When inaction is odious
We are being inundated this week with the unfolding scandal of Penn State University’s football program and how Joe Paterno and university officials did (or did not) handle revelations of child sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky. The morally abhorrent news continues to come out.
PSU students rioted last night because they’re beloved football coach was fired. But where was the moral and cultural outrage over the ongoing sexual abuse of children across the world prior to the PSU incident became a media frenzy?
The indignation over Sandusky and the inaction of PSU leaders reveals an unsettling reality. We don’t like our idols messed with. In our culture, the love of sports and its personalities overshadows the reprehensibility of the abuse of children. It would be difficult, indeed, to mobilize stadiums of Americans to work against the mistreatment of children in our country and internationally.
I don’t know Joe Paterno. However, I question where his moral outrage was when he learned of the allegations against Sandusky. In addition, I question why those who witnessed the incidents didn’t have the backbone to physically intervene or to report things to the police. I have an uncomfortable sense that the perpetrators were ushered out with quiet threats in order to protect the reputation of an academic institution and a revered sports program.
The folly of inaction is addressed in the New Testament:
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17 ESV)
It’s easy to sit on the periphery and cast stones. Lest we forget, we are all guilty of significant moments of inaction.
What life transforming resolutions will you make after seeing another powerful reminder that sin has great consequences – whether sins of commission or sins of omission?
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Review: Radical Together
David Platt’s followup to his book Radical is intended to be a tome for the corporate church rather than for the individual Christian. Platt’s first book was an in-your-face approach intended to slap, sometimes not too gently, compromised Christians into a radical allegiance to the One they call Lord. Radical Together is also a rather blunt instrument intended to beat down the spirit of consumerism that has invaded the western church.
I read and reviewed Radical here, and I noted that -
While I was challenged by the book, I think that it also needs the balanced corrective of God’s deep and majestic love for His people. Platt comes across many times as simply… angry. The book seems to need a great dose of the joyand love of God.
Radical Together, at times, reads as a corrective to some of Platt’s first book’s extremes. He seems to have chewed long and hard about the motivation needed for believers and realized that only a humble awareness of God’s grace in light of our sin produces love. And love produces obedience.
Speaking about the possibilities of Radical being taken out of context, Platt says,
“I get frightened when I think about Radical in Ashley’s hands. Though in writing that book I tried to show the entirely underserved grace of God toward us in the gospel, I know Ashley is prone to think, ‘I need to do more for God. I need to sell this possession and make this pledge in order to be right before God.’ Guilt will motivate her obedience, and action will be her obligation.”
Exactly. Thanks, David. That was my concern when reading the first book. It had so many merits, but I felt that it was heavy on external motivations to radical living rather than internal appeals to loving obedience to a radical God. With that said, Radical Together, on the whole, is a great read and resource for churches and small groups.
Platt writes to church members, collectively, to urge them to savor God’s Word, appreciate God’s leaders, work for God’s glory, pray for the nations and to progressively enjoy the exaltation of God.
He confronts the tendency of churches to become immersed in activities planned for church members. In doing so, he reminds us that “church leaders are intended by God not to plan events but to equip people.” (See Ephesians 4:12.) He asks us why we see a dichotomy in local ministry and global missions. There shouldn’t be.
…biblically, our mission is not only about loving our city or invading our culture with the gospel. Our mission is also about leaving our cities to infiltrate every culture with the gospel. I am convinced that satan, in a sense, is just fine with missional churches in the West spending the overwhelming majority of our time, energy and money on tryng to reach people right around us.
Reading this book together, I think, would greatly benefit any group. It’s been said that theology is best done in community. It wards off the spirit of individualism which refuses to submit to another. It also provides needed corrective.
There is thus a need to engage theology not just by way of individual contemplations of truth but more importantly, in a faith community of collaborative theological learning. This is how theology is best done! (Source: Edmund Chan, How Theology Should Be Done)
I think this book was necessary for Platt’s total message to be understood. We cannot be radical without considering what it means to be radical together.
I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for free as part of their Blogging for Books program.
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Engage in business
This past Sunday, Adam Wilson preached for us at Northstar. Adam is a staffer with Cru at VT, and he has recently come on board as volunteer staff to help us with our discipleship processes.
*As a quick aside, I can't describe the blessing of having passionate, gifted men in our church who are able and eager to teach God's Word. I love sharing the joy of preaching with a teaching team.*
We’ve been in Luke since January of last year, and he spoke from Luke 19:11-27 in all three services.
