Category: Theology

Ordination Questions: Christ’s Lordship & the Holy Spirit

3.) What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of (a) the Lordship of Jesus Christ and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?

On any given Sunday a visitor to the congregations I serve will hear sixty or more voices united in confession saying these words: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…” Although we certainly mean this in some sense, often I am afraid that if we’re not careful, we might miss the incredibly life-altering and subversive message that this commitment signals.

An exploration of the original context for these proclamations reveals the revolutionary nature of this commitment. The word gospel is our rendering of the Greek word euangelion, which was not only used in connection with Jesus, but was also a word used in connection with the birth of Caesar Augustus. [1] This Roman Emperor’s birth was hailed as good news because he was also seen as kyrios, which primarily is a word that refers to power and authority.[2] Salvation

in the first century Mediterranean was intimately connected to the order and rule of Rome. In this cultural milieu, the phrase, “I believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord,” would have been an extremely subversive statement to make. As Anglican Bishop Tom Wright is fond of saying, it means that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. Confessing Jesus as Lord meant placing your trust and hope in one who exhibited a completely different set of values than the prevailing wisdom of the world. From the earliest times, Christians believed that their trust in Jesus was warranted because he was in fact, “the exact imprint of God’s very being.”[3]

The practice of ministry has shown me that this continues to be an extremely difficult call to follow even after nearly two thousand years. Although the claim easily passes our lips, the reality of affirming Jesus against any other claim to our lives is often excruciating. As a clergy member, I often feel tempted to smooth the rough edges of the Gospel. When encountering a difficult passage of Scripture, my desire to be affirmed and liked is often at odds with the strong call of Jesus. Yet when I surrender my own preferences and comfort for the counter-intuitive demands of Jesus, something strange and miraculous happens.

I believe this is where the two parts of this question merge. It is by the power and work of God’s Holy Spirit that we find the energy and inspiration to live out the unique calling of Christ. By the Spirit, we are strengthened to live differently. We cannot begin to understand “losing our lives to save them,”[4] how “the last will be first,”[5] or “selling our possessions,”[6] unless we are motivated by the very Spirit of God working and moving in our midst. In my ministry, I have seen people make these difficult choices. It’s in the lives of wealthy members brokenhearted by the need in the world and motivated to share their possessions. It’s in the hard decision of a man to quit a job that conflicted with his passion for Christ’s Church. It’s in the utter love for little ones who can give nothing monetarily in return for their support and care. Each one of these acts subvert the common wisdom of our day and shout, “Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not!” By the power of the Spirit, sayings like, “he who dies with the most toys wins” and “always look out for number one” are dismantled and exposed as hollow imitations of the wholeness found in the passionate dedication to Jesus. It is only by confidence in the Spirit’s power and trust in the graceful rule of Jesus that I am able to stand in the pulpit and offer hope, love, grace, and the challenge to be the people God continues to call us to be.

 

[1] Freedman, D. N. The Anchor Bible Dictionary . (New York, Doubleday, 1996)

[2] Bauer, W., Danker, F., Arndt, W., and Gingrich, F., Greek-English Lexicon of the New

Testament and Other Early Christian Literature Third Edition.(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000)

[3] Hebrews 1:3

[4] Matthew 16:25

[5] Luke 13:30

[6] Luke 12:33

Ordination Questions: Christ’s Lordship & the Holy Spirit

3.) What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of (a) the Lordship of Jesus Christ and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?

On any given Sunday a visitor to the congregations I serve will hear sixty or more voices united in confession saying these words: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…” Although we certainly mean this in some sense, often I am afraid that if we’re not careful, we might miss the incredibly life-altering and subversive message that this commitment signals.

An exploration of the original context for these proclamations reveals the revolutionary nature of this commitment. The word gospel is our rendering of the Greek word euangelion, which was not only used in connection with Jesus, but was also a word used in connection with the birth of Caesar Augustus. [1] This Roman Emperor’s birth was hailed as good news because he was also seen as kyrios, which primarily is a word that refers to power and authority.[2] Salvation

in the first century Mediterranean was intimately connected to the order and rule of Rome. In this cultural milieu, the phrase, “I believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord,” would have been an extremely subversive statement to make. As Anglican Bishop Tom Wright is fond of saying, it means that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. Confessing Jesus as Lord meant placing your trust and hope in one who exhibited a completely different set of values than the prevailing wisdom of the world. From the earliest times, Christians believed that their trust in Jesus was warranted because he was in fact, “the exact imprint of God’s very being.”[3]

The practice of ministry has shown me that this continues to be an extremely difficult call to follow even after nearly two thousand years. Although the claim easily passes our lips, the reality of affirming Jesus against any other claim to our lives is often excruciating. As a clergy member, I often feel tempted to smooth the rough edges of the Gospel. When encountering a difficult passage of Scripture, my desire to be affirmed and liked is often at odds with the strong call of Jesus. Yet when I surrender my own preferences and comfort for the counter-intuitive demands of Jesus, something strange and miraculous happens.

