have been setting a bad example (or a good example if your a chauvinist pig), because we have daddy play time from 5:30 - 6:30 while my wife cooks dinner. He assumed that we get to play while Mommy does all the food prep. This just goes to prove that you are always teaching, even when you don't realize that you're teaching.

Honoring the Faith of those who have gone before us

2007-07-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Missio Dei Church has gone from a strong core of about 17 adults to a congregation of 50 in about a month. More people means that we need more space. In our prayers about making a move, we were clear that God wanted us to apply wisdom to the move. The space had to be centrally located, which means we couldn't move outside the city. The space had to be available during the week for the various things we would like to accomplish. The space had to offer room for continued growth. And among many other things, the space had to be affordable. Trying to find such a place in our city would definately require divine intervention.

Such intervention came through an unexpected means. In an effort to network with other ministries that embrace the Gospel of Jesus, the Christ, God brought me to a pastor of a small dwindlng church downtown. The pastor and I got along really well and they offered me shared use of their three story building. Of course, all of this still has to be approved by their congregation, but the commitment to seeing Jesus made famous was very encouraging. This guy knew that much about what Missio Dei is all about would be very different than what their congregation was all about, but as we shared stories of God and His leading and movement, we acknowledged that it is the same Jesus.

My hope is that we can encourage these folks. There seems to be a tendency in churches to magnify the cultural divide between generations. Older folks tend to look at the younger generation with disdain and often lament the supposed degredation of standards. Younger folks tend to look at the older generation as prudish, out of touch, and with a "we can do it better than you without you" attitude. My prayer for Missio Dei Church is that we embrace the Gospel which should humble us enough to learn from this older generation that has stayed faithful to Jesus for so many years. They have a wealth of wisdom in the rearing of children, finances, and other things that we can learn from. I also pray that they would be excited and want to learn from us as well. While not all of our folks are young, most seem to be committed to the Gospel of Jesus with a wreckless abandon. I praise God for the opportunity of journeying with all of these people. I am thankful to our tribe at Missio Dei because they allow me to pastor them.

What is a Christian?

2007-06-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Ask five different people what it means to be Christian and you will probably get six different answers. In fact, within Judaism followers of Jesus are referred to as Nazarenes, because they do not accept Jesus’ claim of being the “Christ.” In the Arab world, the term “Christian” usually refers to a person from western culture, whether or not that person is a follower of Jesus, Buddah, or even secular humanism.

Among different groups that would classify themselves as Christian, there is little agreement about what makes one a Christian. For some, it is simply a cultural term that applies to those who can turn to no other cultural religion. For some, it is applied to those who have been baptized or “Christened” in a church. For some, it is restricted to those who claim to have made a conscious decision to pattern their lives after the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. Still for others, it refers to those who have done all of the above and vote Republican and support the Moral Majority.

The first use of the term “Christian” is recorded in a book of the Bible called The Acts of the Apostles. That mention, in Acts 11:26 simply says, “At Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians.” The only other two times the word is used in the Bible, it carries negative connotations. It was used by an ancient ruler in a patronizing manner in Acts 26:28 and was equated with suffering in I Pet. 4:16.

The earliest followers of Jesus did not refer to themselves or each other as “Christians,” but rather, as followers of “the Way” or simply as disciples (Acts 9:2, 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22). They were not interested in starting a new religion. They simply believed Jesus when He stated, “I am the Way…” (John 14:6) and desired to follow Him. This makes it terribly difficult to come up with a Scriptural definition of a Christian.

Probably the closest we can come is the many references to followers of Jesus claiming to be “in Christ.” Everything in the New Testament hinges on whether a person is in Christ or apart from Christ. On the one hand, we read that being “Separated from Christ” results in “having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). But on the other, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1) and “if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation” (II Cor. 5:17).

