Ware – 1.1

At the recommendation from a friend, I read the book The Orthodox Way written by Kallistos Ware. The first chapter is entitled 'God as Mystery' and it was my favorite chapter of the book. I wanted to cover the various points that Ware makes that really helped shape my view about God.

He starts by talking about the 'otherness' and 'nearness' of God. It's one of those grey areas about God… how can we really know anything about God? And yet, how does the incarnation fit into the picture? That God is both very, very far away and very, very near ALL AT THE SAME TIME is one of the great paradox's of the Christian faith. And it's one that I've become very comfortable with. Here's a great quote from Ware:

"God is both further from us, and nearer to us, than anything else. And we find, paradoxically, that these two 'poles' do not cancel one another out: on the contrary, the more we are attracted to one 'pole', the more vividly we become aware of the other at the same time. Advancing on the Way, each finds that God grows ever more intimate and ever more distant, well know and yet unknown – well known to the smallest child, incomprehensible to the most brilliant theologian."

The main point that Ware is trying to make in this chapter is that God is and will continue to be a mystery to us. There are things about him that we will never fully comprehend… there are facets in His existence that we'll never be able to completely dig underneath. So we must, as His children, grow comfortable in the unknowing. Ware goes on to say: "We see that it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder."

This resonates with me a great deal because I am most familiar with conservative evangelical thinking… which in some cases… comes close to assuming that everything is settled and figured out… and if your experience is different or counters from what mainstream evangelicalism says… then you are the one in trouble. Since college, I've been struggling with a Christianity that had everything figured out and all the answers are quick, formulaic and easy. I'm learning what it means to live comfortably in the grey areas of faith and relationship with God.

Ware is urging us Christians into the 'mystery' and 'darkness' of God. Not an evil darkness by any means… but something that he calls a 'luminous or dazzling darkness.' I'll conclude this post with one last quote from Ware: "So, in the Christian context, we do not mean by a 'mystery' merely that which is baffling and mysterious, an enigma or insoluble problem. A mystery is, on the contrary, something that is REVEALED for our understanding, but which we never understand EXHAUSTIVELY because it leads into the depth or the darkness of God."

Bouncing Back

I read a devotional today that spoke directly to where I am at right now. It was a short piece about perseverance... but it wasn't the stuff about perseverance I really needed to hear... it was one of the quotes in the devotional provided. The quote was given from an unnamed basketball coach: "Being in good shape is never measured by how tired you become. It's how fast you recover."

What a great quote... and one that's adaptable, at least in my mind, to being in good spiritual shape. Truth be told, I've been wrestling with a few ministry related things recently. There's been some situations that have put me in a bit of tail spin emotionally... and it really seemed hard to pull out of it.

Maybe the lesson I need to be reminded of here is that my spiritual health directly relates to my ability to recover from criticism... disagreements... disappointments... etc. The tailspins will come in ministry... they just will. The questions I have to ask and answer appropriately: How am I feeding my soul? Am I interacting with God in a way that will bring spiritual health? Am I spiritually healthy enough to bounce back from the tailspins of life in a quick and responsible way?

So in my personal journey... this is what I'm going to concentrate on this fall. What feeds my soul? What things should be in my life that aren't currently that would make a difference in my spiritual health? If I can adequately answer those questions... I think it will go a long way in helping me 'bounce back' quicker and stronger in the midst of the storms that come in ministry.

Darth Vader

My good friend, Brian Blum, showed this to me. Very, very funny. Enjoy.

Sermon Snippet

“14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:14-26)

Martin Luther wrestled with James in this passage to make sure he wasn’t saying anything out of line when it came to grace and faith. There is a fear, and it is rightfully founded, that a wrong interpretation of this passage could lead to some dangerous thinking about being saved only by what we do… rather than what Christ did. So we must navigate carefully today.

