Getting perspective
The Awe Factor Of God – Francis Chan
If this doesn’t give you a little perspective on life and wonder today, I don’t know what will.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?Psalm 8.3-4
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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The expansion of local news
Our community has enjoyed a local news website since the fall of 2006 – MonticelloLive.com. Several months after its birth, the local weekly started a site called MyMonticelloNews.net in an attempt to compete. In spite of having a large staff and advertising budget, the local paper, still a part of the MSM (main stream media) struggled to keep up.Â
In the past six months, however, the late-comer has had a total redesign and overhaul of their site. It transitioned from simply regurgitating the news that was in the Thursday edition of the pater to trying to keep up-to-date news on the website (what a novelty!). MyMonticelloNews.net may still have less traffic than MonticelloLive.com, which remains a one-man show. However, there are several national sites which are trying to move into the local news site business.
Topix.net has grown to become the 3rd largest news website, according to Market Watch. With Topix.net, you can plug in your zip code and view the latest in local news.Â
What Topix can’t do at present is what our two local news sites are doing. That’s provide up-to-the-minute updates and news. MonticelloLive remains the best at this.Â
However, I predict that one day these national news sites will make great strides in smaller, local markets. They will do so by employing local writers, photographers and stay-at-home moms to help them create a relevant local news presence.Â
The future of the MSM is in a great state of transition right now. In the past 10 years, content no longer has to be filtered through an agenda-promoting liberal-leaning media elite. With the advent of blogging, information becomes fair game, and what was formerly hidden (because it may have conflicted with the MSM’s point of view) is now able to make it to the light.
In 1644 Milton wrote in Areopagitica, “Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter.”
One can see the struggle involved as local news expands and meets this marketplace of the mind. I know that both local news sites have in the past edited contributors’ comments (or refused to publish them altogether). Many times this is not done because they are libelous or slanderous. Rather, content is screened so as not to offend either a) advertisers or b) influencers. This approach reveals the tension involved in releasing control of the flow of information.Â
One has to decide what’s more important – the information itself and truth – or your media. This censoriousness is fine, since both media are privately owned. However, a person should be aware that as much as a site might try to promote objectivity, if screening such as this is done (and it is), you may not be receiving all the information.
In a 1919 dissenting opinion Justice Holmes said, “…the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas – that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market.” (Abrams v. United States)
I know firsthand the difficulty of maintaining fairness and balance in a free-wheeling, feedback-oriented news site since I started MonticelloLive. I know that harsh comments are disturbing, but when you allow dissent and disagreement, it usually allows the truth to rise to the top. Fools are made quickly with the push of a return key. The wise are revealed by their patient and careful response. (And many times, the wise are those who don’t respond to a fool.)
MSM’s paid subscription numbers are falling across the world as more and more people turn to the net for their primary news. With the advent of streaming media, online viewership of TV shows, movies and podcasts will continue to increase.
To be continued
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Scooter life
It’s been a crazy past week here at the Noble household trying to get our school routine down. Car-pooling, kids’ activities and sports, photography shoots, meetings and out-of-town trips have taxed our one-car, no-scooter strategy. We’ve put it off as long as we can, so…
This weekend we’ll be doing some serious scooter shopping. My Pastor’s Scooter Fund only netted about $140 to date, and we’ll be using that and most likely financing the rest. We can do one-car-one-scooter. We just have failed at doing one-car-eight-legs.
Rest assured, I will rig up some kind of remote explosive device on this scooter that can be detonated through my iPhone. So any thieves better think twice about stealing this one. It will also come equipped with a seat that can be remotely activated to release booty bugs that will crawl into one’s booty and cause lifetime, irreversible damage should someone ride it that is unauthorized. Oh yeah. You think I’m kidding…
And then I’ve also finished inventing a helmet that will suck all oxygen away from its wearer.Â
Too bad I wasn’t prepared with Ghost.