The aim at Missio Dei Church is not to define people with titles as such, because labeling tends to trick us into thinking that we have understood what we have labeled. We are interested in encouraging people through faith to be found in Christ, to become a disciple, a faithful follower of the ways of Jesus Christ, regardless of cultural background, religious practice or creedal confession. For us, a Christian is a person who realizes that apart from Jesus, we have no hope and no God in the world. It is a person that receives as punishment for his failed attempts to rule himself and his world, the substitution of Jesus abandonment by God on the cross. His life is motivated, not by fear, but by gratitude and love and a desire to revere and praise King Jesus.

Why Blog?

2007-05-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

So many folks are online publishing their thoughts, their rants etc. I wrestled a bit before I decided to succomb to pop culture and enter the blogging world. That said, I am committed to keeping "Uncommon Musings" a helpful site. You will not find simple rants and frustrations that do nothing to build up (at least I hope that is the case). I desire this to point people to a better understanding of life in the "already, not-yet Kingdom."
In the upcoming weeks, I am going to undergo a series of blogs unpacking what it means to be a Christian, Evangelical, Reformed, Missional Church. My prayer is that it will encourage folks to search out the ways of Christian Spirituality and to consider how the Missio Dei Church community, might help.

Blessings,
Pastor Kurt <><

Missio Dei Event

2007-04-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Missio Dei Church is hosting a public informational meeting to articulate reasons for starting a new church in the Asheville metro area. The meeting will take place on Wednesday May 9, 7pm at Atlanta Bread Company (633 Merrimon Ave.). We discuss topics including, "Why start a new church in Asheville? Whom will the new church affect? Who is the leadership for the new church? How can you help?" Coffee and refreshments provided.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers..."

2007-04-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

It makes my head hurt and my heart break to observe the senseless violence that occured on Monday at Virginia Tech. What's equally troubling is the clamoring noise that surrounds the horrible tragedy. I have heard and read countless stories looking for someone or something to blame.

Immediately both sides of the political spectrum argued about gun control and the right to bear arms as if either position had the power to prevent this or subsequent disasters. Others have angrily accused the University, the police, the Mental Health profession, and various others for not doing enough to prevent the violence.

As a follower of King Jesus, I am trying to come to grips with the fact that there are no easy answers or simple ingredients which could have prevented this calamity. Now is a time for mourning and for prayer and to lament our fallen condition. We live in a world that is completely broken and our only hope is the Gospel promise that things will not always remain as they are. Jesus, the Christ, struck a death blow to sin and death when He laid His life down as payment for the sins of mankind and in His resurrection, promised that He would make all things new.

We have the privelege of living out and proclaiming this message to all creation, so that they can repent of their desire to dissention and division and seek peace in the presence of the King. If only the church could preach this message to Cho Seung Hui, perhaps this could have been avoided. That and his repentance are the only thing that could have prevented the events that lead to 33 image bearers being destroyed. In this hour of sadness, I close reflecting on the lyrics to a song written by Robin Mark. "Rise up church with broken wings. Fill this place with songs again. Of our God who reigns on high. By His grace again we'll fly."

But what about the swords?

2007-04-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

One of our "Uncommoners" had a question last week about an obscure and difficult passage in the Gospel according to Luke. The passage reads:

And he (Jesus) said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." He said to them, "But now let the one who has a monybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment." And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them,"It is enough" (Luke 22:35-38).

This is troubling because it seems like Jesus is telling His disciples to now take up swords when previously His contrary teaching was "blessed are the peacemakers," and "love your enemy," and most pointedly, "all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matt. 5:9,44; 26:52). How could Jesus tell His disciples to now "sell his cloak and buy" a sword if "those who take the sword will perish by the sword?"