I believe this is where the two parts of this question merge. It is by the power and work of God’s Holy Spirit that we find the energy and inspiration to live out the unique calling of Christ. By the Spirit, we are strengthened to live differently. We cannot begin to understand “losing our lives to save them,”[4] how “the last will be first,”[5] or “selling our possessions,”[6] unless we are motivated by the very Spirit of God working and moving in our midst. In my ministry, I have seen people make these difficult choices. It’s in the lives of wealthy members brokenhearted by the need in the world and motivated to share their possessions. It’s in the hard decision of a man to quit a job that conflicted with his passion for Christ’s Church. It’s in the utter love for little ones who can give nothing monetarily in return for their support and care. Each one of these acts subvert the common wisdom of our day and shout, “Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not!” By the power of the Spirit, sayings like, “he who dies with the most toys wins” and “always look out for number one” are dismantled and exposed as hollow imitations of the wholeness found in the passionate dedication to Jesus. It is only by confidence in the Spirit’s power and trust in the graceful rule of Jesus that I am able to stand in the pulpit and offer hope, love, grace, and the challenge to be the people God continues to call us to be.

 

[1] Freedman, D. N. The Anchor Bible Dictionary . (New York, Doubleday, 1996)

[2] Bauer, W., Danker, F., Arndt, W., and Gingrich, F., Greek-English Lexicon of the New

Testament and Other Early Christian Literature Third Edition.(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000)

[3] Hebrews 1:3

[4] Matthew 16:25

[5] Luke 13:30

[6] Luke 12:33

Ordination Questions – Humanity & the Need for Divine Grace

2.) What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?

I entered ministry holding together two views of humanity. First, we are created in the image of God (the imago Dei). In fact, the Psalmist marvels at the way in which humans are created “a little lower than God…and crowned with glory and honor.” In other words, we are created for goodness and wholeness in the exact image of God. Yet on the other hand, one need only to watch the evening news to see that our world is broken and disjointed. As Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Things are not the way God intended. In my ministry, I have seen the heights and depths of both views. I have seen the mystery of God’s good creation cradling infants in my arms to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I’ve seen the brokenness of our world in the struggle of a husband and wife whose marriage collapses under the stresses and strains of life.

This tension between the original goodness of God’s creation and the reality of evil and brokenness in our world is the place where we live. Far too often, I have found that people put these in the wrong order. Instead of seeing the imprint of God’s gracious presence in their lives, far too many Christians have heard this message, “You are a despicable, worthless creature, but God might just be able to do something with you yet.” Instead, the wonderful gospel message we are called to share is this, “No matter how you might feel, no matter what you have gone through, you are one of the crowning achievements of God’s good creation! Even though the Fall is lived and reenacted daily in the lives of women and men, the good news is that God will stop at nothing to repair what is broken in your life. The story of Jesus is the story of God’s great reclamation project of our world. God is continually working to form each one of us into the imago Dei. God is actively at work, graciously restoring you to wholeness.”

Grace is the gift of God’s ongoing reclamation of the world, and I have seen this in the lives of those people I serve. I have seen it in a woman recovering from addiction as she joined the Church by professing her faith in Jesus. Immediately she was surrounded by a new family that loves, cares, and prays for her. In that scene, I don’t simply see someone added to the membership rolls; I see the work of God’s new creation happening right there in our midst. I have seen it in a community asking me what has gotten into our members, “I don’t know what’s going on over there, but something’s different.” That is far more than more workers being added to our depleted ranks; that is the very work of God’s new creation happening in our midst. Sin and brokenness are real, but God’s love came first. Through the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, our world is being transformed. That is my understanding of what grace is all about.

Ordination Questions – Experience & Understanding of God

Inspired by the commissioning responses of Andrew over at Thoughts of Resurrection and the ordination responses of Andy at Enter the Rainbow, I’ve decided to post a few of my own. This has been taking up a lot of my writing time, so I thought at least my blog wouldn’t go silent in the meantime. So, feel free to comment, make suggestions, ask questions, etc. These are all rough drafts and will most likely change in some form or another.