I don’t know what this scooter will be named, but we may have a Name That Scooter Contest locally. I’ll post pictures as soon as we’ve settled on a purchase. We’ve learned over the past two months that scooter prices have gone up. Go figure. If Exxon can’t get us, Honda will. Dadgummit.
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Review: Red (rated 5 stars)
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Holy cow. I just put it down and told Carolyn that this may be one of the most moving and dramatic fiction epics I’ve ever read. Does that grab your attention?
I read Black, the first book in the Circle Trilogy many months ago. It left me with a curious interest in what came afterwards, but I had almost decided not to follow the tale any longer. I was at Monticello’s public library a few weeks back and saw Red on the rack of new books and picked it up. I’m so glad I did.
Before I realized it, I was so thoroughly immersed in this epic tale that weaves the realities of two dramatic worlds as effortlessly as Brett Favre throws a touchdown pass. The further into the book I got, the more I found myself not only intellectually engaged but even emotionally moved at places.
Dekker is unapologetically a follower of Christ, and the Circle Trilogy is weaved with two other series that have just been completed as of October this year. Dekker says,
Three series, each dependent on the others, yet each completely independent. Stories that twist in and out of each other like grapevines before the harvest. You can read any of the three series first or last, but it is best to read the books within each series in order.
Red is full of love, war, terror, betrayal, and surprising twists that parallel the greatest redemptive story of history – that of Jesus Christ.
If you’re looking for a compelling, stop-your-heart read, I would encourage you to pick up Black and start there. Just be forewarned. It will be a different kind of tale than you’ve ever read before. And if Black doesn’t fully pull you in – like it perplexed me – keep reading. You’ll be grateful.
On to White and the rest of Books of History.
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Review: The Shack (rated 4 stars)
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“The love shack… it’s a little old place where we can get together…â€
With refrains of that song in my head, I would have to say that love is what The Shack is about. Many have billed the short story as a modern day Pilgrim’s Progress. I don’t know how “classic†this book will become (after all, Bunyan’s work was published in 1678 and remains eminently readable and inspirational); however, I’ll confess that the story drew me in.
Jeremy and I read it on the way back from Glorieta. Well, I read it to Jeremy as he drove. We got about a quarter way into before my voice gave out. I’ve finished it since then, and he has picked up where I left off.
The book is about a husband and father who has experienced incredible pain, disillusionment and loss in his life. Author William Young does a masterful job at engaging you in his life and emotions. The story culminates as he makes his way to an abandoned shack deep in the mountains to face his past, and possibly his future.
Once there, the man has a dramatic and playful encounter with God, who appears to him in a surprising form (or should I say forms?) This is where the meat and message of the story takes place. The author essentially uses the man’s tale to creatively communicate his beliefs about God and man and their relationship with one another.
I think you’ll be surprised at just how much theology can be joyful as you read Young’s book. He does a wonderful job at bringing some deep discussions to life. I would guess that most Christians do not ever think deeply about some of the issues he has his protagonist wrestle with.
Therein lies a caution of this book as well. It reminded me a little of the Left Behind series in that it promotes some rather interesting interpretations of theology. For the most part, I wasn’t too bothered by it, but I would simply encourage the reader to compare what he’s reading with scripture.
Otherwise, I was also a little put off by how the author uses the bulk of the book to share his view about God and man. Though it’s really a good read, the larger narrative is not intertwined much in the middle of the book. It’s rather pieced together like this: narrative – spiritualized theology – narrative.
I’ll give Young credit. He has some remarkably powerful and poignant insights into the love of God. You will enjoy God and your relationship more after you see what “could be.â€
Overall, it’s a compelling read if you’re prepared for the not-to-hidden agenda and personal theology of the author throughout.
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The Clutter-Free Campaign
Sunday night was the last night of freedom for the kids before school started. We had a dual-purpose family meeting in the living room. One of the purposes was to spend time in prayer with the kids, commissioning them, so to speak, to be representatives of their Lord, our church and our family at school this year. It was a powerful and special moment for us.
