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Here’s a link to the text: http://bible.us/Rev8.6.ESV
Here’s a nifty way to understand the letter of Revelation in a big picture:
http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swfRevelation on Prezi
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Christmas is about telling stories and sharing traditions. I love hearing the Bride share stories with the Princess as she passes on the traditional sugar cookie baking. It is absolutely beautiful!
The picture is from the front page of the Detroit News website. Two shootings, one day, two different parts of the country.
The question that I see in my Twitter feed is simple: What’s wrong with the world?
The answer to that question is simple too: We live in a sin soaked world that is broken.
Does that answer sound trite? It’s not. You see living in a sin soaked world means that we should be surprised when good things and not the bad. We typically think of sin as a simple moral act of doing wrong.
Sin goes much deeper though.
It corrupts everything it touches. It makes all things broken.
Do you notice that we are appalled?
Think about it, we live in a world where we are surrounded by brokenness the way a fish lives in water, and yet we are shocked by these kinds of things. I think that’s because we experience the common grace of God on a moment by moment basis. This means that we experience the fact that God is with holding most of the evil in the world.
Occasionally evil is allowed to occur.
When it does we are shocked.
When it does we ask questions and we doubt.
We pray.
We think.
C.S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Pain is the result of evil.
Evil is the reult of sin.
What do we do with sin?
Nothing.
It’s been dealt with for us. Jesus, lived, died, and resurrected to deal with sin, the results of failing to live in covnenantal relationship with God. He is the culmination of the story of God’s people where we find redemptive grace and reconciliation.
Today’s shootings are a reminder that we live in a broken and sin soaked world. They are a reminder that we need to deal with this sin. They are a reminder that we need to be in relationship with grace soaked redemptive God who is speaking through pain.
I am a Daddy of a Princess. She is the apple of my eye. I love her desperately and want more than anything to protect her and keep her from crying. When I look around the world and see the standard of beauty that she is expected to live up to it makes me sick. Below is a great video that gives significant wisdom and insight.
If you know a female of the species, you should watch it.
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_RovY])
In our community at Grace Chapel we are currently studying through the Revelation of John. It’s a fascinating letter that challenges believers to remain faithful and true to the gospel until Jesus returns. A significant piece of the message is that the follower of Jesus will experience suffering. Life will not be all roses and puppies.
I have experienced suffering only as a child. My parents divorced when I was nine and that was painful. My grandmother, Mimi, died suddenly in a car accident the summer after my freshman year in college.
Those things were hard.
Now as an adult, who is a parent, and a pastor, I am learning that the admonitions about suffering in the Scriptures are real. This week God has seen fit to enroll Amy and I into Suffering 099.
It’s a remedial course. No credit given.
The frustration that comes from the deep seated selfishness that is present within me is ugly. Thankfully we are only dealing with pneumonia. It will pass.
Here’s to the hope of suffering well in the small so that when the big comes along we are ready to honor King Jesus in the midst of it.
There are few shows that speak to the human condition as regularly and poignantly as Fox Television’s Fringe. The most recent episode, “Wallflower” is a parable on the human need to be known.
Spoiler Alert — If you have DVR’ed the episode stop reading and come back.
The Fringe team has to investigate mounting murders around Boston. Murders that are apparently being done by an invisible man. They find that there is a man, Eugene, who has a rare genetic disorder that has made him invisible. He has figured out how to take people’s pigment from them so that he can be visible.
Eugene had gone through his entire life with nobody seeing him.
Could you imagine? Never being seen.
Alive, but not seen.
We all desire to be seen. Every kid at every sporting event, play, or performance scans the crowd looking for Mom and Dad. They want to be seen. My home reverberates with, “Daddy, watch this. Mommy, watch this.”
To be seen is hardwired into us.
Why do you think social media is so powerful? It helps us to be seen.
I love that Jesus tells us that he sees us and he notices us. He promises that God cares. We are not invisible and never will be. Because the one we can’t see, sees us.
It’s crazy when you begin to self reflect. I don’t recommend it. It’s not very much fun. You begin to grab hold of some things that you take for granted or take lightly and find that you need to change.
I love change.
I love changing other things.
I hate changing me.
Do you want to hear a confession? I truly enjoy social media. One night I was a Tigers playoff game and bantering back and forth with a number of friends on Twitter. It added to my enjoyment of the game.
It was all out “there”.
Last night a few of us started talking about Twitter. A comment was made that has stuck like a “splinter in the brain” and brought some of my self reflection full circle.
He said, “You guys put so much stuff out there it’s really hard to find what’s valuable.”
As a pastor, there is one thing I know, words matter. I desperately want my words to count and to have meaning. I want them to have purpose. Everything I do is all about words. When I started to write a blog I thought about why I blogged.