Several interpretations have been offered:

1. The first (and most ridiculous) is that Jesus is not telling His disciples to get a sword, but he really means knife, which would be a provision for cutting meat on their journeys. This is probably held because there is no New Testament reference to a knife. However, later in the passage, one of them draws a sword and cuts off the right ear of the high priest's servant with a sword. It was not a knife used for cutting meat to eat. I am weary of any interpretation of the Bible that claims when the Bible says, "x," it really means, "y." Where the Bible says, "wine" it means "wine," not "grape juice." Where the Bible says "donkey," it means "donkey," not "horse." Where the Bible says "sword," it means "sword," not "knife." Believing that "x" really means "y" opens the Bible up to dangerous speculation and complete uncertainty, because anything could mean anything else.

2. An interpretation that has a greater following takes Jesus' words literally, but strips them of context. Proponents of this view take Jesus to mean that when He sent them out, their provisions were cared for. But now, things are changing and its okay to defend themselves because things are going to get rough. One commentator took this so far as to say that Jesus was encouraging the disciples to defend themselves at any cost, because he encouraged them to sell their cloaks if need be. This interpretation takes the word sword to be a literal sword, which is good, but besides contradicting the context, it dangeroulsy contradicts Jesus' teaching about turning the other cheek, being blessed for being persecuted, and not repaying evil with evil.

3. A third way to look at it is to take Jesus' teaching on taking the sword in a spiritualized sense. The sword is to be taken figurativley as in, "Your future will be difficult, you need to muster up all the strength that you can, take upon yourselves the sword of the spirit..." This is a widely held view to make sense of a difficult passage and seems to reconcile this teaching with passages in Paul's letters without contradicting Jesus' teaching on being peacemakers. The problem with this view is that it leaves too many holes in the context and does not explain Jesus anger with talk of the sword.

4. The way to look at this passage is to keep it in context. The Passover supper has ended and the disciples begin a debate about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom. Something was learned from Jesus' example because Peter steps up to declare that he was "ready to go with (Jesus) both to prison and to death" (v. 33). Jesus begins to scold Peter and the other disciples because of their lack of trust in God to continue to provide for them. Their view was that they would advance God's kingdom on their own, in their own way. This is why when the disciples gather two swords, Jesus words are "It is enough," as if to say, "Stop this!" This is reinforced after the disciple cuts off the servants ear and Jesus says, "No more of this" (v. 51). His word is not an encouragement to take up swords because everything is changing. He is challenging their view in how the kingdom would be advanced. This keeps the context of the passage in place and doesn't contradict Jesus' teaching about being peacemakers who trust in God's provision.

Conclusion:
We must be careful that our interpretations of Scripture are not efforts to rescue Jesus from the things He said, or cramming HIs teaching into our own agendas. It is natural to want to defend ourselves, which is why Jesus' teaching on peacemaking is so poignant. We must remember that we are to be a people of another kingdom and of another King, under whose rule the first are last and the last are first. The Kingdom of God advances because the guiltless One took upon Himself the sin of the world. Jesus emphasizes this in saying that "what is written about me has its fulfillment." He would not allow the disicples to interfere in God's plan for the death of Jesus.

Easter Gathering

2007-04-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

At Missio Dei Church, we believe that the death and resurrection has as much to do with how we live now as it does with the afterlife. The Kingdom of God that Jesus preached involves sacrifice, love and peacemaking and we are committed to being a community following these pursuits. Join us on April 8 at the Grey Eagle at 10:30 to celebrate Jesus victory over brokenness and corruption to create a new humanity. For more details or directions, click on the Grey Eagle link on this page or contact Pastor Kurt (kurt@livinguncommon.org).

The Lesson at the Falls

2007-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my friend Scott and I took our oldest kids out hiking to see the Daniel Ridge Falls. My oldest son, Ashe is three and Maren, Scott's oldest daughter is 2 1/2, so needless to say, hiking went slowly, very slowly.

When we finally arrived at the falls, I was surprised to find that we were the only ones there. The weather was an ideal 70 degrees, it was a relatively easy approach, and it was the beginning of spring break for many. I had thought that the falls would be swarmed by the people who filled up all the cars in the parking lot.

