traditions

An Army Without Swords

Frank

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Describing Jesus, “In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword… These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword” (Revelation 1:16, 2:12)

Michael Spencer was a radical. If he was a member of your church, your leadership might consider him a trouble-maker. He had unconventional thoughts and did unexpected things. Like giving a young disciple of Christ a Bible to read on her own.

This is the context Michael uses in Chapter 10 of Mere Churchianity, “Jesus, the Bible, and the Free-Range Believer” to describe the Biblical illiteracy that is present in the American Church (TM). This is a subject I am passionate about and have written on before. I’m going to try and restrain myself from going off on another rant. Instead I want to try and dig at the heart of the problem.

Why don’t we read our Bibles? I forget the survey numbers, but something like 90% of households own a Bible but only 10% (I’m guessing on that one) actually read it. You see the traditional, large, “family” Bibles on coffee tables with baptisms, confirmations, and weddings scribbled in the front. But those occasions are the only times those Bibles are ever opened.

Michael notes that Bible reading is actually discouraged in many congregations. I wouldn’t go that far, just that it’s not explicitly encouraged. But why?

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
In the Middle Ages, reading the Bible yourself, or even owning one after the printing press was invented, was considered in many places a crime that could cost you your life. Then, the church operated much like any dictatorship- control the information and keep the populace ignorant. A lay-person reading the Bible could lead to them having their own convictions. Let that spread and you lose your grip on power.

I don’t think that’s the case today. At least in terms of consolidating power. However, I do think churches do not encourage personal Bible study to protect their long-standing traditions. You’d be surprised all the things your church does that isn’t in the Bible. Transubstantiation? Not in the Bible. The Sinner’s Prayer? Not in the Bible. Infant Baptism? Not in the Bible. Of course you could take this too far. The Churches of Christ split in the early 20th Century over whether worship music should be a capella or with instruments. Why the debate? Worship with instruments isn’t explicit in the New Testament. (But then again, neither are church buildings, Sunday School, parachurch organizations, and on and on) And you’ll find things in the Bible that are missing in our churches today such as Love Feasts and evangelism that is more than just handing out tracts or knocking on doors. But there’s a danger in making the Bible your standard instead of Jesus.

We’re not going to find the perfect church that does everything right according to the Bible. But I do believe that personal Bible Study will lead you to what’s close. It did me. It did Glynn Young. This is how I approach my evangelism, in fact. I sincerely believe that if a person is truly obeying the Greatest Commandment, even if they are in another church, they will come around to seeing errors shortcomings in their church’s traditions and structure. They will then be on a quest for what Michael describes as Jesus Shaped Spirituality. I know I cannot make anyone come to my church and I know I cannot make anyone think my church isn’t just as wacky with our ways of doing things than another church down the street. But I do know that my church encourages each of us to study the Bible and come to our own convictions. We are encouraged to follow Christ, not traditions. (Though I will admit that historically we have had “leadership shaped spirituality”, cults of personality if you will. I want to believe that has changed. I know it hasn’t everywhere, but it has where I worship.) I believe we encourage Jesus Shaped Spirituality.

I’ll never forget reading in a book this take on the following scripture: we need to come to our own convictions on who Christ is; we cannot rely on anyone else’s conclusion to reach our own. That was radical to me in just the same way as Michael handing the newly converted a Bible to read. It changed my walk with Christ and still challenges me today.

“Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’


‘Is that your own idea,‘ Jesus asked, ‘or did others talk to you about me?’“ (John 18:33-34, emphasis added)

Nancy Rosback, Glynn Young and I are discussing Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer. Check out Nancy’s blog, Bend the Page, for links to other discussions.

Memories

Frank

In conversations and in the comments from yesterday’s blog, just about everyone would grab pictures if their home was threatened with fire. Why is that so? Are our memories that bad?

I know my memory neglects the little things while honing in on major events or milestones. So pictures remind us of the moment the picture was taken, inconsequential or momentous. They capture the instant of a smile, of a word, of joy expressed however briefly.

“…do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)

How many photo albums do you have?

How often do you pull them out?

What’s your favorite picture?

Jesus told his disciples to remember the Last Supper in the above passage. At the time, it was just another Passover dinner. Another time hanging out with Jesus. They didn’t know what was about to come, but Jesus did. Jesus also knew that his disciples, when looking back, would likely remember the major events (the trial, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, and of course the resurrection) but would struggle to remember the individual conversations from that last night.

“Then they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:8)

What one major event will you always remember, as long as you live?

Do you remember the dinner the night before that event?

When we take vacations in the summer, one of the goals of course is to get a break and have some fun. But it is more about the memories. As kids we have no idea the stress our parents feel as they pack the bags and load the car. As adults we forget the simple joy of our children getting to go someplace new.

