Aaron Stern's Blog

My Interview with Margaret Feinberg

My friend, Margaret Feinberg, has a new book and 7-session DVD Bible study called Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God (releasing Christmas Day). It is a personal invitation for you to toss back the covers, climb out of bed, and drink in the fullness of life. As you may or may not know, Maragret and I have worked together on different projects in the past and I’ve been a fan of Margaret Feinberg and her books for several years.

I recently talked with Margaret about her new book. Here are some highlights:

Where did the inspiration for the Wonderstruck book and Bible study come from?

Have you ever had one of those seasons where everything goes wrong, and when you think it can’t get worse, it somehow finds a way? My husband, Leif, and I had just gone through one of the roughest years of our lives. In the aftermath, as we processed the pain and loss, I had an unexplainable desire in my heart. I began praying for the wonder of God. In essence, I said, “God reveal yourself, your whole self to me. I want to know you as Wonderful. I want to know you as I’ve never known you before and see you in places I’ve never recognized you before.” God did not disappoint.

What do you mean by “the wonder of God”?

Sometimes talking or writing about wonder feels like tying kite strings to clouds. It’s ethereal, and you can never quite get a grip on it. But if you look in the dictionary, the two main definitions of wonder are: “being filled with admiration, amazement, or awe” and “to think or speculate curiously.”

Those definitions come together beautifully in our relationship with God. That’s why I define the wonder of God as those moments of spiritual awakening that create a desire to know God more.

In other words, the wonder of God isn’t about an emotional experience or having some cool story to tell your friends, but the wonder of God makes us want more of God—to go deeper and further than we’ve ever been before.

Why do you think we so easily lose the wonder?

It’s amazing how quickly we can grow numb to the wonder of God in our lives. I think there are a variety of reasons. Paying bills. Getting that degree. Providing for a family. Raising kids. Caring for aging parents. The list goes on.

All too often we find ourselves head down, pushing ahead, just trying to get through. Somewhere along the way, a gap begins to develop between God and us. A drifting takes place. We’re not only less aware of God’s presence in our lives, we’re less expectant. And so even when God does show up, we miss him. We pass by unaware. We’re spiritually asleep and we don’t even know it.

Yet I believe that as followers of Jesus we’re meant to live wonderstruck. We’re invited to live on the edge of our seats in wild expectation of what God might do next. I want to live with this kind of divine expectation, that wide awake spiritual hunger, searching for God in how ever he may want to reveal himself.

Why you do you encourage people to pray for wonder?

This is an incredibly powerful prayer, because praying for wonder invites us to change the posture with which we live our lives. When we pray for wonder, we’re asking God to expand our capacity to see and savor the divine gifts all around and take us deeper in our journey with Christ and in the Scripture than we’ve ever been. A prayer for wonder essentially says, “God, I want more of you! Take my breath away!” And leaves us living expectant for how God will answer.

Follow Margaret’s snarky, funny, and inspirational posts on Twitter, Facebook, or her blog. You can learn more about her book by visiting www.margaretfeinberg.com/wonderstruck where she’s offering some crazy promos right now with up to $300 of free stuff. I’ve seen the book for as low as $7.95 ($14.99 retail) on Barnes & Noble for all you savvy shoppers.  

Leading Leaders

When asking, ”what is the best way to lead other leaders?”, it is important that we look in the right places to find answers.  Before drawing on business wisdom, sports analogies or our own experience we need to first look at the life of Jesus and ask “How did Jesus do it?”  

I am not advocating a return to the W.W.J.D. bracelet era, replete with a full product line at the Christian bookstore to make sure we can wear and plaster the phrase everywhere we go.  Rather I am encouraging that we actually look at how Jesus did things.  Not just, “what would He do?”, but “what did He do?” The goal is to pay as much attention to the way we do things as to what we do.  For the question at hand we must begin by asking, “How did Jesus lead leaders?”

The leaders in the life of Jesus were of course his disciples and there are some significant take-aways when it comes to how He led them.

Invite. One of the phrases that grates on me is “we need to recruit some leaders.” Is this the US army? All Gospel accounts describe Jesus creating his leadership team through personal invitation. The power of a personal invitation is exponentially greater than a generic call for people to sign up. 