Now, the flip side of the argument is that if we separate faith and works too much… it will lead to apathetic Christianity. Do any of you remember church camp song ‘Casual Christian.’ I don’t wanna be, I don’t wanna be a casual Christian. There are multiple reasons why I don’t like that song that I won’t get into today… but one of reasons is because the term ‘Casual Christian’, to me, is another great example of an oxymoron. Those two terms should never ever go together. And I’m wondering if James is arguing here that they can’t, in fact, go together.

Our confession of faith MUST influence the type of person we strive to become. It must influence our words, thoughts, decisions, habits… it must influence what we do.

We should backtrack just a moment to gain some clarity. In the passage directly proceeding the one we are looking at today… James calls us to a lifestyle of Christ-like love for our neighbor… a love that sees beyond skin color, economic status or any other human class distinguisher. He just got done calling us to incorporate mercy into our dealings with other people in verses 12 and 13… and then he hits us with this statement in verse 14: “What good is it when a man claims to have faith but no deeds?”

I think he’s asking us to consider: If we don’t display that Christ-like love to our neighbor… if that is not a part of our lives… then has God’s grace really taken hold of us? Is our faith legit? Does our confession of faith even matter without the life change that should happen as a result? It’s another sobering part of James that asks us to really take a closer look.

Now, critics will throw up their hands and claim that James is suggesting that we are saved by our works… that we are really saved by what we do. Friends, that is not how I read this passage. For the people that want to throw James out of the New Testament because he seemingly contradicts Paul… I actually think they need to go back and read Paul some more. Paul includes many passages about loving and relating to others, many passages about doing good rather than evil… many passages that deal with ethics and morality. Paul never intended to divorce faith and works… James doesn’t here… and neither should we.

To be clear: We are saved by what Christ accomplished for us on the cross and through the empty tomb… but if our belief in the victorious, risen Christ does not lead to life change… if it doesn’t lead to an obedience to that same Lord who died for us… we have to ask how genuine our faith really is...

The Kiddos

I thought I'd post a small update on here tonight... I'm really going to try hard to post more... not so much because I think anybody is still reading... but because it's good to get some of this down before I forget it.

Emily... she's seven years old now... which boggles my mind. She is so creative; she scrap-books with Melissa; writes little short stories; draws some very cool pictures (with some forced perspective even - I mean, seriously... she already draws better freehand stuff than I do.) She loves to play the Lego games on Wii right now. Particularly Star Wars. It's a very fun collaborative game that we can play together.

Aaron... he just turned three and is a great little boy. He has a more defiant streak than Emily had, so I've had to completely rethink discipline with him. Just raising my voice doesn't work with him like it did Emily. He loves 'Tar Yays' (Star Wars) and I just told Melissa that all those toys that I bought in college have now paid off... because the kids love them. In fact, I just opened a clone trooper from Episode 2 up today. That's love... to open my precious carded figures!

Just one little story that I don't want to forget... the other night, Emily was staying over at Melissa's parents house and Aaron stayed home with us. We put him to bed and then came back about an hour later to find him asleep in Emily's room... on Emily's bed. So he definitely missed his sissy that night.

I know this might not always be the case, but my kids bring me extreme joy right now. I love watching them grow up and develop. It's an amazing journey!

Birthday Boy

Here are some pictures of Aaron on his 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheezes:

Wow!

So I get a packet from my denominational headquarters... they are promoting a Spring/Easter campaign that they have been doing for a few years now. In this packet, there is a letter and a pen.


Well, I'm used to getting pens in the mail all the time... It was a big ole fat pen with campaign title across the side of it. I just smiled and put it in my middle drawer where the rest of my ka-jillion pens rest.

It actually wasn't until the next day that I read the letter that came with it. The letter told me to enjoy my USB Pen. What?!?! A USB Pen?!

Sure enough... the pens breaks open at the middle and the non-writing portion of the pen is a USB flash drive. They had loaded all the campaign curriculum on the pen. Even better though, is the fact that it holds 1GB in memory!!!! 1 Gig!!!


