Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I'm not that good at math but...

I know that I have 7 friends who are divorced or separated and waiting for a divorce. I also have countless friends who are on the verge of trading in their faith for good. I was never any good at math but I'm pretty sure these are not positive numbers.

With each case the church has played a major part in these peoples lives. My 7 friends who are divorced were ALL staff members in their church. One of them was also a Marriage Family Therapist.

All divorced.

Each one of these people have had deep encounters with the Lord but still gave up.

Some of the offspring hate the church and mom and dad because of this.

Sometimes you work through a situation and you identify who you're mad at, what they did, how this affected your relationship, pray a blessing and forgive them, and then identify what character flaw was revealed in you. This last step is how we learn what the root of our problem is. There are instances, however, when you realized that actually there is no character flaw in you. An example of this would be physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. When this is present you simple say, "Mom and/or Dad are sick." This means that their sickness is so disturbing that it abuses the innocent which is totally out of your control.

For so many that have been chewed up and spit out by this beast we call church we simple have to say that mom and dad are sick. This act is on of spiritual abuse. Many families go to church looking for a new life or to further their growth in Christ but the church has been ill-equipped to solve their problem.

The church can teach us the do's and dont's but not how to deal with the root symptom. For example, men often struggle with pornography. The solution often taught is confess when you've fallen, put spy ware on your computer, look down when an attractive woman walks by, etc.

NONE of this is the root problem.

You haven't dealt with the source.

This is why spiritual step work is vital to Christian living. When we understand what drives us to act out (lust, anger, gossip) we are able to find victory. The source could be a variety of things; I am lonely, I am controlling, I am arrogant, I am scared.

These are all character defects and they are the source to our brokenness. Most churches do not teach you to embrace your brokenness but to suppress it and 'try harder'. Soon enough this leads people to self destruction because ultimately they can find no victory.

The goal is not 'Victory over my character defects', the goal is 'Victory in the midst of my character defects'.

Being a new creation doesn't mean the old isn't still present. It means that we are walking in a new way under new principles. Our old creation pops up all the time. Suppressing that or being condemned by that is a bad understanding of grace.

The principle of Poor in Spirit.

Total surrender.

This is not weakness but strength.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The world didn't end?

I'm just taking a chance here, being that it's Tuesday night at 7:18 and the results aren't final yet, but the world didn't end! A liberal African-American is the president of the United States!!! For many this is amazing and for many there is fear.

The election of Barack Obama says a lot. It's demonstrates that an African-American from a broken home can have hope, that in and of itself is beautiful. It demonstrates that an inexperienced Senator with a liberal voting record can become the leader of the free world by being inspirational and eloquent in his speech. It demonstrates that Americans are willing to take risk and not just be conservative or centrist. It also demonstrates that a majority is counting on government to help solve their problem.

So what does this mean? For the Christian it should mean nothing. After all, hasn't the church been on the foreground of racial reconciliation, spreading our wealth, fighting for social justice, making peace with our enemies abroad, etc.? Don't forget I tend to be sarcastic.

Let's go down the fear road for a minute. What if the worst judgments about President Obama are true? What if he's a closet socialist, maybe even a Muslim? What if the the rich are taxed more than 40% of their income. What if jobs continue to dry up and go over oversees like they have been? What if we get attacked again by terrorists? What if our freedoms are threatened?

Will this effect how you live as a Christian?

Let's go down a more positive road. What if President Obama brings us out of our economic disaster? What if the middle class is restored? What if disenfranchised African-American community see President Obama's election as the last hurdle for equality and begin to thrive. What if America rebuilds it's reputation with other countries continuing to lessen the threat of terrorism at home?

Will this effect how you live as a Christian?

Remember, YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH. It was never, "Behold, Obama who will restore the middle class" nor "Behold, McCain who will protect us and allow us to pursue prosperity", rather, it was, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus didn't come here to put the church in power politically but to empower her spiritually to help solve the spiritual problem the world, our nation, is in need of.

So please remember, the day after, that our security is not in the policies of elected officials, our wealth is not measured by hard work in our vocation, our freedom is not in democracy but, instead, you already live in the Kingdom of Heaven when you are poor in spirit. Also, our influence as the church is NEVER dependant on what government we are under but we are influential when we are willing to care for the sick, fight for the oppressed, seek justice, and live a life of love that is foreign to the very culture we are a part of.

MxPx once said, "Politics-Shmolitics, it's too confusing" and I would agree with this below average punk band.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Faith

An interesting story takes place in Luke 8:22-25. Jesus invited His disciples on a journey with Him to travel from one side of a lake to another. As soon as the adventure began Jesus fell asleep. The story goes on as a rather large storm arises which cause the disciples to be afraid of their well being. Naturally, the ran down and woke up Jesus saying that they are on the verge of perishing. Jesus woke up, saved the day, and then challenges, albeit rebukes, them for their lack of faith.
The story hits home, for me, on many levels. One, Jesus invited me this great journey in following Him and sometimes I feel like He's asleep at the wheel leaving me alone to fend for myself. Two, in these moments of fear, and even abandonment, I cry out to the Lord and He's pretty faithful in providing me with comfort. And thirdly, as I process the issue I began to see where I lacked faith.
So, what is faith? A good Christian answer is that faith is a belief, or hope, in something we cannot see. What I've been learning is that faith is the belief in promises of the Christ (and that the promises are available now, not just when we die!). In the sermon on the mount Jesus was very specific on how to live a blessed life. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Faith is an act of surrendering to the teachings of the principles of the sermon on the mount and through this act the promises of the Christ are given. This act of surrender changes our hope from finding security in our circumstances to finding security from the Lord in spite of our circumstances.
Faith in the Christ allows us to be confident in the midst of our storms. It actually produces a peace in our storm to the extent that we find no fear. Jesus was pushing His disciples to have this level of faith. He was preparing them for what were to lie ahead of them. When being persecuted, famished, or being faced with any other circumstance their faith in the promises of the Christ would provide them a peace that would surpass all understanding.
The promises of the Christ will not return void.