With. Most likely, the reasons we need leaders in the first place is because a job needs to get done.  Jesus had the job of announcing and modeling His Kingdom but He never asked his disciples to do it FOR Him, instead he asked them to do it WITH Him. 

Relational. Modeling and creating an “invite / with” culture is an important starting point and sets the tone for how we lead those who respond. It communicates that you are interested in relationship.  The words of Jesus to his disciples when He says “I no longer call you servants, I call you friends,” (John 15:15) are very telling as to how Jesus led them. A prevalent leadership paradigm says you must keep a distance from those you lead. This is not what Jesus shows us. Over the years, some of my greatest friendships have been with those I have led.

Developmental. On a leadership scale of 1-10 I would say the disciples probably fell somewhere around a 5 when Jesus picked them.  Isn’t it fascinating that none of them were rabbis or proven leaders?  They all needed work. When I look for leaders I will take a person with a servant’s heart over a polished and self-confident leader any day.  I know their heart is in the good place for the process of leadership development. Servanthood is the door to leadership in the Kingdom.

If people get the sense that you only want them around because of what they can do for you, the relationship will be short lived.  People can quickly see when they are being used. We must build people, viewing the task as a vehicle for doing that. This means we have to be more interested in who they are as a person than in what they do. One way to help us treat people well is to refrain from refer to them as resources. When we view something as a resource we see it as something to consume and then dispose of. Money, buildings and equipment are resources; people are image bearers who are worth dying for. 

In summary, the leadership model of Jesus is inviting a rag-tag bunch of guys to participate in the Kingdom vision and becoming friends while cultivating the necessary character to transform them into great Kingdom leaders. Let’s do that!

 

A Chapter Closes: my last night as theMILL pastor

Less than 48 hours ago I gave my final talk as the pastor, leader and primary visionary of theMILL (to watch or listen click here). It was a joy to lift up the name of Jesus, celebrate what God has done in this community, see so many familiar faces from over the years and a blessing to personally hear the ways that theMILL has impacted so many lives.

For the past eleven years the only thing I have known on Friday nights is theMILL and my heart has been with and for theMILL community and the college students and 20-somethings of Colorado Springs. To not lead in this context in the future is going to take some getting used to. Giving my last message and walking off the platform for the final time was most definitely surreal but it also signified a chapter in the Stern family story coming to an end.

I have truly loved this chapter. All day on Friday I found myself brimming with emotion and regularly on the verge of tears. I know I will be doing a lot of reflecting in the days ahead, but as I have thought about and gone through this transition, one thing is sure…my heart is filled with gratitude. 

Thank you to theMILL community for giving me the privilege of leading you and walking with you.  For bearing with me as I learned how to communicate and unpack the Scriptures.  For catching the heart of God for the nations and being willing to go.  For bonding together under any and all circumstances. You showed your true colors in the wake of scandal, corporate trauma and personal tragedy. I am proud to call so many of you friends. I will carry the memories of Village Inn, the Incline, Ice Bowl, Fall Retreat, missions, road trips and so many other times together in my heart.  More than memories of fun times, I will carry with me the belief that a community can truly love God, each other and the world.

Thank you to New Life Church for believing in me and giving a kid who walked through your doors at 12 years old a chance.  I grew up at New Life - not only physically, but also spiritually. I don’t consider this next step a separation but a multiplication.

Thank you to Brady Boyd and the elders for praying with us and confirming God’s leading.  For sending us out and celebrating with us.

Thank you to my colleagues who have become friends who have become comrades.  David Perkins, Glenn Packiam, Rob Brendle, Jon Egan, Ross Parsley, Jared Anderson…this list could go on and on.  I don’t know who I would be without you. 

Thank you to Jossie. You are amazing! I am so lucky. Your support, strength and encouragement mean the world to me. You have always been in this with me. You are a true partner in ministry and the love of my life.

Not only would I not be the person I am today without these people and many others I wouldn’t be where I am today without them either. The process of saying yes to this change and the planting of Mill City Church in Fort Collins was affirmed and confirmed through many people in so many ways. This process was a picture of the Body of Christ operating as it was designed, by praying, hearing and following the Spirit’s leading together.