The other purpose of the meeting, admittedly, was created by me without knowledge of wifey. It was the announcement of the Clutter-Free Campaign. It was met by three pairs of pupils that could have won a gold medal in synchonized eye-rolling. I was not discouraged or deterred.
As our kids have grown, an unfortunate genetic trait has been passed down to them from wifey. It’s the Clutter Gene. Additionally, it seems to be contagious, for I too am guily of clutter. The Noble household is a hectic, non-stop adventure with few established routines and many interruptions, guests, and spontaneous happenings. You just never know what happens around here from day to day. And we thrive in it. A few of our friends seem be a little overwhelmed by our busy-ness and joyful embrace of life’s chaos. Others get sucked up into it.
However, the problem is that our family life produces clutter. I defined clutter Sunday night for them as “piles of crap lying around in wrong places.” Pretty ignominous. But an effective definition.
What happens around here is that in our comings-and-goings, whatever is in our hands as we walk around the house inevitably is put down in certain hot spots and left there. It’s like the unfortunate back round dumping ground. Once someone throws out an old sofa, everyone else assumes, “Hey, we can use that place to dump our junk!” And clutter-piling begins. So it is for the Nobles.
After the CFC announcement, I took the family on a tour of the house to point out clutter zones so they would understand what I was talking about. Adelyn made sarcastic remarks the whole way. Sam just kept shaking his head with a bemused look. Wifey had this look of “you’re-a-complete-idiot” the whole tour but kept a good attitude.
After pointing out dozens of clutter spots, I said, “OK, here’s the goal: Clutter-Free in 30 Days. If we all deal with a clutter spot every day or so, we’ll be a CFZ (clutter-free zone) before we know it.”
I then documented our clutter spots (some of them – the bathroom cabinet is off-limits) in photos as an everlasting reminder of how things were at the beginning of the CFC.
I think part of the campaign’s genesis was a thought-remnant from reading David Allen’s Getting Things Done (reviewed here). In it, he advocates limiting your “collection buckets.” For us, any horizontal surface has become not just a collection bucket but a clutter pile. All in all, it was a pretty good beginning, I thought. Caro cleaned off her desk Monday, and I de-cluttered my dresser also.
While I doubt the variety and speed of life will change much, perhaps the piles of accumulation will. If you’d like to join the CFC, leave a comment, and maybe someone will make us some t-shirts…
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Turtles and pool parties
What a full day we had yesterday! The Noble family rose at the crack of dawn to head to Little Rock in different directions. Carolyn and Adelyn rode with some friends to LR so that Adelyn could try out for the Nutcracker – her second year. Much to the Monticello’s crew delight, all the girls that tried out from Monticello made it!
Sam and I left early as well – after cleaning up the kitchen from having friends over to dinner Friday night. We went to mom and dad’s house for a fantastic brunch with my visiting uncle from Minnesota. We spent the day with family, laughing, playing chickenfoot, and enjoying the weather. Anything sub-90 in Arkansas during the summer is like early winter.
After Carolyn and Adelyn returned from the tryouts, we went out into mom and dad’s backyard. While it’s beautifully landscaped, it can pretty much fit into a thimble. It’s small. But that didn’t stop us from finding a baby toad and a box turtle. We felt like regular Dr. Doolittles.
While Sam was intrigued, Adelyn was positively radiant. Animals share a special place in her heart. Of course, that didn’t stop her from racing inside to wash her hands in disgust after the toad peed on her.
We loaded back into the Sequoia (still with For Sale window chalk all over it), and raced back to Monticello for Journey’s Back to School Pool Bash and Birthday Party. David and Tammy English graciously allowed our church to use it as an outreach event. Sam (it was his birthday) didn’t mind at all. There were a ton of kids there, and it was a joy to visit, laugh, and watch our own Michael Phelps win gold in an informal relay against some kids and an anonymous state trooper.
