Lately I've really noticed how much Christians scream out for justice and truth. Whenever there's an issue that deals with an injustice that seems to be occurring, Christians and churches get really worked up about it. I'm not saying that's wrong. In fact, often I'm quite proud that we are advocating for victims or those that are denied the liberties that most of us take for granted.
On the same token, we get worked up about things that seem to be against our understanding of truth. Again, I'm not saying that's bad. In a world that denies the idea of right and wrong, who will be the prophet if it's not us? But sometimes I think the world knows us more for what we stand AGAINST rather than the things that we stand FOR.
But there's a real fascination these days in the churches for this stuff and I guess I wonder why.
When I think about my relationship with God, I am not standing before Him screaming for justice. My prayers for myself are much more for mercy and grace than anything else. In fact, I'm really glad God doesn't lambaste me with truth and justice. God is gentle with me. Grace and mercy.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Friday, December 7, 2007
the coffee hangout experience
As a staff, we've been talking about having a third worship alternative for a long time. Each time we do, there is always talk around it being in a coffee shop. Why? Because it's something that everyone knows about....
So here's a few random observations...
-people think they are talking privately. In the hour I've been sitting here, I've heard people talking about relationship/marital issues, work issues and just general comments about themselves that I'm SURE they would never say elsewhere. I'm not trying to eavesdrop either. I could be across the room and deaf and still hear what they are saying. What does that tell me? 1) Coffee shops are the place that people experience care and community. 2) I need to talk quieter.
-Coffee is expensive here but everyone buys it. I had a square and a medium coffee. $5. (I always tip because as Christians, I think we need to be known for being generous not stingy but that's another blog topic) Some people come here every day. So in a month, that's a $100 coffee budget IF it's only once a day. Why do people pay what they could pay for a whole pound of coffee at the store? Because they pay for the atmosphere. It's the daytime equivalent of going to a pub. Or the adult equivalent of 7-11 or the arcade when I was a teen. I pay $5 and I can stay here and people watch all day if I want. $5 for a cup of coffee and a square is a rip off but $5 for an activity is dirt cheap. What does that tell me? Content is important but how the content is packaged and presented is even more important these days.
-There's no dress code or 'way you need to be' to come here. There's two guys in the corner wearing suits. In the booth over, two guys wearing jeans and hats are playing chess. Two moms wearing sweatpants with kids are here as well. And then there's scruffy me with my holiday beard (yes that's what the 'dirt' is on my chin - I'm Asian - give me a break.). But there's no heirarchy or pecking order here. We're all treated the same and more importantly, we all 'feel' the same. That's an important part of the coffee culture because every place has a different feel and the feeling you belong is important. The teaching here for me? Coffee shops do naturally what churches work at forever trying to achieve.
We're doing our java worship experience in mid January. We'll see whether we can have a redemptive coffee experience. Actually, that's not stated right. We'll see whether the coffee shop can redeem many of our church experiences.
So here's a few random observations...
-people think they are talking privately. In the hour I've been sitting here, I've heard people talking about relationship/marital issues, work issues and just general comments about themselves that I'm SURE they would never say elsewhere. I'm not trying to eavesdrop either. I could be across the room and deaf and still hear what they are saying. What does that tell me? 1) Coffee shops are the place that people experience care and community. 2) I need to talk quieter.
-Coffee is expensive here but everyone buys it. I had a square and a medium coffee. $5. (I always tip because as Christians, I think we need to be known for being generous not stingy but that's another blog topic) Some people come here every day. So in a month, that's a $100 coffee budget IF it's only once a day. Why do people pay what they could pay for a whole pound of coffee at the store? Because they pay for the atmosphere. It's the daytime equivalent of going to a pub. Or the adult equivalent of 7-11 or the arcade when I was a teen. I pay $5 and I can stay here and people watch all day if I want. $5 for a cup of coffee and a square is a rip off but $5 for an activity is dirt cheap. What does that tell me? Content is important but how the content is packaged and presented is even more important these days.
-There's no dress code or 'way you need to be' to come here. There's two guys in the corner wearing suits. In the booth over, two guys wearing jeans and hats are playing chess. Two moms wearing sweatpants with kids are here as well. And then there's scruffy me with my holiday beard (yes that's what the 'dirt' is on my chin - I'm Asian - give me a break.). But there's no heirarchy or pecking order here. We're all treated the same and more importantly, we all 'feel' the same. That's an important part of the coffee culture because every place has a different feel and the feeling you belong is important. The teaching here for me? Coffee shops do naturally what churches work at forever trying to achieve.
We're doing our java worship experience in mid January. We'll see whether we can have a redemptive coffee experience. Actually, that's not stated right. We'll see whether the coffee shop can redeem many of our church experiences.