All of this is a poignant reminder of the role that relationships play in our lives in the Kingdom of God.  Relationships are not the end though, as highlighted by Jesus when he says we will leave brother and sister, father and mother for His sake (Matthew 18:29). Relationships do play a vital role in each of our stories which are then intertwinded with each other's and tied into God's story of redemption and grace. That is a privilege to be a prt of and so beautiful.

Even through the tears we are very excited about the road ahead. As God has gracefully closed this chapter of our lives He is kindly turning the page, and beginning to write something new, beautiful, and profound. Though there is a lot yet to unfold, Jesus is calling.  We are following.

 

What's Your Secret? book trailer

Does the thought of telling your secret make your heart race or your palms sweat?

Check out the book trailer for What's Your Secret?: freedom through confession.

   

 

Mill City Church announcement at New Life Church: video

This last weekend was a huge moment for us.  What God has been unfolding in our hearts for the last year has now become public.  Here is a video from this last Sunday morning at New Life Church.

 

 

 

'What's Your Secret?' is now available

Shhhh…. Is there something about you that you hope no one else ever finds out?

You’re not alone. Everyone has secrets—hurts, abuses, bad habits, fears. Big or small, secrets can destroy you from the inside out. The good news is that confession is more powerful than secrets—or the fear that keeps you from telling them.

My new book, What's Your Secret?: freedom through confession is now available...find it on Amazon, Barnes&Noble or at a bookstore near you.

Possibilities are Killing Us

This article is from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries by Jill Carattini titled "To Dwell in in Possibility" I found it to be especially interesting considering our current cultural fascination with social media and the endless information feed provided to us via the internet and digital technology.  I don't think that we should thoughtlessly ingest what is available to us but rather be mindful of how things impact us. Would love your comments.

"Over the past few years I've had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory.  My mind isn't going—so far as I can tell—but it's changing."(1) So begins Nicholas Carr's Atlantic essay, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" His article describes the shifting of his own thought patterns; how he once could delve easily into long bouts of prose, but now finds his mind trailing off after skimming only a few pages. As a writer he is the first to applaud the instant wonders of Google searches, information-trails, and hyperlinks ad infinitum. He just wonders aloud about the cost. 

University of Virginia English professor Mark Edmundson is another voice attempting to articulate the current cultural ecosystem, and the minds, souls, and relationships it cultivates. In an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education he attempts to describe the turbo-charged orientation of his students to life around them. "They want to study, travel, make friends, make more friends, read everything (superfast), take in all the movies, listen to every hot band, keep up with everyone they've ever known... They live to multiply possibilities. They're enemies of closure... [They] want to take eight classes a term, major promiscuously, have a semester abroad at three different colleges, [and] connect with every likely person who has a page on Facebook."(2) Edmundson argues that for all the virtues of a generation that lives the possibilities of life so fully, there are detriments to the mind that perpetually seeks more and other options. For many, the moment of maximum pleasure is no longer "the moment of closure, where you sealed the deal," but rather, "the moment when the choices had been multiplied to the highest sum...the moment of maximum promise."

There is a phrase in Latin that summarizes the idea that the way our minds and souls are oriented is the way our lives are oriented. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is an axiom of ancient Christianity, meaning: the rule of worship is the rule of belief is the rule of life. That is, the way we are oriented in worship (whatever it might be that we focus on most devotedly) orients the way we believe and, in turn, the way we live. In a cultural ecosystem where we seem to worship possibilities, where freedom is understood as the absence of limitation upon our choices, and where the virtue of good multitasking has replaced the virtue of singleness of heart, it is understandable that we are both truly and metaphorically "all over the place"—mentally, spiritually, even bodily, in a state of perpetual possibility-seeking. 

Of course, the ancient Christians who first repeated the idiom, Lex orandi lex credendi lex vivendi, did so with Christ in mind as the subject, aware that the Son of God was the only object of worship who could ever quiet their own restless souls. Before any formal creeds were written, the early church held this adage, knowing that the essence of their theology would rise from their acts of adoration, thanksgiving, and petition. And they knew that the ways of their worship, the things they said when they prayed, not only defined their ultimate beliefs, but ultimately defined their lives. 