I have never thought about why I social media’ed.
So, here’s the deal, the way I use social media needs to change. That witty banter on Twitter? It’s going to disappear from the public forum. It will find its way into Direct Messages. Twitter is all about interaction. So there will still be some @-tweeting but only when it counts, when there is something to be gained by doing it. The posts will be fewer because what I put out there needs to have meaning. Typically, they will be connected to larger posts at Tumblr/Posterous.
Facebook? I will probably continue to use it the way I have been. Which is post things about my family, links, and various ministry related things.
What about Goole Plus? That’s been a different beast all along. I am not sure yet.
Foursquare? Is there value in people knowing when I check in? Nope. I will moving to Forecast and use it when I want it to be publicly known where I am going to be and for a purpose.
My hope is that when someone looks at my feed on Twitter, my timeline on Facebook, or my series of posts that they will quickly and easily find something of value and meaning.
As one of my favorite blog’s title reads, “Less Clutter, Less Noise”.
This is an image from an article that just hit my news stream and I am sure that it will begin to pop up in more and more places.
It’s one of those that picks up steam. It’s embarrasing and frustrating.
It begs a bigger a question…
What is the gospel?
Scot McKnight has done a great job exploding the Gospel myth that he refers to as “The Plan of Salvation”. The myth is that the Romans Road or the Four Laws are the “Gospel”.
News flash: They aren’t.
The Gospel is big and broad. It is the all encompassing story that makes sense of all other stories. Pay attention this Advent season. You may just hear the Gospel.
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Part of the traditional hanging of the ornaments in our home includes Amy telling the story of each ornament.
The first ornament hung is always the same.
It’s hung in honor of my Mimi. Her legacy will always live because her story will always be told.
Over the course of the next four weeks we will be telling the story of another. He is the one who would come and culminate all the stories of all the world. His is the greatest story.
Do you know it?
content
Leadership As Influence
By Charles Lee
Leadership is often defined as influence.
In my opinion, everyone possesses the ability to “influence” or lead others in the general sense of the word, but not everyone is a leader (i.e., someone who functions in a publicly recognized role of guiding and/or influencing others). There are numerous individuals who influence the lives of many and yet don’t function well once given a key role of leadership in an organization and/or company.
The reality is that leadership in a formal sense requires a certain set of perspectives, values, and praxis that very few are able to carry out well. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some phenomenal leaders that are literally changing the landscape of our world. Here are a few insights I’ve picked up about what it takes to become a great leader:
Living life as a leader is a noble pursuit. It takes a special person to move beyond the romanticized version of influence.
Are you a leader? If so, our world needs you at your best!
Charles is the CEO of Ideation, a creative agency that specializes in helping organizations and businesses take ideas to implementation via innovative strategy, branding, design, marketing, web, social media, and innovative events.
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This is a very, very good article on Leadership.
Over the last few days I have been interacting with folks about a great many things. Something that has struck me is the cavalier attitude toward doctrine. Many of us no longer seem to think that doctrine matters. We say things like, “I am not a theologian, but…”
Here’s the reality: doctrine does matter.
What we believe matters.
It matters big time.
When hardship and conflict come it is what we believe that will determine how we respond. Because, what we believe matters.
I have been heart-sick over the way those who hold a similar theological position as I have responded to a book that came out recently. They responded with polemics and rhetoric (some even before they had read the book!). Most have not responded with discernment or charity but have looked for a way to hang a “heretic”.
I have also been thoroughly disappointed in the way that those from other theological positions have either blindly defended or tried to move themselves away from a position which is the logical outcome of their own.
I am more convinced than ever that what we believe matters.
Then I read David Fitch’s recent post over at Reclaiming the Mission and I understood again why what we believe matters.
David coherently points out the distinctions between a “coalition” and an “expedition”. As I read this post I kept thinking back to a friend’s description of Jonathan Edwards as an “experiential Calvinist” and another concept that has been rattling around my head, the “experimental Church”.
It is sad to me that those who hold to the Reformed view of theology (not Calvinist Baptists like Piper, Driscoll, etc…they are not Reformed and as a result they are not in view here) have struggled to follow Edwards. It makes me wonder if we don’t really believe what we say we believe.
It seems to me that if Reformed theology is true then it demands from us an expedition into the experiential and experimental Church.
Why?
Because if Reformed theology is true then it is unflinchingly pointing us toward Jesus and his Kingdom. This requires us to follow Edwards to the frontier. It requires us to step out and actually act on our beliefs in the sovereign God, the in-breaking Kingdom, and the imputation and incarnation of Jesus.
It is my opinion, that Reformed theology (not Calvinist Baptist theology) is best suited for a post-Christian world, because it necessarily drives us toward the lost, culture, transformation, community, and authenticity.