There was a full house at Journey today, and it was exciting and humbling to see how many educators and teachers the Lord has brought into our fellowship. We prayed for them as a group, in addition to praying for our students. Ryan taught on the Great Commission in our Harvest Series, and it was interesting how he emphasized Matthew 28.19 where Jesus said that making a disciple is about teaching others to obey all that Jesus has taught us.
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Review: Death in the City (rated 4 stars)
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I’ve heard dozens of people that I respect talk about Francis Schaeffer over the years. I had never read anything by him other than some thought-provoking quotes in other’s works.
Now I know what all the fuss is about.
Born in 1912, he left a lasting legacy through his ministry, writings and the L’Abri community when he passed in 1984. I can guarantee you that I’ll be reading more of his works.
I wrote a while back about the possibility of global warming not being the sole result of man’s influence. Rather, I noted, it may be linked uncomfortably to God’s judgement and wrath on a people that have turned from Him.
That’s the heavy question that Death in the City investigates. Schaeffeer states that there is the “dust of death†covering us all and that there is within all men “an unsatisfied longing for a sufficient comforter.†That longing too often propels into the arms of lesser lovers.
As Schaeffer examines the ministry and power of the prophet Jeremiah, he points out that the God of Scripture is a jealous God who will not only woo his people, but He will discipline them.
Jeremiah’s message agrees with the assertion of Hebrews 12.8-11:
If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.Â
“Death in the city†is a progressive devolving of societies and cultures that turn away from the Creator. As in Romans 1, God essentially allows them to experience all that “life†has to offer them apart from Himself – which is no life at all. It is the beginnings of death.
I was continually grateful at Schaeffer’s skill in expressing deep anthopological and theological content in ways that were “chewable.â€
At one point, he says, “Jean Paul-Sartre has said that the basic philosophic question of all questions is this: Why is it that something is there rather than nothing? He is correct. The great mystery to the materialist is that there is anything there at all. However, it is not only that something chaotic is there but that something orderly, is there.â€
As Schaeffer belabors the point of an involved God in a world of men who have rejected (and are rejecting) Him, He speaks to those who would seek to please or follow God:
It’s perfectly true that God in His mercy often brings men into contact with the Gospel in very unexpected ways… But we are not to wait like a piece of stone for God to bring men to us… The Christian is called to be a carrier of the content of the Good News.Â
Any author that can assert with conviction and certainty the truth of God’s wrath while simultaneously upholding and offering God’s mercy is well worth digesting. Death in the City is just such a work.
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Home
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Whew. We made the trek home from San Angelo this a.m. Caro and the kids had been there for several days, and Jeremy and I joined them Friday evening after a week in Glorieta. Tons of fun crammed into one day!
We jetskiied, tubed, and played a new game called ladder ball. Caro and I are both sore in body parts that we didn’t know we had. Jeremy drove one of the jetskis while I tubed. After a lost wedding ring and several end-over-end flips with water-up-the-nose later, I asked how fast we were going… “Oh, about 45,” he said.
Caro is sore because she skiied, and perhaps because on the way back in on one of the jetskis, I threw us both off. (Now I know why the little deal is attached to your wrist; if the rider suddenly becomes airborne, the jetski shuts off). During our incident, I had just enough of a split second’s awareness to watch Carolyn soar slow-motion-like off the back of the jetski and hit the water butt first.Â
She asked me on the way home today what I was thinking at that moment. My response was, “I was thinking, ‘Uh-oh, I hope I can stay on this thing.’” Another fraction of a second later, and I was in the air too, curiously watching the jetski stop its forward momentum.Â
So we’re both sore today, and Jeremy apparently has no ill effects from us trying to abuse him on the tube. On the way home, Caro kept yelling at the kids in the backseat, “Don’t TOUCH me!”
We did stop long enough today to shoot some shots of a flock of windmills.Â
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Lake life
After a wonderful week in Glorieta, Jeremy and I left Friday morning. We drove through Amarillo and then headed south to rendez-vous with my family in San Angelo at wifey’s folks Lakehouse.