After ten or fifteen minutes, some folks hiked in. It was a father and his 10 or so year-old son. They were spring breaking from Charleston, SC (because all beach people know that the mountains are better) and taking in a little hiking. Scott, who is normally reserved and a definite introvert turned into the welcome committee. Although these two were strangers, Scott worked to welcome them and assure them some friendliness.

Welcoming the stranger is at the heart of the Gospel. God, while we were estranged and enemies, broke into our world and invited us into His work in the creation. Throughout the Scriptures, God is constantly breaking into the world and welcoming men to participate in building His Kingdom. Jesus, the Christ, came to destroy for all time that which separates man from their God and from each other. He did this by taking upon Himself the guilt, brokenness, and downright evil in mankind and though he was innocent, perfect, and righteous, He died. It seemed as though He was overcome by sin, but after three days, he overcame sin and death and raised again, and now welcomes people to live in the Kingdom that He is building.

As followers of the God-king, we are to live out and share the values of His kingdom in the name of the King. The basis of acceptance rests solely on this work of the Christ. We can welcome people by forgiving them for wronging mankind in general and wronging us specifically. We can forgive because the penalty for sin has been paid. My prayer is for the Church to look to the person and work of Jesus and take it seriously, to stop demanding that people look like us, talk like us, vote like us, sing like us, smell like us, before we welcome them as friends.

Thanks Scott for your example of the Gospel!

Barking

2007-03-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

A tiny Yorkshire Terrier just walked by the house and taking an aggressive posture, began to bark at our 120 lb. Chocolate Lab. It was as if the dog was yelling, "Why don't you get off of your lazy butt and get out on a walk with me?" It was kind of humorous. Kona (our Lab) just barked back, "I'd love to, but I'm tied to this fence."

Sometimes I feel like this little dog. I'd love to see the church free from restrictions and out enjoying the neighborhood, but the church seems to just call back, "We'd like to, but we have so much keeping us tied here to do our thing, the same thing we have done as long as we can remember."

At this point, I have at least two options. My first option would be to run off, ignoring the church's stuck state (being tied to programs and traditions, not making inroads with the Gospel into the culture) and perhaps ridicule her in the neighborhood. I could simply dismiss her as irrelevant and out of touch and go do my own thing. But my reading of Scripture keeps this from happening. Paul reminds us that "as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, ESPECIALLY to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). It would be short-sighted and selfish of me not to engage the established ministries and invite them to join us on mission.

Another option would be to stop everything, sit down and just bark at the church. I could make much noise about how stuck she is and how tied to programs and traditions the institution actually is. This is unprofitable because it limits our calling and mission. God has placed us here to join the Spirit in calling out a community of people who challenge one another to love Jesus and other people with the goal of transforming the values of the city so that they look more like God's values.

So we live in this tension of joining with other congregations and keeping our distance because we are on mission. Here's what it looks like in real life:

We had really cool neighbors over for dessert the other night. We talked about family, housing, neighborliness, past shame and regret and religion. These folks have a wealth of life experience for us to learn from and are, to put it simply, great, honest people.

One thing that stung was their experience with the Institutional model of the church. They had both been shunned, belittled, and clearly unwelcomed by a group of people in the name of Jesus. We have to live in the tension of writing these Christians off as being unloving and really not representing God well to keep that sort of image of Jesus at a distance and relating to these Christians because they do name the name of Christ.

If love "is patient and kind...does not envy or boast...is not arrogant or rude...does not insist on its own way...is not irritable or resentful...does not rejoice at wrongdoing...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," (I Cor. 13:4-6) then I keep my mouth shut to my neighbors and proactively, with much prayer and patience ask God to use me to show them a better way. We love and accept them and do it all, boldly in the name of Jesus. We learn from them and listen (really listen) to their struggles and heartaches. We offer hope and the forgiveness of sins and we pray that they would see Jesus and fall in love with Him, because it's really all about Him anyway. It's not about our way of doing mission.