No matter our object of worship, the same is true of our lives today. That which claims the most thorough part of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength both reflects and shapes our lives. We most certainly live in a time when the greatest commandment comes with great difficulty, when focusing our hearts, minds, and souls on one thing is a challenge met with a constant parade of options vying for our attention. But the God who longs to gather us, whose arm is not too short to save (even from ourselves), nor ear too dull to hear, is the same yesterday and today. 

What's more, the distracted soul is hardly unique to the age of Google. There was a time when the ancient church father Augustine of Hippo defined his soul as "too cramped" for God to enter. He prayed that God might widen it, seeing too that it needed to be emptied. "You prompt us yourself to find satisfaction in appraising you," he prayed. "[Y]ou made us tilted toward you, and our heart is unstable until stabilized in you."(3) Of course, such satisfaction in worship is not likely if God is known as one of many possibilities in a never-ending, ever-expanding web of activities and diversions. If faith is only a part of life, then it has become as optional as pursuing one more hyperlink or skimming one more article. But those who fully approach the God of all possibilities find rest and focus, wisdom—and indeed, possibility—for their souls. As we worship, so will we live.

 

Is it Judgment Day?

On the day that some people have concluded is the day that the world is going to end, here are a couple videos that may help you know why this is silliness.

A short informal video by New Testament theologian, N.T. Wright, on knowing when Jesus will return. Click here.

And a more in-depth  video by N.T. Wright.

 

What is Shaping Your Imagination? (part 2)

Last week I wrote a post encouraging us to be more aware of what is forming our imaginations and to be thoughtful about aligning our minds with the ways of the Kingdom of God. If our imaginations are left untended, they will be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people.” God’s thoughts and the thoughts of the world exist in radical opposition to one another – it’s self-giving vs. self-serving living. 

Take for example the subject of Church. When we think of what Church is, do we think about it as a place to get spiritual needs met or as a gathering of the interdependent people of God? I don’t think of Church as a grocery store that you go into with a checklist. I think of Church in terms of an old, solid, deeply rooted tree with lots of branches—branches that can’t live autonomously, that can’t live apart from the living organism. 

So this begs the question – what can we do to contribute toward a Spirit-shaped imagination? The quick answer is to immerse ourselves in the Bible and the body of literature that helps us enter into its world with a holy fascination. As we know it is not always that simple and our approach is as much a part of the discussion, so here are just a few practical things that I do to keep my mind pliable and leaning toward the ways of Jesus.

Pray the Lord’s Prayer – everything in the prayer given by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13 is contrary to the ways and desires of our culture.  This prayer is only something a follower of Jesus would pray. The prayer of the world is “My kingdom come, my will be done” rather than submitting ourselves to the will of God, and “Make my persecutors suffer” rather than embracing forgiveness. This is not a rote, dry repetition of an old prayer but a humble desire to give ourselves to the leadership of a holy, loving Father.

Read authors not just books – I have picked not just a series of books to read but a few authors to read. My goal is to read everything they have written. The subjects about which they write and the way they write contributes to how I think. Considering who I have chosen, the depth with which they write and the number of books they have written, it will take me most of my lifetime to achieve this goal. I have picked both non-fiction and fiction authors along both theological and pastoral themes. Eugene Peterson and Frederick Buechner are just a couple of the authors on my list.

Be very aware of cultural intake – It would be easy in this conversation to get on the anti-media bandwagon. I don’t think avoidance is either practical or inherently wise. The issue is selectivity. We have to be discriminating in what we choose to watch and listen to. And no, this does not mean we are limited to Christian TV—in some cases, it would exclude it! The safe ground is usually found somewhere in the middle of the extremes. 

Get Outside – For me being outdoors on a hike, run or bike ride is a sort of detox. I am removed from the messages that continually bombard me, and I’m reminded of who is big and who is small.

Are there any other things that you find helpful to develop a Spirit-shaped imagination?

 

What is Shaping Your Imagination?

In 2009, the Harvard Business School did a study regarding the influence that exposure to luxury items has on decision-making. Useful items (watches, shoes, cars, clothing) were shown to two groups of people, at which point they were asked to make some large business decisions, as if they were the CEO. The first group was shown very functional and unspectacular versions of the items – watches you might find at Wal-Mart or shoes from Target. The second group was shown the same items, only on the very high end – a $5,000 watch, a Rolls Royce, etc. They found that those who had just seen the luxurious items were more likely to make self-serving choices, often at the expense of others. 