I remember as a kid taking a road trip from my home in central Wyoming down to Phoenix to visit family. I remember playing games on the road, fighting with my sister over who got to sleep on the seat and who had to sleep on the floorboard (this was before car seats and seat belt laws), and collecting every menu, matchbook, and postcard we could find along our route to scrapbook our journey. Of course, the scrapbook has long since been lost and specific details of the trip vague, but I remember having fun.

My favorite summer memories were the road trips I’d take with my grandma to visit her brother and his family. He was my favorite uncle who I loved for taking me fishing, spending the whole day on the water talking about everything and nothing. I treasured the time alone with my grandma over the hundreds of miles on the road. I relished the scenery. We had our traditional stops along the way- a specific restaurant for a hot roast beef sandwich, a certain diner for a milkshake. As I grew older, she even let me drive part of the way. Even after my uncle passed away, we continued the trip.

As I write, a million memories flood my mind. I remember other vacations, visiting my mom’s side of the family in Georgia. I remember trips to the beach, the hot sun, and the inevitable sunburns. As I wax nostalgic, tears well up in my eyes and my heart chokes up. And I admit that I couldn’t find a single picture from these trips if I tried.

“Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

What is your favorite vacation memory from childhood?

As an adult, vacations take on a different meaning. Sure, we want to get away from the job, from the responsibilities of our home, from the daily grind in general. But with children, I want to create special memories for them. I want them to look back at their childhood as fondly as I do mine. And I want those special moments to be shared together as a family, united in joy.

My son is at an age where he loves to tell me about everything. He especially loves to ask, “do you remember…?” Everything is big to him. Everything keeps him in awe. His little sister is catching on, wanting to join in those conversations even though her memories aren’t as long. They both remember the trips, the rides at Disneyland, the camping, the beach as if they were everyday occurrences. They talk about them as if they were yesterday (in fact my son hasn’t yet learned to discern time, so everything that happened before today was “yesterday”). I pray we get to continue to build those memories as they grow older and our lives grow increasingly hectic.

“Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
‘I find no pleasure in them’- “ (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

What is your favorite vacation memory as an adult?

It’s amazing how memories were kept before the invention of photography. Imagine living without the hundreds of pictures stored on your hardrive. Memories were kept by telling stories and writing journals, being passed on through the generations. The Bible is a collection of such memories, passed along the same way. There are no pictures of Jesus, yet his disciples were commanded to remember him. “Remember” shows up 233 times in the Bible. It is as important today as it was then to remember God’s Covenant, to remember Jesus’ sacrifice, to remember “the sins of our youth”. If a fire were to destroy everything we own, all we are left with are our memories.

What will you remember?

Today continues this summer’s ‘virtual small group’ (VSG in the tags). I hope you come back as I take this season to reflect on the wonders of God’s creation, share vacation stories, etc, with the prayer that we come out of this season closer to God than how we came into it.

The Things We Do for Love

Frank

“Mawage. Mawage is what bwings us togevah todayy…” (From the Princess Bride, thanks Peter for the inspiration!)

I know I said I was going to shy away from gotcha headlines, but I couldn’t resist with these two stories today.

First is a moving piece (yeah, I said it) from a gay couple who are one of the few whose marriage was upheld by the California Supreme Court earlier this week. The other is of the notorious priest, ‘Father Oprah’ who left the Catholic Church so that he can marry the girlfriend he recently got busted with.
What do these have to do with one another? The irony to start. In one case, long standing tradition and legal precedence prevent gay couples from being married (the couple in this case call themselves the “lucky ones”) and in the other, long standing tradition and legalistic precedence prevent priests from being married. And I don’t necessarily agree with either. (Yet somehow some consider me a bigot, go figure) The irony is that Evangelical Protestants would be quick to defend the priest on the basis of being able to marry whomever he chooses on the basis of love, yet that is the very same argument used to support gay marriage that they vehemently oppose.
Not that I side with either of these couples, however. The description David Schmader gives of his ceremony and the tearful toasts from their fathers is just as possible with a Civil Union. Interestingly, in the subtitle of his article he says he doesn’t “feel” married since the California Supreme Court decision. I’ve been married for five years and I wonder what being married feels like. I know what love feels like and I know what stress feels like, but I don’t need a marriage certificate to experience either.
Meanwhile, Father Alberto Cutie’ made an oath before God to remain celibate in his calling. (Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. -Matthew 5:33-37) He says, “I believe that I’ve fallen in love and I believe that I’ve struggled with that, between my love for God, and my love for the Church and my love for service.” But we are told by Jesus that to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” is the Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28). And we are also instructed that to follow Jesus, we “must deny [ourselves] and take up [our] cross daily and follow [him].” (Luke 9:23)
And that’s the problem in both of these cases. Neither is willing to deny themselves and take up their cross. That’s not a popular stance, but then Jesus didn’t live to a ripe old age on account of his popularity either.