Sometimes it pays to be a pastor! Great work, headquarters! You hit a home run on this one. (Of course, I'm sure there are some pastors out there who still think it's just a pen. Snicker, snicker.)

My Two Year Old

I'm not good at remembering little things like this… so I’m going to write it down before I forget it. Last night, Emily told on Aaron. Evidently, Aaron had thrown a toy and it knocked over and broke one of Melissa’s winter decorations. I gave Aaron a stern look and went into the other room to survey the damage. At that moment, I heard him take off… and I heard (through the baby monitor) his closet door moving.

So I went looking for him. I went down the hallway. I moved into his room. Still no sight of him. Finally, I opened the closet door… and there he is. Hiding. I had never seen him do this before. It was hard not to crack up laughing. Very clever. Also very Adam and Eve-ish too. It’s interesting to see how early we learn to hide from our mistakes…

2008 Reading List

Much like last year, I feel like this list is not very big. I wish I would've gotten more reading in. However, I feel I should make a disclaimer... this list only represents the books that I actually finished. This would be a far greater list if I retold all the books that I started, parts of commentaries that I poured over, or early church reading that I did. Okay, here it goes:

Professional Reading

1. 5 Things Anyone Can Do To Lead Effectively (Phil Stevenson) 96 Pages
2. 5 Things… To Help Their Church Grow (Phil Stevenson) 95 Pages
3. Soul Cravings (Erwin McManus) 258 Pages
4. 7 Practices of Effective Ministry (Stanley, Joiner, Jones) 187 Pages
5. An Unstoppable Force (Erwin McManus) 224 Pages
6. The Knowledge of the Holy (A.W. Tozer) 188 Pages
7. Return to Worship (Ron Owens) 210 Pages
8. Comeback Churches (Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson) 226 Pages
9. The Wonder of Worship (Keith Drury) 298 Pages
10. The Church Jesus Builds (Various) 205 Pages
11. The Radical Reformission (Mark Driscoll) 204 Pages
12. The Shack (William P. Young) 248 Pages
13. Be Holy (Various Authors) 207 Pages
14. Authentic Faith (Gary Thomas) 253 Pages

Personal Reading

1. Star Wars: Death Star (Michael Reaves & Steve Perry) 363 Pages
2. The Last Templar (Raymond Khoury) 523 Pages
3. Star Wars: Sacrifice (Karen Traviss) 367 Pages
4. Sandstorm (James Rollins) 587 Pages
5. Star Wars: Inferno (Troy Denning) 299 Pages
6. Map of Bones (James Rollins) 521 Pages
7. Star Wars: Fury (Aaron Allston) 356 Pages
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Campbell Black) 178 Pages
9. Star Wars: A Practical Man - Ebook (Karen Traviss) 70 Pages
10. The Appeal (John Grisham) 358 Pages
11. Star Wars: Jedi Twilight (Michael Reaves) 343 Pages
12. Protect and Defend (Vince Flynn) 403 Pages


26 Books 7267 Total Pages


Top Three Professional
1. Be Holy - A fantastic book re-examining the Wesleyan take on Holiness.
2. The Shack - Not a theology text... so don't read it like one. Just enjoy and allow God to minister to your heart.
3. Authentic Faith - Challenging book about some Christian disciplines that aren't thought about as much.

Top Three Personal
1. Protect and Defend - Flynn continues to write engaging stories... probably the author that I most look forward to reading new stuff from.
2. Map of Bones - Great stuff by Rollins... I just hope he revisits this storyline again... very unfulfilling ending.
3. The Last Templar - If you can get past another Gnostic gospel book (like DiVinci Code)... the story is really pretty engaging.

One big observation: I continue to read Star Wars out of loyalty... but I enjoy those books less and less. Not sure what's going on there... but I'm hoping for a better Star Wars year this year... we'll see.