The Church Fortress

2007-03-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

Some of our close friends have a daughter with freckles and red hair. I affectionately call her, "Little Red." Little Red as long as she could talk has referred to her father as "papa." This has changed recently. Because she spends more time conversing with other children her age who refer to their fathers as "daddy," Little Red has made the switch. Nothing about the relationship has changed, only the name. While at first it was heartbreaking to her parents who loved the originality and the sweetness in her little voice as she called out "papa," they have come to accept that "papa" will now be "daddy."

A similar thing has happened in the church. New congregations (made up of people from other congregations) are popping up all over claiming to "missional" and "emergent." What is strange, is that many of these "missional, emergent" churches are new in style, but not in substance. These churhes are "daddy" and no longer "papa." The relationship to the culture is essentially the same. The message to people is come to us, we have cooler music, we have more fragrant candles, we have a place for you to pray to our God and while you're here, you can become more like us. While this might be far more hip, it is really no different than the Pharisaic mindset that Jesus so often attacked. That mindset was, "come to US, speak OUR language, keep OUR observances, don't fraternize with those outside unless they are willing to come in, and then you can be close to God."

The Gospel of the Christ calls the church to be different in substance. The church gathered is fuel for the church scattered. Real worship (that spirit and truth worship the Father seeks) is found in everyday life. It is found in the eating and the drinking and the standing and the sitting and the walking by the way, and in our work, and in our friendships. We are to be a community within a community offering up our hearts and hands to people praying and working so that joyfully, much is made about Jesus. We are to become friends to our fellow sinners, listening to their stories, laughing with them, crying with them, and praying that God would give us wisdom on how to relate that to the grand story that Christ came to save us because we are broken.

Missio Dei Church is striving to become that kind of expression of Christ's body. We believe that God is calling out people to represent him in the world (don't take us out of the world, keep us from the evil one). We believe that the fortress mentality so prevelant in the church (even the hip "missional, emergent" ones) is dentrimental to the Gospel of Jesus. It is messy work, and it may get us killed, but the Spirit keeps us from doing anything less. It is not enough to just change the name, we must get back on mission.

Blessings <><

Celebrations of Life

2007-03-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I woke up with my usual anticipation of Thursday morning mountain biking at Bent Creek with my buddy Mike. The forecast called for rain and biking through Bent Creek is miserable in the rain, so after a quick (and I mean quick) ride through a connector trail, we hit the forest road and began climbing one of Bent Creek's many mountains. Around the top, at an area called Ledford Gap, the trees thinned and the view was unreal. Clouds and mist were rising up in the valley and I was overwhelmed with the imagination of God. The attention He pays to detail and beauty is beyond words. This was grace, because even in a fallen state, where the creation itself groans and works in rebellion to God, her beauty is unsurpassed.

Yesterday was also my oldest son's 3rd birthday. In the afternoon, my wife and I took him to the toy store so that he could pick out a modest birthday gift. He played with several things in the aisle before we laid some of the appropriate toys out and asked him to pick one. He chose a simple race track and carried it with delight to the checkout lane. After we paid for his toy, I remember looking down at my son and I was taken with his expression of contentment and expectation. I love giving gifts to my kids and it was a reminder of how God delights to lavish upon His beloved good things from above.

My kid is playing with his new toy today and it is already a source of frustrtation. It is loud and obnoxious. What was supposed to be a token celebrating the life that God has graciously given to my wife and me has become a token of strife. Probably, I need to chill about the noise it makes and my son needs to chill about having it run 24/7. This scenario illustrates how often good gifts that God gives become our pursuits that actually drive us away from God. He grants us things to point out to us how good He truly is and in our sin and rebellion we become obsessed with the gifts and give God the finger. For this I am thankful for Christ and His redemptive work on the cross so that when I meet God there, I witness the Divine spanking, receive the Spirit and am restored to a right relationship. I am undone, Spirit change me.