Looking for Reality (Part One)

Another year is quickly coming to a close and I am feeling unsettled as I reflect on what is going on around me. Lurking in my mind are thoughts about what Jesus intended when he founded the church and what exists now as the church in the world. I cannot help think about these things even though there are many who are confident that they know what church should be like - they know and if you ask them they will tell you in great detail. Yet for all their incredible self-assurance I remain skeptical and those who are the most self-assured trouble me the most because they seem the most blind to themselves and the situation around them.

If Jesus were to return to the earth today and do a tour of the churches what would he say? In many ways we already have the answer to that question in Revelation 2 and 3. In those chapters we are told about 7 churches that existed in the 1st century that are representative of churches that will exist until the end of the gospel age. Some of the churches were doing very well, others were not. Some were moving forward, others were threatened with extinction. Some were fulfilling their calling in the world, others were smug and self-satisfied. In one way or other all churches that now exist are pictured in their ancient prototypes and we would do well to work out the implications of this presentation.

If Jesus wanted all churches to look alike, they would. Here we are, twenty-one centuries after the founding of the church, and anyone can see that there is tremendous diversity. Some of the diversity is inevitably due to disobedience. If there is one thing that the Bible makes clear it is the fact that we live in a world that is not what God originally made it to be. Humanity, in particular, is fallen, which is a theological way of saying that it is not true to God's original intention and that it must be redeemed if it is to be once again right with God. But beyond diversity caused by disobedience - which is true of all of us to some degree - there is a diversity that is a reflection of God's artistic majesty...

To be continued... beyond blogs, Facebook, Twitter... etc... there is real life that must be lived. The digital, electronic world is great but it is a cheap substitute for real life interaction... so until next time do something bold and courageous... talk to someone face-to-face in real time, someone who does not share all your precious 'shibboleths' and who might even think you are a little weird for some of the strange and wonderful things you believe. Who knows... you might do them good, but more than that, they might do you good.

The Christmas Gospel

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
   
He appeared in the flesh,
   was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
   was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
   was taken up in glory. 


1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)


Have a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas

I want to wish all those who read my blog a Merry Christmas. I am thankful for the interest that many of you have shown in the issues discussed and for the willingness of many of you to think with me outside the box. In the spirit of the season here is something you might want to check out.

If you have an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, or Symbian Series 60 smartphone you might want to check out Olive Tree Bible Software and in particular the latest release of the New International Version Bible (2010) which is called the NIV Plus on the Olive Tree site. This new version is available electronically for Christmas although you will have to wait for March for printed versions.

You can also check it out at BibleGateway.com where it can be selected from a number of English Bible translations. From what I have seen thus far this new version looks excellent and continues the fine tradition of the NIV and TNIV. This new version provides a wonderful alternative to some of the English versions out there that are not as readable as they could be no matter how much they are hyped by high profile members of the evangelical establishment. Do yourself a favor and don't believe the hype! Read this new version for yourself and you will see what I mean. All the best, not only at Christmas but every day of the year.

The More Things Change

"The more things change, the more they remain the same" is a popular saying that grapples with the superficiality of change. I have been thinking about that lately as I reflect on the evangelical church world around me. Superficially there have been lots of changes down through the years. Today it is popular to talk about the sovereignty of God whereas 30 or 35 years ago such language was not a large part of popular evangelical vocabulary. "Arminian" type preaching was common back then whereas today it is much harder to find even if one is trying to find it. More Calvinist or Reformed type preaching and teaching has slowly become more accepted wherever the Bible is taken seriously as divine revelation. Not surprisingly a whole new set of leaders have arisen that are different from those before them, or are they?

This is where the word "superficial" seems apropos because I am not convinced that these leaders are much different than those who have gone before them. They like to think they are different but all too often they have merely substituted one set of doctrines for another. They pay lip service to the sovereignty of God and having done so they get on with business as usual in program driven, entertainment oriented, culturally naive churches. In terms of thinking deeply about the biblical message and applying it to the world in which we live there is precious little progress and as a result they cannot hold those who are more educated than themselves or who are looking for a reality that transcends the current offerings. More is need than just more of the same with a slightly different doctrinal configuration. We need to pursue truth and genuine community while seeking to make a difference in our world. In this regard, we have only begun.

The Current Malaise

Recommending a church to someone who asks is not as easy as it used to be. This is not because there is a shortage of churches out there, or a lack of variety. There is one to suit almost every niche and sensibility. There is everything from the very traditional, to the hip and with-it, and everything in between. We have churches run by benevolent dictators and some that are not so benevolent! We have churches check off all the boxes which they believe are mandated in the New Testament. We have churches with fancy facilities and those with none. And yet, there is a palpable malaise, a restlessness, a sense that the much vaunted differences are superficial and something is missing.

This something is more than music or small groups or more intrusive types of shepherding. It is more than carefully choreographed sermons and very predictable responses to the same old questions. This something is genuine life and vitality and a vibrant Christianity that engages the surrounding culture in meaningful ways. Too often churches have been become refuges for social misfits and paranoid type personalities who are convinced that everything is a plot of some dark force somewhere. They have become very strange social subcultures that lack the depth of vision found in the scriptures which speak of a savior whose people come from all the nations and whose redemption touches those around them in tangible and helpful ways.

We do not need to encourage any more strangeness in order to set ourselves apart from those around us. We need people who are living, working and going to school in the real world and those who are attempting to bring the grace of the gospel to real people. If we do not wake up and realize this our numbers and influence will continue to shrink. If we fulfill the commission of Jesus to make disciples by bringing them to God by accurately and winsomely teaching them to observe all that he, as the great mediator between God and humanity has commanded, then, there is much that can and will be accomplished.

Finding Our Way In The World

Last night on the CBC show the Passionate Eye, I watched a program on the tsunami that devastated Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004. The damage to property and the tragic loss of human life was horrible to see. Although the video footage did not begin to adequately convey all that the people went through on that occasion, it was difficult to watch so many people of all ages caught off-guard and swept away never to be seen alive again. For me it was another reminder that the world can be a very dangerous place. For most of us that is not normally the case, or if it is, we are unaware of it. But every now and then, there are reminders like this tsunami that we are foolish to take the gift of life for granted because we never know what a day will bring.

At Christmas, Christians celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. According to the Bible he is the fulfillment of prophetic expectation and he has come on a mission of mercy. He has come to redeem those who are held in captivity, to forgive those who have gone astray, to renew those who are lifeless, to transform those who are not living up to their divine calling as divine image bearers. In a world like ours these are real blessings. They are things for which we should all be thankful. And they impose on us an obligation to live for God's glory which means we are live out the reason for which we were created in the first place and to do so as those who have been set free by the payment of a great price. This Christmas we should strive to make a difference in our world. We are not put here just to think and celebrate but to do something to make this world a better place.