1.) How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God? Oftentimes, ministry is like the weather in Oklahoma. If you are not happy with what’s happening at any given moment, all you need to do is wait and it will change! Three scenes scattered from my last three years of ministry illustrate this perfectly: a quiet evening at home with my family is interrupted with the news of a motorcycle accident involving a teen from our congregation who was broken but survived, I am awakened by a late night call with word that a beloved matriarch of our congregation is dying in the hospital intensive care unit, and an evening visit with community members at the local high school football game is cut short in order to be with a family at the funeral home when the body of their loved one arrives.

In the middle of life, in the very midst of ministry, I have learned to experience and understand God in a new way. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said, “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” Looking back at my answers immediately following seminary, I see a very complex doctrinal portrait of God focused on God’s Triune nature, creative power, redemptive purposes, and eschatological vision. Even though I still hold strongly to these commitments, the very practices of baptizing both young and old, offering God’s grace at the table, speaking words of both comfort and challenge from Scripture, sitting with the dying, and leading worship for the bereaved have helped me move more closely to the simplicity beyond complexity. It is no wonder that the first letter of John to the “beloved,” eventually states the simple fact that, “…God is love.”

At times, I am overwhelmed by the sheer mystery and complexity of our Triune God, but through the free gift of grace, I have experienced God’s abiding presence and abundant peace in the midst of the storms of life. Through countless experiences watching God at work in the lives of others, I am more and more convinced of God’s transforming love. So even with a full appreciation of God’s complexity, I have a simple trust that God’s eternal self-giving love descends to us in the incarnation, seeking to reach out to save those who are hopeless, helpless, and hungry.

It is this simple loving presence in the world that motivates my ministry. It is God’s subtle, yet increasingly real work in my life that sustains me through the ups, downs, and surprises of service. The fullness of God’s love is the fullness for which I’m willing to lay down my life.

Are we Sims?

According to Nick Bostrom, a philosopher at Oxford University, there is about a 20% chance that we’re nothing more than characters in a large simulated universe ran by sentient beings of the future. This proposal is briefly explained in the New York Times article, Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch.

While this highly speculative theory is very interesting, it seems to be less imaginative than one might imagine. Think about it. To me, this seems to be a modern or post-modern example of Feuerbach’s old claim that God is simply humanity’s desire writ large – i.e. God is a projection of our desires. In this case, however, the very metaphysic of the universe is our current technology writ large. Computer simulations are a reality in our world, Bostrom seems to argue, so who’s to say we aren’t simply part of a grander more elaborate computer simulation of the future?! Is this any different than early humans believing that storms, earthquakes, etc. were gods in some way?

In the end, I think our faith can hold up to these kinds of critiques, because Jesus simply does so many things that I don’t want to do. Who wants to love or forgive their enemies? I don’t. Who wants to give up their life to save it? Not me. If my deepest desires were written large upon the universe, the God of my invention would look a whole lot different. Wouldn’t yours? So, I think there is something important about the fact that God’s difference is revealed to us by the very paradoxical claims of Christ revealed through Scripture. There is something that refutes the Feuerbachian claim in the very fact that our calling is so often conflicted with our intuition and desire. Yet at the same time, when we pursue God’s call to live in this counter-intuitive way we are given peace that surpasses understanding.

So, I guess I’m not worried that we’re simply Sims after all.

Off-Road Disciplines

Off-Road DisciplinesI have been on a self-imposed book buying moratorium as I wait to begin my D.Min. program. Something tells me that I’ll be buying a lot of books during my time in that program, so I should save my book money for those. However, my trips to the local libraries just aren’t enough. I guess I’m too used to ordering stuff from Amazon.com at the drop of a hat! So yesterday when I went to Tulsa to take my truck back for a recall, I stopped by Cokesbury and bought a new book: Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders by Earl Creps.

So far, I am very impressed with this book. When I read books, I often think of the kind of person who would really benefit the most from reading it. For me, this book is an excellent introduction to postmodern/emerging concepts for those conservative or evangelical clergypersons who might be suspicious of these movements, but are still passionate about reaching people influenced by postmodernity in a missional way.  To be honest, this book seems to be written for an older audience.  I’m pretty sure the reason this might fit those types well is related to Creps’ socio-cultural context, which I mention a bit below.

