I have been reading the book of Ecclesiastes lately about the futility of everything we do under the sun without Christ and this article reminded me of that.
There are millions of people who love the Olympics. Some train their whole lives to get there. Then years pass and what is left? Not much.
What good (in the long term) is a godless life?
http://io9.com/after-the-games-photographs-of-decaying-olympic-sites-503372635
Source: io9.com
Anyone else confused about what to think about the new Gatsby movie? I’m a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing for sure. Can the movie top a book as well written as that?
Also, I’ve been considering the themes of the novel lately. Can I really go out and support a film that’s about a man trying to steal another man’s wife?
I know it’s not healthy to watch movies that have excessive sex and violence in them, but what about amazing works of fiction that focus on things that I wouldn’t normally condone?
Last night I saw an excellent stage production of Crime and Punishment, based on the amazingly well written book. They did a great job keeping the blood and gore down. But I wonder what good it does me (as an audience member) to take in all of those dark themes…
Not to sound dogmatic about this stuff, but it’s interesting, isn’t it?
I’d love to get your thoughts on how you censor yourself.
Don’t you just love the book of Nahum?
Chances are that if you’ve ever heard of Nahum, you don’t know anything about it. If you do remember a few nuggets, they’re probably not anything good. Nahum is the book that contains gems like:
“There is no relief for your breakdown, your wound is incurable.” (3:19)
“And I will lift up your skirts over your face, and show to the nations your nakedness.” (3:5)
Wowzers! Who could love a book like this?
I can, and maybe you can too once we take a look at God’s relationship with Nineveh.
Nahum is a prophesy delivered against Nineveh, which was the capitol of Assyria. Does the name Assyria ring a bell? They were the people who took the Northern Kingdom of Israel captive in 722 BC. They tried the same thing with Judah (the Southern Kingdom of Israel) in 701 BC. If you were a Hebrew back in the day, the Assyrians were not people you were particularly fond of.
As justice for the horrors that Assyria committed against Israel, God sent this prophet to tell them that their case was pretty much hopeless.
Okay, so why love a book that foretells the destruction of a people group?
Because it’s so easily coupled with the book of Jonah.
Remember the story of Jonah? The guy who is sent to give a message to a people he hates that they should repent before God gets angry at them? You’ve seen the animated film, the Sunday school drawings, etc. But do you know who Jonah was going to warn?
Nineveh. That’s right, Jonah was going to warn the capitol of Assyria. The very same people that God was going to send to take over Israel less than a century later. Here is the chain of events, for those of you who get confused:
There, my friends, embedded in that numbered list, are several examples of crazy grace from God. This God, the same one of the New Testament, calls His people, and the enemies of His people, to repent. He urges us to be righteous. He warns us before something lousy happens.
And He stands behind His word.
That is why I love Nahum, and all of the prophets. They detail for us the patience of God, and they reveal that He means business.
We often shy away from hard truths in our lives. But so often we learn reality from those hard truths. Books like Nahum stick a mirror in front of us and ask us to take a good look. Will you?
Take a peek at Nahum and post here or on the Facebook page with your thoughts.
There is an interesting term floating around out there: “biblical”. Have you heard it? I hear it all of the time in sermons and read it in books. It’s a buzz word right now, and it’s used to justify a lot of stuff.
Listen for it in conversations with your Christian friends, or on radio talk shows. You’ll hear it.
So, what’s my beef with it?
Glad you asked.
Like a lot of trendy words out there now, biblical has started to lose its meaning. It should signify something from the Bible. For an example, the story of Noah is biblical. “Thou shalt not kill” is biblical. Jerusalem is a biblical city, etc. But we’ve started applying it to concepts that are not directly stated in the Bible.
Think about church membership. I recently posted about how many churches like to have an official membership class where they can talk about their doctrine, processes, and walk you through the gospel. All good things. But in the last few weeks I’ve heard people describe church membership as “biblical”. Well it doesn’t talk about church membership in the Bible. It’s a good concept, but certainly not in the actual book.
Another example is the courtship/dating debate. You’ll hear folks fervently defend courtship as the “biblical” model, but the Bible has little to say about the steps before marriage. In other words, neither dating nor courtship is explicitly preferred. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are some good principles in the Good Book about it, but there are no really direct commands.
Do you see the difference? You can hear the word dropped in debates ranging from gambling to tax reform, cremation to homeschooling. We’re confusing the good with the commanded.
But why bring this up?
Glad you asked.
The seeds of legalism are spread when mankind starts adopting good things as “must-haves”. When we require that which God does not, we become the judge of morality. Worse yet, when these rules pile up it embitters us and creates factions in the church.
Just ask the folks at my church whether or not I should tuck in my shirt on Sunday mornings. I do tuck it in, so as to keep them from stumbling, but God doesn’t require it. Something that small really has caused tension.
What do you think? Are there examples of “biblical” logic that you can think of?
Also, for a future post, I’d like to hear how you have coped with being hurt by another Christian or church. How do you bounce back from that?
Jan. 3, 1937: Firefighter recruits in training maneuvers, explained in a caption that includes a 68-word sentence that would surely not pass muster from a copy editor today: “Some of the most breath-taking exploits, Chief Oliver explains, are used ‘just to take the fear out of the men,’ but the future firemen must learn to be careful at the same time that they learn to be fearless, so that they can move about nimbly on high places, with the aid of ropes and ladders, and never make the mistake — almost certain to be fatal — of falling.” Photo: Wiiliam Eckenberg/The New York Times
How is the modern church taking risks, for better or worse?
I am not a “member” of my church.
I teach Sunday school, help at AWANA, and attend every week. I regularly pray for our pastors, the staff, and people who come to our Bible study.