Sitting under someone else’s teaching is a humbling and joyful experience. No minister is ever above being taught, nor have we “arrived.” I’m going to share in a couple of brief posts what God surfaced for me as truths to dwell on.
The entire passage is a stirring and provocative parable that has serious implications for how “Christians” live and conduct their lives.
‘Engage in business until I come.’ (Luke 19.13)
Adam pointed out that the parable is a parallel to the ascension and inevitable return of Jesus Christ, our King. The command to his servants is not vague. He has entrusted an equal responsibility to each one, and there is clear direction and consequentially, expectation, for each servant to follow through.
Modern Christians should examine their lives with humility. Are they engaged in the business of the King, or are they engaged in their own business? Before we get defensive and claim “that’s none of your business,” we should realize that there will be accountability.
In the parable, and in reality, the king will come back. He returns to assess, rebuke, and reward. We are not given the option of doing nothing.
So, have you made God’s business your business? Are you engaged? Are you busy? Think about it. He is coming.
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Guy on a Buffalo
Wow. Sometimes, you’re just amazed at the time people have to waste… and how grateful you are for it.
Here’s the first in a series of shorts called Guy on a Buffalo.
The scenes are taken from a movie made in 1978, titled appropriately, Buffalo Rider. Here’s the entire 1978 movie. You can thank me later.
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The Language of God review, continued
Sometime ago I began a review of The Language of God by Francis Collins. I concluded that review with some of the following thoughts:
What makes us clearly think we can think clearly?
Faith is required because scripture tells us that no matter how much we don’t like or that we want to deny that our very brains and logic systems are ultimately flawed by sin. Our minds are clouded and must be cleared by the light and love of God. Only then can they function as they were intended to.
In addition, because of sin, our consciences are corrupt. Our thinking is flawed. We see partially. Our motives are impure and skewed. No matter what the observation of our natural world and the methods that we use, our conclusions and interpretation of data are flawed, obscured and, according to scripture, even set against the knowledge of God.
I wanted to continue my thoughts about Collins’ book by looking at his approach and belief about miracles. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s imperative to recognize the lens through which you view reality in this ongoing discussion about evolution. There are significant presuppositions that we all bring to the table in our dialogues. Let’s not pretend we are not embracing “truth” when we use science as a our lens. Science, after all, is man’s attempt to discern reality through means and methods that may be tainted with subconscious bias or creational brokenness.
About the Miraculous
Collins agrees that man is a miracle. His belief is that God superintended the evolutionary process to get us where we are.
Collins has some strange thoughts about God’s miraculous interventions, however. He wants to empirically define what is and isn’t a miracle. “Whatever the personal view, it is crucial that a healthy skepticism be applied when interpreting potentially miraculous events, lest the integrity and rationality of the religious perspective be brought into question.” (p51)
It’s sad that his a priori for miracles is so low. Who says miracles must be submitted to scathing skepticism? The intimacy of God’s involvement in creation in Matthew 6.25-30 reveals that birds are fed and flowers watered by the loving care of the Father.
Throughout Collins’ book, he appeals to “laws” of nature, physics, and biology. However, what if these laws are not such at all? What if man claims these observable laws to avoid contemplating that there are higher laws and even commands that demand our subservience and obedience? What if these little “laws” we are so addicted to defining and presuming to define reality are not laws at all? They may be only guardrails to keep the children from falling off the cliffs.
That’s why Collins and others have issues with miracles. They are interruptions and upset the apple carts of observation and scientific method that have led to the publication and adherence by man as laws.
Another perspective is that “miracles” are not extraordinary occurrences. Rather, they are normal expressions and routine manifestations of a reality that supersedes ours. They’re only extraordinary because we give such rare attention to their prevalence.
From Collins’ perspective though, “in order for the world to avoid descending into chaos, miracles must be very uncommon.” (p53)
So things get out of control of God when He performs too many miracles? This would be true only if God is subject to natural laws. Collins points out that even C.S. Lewis says miracles should be scarce. As much as I like Lewis, I disagree with that conclusion. What do we define as miracles? Are they only what defy empirical proof and are noticed by us?