Monday, November 12, 2007
evangelical debate
It's pretty fair to say that people don't really care about denominations anymore. Definitely the vast majority of the world doesn't. They hardly notice the difference between a Christian and another religeon let alone all the differences BETWEEN Christians. But even among the church leadership, the divisions between denominations is shrinking. The ministerial here has some good collegiality between the Baptists, Alliance, Anglicans, Pentacostals and us. Needless to say, I'm thankful for that. But there is a divide within our church that seems to be growing - almost as quick as the denominational one is shrinking. The evangelicals or conservatives vs the liberals.
To define it isn't that simple but basically, the evangelicals/conservatives would hold to a traditional, orthodox theology and they would believe that the world needs to be saved through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Liberals have a much more social action oriented faith rather than a "accept Jesus in your heart" one and hold Scripture as allegorical and metaphorical rather than God's inspired word. Within the Presbyterian Church (and all the other mainline denominations), there's a wide diversity along the spectrum.
To survive within our denomination, you need to learn to be politically correct in certain situations. Sometimes that is very difficult - particularly when the pervading theology is vastly different from your own. What makes it harder though is how quickly our church likes to label and dismiss others as useless because of their theology. It's probably fair to say that we treat people that are on the opposite theological viewpoint much worse than those from other faiths or no faith at all. In many cases, it crosses from prejudicial into hatred.
Make no mistake - I'm an evangelical. The longer I'm in this denomination, the more I'm comfortable with that. But that's not to say that us evangelicals have it all right. Most evangelicals talk too much and live too little. We're overly judgemental and too rigid. Both liberals and evangelicals need to learn from each other and just for once, live in humility under God to trust that God will judge as God judges. Let's just let each other be who we are - standing up for the things we're passionate about WITHOUT putting the other person down for having a point of view different than our own.
To define it isn't that simple but basically, the evangelicals/conservatives would hold to a traditional, orthodox theology and they would believe that the world needs to be saved through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Liberals have a much more social action oriented faith rather than a "accept Jesus in your heart" one and hold Scripture as allegorical and metaphorical rather than God's inspired word. Within the Presbyterian Church (and all the other mainline denominations), there's a wide diversity along the spectrum.
To survive within our denomination, you need to learn to be politically correct in certain situations. Sometimes that is very difficult - particularly when the pervading theology is vastly different from your own. What makes it harder though is how quickly our church likes to label and dismiss others as useless because of their theology. It's probably fair to say that we treat people that are on the opposite theological viewpoint much worse than those from other faiths or no faith at all. In many cases, it crosses from prejudicial into hatred.
Make no mistake - I'm an evangelical. The longer I'm in this denomination, the more I'm comfortable with that. But that's not to say that us evangelicals have it all right. Most evangelicals talk too much and live too little. We're overly judgemental and too rigid. Both liberals and evangelicals need to learn from each other and just for once, live in humility under God to trust that God will judge as God judges. Let's just let each other be who we are - standing up for the things we're passionate about WITHOUT putting the other person down for having a point of view different than our own.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Keeping it real
It's been a long time since I've blogged here because...well....i got blogged out from the summer. Random thoughts cross my head all the time but one of the tougher parts of being a pastor is that there are few things that really 'belong' to you. I'll read something and my first thought is, "how can I incorporate that into the ministry at St. A's?" God will teach me something and before I know it, it's off my tongue in a sermon. So part of my discipline this fall was to try and keep some stuff between God and I - to develop some depth to my walk with God. Church ministry is unique in that the work I'm called to do there is directly related to my personal relationship to God. If I'm not growing and staying close, the work suffers. Item 1 on my job description as a pastor is to continue cultivating my personal relationship with God. If I stop growing and sincerely TRYING to live what I'm saying, I hope I quit before I get fired.
But here's the irony. My relationship with God isn't a job. It's a marriage relationship that needs to be as personal and intimate as my relationship with Kathleen. Some things in my Christian life need to be kept between God and I. Maybe at some point, it'll be a sermon illustration, but for now, it's just for us to share. In order for me to reach maturity in Christ, I need to let God's word seep deeply into my heart - not so I can be a better pastor - but so I can be a better disciple, a better person, a better child of God.
Our measure in God's eyes isn't dependent on how well we measure on our job evaluations but how we measure on our faithfulness evaluation. My 'job' is no different. To borrow language from 1 Cor 13....If I preach a thousand great sermons and build a ministry with millions in it but haven't a relationship with God, I'm nothing.
But here's the irony. My relationship with God isn't a job. It's a marriage relationship that needs to be as personal and intimate as my relationship with Kathleen. Some things in my Christian life need to be kept between God and I. Maybe at some point, it'll be a sermon illustration, but for now, it's just for us to share. In order for me to reach maturity in Christ, I need to let God's word seep deeply into my heart - not so I can be a better pastor - but so I can be a better disciple, a better person, a better child of God.