It was a huge change from spending the week with 1200 collegians. I think my two kids and five other niece and nephews matched the Glorieta in decibel level.
We have had a great time relaxing, laughing, jetskiing, and eating. My in-laws are the penultimate hosts, and I’m very grateful for their consistent generosity.
If all goes well, we’ll be hitting the road for the last leg of our journey on Sunday a.m.
(By the way, if any of you follow me on Facebook and have noticed some unusual status updates, it’s because everytime I level my iPhone lying around, Jeremy thinks it’s funny to leave an update on my account for me. I’ve been able to return the favor a few times, thus becoming the Fantastic Facebook Faceoff of 2008.)
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Glorieta 08: Wednesday summary
On Wednesday a.m., Michael Kelley spoke from John 11 about the death of Lazarus. It was not only high drama, but it was high impact. Kelley walked us through the event and the seeming stunning callousness of Jesus’ intentional 4-day delay.
Get this. Three of Jesus’ closest friends – one is on his deathbed. An urgent message is sent to Jesus. They have come to believe in Him as the Messiah and Savior of Israel. They know that He can.
Jesus gets the message… and does nothing.
He can. But He won’t.
How does that hit you?
Kelley pointed out that in at least one other circumstance in scripture, Jesus had only to say the word, and healing took place without Jesus even being there. But He doesn’t do that here either.
On top of that, He doesn’t even head in that direction. He waits two more days, and then makes the two-day journey to Bethany. By the time He arrives, Lazarus is dead, Mary and Martha are mourning, and Jesus’ reputation is on the line.
Jesus has two powerfully poignant conversations with Lazarus’ sisters: Martha and Mary. Martha confesses her belief in Jesus; Mary can only fall at His feet in tears. Both state the obvious: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
I could not help reflecting on all the instances in my own life in which the big IF statement was there. When I’ve “iffed,” it is usually because my understanding of my circumstances is exceeded by my frustration with them. Implicit in “if” statements is a disagreement with how God has chosen to handle a matter.
When was the last time you were there? You realize that God can, and you’re devastated that He won’t.
Mary and Martha should be commended for their understanding of Jesus’ power. They were confident in Jesus’ abilities. They were now not so sure of His motives.
Things were so bad that upon arriving at the tomb – and I like how the King James Version puts it – they object to Jesus’ command to roll away the stone: “Lord, by this time he stinketh…”
That’s how I sometimes view situations in which the Lord doesn’t act on my own timetable… they stinketh.
But Kelley focused on Jesus’ encounter with Mary. She was the sensitive one, the contemplative one. She was the one who had sat at Jesus’ feet in Luke 10.39 in quiet adoration of the Messiah. Now she was at his feet in grief and confusion.
It was this that stirred the heart of Christ. The ESV records, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled.” (v33) Just a moment later, “Jesus wept.”
Kelley asked, “What is more amazing – that Jesus raised the dead, or that Jesus knows the end of the story and weeps anyway?”
This is a profound indication of Jesus’ love for His children. He has a larger purpose. We are unaware, and our vision is obstructed. Yet Jesus weeps with us.
One other thing… Kelley pointed out that there is a sense of anger and indignation in the phrase “deeply moved and greatly troubled.” He asked where it was directed:
- To Mary: “Suck it up, Mary, and be a good soldier.” Was she angry that she didn’t get it after all this time?
- To the Sin-Infested World: The world is in such a state that the only way to break through the stranglehold of sin and announce the truth of the Gospel in Christ is through the suffering of God’s people. Sin has so obscured men’s view that His people must suffer in order to for others to see.
He pointed out that suffering is a preeminent theme throughout scripture. Suffering is a primary means that God uses to refine His people and display His glory.
Kelley did a magnificent job preaching this message. It wasn’t a sermon; it was a faith-conversation with us all.
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Glorieta 08: Monday night message
I’ve summarized David Platt’s message here, but you can listen to it here.
