The Many Uses of Bicycles

All you bikers out there (bicyclists, that is--not Harley-riders :)), check this out. A new use for bicycles, perhaps coming soon to a city near you...

Copenhagen Cargo Bikes from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Suffering and Joy

In studying 2 Timothy, one of the remarkable things is Paul's situation--he wrote 2 Timothy "in chains" (2:9), as a prisoner (1:8), and in the prospect of his death (4:6). Yet his letter is not focused on himself, and he writes with great hope.
This should not surprise. For followers of Jesus Christ suffering and joy go together. I was reminded of this again from 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6: "For we know, brothers beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction... for you received the word with much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit...."
Gordon Fee remarks: "Here we find that remarkable collocation of joy and suffering found throughout the NT. The early church understood suffering to be part of its lot, and believers were not to be surprised by it; yet because they they had experienced their new life as the indwelling of the Spirit, they also lived with great joy."

Of Cheap Stunts

I hate to belabor this point--it should be obvious. But the stunt by the "pastor" in Florida to threaten to burn a Koran (or Quran) for its publicity value illustrates what the gospel and Christianity is, and is not. (I do this in part because I had breakfast with a brother this morning who was accused at work of being one of "you guys" who burn Qurans. It is one thing to endure scoffing for the sake of the gospel; it is another thing to be mocked for the idiocy of someone far away who happens to have "Christian" in the name of his church. I for one want to distance myself farther from that "pastor" than from the Muslim down the street).
If following Jesus means that you are right and righteous, and that ________ (fill in the blank with "Muslim" or any other kind of people) are wrong and evil, then we should burn Qurans (and lots of other books, including many on our own bookshelves). But for our instruction there is a group of people in the New Testament who thought they were right and righteousness, and despised those who were not like they were. But they were the group of people for whom Jesus had the least "tolerance"--the Pharisees. Read Luke 11:37-54. If being "right" and "good" make one worthy of God's attention and acceptance, then the Pharisees are at the top of the heap. But they were at the bottom of Jesus' heap.
Following Jesus, it turns out, begins with the recognition that I am neither right nor righteous, but am in fact enslaved to worshipping myself. That enslavement takes many forms--including enslavement in a false religion, of which Islam is but one example. But what I share with the Muslim by nature is that I believe I can save myself, that a just God must consider I am a good person, and such nonsense. And the only thing that can deliver both the Muslim and me (or anyone else) from being thus enslaved is the gospel. So that whatever I have of being right or good is not native to me, but wholly by God's grace, in response to which, in the worlds of Isaac Watts, "each of us cries with thankful tongue, Lord, why was I a guest? Why was I made to hear your voice and enter while there's room, when thousands made a wretched choice, and rather starve than come?"
As followers of Jesus our response to Islam should be the same as to every form of enslavement to sin: prayer that God will open blind eyes, and gospel proclamation (which is a costly thing--let's face it!). Not cheap stunts that drag Jesus' name through the mud.

The "Center" of Paul's Theology

Here is something to ponder, if you have the occasion to meditate on it. I have begun a series in 2 Timothy, and on Sunday I tried (emphasis on tried!) to convey a sense of what is at the "center," the middle, the focus, of Paul's writing. Here is a summary by Gordon Fee that is worth pondering (and there is a lot to ponder, as it is very concise):
"Through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus, our Lord, a gracious and loving God has effected eschatological salvation for his new covenant people, the church, who now, as they await Christ's coming, live the life of the future by the power of the [Holy] Spirit." (God's Empowering Presence, p. 12).
I realize for many (muself included) that is too dense to digest. Think about it, though. Ponder it. In Christ, we live the life of the future (the life of 'the age to come' in Paul's epistles, also called "eternal life" or just "life" in John's gospel; also called the life of the kingdom of God/heaven in Matthew and Mark). And it is life lived in the church--and it is life lived in the fallen world ("this present age").
Like I said, a lot to think about.

New Blog to Follow

While there are several blogs that I occasionally look up, just to see what is of interest there, from bloggers whom I often find insightful, here is a blog that has had a lot of interesting stuff from a variety of sources--including some good Christ-centered reflection on "secular" sources. It is the blog of David Murray, a Scotsman who teaches at the Puritan Reformed Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI.
Much of what he blogs about has to do with leadership, or with pastoral ministry. But a good deal of it is for everyone. Check it out.