This got me thinking. If focusing on luxury items can impact the way we think about ourselves and others, then what am I doing to counteract this subtle influence? Wherever I go I see luxury items. Things I don’t need. Products to make my life easier, more comfortable, more self-serving. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating a poverty mentality or a run-away-from-everything-convenient-in-the-world posture, but instead asking, “What has my attention?” Do I go about my life like everyone else, living according to the standards set by the culture? Or does the Way of Jesus permeate what I am doing? If walking in the Way of Jesus is the goal, what am I doing to ensure that the Way of Jesus is the major influence on (and shaper of) my imagination? 

We all have an imagination. I’m not talking about the fantasy wonderlands that my kids dream up, but what we think about (imagine) when an idea is put before us.  Let me give you an example.  What do you think about when I say, “Church?” Or, what about “prayer?”

And what about…Holy Spirit?

Whatever came to your mind has to do with the data or stimuli that have shaped your imagination on that particular subject. I wonder if the responses are more shaped by our cultural surrounding than by the truth of God. Maybe it is because of this that Paul so frequently urges us to address what happens in our minds.

Take for instance Colossians 3:1-2: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I love how the Message states this idea in Romans 12:2. “Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Left to ourselves we will lean toward our cultural norms, selfish desires and personal preferences. So let’s not allow our imagination to be formed by our self-serving culture since we follow a self-sacrificing God. Let’s allow the Spirit to awaken our minds and recast our imaginations in a biblical and prayerful way.

 

Rob Bell and Hell: is love winning?

One week ago, HarperOne released a book by Rob Bell called Love Wins: a Book About Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. But before it ever hit shelves or came out of the Amazon warehouse things were buzzing in the blogosphere and Twitterverse about the message of his book.  Most of the activity was coming from the camp decrying Bell as a Universalist and thus a heretic – this based off a three minute Youtube teaser video and a book summary.  In the last seven days the cyber-jousting has continued, and after having been asked what I think of all this and some long discussions, I have compiled a few questions and thoughts that might be helpful in this conversation.

Why are we so quick to throw people under the bus? I have not read the book, so I can’t make a definitive statement on what I think of what Rob Bell is saying…but how could everyone else? It seems that instead of waiting to take the time to read the book, maybe even try to have an actual conversation with Rob Bell, statements like “farewell Rob Bell” and labels of “heretic” are very quickly handed out. Whatever happened to civil dialogue, believing the best in others and thinking that we might be able to learn something from others? We should all be glad that our judicial system is founded upon the basic assumption that someone is innocent until proven guilty. Could it be that we’ve made Bell out to be guilty until his book proves him innocent? 

Is there room for discussion on issues like this? On many issues there seems to be the belief that there are only two sides and one is orthodox and the other is heretical. Maybe it would serve the Body of Christ well to slow down and realize that there are some terms we should learn to create a more informed dialogue (for a good list and definition of terms valuable for this discussion, visit Glenn Packiam’s blog here), and to accept that there are multiple perspectives on the afterlife that are within the bounds of orthodoxy (for a few worthwhile and credible perspectives click here, here, here and here). We should remind ourselves that respectable God-fearing people have been debating (and disagreeing about) these issues for a couple millennia. 

When truth is in question what does our response look like? I believe that we can and should hold the line of orthodoxy. Period. But what happens when someone falls off the path (and I’m not implying that Bell has. Haven’t read the book yet.)? Do we all of a sudden stop acting like Jesus? Though Jesus disagreed with the Pharisees, he still extended a welcoming hand to them to identify themselves as lost and come home to the Father (Luke 15). If Rob is a misled brother we are called to restore him gently (Gal. 6:1-2). If he is in fact a heretic, it seems that we should and can defend truth but are then called to love him as a lost sheep…that wouldn’t seem to involve condemning him to hell! It doesn’t seem like love is winning in this one.