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Secret Church
When was the last time you saw over 1000 college students study the Bible deeply for five straight hours?
I saw it last night.
David Platt has led his church, Brookhills, to host an event called Secret Church. Here’s what the site says about it:
When we think of “church” in America, we think of going to meet at a building, singing, praying and hearing a message from a Pastor or teacher. But in many places around the world, “church” meets in a home, an apartment, even in secret. These small groups of Christ-followers often meet for many hours in study, prayer and fellowship, as it is dangerous to travel to “church” and they want to make the most of their time together.
Secret Church is our “house church,” where we meet periodically for an intense time of Bible study–lasting 4-6 hours–and prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe. This is not for the uncommitted or faint at heart. But if you desire to know God more deeply through His Word, and know His Church more fully around the world, then please join us for Secret Church.
David led us all in a 5-hour study of the Doctrine of God. We had a 74-page booklet that we went through that detailed the awesome attributes and character of our holy God. It was powerful to be part of the event and see students eating it up.
What does that say about a generation of church folks that can hardly tolerate a sermon longer than 20 minutes? And what does it say about the amount of doctrine that folks can possibly know? Perhaps are churching are starving for God’s Word.
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Glorieta 08: Monday teaching reflections, 2
David Platt spoke Monday night from Exodus 33.1-4, 12-18. It’s a rather dramatic moment in Moses’ and Israel’s relationship with God. Basically, the Lord has just extinguished the lives of a few thousand Izzies for worshipping the golden calf. In an expression of his divine sovereignty, he announces to Moses that he may go on up to the Promised Land, but that He will NOT go with them.
Platt shared about the dynamics of this encounter and related it uncomfortably well to the church today. Essentially, God told Moses that he could still have what had been promised but that God’s presence would not be a part of it. David shared that we too often crave God’s blessings rather than His presence.
What about you? Do you enjoy God’s blessings and crave more but wish that He would just leave you alone to live your life as you please? It’s akin to winning a shopping spree at Wal-Mart. We just want God to let us enjoy all that He offers without enjoying Him.
The sad thing is, I believe, that few people are even aware that they can enjoy God. Christianity for them is not about relationship with a loving Father. Rather, it’s a religion that needs to be maintained, kept up, and white-washed.
Platt shared that what we need (and what a lost world needs) is for God’s people to be desperate for Him. He said that we needed to be desperate for the Spirit. Like Moses, we need to say that we will not go up into the Promised Land without God. His presence is more important to us than His presents.
As I was journaling this a.m., having had time to reflect on the message, I wrote the following:
I totally agree that we should be “desperate for the Spirit.” Yet, it’s crucial for us and a collegiate audience to know what that looks like. For instance, while we are desperate for the Spirit, we must also realize that a genuine follower of Christ is…
- 1) already sealed by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 1.22, Ephesians 1.13, 4.30),
- 2) baptized in the Spirit, (Mark 1.8, 1 Corinthians 12.13)
- 3) needs to yield to (or walk in) the Spirit. (Galatians 5.16, 25)
I think the latter is what David had in mind in the phrase “desperate for the Spirit.” For the phrase by itself is not enough to carry the day. Nor is the effort to be desperate for the Spirit. It must translate in our lives into a beautiful sacrifice of obedience to God’s revealed Word. It must be matched by a self-denying daily walk with Christ.
When Jesus said His sheep know His voice, He meant that they would recognize, hear and respond to Him. We must learn and acclimate ourselves to the voice of God above all the noise of our lives. This is being desperate for the Spirit. That God sometimes speaks in a gentle whisper should prompt us to live listening for His Word.
By yielding to His Spirit, we will be drawn into His Word so that we’ll become more acquainted – not just with His voice – but with His heart. When we seek to know Him – as Paul in Philippians 3.10 describes – we will be sensitive to the promptings and leadings of His Spirit through the day.
That is what I think Platt was getting at when he urged us to be “desperate for the Spirit.”