Let me offer you a few great quotes from my early reading, as I’ve found myself underlining quite a bit so far. In the first chapter, Creps talks about the need to move from a centralized model of leadership (the big, authoritarian pastor model) to a model where Christ is at the center of our lives in missional communities. Unfortunately for us, he believes this shift is often, if not always, motivated by death of our dreams and ambitions.

A missional life, then, experiences the centrality of Christ as our failures expose the illusion that we merit the center position. Failure, among other forces, reveals this illusion for what it is, crucifying it and giving us the chance to invite Christ to assume the central role in practice, instead of just in doctrine (p. 10).

He continues later in the chapter with what I believe is the biggest danger for those of us who care about reaching people for Christ in creative and culturally-sensitive ways. Emerging Church “techniques” imposed on a community can easily devolve into what he describes here,

We like to transform things technologically, thinking of ministry as an instrumentality, ourselves as the CEO, the Holy Spirit as a sort of power cell, and the church as an object we modify. In so doing, we risk creating not much more than a hipper version of irrelevance (p. 14).

He closes this chapter with a challenge that speaks to me in a way that is painfully clear,

In it all, God calls me out of the center that He alone rightfully occupies, to let go of things I treasure, to meet Him among the marginalized where He is always most at work. I will meet Him there most profoundly if the transformation of my inner life is at stake (p. 14).

I really relate to a lot of what Creps is doing in this book. He is operating out of the Assemblies of God tradition and runs the D.Min. program at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, so I imagine he has many of the same challenges as those of us in mainline denominations who are used to doing things a certain way – especially those of us with more “conservative” theological pedigrees. No doubt he has plenty of challenges unique to his setting as well. In any case, I’m looking forward to continuing my conversation with Creps through this book, and I pray that God will continue to mold me into the missional leader I am called to be.

Happy Feast of Saint Cyril of Alexandria!

St. Cyril of AlexandriaWith apologies to my Nestorian brothers and sisters out there, today is June 27th, which we all know is the feast of Saint Cyril of Alexandria! Good old Cyril, Bishop/Saint/Doctor of the Church, was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He was most famous for his battle with the Nestorians.

The Catholic Online website recounts some of this battle, “In 430 Cyril became embroiled with Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, who was preaching that Mary was not the Mother of God since Christ was Divine and not human, and consequently she should not have the word theotokos (God-bearer) applied to her.”

The article at Catholic Online continues by describing more of Cyril’s work, “During the rest of his life, Cyril wrote treatises that clarified the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation and that helped prevent Nestorianism and Pelagianism from taking long-term deep root in the Christian community.”

Perhaps it is an appropriate day to think about the teaching role of bishops. Do you think our United Methodist bishops neglect this task? I know William Willimon and Timothy Whitaker are two sterling examples of teaching bishops. What about the rest? Should this be a central or important role for our episcopal leaders?

This feast day also makes me think about the post-modern movement of the Church. It is interesting that we are concerned to recover many early Christian practices, but we don’t seem to have a huge concern about apologetics. Don’t get me wrong, I know that for many this is considred a thoroughly modernist enterprise, but maybe we need to ask why it was also part of the pre-modernist enterprise. It seems that folks as early as Justin Martyr cared about apologetics, even though you’d never think he was a modernist.  If it is a premodern Christian practice, does it have a place in the post-modern emerging Church?

Anyway…happy feast day!

Broken Down on the Roman Road

Many of us who live in the Bible Belt have had a lot of experience with the Roman Road to Salvation. This is a set of scriptures from Romans that some people have used in their attempts at evangelism (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, & 10:13). Although this is used as a convenient way to summarize salvation, there are those of us who are uncomfortable with how simplistic it seems to be. In one of his letters to emerging Christians over at the Jesus Creed blog, Scot McKnight shares one of the best takes on the limits of the Roman Road that I have ever heard. If you’ve ever experienced this evangelism technique from either side of the equation, or if you simply want to read a terrific exposition on the difference between “salvation” as laid out in this distillation and a biblical understanding of entering the Kingdom, go check this out. Great stuff.

Interesting Happenings with the Southern Baptists

I stumbled across the blog of a fellow Oklahoman at some point in the last few weeks. Although I’m no longer a Southern Baptist, I still care about that denomination. So, for the last few days I’ve been following this blog and keeping in touch with the larger trends taking place in that body.

It seems that there are some very interesting debates happening right now (including the doctrinal stance the denomination is considering regarding speaking in tongues) that will shape the future of the SBs once again. You may want to check in from time to time and see what’s going on.