Even the most acknowledged miracles in scripture are targets of empirical derision today. All is explainable in terms of natural laws, some would say. So why limit the miraculous to the “big” stuff? Is this to make us seem less superstitious and more rationally acceptable? We claim to believe in a God who loves us. Let us press on to believe that this self-revealed, loving Father will intervene in our lives constantly to answer wild and desperate prayers and to spontaneously demonstrate His glory! Whether it’s parting the Red Sea or leading a person to salvation, miracles abound!
But Collins stubbornly insists on rarity for miracles. He quotes John Polkinghorne, “Miracles are not to be interpreted as divine acts against the laws of nature (for those laws are themselves expressions of God’s will) but as more profound revelations of the character of the divine relationship to creation. To be credible, miracles must convey a deeper understanding than could have been observed without them.”
What is the reason for limiting the existence of definition of miracles? And why would one tell God how He must work within the “laws” that we are confined to? It makes perfect sense in this broader discussion of evolution. Is God strong and powerful enough to have created the world in seven literal days? Is He strong and powerful enough to have intimately directed an evolutionary process that last billions of years? The answer to both are yes, and to believe in God, we must believe in this-reality-distorting activity and intervention on His part. However, choosing the latter puts one at odds with what orthodox Christianity claims is the Word of God. Both the Old and New Testaments point to God’s creation of Adam and Eve as a literal event.
As far as miracles are concerned, the primary miracle that every true Christian must adhere and proclaim is the resurrection of a man from the dead. The miraculous is required for the Christian’s lens. So, if God is able, what thought process will we embrace? One that limits the existence of miracles or one that proclaims God’s goodness through their frequency?
To that, I point to Isaiah 55.8-9.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
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Donuts…
It’s so fun to be in a community with so many creative, fun-loving gospel partners. Check out this video from our local Young Life team. Word, Sloop Doggy Dog!
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A big but…
“But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1.13)
That’s a big “but.” And a beautiful one at that.
I love how God displayed mercy to Paul because it shows the extravagance of His love to use as well. In the verse above, the apostle Paul uses that contrasting conjunction to illuminate his former identity as “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.”
Think about it.
Paul wasn’t just innocently acting ignorantly. He was zealously pursuing the arrest and persecution of believers in Christ. He detested what he deemed as their heresy. He partnered with other Jesus-hating Jews to attempt to exterminate the explosion of The Way (Acts 9:2) that was occurring in and around Jerusalem, going as far as Damascus, Syria. He was intentional and intense about his religious violence. Yet, God “who is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4) considered him simply… ignorant.
In fact, verse 12 is even more stunning:
“I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He has judged me faithful, appointing me to His service, though formerly I was…”
God looked at Saul (who would be renamed Paul to indicate the radical internal change of identity and priority) and saw not a persecutor but an apostle. God’s vision was not hindered by the present or the past. God saw it all of Paul in one glance. Paul couldn’t see all of reality. That was why he was ignorant. He didn’t know it all.
When he knew more than he did, Paul would surrender his life to serve the Christ he claimed he hated. He would lay down his life for the church he sought to squash. God saw what Paul didn’t.
You see, it doesn’t matter how zealous we are in our ignorance. We are eligible for God’s abundance.Â
What does God see when he sees you? Does he see your present failures or past mistakes? Or does He see future glory?
What will your big “but” be?
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Google mail rant
Rant warning:
I do not understand people who use Gmail’s web interface for Gmail.
- It’s cluttered.
- It’s confusing.
- It’s clunky.
- I can’t ever make it “just work.”
Tha’ts four Cs: cluttered, confusing, clunky, and can’t. You can thank me later for helping you with memory retention.
I’ve used Apple’s Mail app forever, and it’s just… clean, intuitive, helpful, and it works.
Case in point: I saved a draft in Apple Mail last night. When I went to access this am, it showed up in a folder on Gmail called “[IMAP/Drafts].” It was uneditable. I could not figure out how to edit it… So I copied it, downloaded the attachments, and recreated the message again. Sigh. Fail. Whatever.
People who have used Gmail web’s interface for email say I’m clueless. But I think I’m relatively tech savvy. It has always just screamed of PCish poor user interface to me. Sorry.
End of rant.
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Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
I was watching a movie, and Carolyn and the kids were in Little Rock when she texted me a picture of a TV with Fox News’ “breaking news” headline of “Apple confirms that Steve Jobs has died.”
I was stunned. I turned the TV to Fox News and watched a wonderful tribute and highlight of Steve’s life and contributions to the world in technology and generosity. He was a vivid personality but an incredibly private person.