Practically, a person desperate for the Spirit will, of course, seek the Father in obedience. That is when the Spirit will produce fruit in our lives – as we yield our lives and bodies to His service. (Galatians 5.21-22) We will also seek Him privately and corporately (with other desperate believers) in prayer.
Platt shared about Jeremiah Lanphier amazing prayer movement/revival as an example of what it means to be desperate for the Spirit. The word “desperate” is such a good description of a much-needed attitude in the church. We need to be like Moses and with shock realize that God does not have to go with us. And we need to be so desperate for Him – apart from His gifts – that we will not move until we’re confident of His presence.
So, being desperate for the Spirit truly should look like embracing God’s Word, practicing obedience, and seeking Him and His glory in humility and grateful dependence.
When was the last time you were desperate for the presence and person of God? If it’s hard to remember, try gathering 1-2 others with you for a time of prayer and in humble desperation, call on the Father for His presence rather than His presents.
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Glorieta 08: Monday teaching reflections, 1
On Monday, Michael Kelley and David Platt both preached and taught powerfully from God’s Word. Both were complementary of each other. The point is an old one, but they presented it with biblical authority and conviction: go to and get involved in the church! Christians who disparage the church are also maligning the very bride of Christ.
Michael’s message centered on Romans 12.1. He demonstrated convincingly after a summary of each chapter of the Romans that the “therefore” in Romans 12.1 is a reflection of all that Paul has written so far.
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Now here’s where it got interesting. He pointed out that in some translations (the NIV included), the word “sacrifice” is plural. However, in the Greek it is singular. That’s a powerful distinction. Essentially, what Paul is geting at is that all believers (plural) should present our bodies (plural) as one, singular sacrifice to God. That infers the corporate nature of the church.
Especially as you continue reading the next several verses in Romans, you see Paul describing how God gave gifts to believers to function as His body, the church. Kelley preached that God did not give us an individual assignment but a “group project,” and that group project is the church. You can see this taught in 1 Corinthians 12 as well. Christians are not to withdraw from the church for their own selfish, dissatisfied reasons. Nor should we in the church malign it or other Christ-following fellowships.
In the church, God calls and gifts leaders to encourage, direct, rebuke, and exhort the people of God. In the church, you have ugliness AND beauty. No church is perfect, and the fact that anything gets done at all for the kingdom of Christ is simply a testimony to the fact of God’s grace and power over man’s sinfulness. But it is in the church that the very presence and fulness of God rests. It is upon the church that God pours out His Spirit. And it is the church that God calls into the world to preach the Gospel.
Kelley said, “You must be you so she can be her,” in referring to using our gifts for the church and the extension of the kingdom of God.
I felt it was a powerful message for those of us so familiar with the church that we sometimes criticize it. It was also a powerful rebuke for those who would sit on the sidelines embracing uninvolvement and even those who would create un-churches (groups disconnected from the whole body of Christ) out of discontent with the way church is being done.
Kelley said that perhaps the reason so may people disdain the church today – including disconnected Christians – may be because we have radically underestimated the role and scope of the church in redemptive history. Essentially, we must re-mind ourselves that the church is God’s only strategy for redeeming a lost world!
Listen to the message below:
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Glorieta 08, Day 2
I’m pooped. And I need a walker.
Jeremy and I hiked six miles yesterday after lunch to see a ghost town. It wasn’t much more than a clearing back up in the mountains. It was stunningly beautiful. Blue spruce trees really have a blue tint to them. We also saw the remnants of an old hotel. The basement walls were visible and showed stone masonry. In the crosscut timbers, you could also see the large, square nails that were used.
I enjoyed the hike while I was on it, but last night, I stiff-legged everywhere. I was fine most of today as well, but in the worship service tonight, my legs apparently died. When I got up to leave, they ignored my commands, and I had to drag them along underneath me like dead wood. I will whip them for their disobedience and hope they behave better tomorrow.