Did Jesus Want to be Liked? Redux

I posted this back in February, but it is a question that I still think about from time to time. So, I thought I’d repost this and see if some of my newer readers have any thoughts on it.

Did Jesus Want to be Liked?

A friend and I have been carrying on an interesting conversation about whether or not Jesus wanted to be liked. So, with his permission and a few slight edits, here is some of that email exchange.

Friend: “So today while I was visiting my counselor, who also happens to be a Christian, he asked me a philosophical question and I’ll pass it along to you for your response. He asked, “Do you think Jesus wanted to be liked?” I answered no, that while it would be nice for Him to be liked, He was more interested in telling the truth which He knew would be counter-cultural and eventually lead to His death. He didn’t court favor with people…He simply told the first disciples to follow him…there was no wooing of them to His service outside His divine nature. And I also pointed out the many who supported Him while He was meeting their needs and then turned their back on Him afterwards. Then there were the crowds who were fickle calling Him king and Messiah on the way into Jerusalem and Crucify Him a week later. Was Jesus seeking popularity? No. I think He was seeking to reveal the truth about man’s need for a relationship with God and knew what His eventual fate would be. He appreciated those close to Him, but that wasn’t a “need”. The counselor was surprised by my answer. Do you think it’s not orthodox or am I just totally off the wall here?”

Me: “Let me think about this some more, but my first response would be that the gospels are primarily written to suggest that Jesus is the Risen Messiah of God rather than any kind of expose as we find in modern psychological biography.

I do think we have clues that point to Jesus’ needs (which I do believe is a very orthodox position, since we consider him fully human as well as fully divine – to take away his human needs would either be docetic and deny his humanity or gnostic and hate his humanity: remember human comes from humus or earthiness). John 21 suggests Jesus wants Peter to love him, John 11:35-36 seems to suggest a deep friendship with Lazarus. We make a fine point between being liked and loved, but I believe Jesus did want to be loved. Presumably we like those we love.

Let me think some more, and I’ll get back to you. However, feel free to press back on any of these points! God bless!”

Friend: “There is a basic human need to be loved. Evidence the scientific experiments where apes were raised with wireframe and cloth mothers as opposed to an actual ape female mother. When the love wasn’t able to be returned, the apes exposed to the non-ape mothers became anti-social and withdrawn. So given that Jesus was fully human, you almost have to assume that he too wished to be loved. However would the close relationship with his Father account for the love that he needed so therefore he didn’t seek the human companionship enough. He is described as a friend of tax collectors and sinners in Matthew 11:19, but he also referred to the guard who came to seize him in the garden as friend. So it could be describing a relationship or simply an acquaintance. I’ll let you handle the Greek exegesis on that. As for liking those you love, there are times when the people you love are very unlikable. Take for example when your kids are driving you nuts. You still love them, but you don’t necessarily like them at all times. Or when dealing with the poor or sinners, you love because you are commanded to love, but they can be quite unlikable at times.

I think ultimately, to take away the docetic or Gnostic aspects that would be implied, there probably is a need to be liked, but solitary monastics could live without the company and be quite content, so why not Christ?”

Me: “OK, maybe God’s love is “enough,” but then why would the great commandment be the twofold love of God and neighbor? God’s inner-triune love is complete, yes. However, it is an effusive love that spills over and receives loving worship from humanity too.

I don’t know that solitary monastics are the best example either. Monasticism at its finest is a hospitable community of love, rather than a bunch of ascetic “navel gazers.” Christians haven’t always been exempt from gnostic and docetic tendencies, monastics included.”

Friend: Is the love of neighbor as yourself an agape love or a phileo love and can you have that kind of phileo love without liking someone?

Me: I think we make far too fine distinctions between the two. Semantically, especially in John 21, they are more similar than many amateur exegetes have suggested over the years. Check out this link for a discussion of that.

Friend: What about a serial killer….could you love Charles Manson? Moving beyond disapproving of what he’s done and really liking him? I realize the extreme nature of this example, but could if someone hurt your daughter and you found it in your heart to forgive as we are commanded and even to love him or her because they are created in the image of God, could you ever “like” them? I don’t think it’s amateur exegetes who make a fine distinction…the Greeks did…which is why there are three words to identify different kinds of love. You also might want to follow this link to read C.S. Lewis’ thoughts on this topic from Mere Christianity.

Me: I think we’re talking about a different question now than whether Jesus wanted people to like him. But who’s counting?!

We’ll see where this goes from here…any thoughts out there in the blogosphere?