It was just recently that I wrote an entry called Ode to Steve upon Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple. As I reread it this evening, it really sums up my personal history with Apple and Steve.
Profoundly, in Steve’s 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, Steve said:
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. (Watch below)
One of the things that I’m reminded of is one of Steve’s most quoted contributions to leadership, called Steve’s 12 Rules of Success:
- Do what you love to do. Find your true passion. Do what you love to do a make a difference! The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
- Be different. Think different. “Better be a pirate than to join the navy.â€
- Do your best. Do your best at every job. No sleep! Success generates more success. So be hungry for it. Hire good people with passion for excellence.
- Make SWOT analysis. As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper. Don’t hesitate in throwing bad apples out of the company.
- Be entrepreneurial. Look for the next big thing. Find a set of ideas that need to be quickly and decisively acted upon and jump through that window. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one. Just take it! Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
- Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. “I want to put a ding in the universe,†reveals Steve Jobs his dream.
- Strive to become a market leader. Own and control the primary technology in everything you do. If there’s a better technology available, use it no matter if anyone else is not using it. Be the first, and make it an industry standard.
- Focus on the outcome. People judge you by your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. Advertise. If they don’t know it, they won’t buy your product.
- Ask for feedback. Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you’re at the top of the chain, sometimes people won’t give you honest feedback because they’re afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your product – listen to your customers first.
- Innovate. Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate, let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. Concentrate on really important creations and radical innovation. Hire people who want to make the best things in the world. You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together.
- Learn from failures. Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
- Learn continually. There’s always “one more thing†to learn! Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company. Learn from customers, competitors and partners. If you partner with someone whom you don’t like, learn to like them – praise them and benefit from them. Learn to criticize your enemies openly, but honestly.
One thing we can all take away is one of Steve’s pithy contributions to Apple’s culture: Think Different.
My prayers are with the Jobs’ family  and friends and the employees of Apple.
Here’s the Stanford commencement speech:
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Networking and humility
Yesterday, I had the joy of being a part of a meeting with pastors from around the region who are interested in planting new churches. It’s hard to quash enthusiasm when the compelling vision is sharing the soul-quenching news of forgiveness with those who do not relish a relationship with God through Christ.
Also yesterday, I had the great pleasure of connecting with two pastors in Radford, VA and one in Christiansburg. Of the Radford pastors, Bret Johnson leads a newish church – Valley Bible Church, and Chris McCrary’s *brand new* church officially launches this Sunday – Love Church. I connected with Chris at Starbucks before meeting with with the Southern Baptist regional pastors. (Chris would want me to clarify that he’s not a part of the SBC.) I met Bret that evening after he shared about “The Church” at Virginia Tech’s Cru worship gathering. Tim Hight is the pastor at GraceLife Baptist Church in Christiansburg. Our daughters are the same age and have played Upward Basketball together.
Although neither Bret nor Chris are part of my church’s tribe of Southern Baptists, that’s pretty irrelevant to me when I encounter men who are joyfully and genuinely serving and introducing others to Jesus. One of the hopes that our church has is to network with other churches with similar ministry DNA and who clearly see benefits behind cooperative effort.
One significant requirement for leaders who wish to see a movement of God in their geographic area is one of the hardest to attain. It’s humility. Any attempt to “own” or force a work of God ultimately falls short. We’re not in charge.
Scott McKnight says:
Humility, I am suggesting, is a comprehension of who we are before God and before self and before others and before the world. When we know who we are before God, self, others, and the world, we are humble — and part of that comprehension is our cracked-ness. But, focusing on our cracks does not inevitably produce humility. Humility is a positive; sinfulness is a negative. We need to move beyond the negative to the positive if we are to have humility.
Humility is noted by joy, and graciousness, and love, and honor and the like.
It’s discomforting to me to constantly discover within undercurrents of self-satisfaction. They are dangerous to the soul that should be rooted in Christ. These undertows are more powerful than we realize, because in a moment, we can be sucked out to the sea of self-consummation.
That’s why networking and genuine friendships in ministry are essential. I truly believe it’s urgently important for pastors to cultivate open, honest relationships with leaders outside their church. We need one another. As we share, celebrate and whine together with other leaders, we are reminded that the Church is His and not ours.
What is possible when the people of God humble themselves and seek His face is beyond estimation.
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About
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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