Our measure in God's eyes isn't dependent on how well we measure on our job evaluations but how we measure on our faithfulness evaluation. My 'job' is no different. To borrow language from 1 Cor 13....If I preach a thousand great sermons and build a ministry with millions in it but haven't a relationship with God, I'm nothing.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
retreats
I think if Jesus were here today, he would be a camp person. He loved crowds sometimes, a certain few more often and sometimes, he would just go away by himself. That's camp. A bit of everything. It's been special this week being up there doing what we feel to be God's work in presenting the gospel in worship. I've been moved to tears almost everytime I sing "how can i keep from singing" because it is just so much how i feel being up there.
Does your life have the same balance? Time with others - including believers and unbelievers? With the intimate few you truly INVEST yourself with? Do you have time by yourself to nurture your own listening prayer life with God? Sometimes the noise has to stop in order for our spiritual lives to start.
Does your life have the same balance? Time with others - including believers and unbelievers? With the intimate few you truly INVEST yourself with? Do you have time by yourself to nurture your own listening prayer life with God? Sometimes the noise has to stop in order for our spiritual lives to start.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Blog about blogging
It's hard to blog about the news when I have no idea what is happening in the news. Being at camp all week this week (with exception to Thursday night which I'll be coming back for the last one!), I've been out of the loop. The year that Wayne Gretzky got traded from Edmonton, I was at camp and didn't even hear about that until a week later! I could blog all about stuff at camp but the connection point for you wouldn't be the same.
That 'disconnect' I'm describing is one of the biggest issues that I think faces Christians today. We're out of the loop. Somewhere, we've interpreted being of the world but not in the world as taking a critical backseat to everything that the world offers - and maybe more importantly, a criticism of the people within it. Healthy criticism is a good thing - as in just being reflective and analytical about what we're taking in and being a part of. But when we just make running commentary on the world and people while having no connection - no relationship - with them, we've immediately lost our audience.
Imagine if Paris Hilton decided to write a book criticizing the inner workings of the church. We'd be in a rage because she couldn't possibly know anything about what us Christians believe! Let alone her lifestyle! It's NOTHING like it should be. She hasn't earned the right to say anything!
That's kinda how those in the world feel about us I think. I know that we live by the truth and we can't possibly adopt the lifestyle of the world just to communicate to it. But we can't hide behind that either. Jesus diedto save the world. Maybe it's time we start to love it the same.
That 'disconnect' I'm describing is one of the biggest issues that I think faces Christians today. We're out of the loop. Somewhere, we've interpreted being of the world but not in the world as taking a critical backseat to everything that the world offers - and maybe more importantly, a criticism of the people within it. Healthy criticism is a good thing - as in just being reflective and analytical about what we're taking in and being a part of. But when we just make running commentary on the world and people while having no connection - no relationship - with them, we've immediately lost our audience.
Imagine if Paris Hilton decided to write a book criticizing the inner workings of the church. We'd be in a rage because she couldn't possibly know anything about what us Christians believe! Let alone her lifestyle! It's NOTHING like it should be. She hasn't earned the right to say anything!
That's kinda how those in the world feel about us I think. I know that we live by the truth and we can't possibly adopt the lifestyle of the world just to communicate to it. But we can't hide behind that either. Jesus diedto save the world. Maybe it's time we start to love it the same.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Healthy wealthy and wise gospel
The 'prosperity gospel' is what we call the teaching that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy and wise - AND that our ability to attain these things depends on how we pray or the measure of our faith and spiritual growth. This teaching has been around for a long time but has found new legs in recent days. The Secret (which I wrote about a couple days ago) is the most popular mainstream version of it. Perhaps The Prayer of Jabez could be considered the most common Christian version of it.
Often quoted with this is Jn 10:10, "I have come that you might have life and have it in abundance." While even a quick reading of John 10 will show that the 'prosperity gospel' is far from the context of this verse, it should be very true that God desires the best for us. What Father doesn't want the best for his kids? What does Christ's death and resurrection mean for us today? Doesn't it mean we'll have victory? Success? It seems to make sense.
But then Jesus teaches weird stuff. Luke 6:20 and following reads...
"Blessed are you who are poor for your is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude and insult you anhd reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."
"But woe to you who are rich.....who are well fed now.....who laugh now...when all men speak well of you....."
Maybe our prayers are off base?
Often quoted with this is Jn 10:10, "I have come that you might have life and have it in abundance." While even a quick reading of John 10 will show that the 'prosperity gospel' is far from the context of this verse, it should be very true that God desires the best for us. What Father doesn't want the best for his kids? What does Christ's death and resurrection mean for us today? Doesn't it mean we'll have victory? Success? It seems to make sense.
But then Jesus teaches weird stuff. Luke 6:20 and following reads...
"Blessed are you who are poor for your is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude and insult you anhd reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."
"But woe to you who are rich.....who are well fed now.....who laugh now...when all men speak well of you....."
Maybe our prayers are off base?
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