What does a Christian write for the Harvard Business Review?

Here's what--based on a graduation speech to the Harvard Business School class of 2010. A bit lengthy, but well worth a read. Incidentally, David Brooks commented on this in the New York Times, also a very worthwhile read (and much shorter!).

"How-to" and "What-to" Preaching

I've had several conversations in the last few days about why at our church (and other gospel-centered churches) preachers do not tell congregations, very specifically, what to or what not to do (or how to, or not to, do something). Here is why.
Let me use the example of offensive language (since I used a marginally offensive word in a sermon recently, as I was told :)). Say I preached a sermon with this title: "Words That Should Never Come out of a Christian's Mouth." And I produced a list of the kinds of language Christians should never use, all with biblical quotations to back up why this or that word or phrase is inappropriate or downright evil. I might even go on to say how bad people are who use such language, and they ought to watch out, for, referring to James 3:6, the tongue is "set on fire by hell itself."
Such a sermon would have one of two consequences in those who heard it:
First, there would be those who are not in the habit of using such words. They would hear this sermon, and think to themselves, "I got that box checked. I don't use such language. Whew! I must be a good Christian." In other words, it would produce a Pharisee.
Second, there would be those who are in the habit of using such language. They would hear the sermon and say to themselves, "Man, I just can't do it. I might as well give up. I'm never going to be able to stop swearing. I must be a horrible Christian. Maybe I'm not a Christian at all." In other words, it would produce a drop-out.
Pharisees and drop outs. Neither group would be affected at all by the gospel. The Pharisee is self-righteous, and sees no need for the gospel. The drop-out is crushed, and sees no hope in the gospel. I have not, therefore, preached the gospel at all, no matter how "practical" my sermon, no matter how easily I can go to work on Monday and "apply" it to my life.
But there is another reason why we don't preach sermons whose main points are "how-to" or "what-to." It is because when God's Word gives God's commandments, they are never such as can be directly "applied" on Monday morning, to our complete satisfaction. God never commands us things like, "don't leave home without kissing your wife as you go out the door." That would be doable, so that if I did that consistently I would have reason to feel self-righteous. No, God gives us big commandments like, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." Kissing my wife every time I go out the door may be a good thing, and may be consistent with that commandment, but the commandment is much, much too big for me to ever feel like, "I got that box checked off! I must be a good husband!"
That's why we always preach the gospel. That's why we never preach God's commandments without a strong dose of the gospel (by which our righteousness, our boasting, is found in Christ and him alone because he died and rose again). God's commandments are so big that they deal not with externals, but with our hearts. And our hearts are so warped that nothing short of the gospel of Jesus' death and resurrection has any hope of giving us any assurance, or of giving us hope that we might ever change for the better--or make progress toward keeping God's big commandments. For we always need gospel forgiveness, and gospel change. And that is what, above all, we preach.

At the Center of the Church Is a Well

Here's another book I have been reading. I was initially especially intrigued because the author was on my floor, over 20 years ago, when I was a Resident Asistant in college--though I'm sure he doesn't remember.
In one of the chapters he gives the image of the church as a ranch. But whereas we often think of the pastures of a ranch surrounded by fences--to keep the cattle in, as well as the neighbor's cattle out--perhaps a giant ranch is more to the point. On huge ranches it is impractical to build fences. Instead, the rancher digs a well. The cattle, if they don't want to die, will naturally stay close to the well.
As I read that, I thought of the woman at the well in John 4. She came to the well becaue that is where there is water. Jesus went to the well, because he had better water than was in the well--and he had it for people who needed it most.
The church, too, has the living water of the gospel. It is for people who need it--including those inside the church, and those outside the church. Those who know the water will stay close, if they are wise. But the well should also draw those who don't know the water yet--like the Samaritan woman. The fences should not be necessary to keep those who know the water in--and should not be in the way of those on the outside who want to come and taste the water.
I found that a different, and helpful, way to look at the church and the gospel the church offers.