Under gorgeous skies and crisp mountain air today, I got to eat lunch with Tracy, Jeremy and David James – the Collegiate Ministry Team leader for Arkansas. We had a great visit and dined out at an authentic Mexican food (or New Mexican) restaurant in Pecos. I tried to order enchiladas without green or red chile sauce on them, and the matronly waitress said I couldn’t. We were all a little surprised at her directness, but she politely explained that they wouldn’t serve their enchiladas in a way that might lead me to conclude they were tasteless. So I ordered a hamburger.
Before you ridicule for the hamburger, she did bring us samples of the chile sauce – both red and green. They were hotter than Arkansas is right now. Imagine the hellish heat of a piece of asphalt that’s been scorched by the sun all day long concentrated onto the surface of your tongue. You’d order a hamburger too.
I taught a seminar this evening on Blogging for Impact: The Power of Social Webbing for Witness and Leadership. I am scheduled to teach it again on Wednesday. There was a great turnout for it, and I think it went well. They asked some excellent questions. One surprise: in the room, there was only one person who Twitters besides me and Jeremy. They all were intrigued by the opportunity Twitter provides for ministry updating and networking.
Yesterday, Tracy and Jonathan barely made it to the worship session. They spent a long day fighting lost luggage issues and medicine prescriptions which required a trip to Santa Fe. After the worship time, the four of us gathered on the balcony of New Mexico Hall for a time of intimate prayer. It’s powerful to pour out your heart to the Father with folks who are doing the same.
Nuff said for now…
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Glorieta 08, Day 1
I’m at Glorieta for National Collegiate Week. Michael Kelley is the Bible study leader for the mornings, and David Platt is the teacher during the evenings. Both brought the Word of God with conviction and authority today. The gathered crowd of 1500+ collegians and ministers were visibly moved by the messages.
Kelley spoke from Mark 11.12-24. It’s the passage where Jesus curses the fig tree as he’s heading into Jerusalem during the last week of his life. Mark makes a point to separate the fig tree account with the story of Jesus driving out the money changers from the temple.
The picture is of Jesus expecting to find something of substance, something of benefit, something to indicate fruitfulness, but He found nothing. Kelley asked if we and our churches have any substance, or if there are just leaves there – leaves that give a false impression of life and fruitfulness but which conceal our spiritual barrenness.
Platt spoke from Luke 9.51-62 about four pictures of Jesus and our response to Him. In each instance in these verses, people approached Jesus, wanting to follow Him, and in each case Jesus indicated that either they were not suitable or they could not. It’s definitely a “hard” passage.
Platt spoke powerfully and with great conviction. He asked us whether we, like the people mentioned in the passage, were using Jesus as a means to an end. “I’ll accept Him so that ________.” (fill in the blank) Platt pointed out how ludicrous it is to even conceive that we “accept” Jesus. Rather, it is the other way around, and His acceptance of us is based only on His grace and our faith.
For those who have “accepted” Jesus and used Him as a “ticket” to heaven, peace, better life, etc., Platt had strong words of caution that indicate that true faith may not be present.
Platt said God is the giver of the gospel; that Jesus is the gift of the gospel; and that Jesus is the goal of the gospel. We pursue Christ not to get _________, but rather to get Christ. He is the end of search.
Jesus doesn’t “need” us, Platt warned, and any thought or attempt at motivating people to serve God because God needs help is blasphemous. He is perfectly able to work without our help. We should be thankful that He chooses to use us in His grace. This perspective prevents our pride and false religion from being established.
In closing, Day 1 yielded some powerful teaching and many intimate conversations with friends and ministers.
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Glorieta 08: Sunday messages
Listen to David Platt and Michael Kelley’s messages from Sunday here.
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Notes from the Trail
The Personal Blog of Jeff Noble
Info: From the misty hills of Virginia, "Notes from the Trail" seeks to encourage you on your journey. Written by a graphic designer-pastor, this blog is a blend of humor, insight, and faith discovery.
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