But, only if we believe it.
But, we will only believe it if it matters.
It matters.
Over the upcoming weeks we will look at how our beliefs drive the mission and as a result help us to understand why doctrine matters.
In our previous post we saw how Jesus engaged the world. He entered in and sought to transform the culture within which he lived. He did so with passion, without regret, and in perfect holiness. He did so to the point that he was called a “drunkard” and a “glutton”. This is our model.
How do we apply it?
The first question that I hear murmuring is, “He was God. It’s different isn’t it?”
No. It’s not different. That kind of reasoning has no place here in the quest for the engagement of culture. It can’t. If it did then we ought to say, “He was God, therefore we shouldn’t disciple, because it’s different.” We could allow this line of thinking to go in any number of directions.
No, it’s better to say that Jesus did it, therefore, we must try.
The next thing I hear murmuring through your mind is, “Not everyone is called to this. What about the weaker brother in Romans?”
I hear your concern. I think in some sense it’s an appropriate one. I don’t think it should rule the day. The thinking becomes similar as the previous statement. The “stronger” brother has a responsibility to help the weaker grow. He should not flaunt his freedom (which is Paul’s concern) but should help his brother grow and become strong. To remain stagnant is not what Paul is arguing for.
How do we engage with a broken culture and transform it while maintaining our holiness?
That’s the question.
I think we first need to realize that we need to start at the place of discernment. We each have different capacities and different amounts of freedom. Some of us will be able to engage in different cultural activities and others will look elsewhere. These differences are what make us the body. Discernment requires us to pray, to study, and listen.
We must not allow discernment to be a vague form of legalism though.
To avoid this we must believe the best in those around us.
This caveat must not be a license to sin. The thing about sin is that you typically know it when you see it.
Along with discernment there must also be engagement. The engage means that we are moving out critically. We are not simply taking in but we are evaluating, critiquing, and seeking understanding. This also requires us to have a “telos” or goal of transformation.
If we are simply seeking to be entertained then we are not following Jesus’ example.
If we withdraw from the world then we are not following Jesus’ example.
If we engage, transform, and then begin to create culture, we are following Jesus’ example.
There is so much we complain about and worry about. What would happen if believers created culture on the basis of the Christian worldview? What about education? Politics? Art?
We would find films rated R, G, PG, PG-13 because life, reality, is represented by all of them. We would find horror films, we would find romance, comedy, action, violence, sex, redemption. We would find these because they are part of the Scriptures and reflect reality.
We engage culture because we are human. We seek to transform it because we image bearers.
Last night I realized why it is going to be very difficult for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. Jimmy Howard is a very good goalie. However, when going against an elite goaltender there will be a significant difference in the way the game is.called. The whistles for Luongo were quicker and that made all the difference.
The Wings lost last night and it was because the whistles were just a little to slow on one end and a little to fast on the other. That was the function of one goalie being a hall of famer and another being a young player still earning his stripes.
As we near the end of this discussion on engaging culture a few concluding points need to be made. Primarily we need to discuss which is worse, sinful thematic elements, or subtle deconstructions of worldview. This is something that we struggle to figure out on a principled level in every aspect of our lives as Christians.
For us to get our minds around this reality we must first look at the life of Jesus to give us a glimpse of how we ought to live. To do that I think it will be helpful to take a look at Luke 7.
This section of Luke’s narrative begins with the story of the Roman Centurion. The Jewish context of this time was varied and it is hard to necessarily pigeon hole the average Jew into a group. However, there is one thing that we can be relatively certain of, and that is the basic distrust and dislike of the Roman occupation. This was understood to be an extension of exile. The average Jew would not have associated with Centurions. The leaders of Capernaum apparently did because this particular Centurion built the local Synagogue.
This story is remarkable because of Jesus’ statement, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
That is an abrasive statement, at best. That would be like a U of M football coach saying that OSU is the greatest football team ever, at a pep rally on campus at U of M. This simply does not happen.
But it did.
From here Jesus raises a widows son from the dead. He displays the justice and compassion of God.
Then we encounter a remarkable interaction between Jesus and John’s disciples. We couldn’t possibly enter into a full exposition of this passage, however, I want to point out verse 34. Jesus says, “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”
Consider what Jesus is saying here. He self-identified with the immoral and broken of his culture. He did this to the point that the religious people called him a glutton and a drunk. Jesus stepped into the sinful world and engaged it so fully that he was challenged as to his own morality.
This section closes with a sinful woman, a city prostitute, forgiven. Jesus allowed her to touch him and caress his feet with her hair. She made him ritually unclean. Jesus didn’t care. He forgave her and sent her away in peace.
Jesus engaged the lost world and transformed it.
This is our model.
How do we apply this? That’s the next post!