The Things We Do for Love

Frank

“Mawage. Mawage is what bwings us togevah todayy…” (From the Princess Bride, thanks Peter for the inspiration!)

I know I said I was going to shy away from gotcha headlines, but I couldn’t resist with these two stories today.

First is a moving piece (yeah, I said it) from a gay couple who are one of the few whose marriage was upheld by the California Supreme Court earlier this week. The other is of the notorious priest, ‘Father Oprah’ who left the Catholic Church so that he can marry the girlfriend he recently got busted with.
What do these have to do with one another? The irony to start. In one case, long standing tradition and legal precedence prevent gay couples from being married (the couple in this case call themselves the “lucky ones”) and in the other, long standing tradition and legalistic precedence prevent priests from being married. And I don’t necessarily agree with either. (Yet somehow some consider me a bigot, go figure) The irony is that Evangelical Protestants would be quick to defend the priest on the basis of being able to marry whomever he chooses on the basis of love, yet that is the very same argument used to support gay marriage that they vehemently oppose.
Not that I side with either of these couples, however. The description David Schmader gives of his ceremony and the tearful toasts from their fathers is just as possible with a Civil Union. Interestingly, in the subtitle of his article he says he doesn’t “feel” married since the California Supreme Court decision. I’ve been married for five years and I wonder what being married feels like. I know what love feels like and I know what stress feels like, but I don’t need a marriage certificate to experience either.
Meanwhile, Father Alberto Cutie’ made an oath before God to remain celibate in his calling. (Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. -Matthew 5:33-37) He says, “I believe that I’ve fallen in love and I believe that I’ve struggled with that, between my love for God, and my love for the Church and my love for service.” But we are told by Jesus that to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” is the Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28). And we are also instructed that to follow Jesus, we “must deny [ourselves] and take up [our] cross daily and follow [him].” (Luke 9:23)
And that’s the problem in both of these cases. Neither is willing to deny themselves and take up their cross. That’s not a popular stance, but then Jesus didn’t live to a ripe old age on account of his popularity either.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Frank

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” (John 5:8-10)

From the helps in my Life Application Bible regarding the Jewish leaders: “They threw the miracle aside as they focused their attention on the broken rule, because the rule was more important to them than the miracle.”

A couple of headlines that have caught my attention:

“Teen suspended for going to girlfriend’s prom” because he attends a Baptist school and they forbid dancing. Sadly, “suspended” includes being prohibited from attending his own graduation. I guess the plus side is his instant celebrity. “Frost didn’t go to school Monday. Instead, he and his girlfriend are heading to New York for a Tuesday morning TV interview.” Priorities, you know.

The other, “Celebrity priest backs celibacy but may marry“. I guess this popular priest, dubbed “Father Oprah” was spotted by a tabloid getting too touchy-feely with a woman on a Miami beach. According to Father Alberto Cutie (ironic last name, no?) he’s been “romantically involved” with this woman for two years. Oh, he said that on the CBS “Early Show”.

Oh, to be a Christian celebrity.

I don’t want to throw either of these under the bus. But I do want to point out how their respective denominations care more about the rule than the miracle, so to speak. Biblically, based on what’s publicly known anyway, neither has done anything wrong, but are being disciplined by human institutions based on long-held traditions.

Jesus said, “Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.‘” (Matthew 15:6b-9, referencing Isaiah 29:13)

And Now for Something Completely Different

Frank

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” (John 5:8-10)

From the helps in my Life Application Bible regarding the Jewish leaders: “They threw the miracle aside as they focused their attention on the broken rule, because the rule was more important to them than the miracle.”

A couple of headlines that have caught my attention:

“Teen suspended for going to girlfriend’s prom” because he attends a Baptist school and they forbid dancing. Sadly, “suspended” includes being prohibited from attending his own graduation. I guess the plus side is his instant celebrity. “Frost didn’t go to school Monday. Instead, he and his girlfriend are heading to New York for a Tuesday morning TV interview.” Priorities, you know.

The other, “Celebrity priest backs celibacy but may marry“. I guess this popular priest, dubbed “Father Oprah” was spotted by a tabloid getting too touchy-feely with a woman on a Miami beach. According to Father Alberto Cutie (ironic last name, no?) he’s been “romantically involved” with this woman for two years. Oh, he said that on the CBS “Early Show”.

Oh, to be a Christian celebrity.

I don’t want to throw either of these under the bus. But I do want to point out how their respective denominations care more about the rule than the miracle, so to speak. Biblically, based on what’s publicly known anyway, neither has done anything wrong, but are being disciplined by human institutions based on long-held traditions.

Jesus said, “Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.‘” (Matthew 15:6b-9, referencing Isaiah 29:13)