But I am not a member.
The topic has been coming up a lot lately, so I have been polling friends to find out if they are members of their churches and why. Here is what Ron wrote on my Facebook page when I asked if membership was necessary:
Initially, my reaction was no. But I got to thinking that you should have some form of “quality control” in your education system. A church should provide a consistent theology in their teaching, but that could be done with teacher training and such. Plus, weeding out pedophiles. In that regard, many churches now have background check requirements for teachers and leaders. So I guess I don’t feel membership is necessary to build into a church “society”.
Ron has some good points. Others in favor of membership said that it shows a commitment level to a local church body.
Goodness knows that our society is deeply lacking in the commitment department.
But there are some who disagree that church membership is absolutely necessary. For one, taking a class does not mean that I am going to stick around. Who shows more commitment to a church: the guy who signs a piece of paper, or the gal who shows up to prayer group every week?
Another objection is that a consistent theology (as mentioned in Ron’s post) can sometimes stifle the spiritual maturity of a church. If nobody is allowed to disagree, we will never learn how to disagree without getting angry. Also, if the leaders in the church are followed without question, accountability can be weakened. There are many issues in the Bible that are not clear. Many popular theologies are not based in scripture, but pastoral conjecture (ask your church leaders what they think about healing and speaking in tongues and you’ll probably find some). If we cannot respectfully disagree, we’ll follow blindly or leave all together.
Maybe that doesn’t sound so bad, but this could be why we have so many personality cults in our churches. We worship the leaders and not the Savior. What happens when the leader leaves the church or falls? He takes the church with him.
All that said, church membership can increase the ownership people take in their local body. The membership class is often an evangelistic opportunity. It gives the pastors an idea of who is ”in” for the long run. Sometimes it pulls folks from dashing out after the service to solid involvement.
If we aren’t members of a church it can become a stumbling block to our brothers and sisters who believe it is important. We aren’t supposed to cause others to trip in their faith, right? But lately I have been getting some negative responses from churchgoers in town who don’t like the idea that I am not a member of my local body, despite all of the ways I am involved. I’ve been attending this same place the entire time I’ve been in town. Why the fuss?
After all, church membership is an extra-biblical thing. It’s not mentioned in the Bible, and is certainly not a requirement for salvation. It’s a human construct, pure and simple. Requiring it would be (in my ready-for-a-fight mind) the definition of Pharisee-ism, and an obvious cult-like move.
But! But. But…
In not taking the class I am causing my brothers and sisters in Christ to stumble.
Is it really worth that?
No. No it’s not.
What do you think?
I’d love to know what you all think about membership in the modern Church. By church membership I am referring to the class, meeting with the elders, etc that many churches use with people new to the congregation. Is the process necessary? Why does it exist? Are you a member of your local church?
What do you think?
Ministry is messy. It often means getting involved in the lives of others. And it doesn’t take too long to realize that most people out there have real problems.
We love to relate the fact that Jesus spent a lot of time with sinners, but do we do it ourselves?
Some of my recent experiences have disrupted my “perfect world”. God may open the doors for you to speak into someone’s life, but it might be through plexiglass at the county jail. Or maybe it’ll be taking someone to drug treatment programs in order to provide support. Ministry means going to places that are meant for “other people” and helping to pull them out.
If we don’t, others will.
By that I’m not just talking about people from other religions, but also other wounded people. Our montras sometimes get stuck in their heads. “Some day you’ll be able to use this experience to help other people.” That’s true! One of the great blessings in life is that we often learn from our mistakes and get to help keep others from making them. But what we don’t realize is that people who have not been fully healed can sometimes get caught in unhealthy loops, so caught up in helping others that they don’t ever heal themselves.
So, if you have worked through your hang ups, are a person of prayer, and have a desire to see the Kingdom furthered, here are my challanges.
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Won’t you join us?
What do you think? Are there other steps you recommend?
March 5, 1935: Ed Newell, chairman of the National Ski Club and the Olympic tryout committee, demonstrating a stunt on the slopes at Mount Rainier, in Washington State. “It’s just too bad for all concerned if he doesn’t make it.” Photo: The New York Times
I just saw an advertisement for the American Bible Challenge. If you haven’t seen the program, it’s a gameshow where contestants are asked questions from the Bible. It’s a fun, though somewhat slow, program. It’s actually kind of interesting to quiz yourself and see how much you know.
What caught my eye is that the advertisement sold the show as being the best “feel-good” gameshow out there. That may very well be, but I wonder what it says about us Christians as a people. What does it mean that we make “feel-good” materials a priority?
There are other common phrases used in Christian advertising. Here are some:
A lot of it seems to revolve around ideas of comfort and sanitation. The trouble is that real ministry (and real life) is messy. The Bible itself isn’t family-friendly. But that makes us feel uncomfortable.
Comfort, feeling good, in a lot of ways, is our enemy. When the gospel first gets ahold of a person, it is vital that they be faced with their sin before a Holy God. Without that burning, confrontational truth making us uncomfortable, we can’t see our need for a God.
Comfort is what keeps people coming on Sundays but not getting involved in their local church.
Comfort is what keeps us reading only the passages of the Bible that don’t talk about wrath.
Comfort is what keeps us creating theology to trick ourselves into believing that we are above others, above sickness, and above poverty.
Comfort is what makes us believe that we’re all the same when we’ve got different gifts.
Comfort makes us rally around people who talk well even if their theology stinks.
What do you think? What does our advertisement say about us?
Chris Staron, writer/ director of Bringing up Bobby and Between the Walls, on his way to "novelist" status, tries to figure out how to make himself marketable. Follow his journey to being published!
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