Why are we so scared? I have heard a lot of “having any ambiguity on this subject is dangerous,” or, “anyone who is wondering about Universalism will only be given permission by Bell to believe it is true and walk away” talk. So in an attempt to make everything safe we make a clean cut statement about something that is not so clear in Scripture. We know that there is an afterlife and eternal punishment, but there is also a considerable amount of mystery involved with them. Can we be ok with that?

In our desire to not allow for ambiguity for fear of people walking away, have we maybe made things so clean and unambiguous that people have been pushed away from the faith? Ambiguity within faith has its value. Maybe it causes us to lean in to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal truth. Isn’t that what the Christian life is about?

Are we missing the point? Is eternal punishment a biblical idea? Most definitely. Is it important? Absolutely. Is it possible that there is more to this discussion than “is hell about eternal conscious suffering”? I think so. What about a challenge to the hell, fire and brimstone style of preaching that scares people into praying a prayer? Are we approaching the Gospel from a “what we are saved from” angle or from a “what we are saved into” perspective? 

If there is any heresy here (and we shouldn’t be so quick to assume that there is), the Body of Christ should deal with it in a loving and gracious way. But let’s be people that are quick to promote the Kingdom rather than sitting around waiting for our chance to pick someone else apart.

Foursquare Gospel?

Randomly stop by theMILL office and you may find me and any number of staff members playing foursquare.  That’s right – the game many of us played at recess in grade school.  The goal is always to get to the first square or, as we like to call it, “the king square.”  Often disputes arise between players (Joe Kirkendall is frequently involved) about a ball landing in or out of bounds, especially if progressing to the next square is at stake.  Without any clear evidence, a “do over” is frequently called.  The last play is discarded and everyone gets another chance. 

I wonder if we talk about the Gospel like this—as a retry, a do-over, a second chance or maybe even an unlimited set of chances.  If we say things like “God wants to give you a second chance,” or, “Say yes to Jesus and he will help you live well,” are we really talking about the core of salvation?

The Gospel is not about our past mistakes being erased, God patting us on the back and saying, “Go give it another try.”  It isn’t even about Jesus walking along side us to whisper some wisdom in our ear or give some strength to do better.  When we talk this way we are subtly communicating that the work of Jesus is about making us better.  But we have to first remember something more fundamental—that without Christ we are dead.  Colossians 1:27 in the Message translation says, “The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message.”  Being a Christian isn’t about some outside help from Jesus; it is about Him moving in and dealing a deathblow to death itself. II Corinthians 5:17  (NLT) says “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

The Gospel is not about going from bad to good, but about going from dead to alive! That is the message of the Gospel.

 

Paul's Letter to American Christians: by MLK

As I pause and think about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. today I am challenged by his courage and resolution to stand up for truth in the face of intense resistance.  The following excerpt was delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on November 4th, 1956. I pray that it reminds us to lean into and lead others toward Jesus in this present generation of Christianity.

I can imagine the Apostle Paul writing a letter to American Christians in 1956 A.D. And here is the letter as it stands before me:

I, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to you who are in America, Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For many years I have longed to be able to come to see you. I have heard so much of you and of what you are doing. I have heard of the fascinating and astounding advances that you have made in the scientific realm…I have heard of your great medical advances, which have resulted in the curing of many dread plagues and diseases, and thereby prolonged your lives and made for greater security and physical well-being. All of that is marvelous.

But America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture. Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. So America, I would urge you to keep your moral advances abreast with your scientific advances.

Let me rush on to say something about the church. Americans, I must remind you, as I have said to so many others, that the church is the Body of Christ. So when the church is true to its nature it knows neither division nor disunity. But I am disturbed about what you are doing to the Body of Christ. They tell me that in America you have within Protestantism more than two hundred and fifty six denominations. The tragedy is not so much that you have such a multiplicity of denominations, but that most of them are warring against each other with a claim to absolute truth. You must come to see that God is neither a Baptist nor a Methodist; He is neither a Presbyterian nor a Episcopalian. God is bigger than all of our denominations. If you are to be true witnesses for Christ, you must come to see that America.

There is another thing that disturbs me to no end about the American church. You have a white church and you have a Negro church. You have allowed segregation to creep into the doors of the church. How can such a division exist in the true Body of Christ? You must face the tragic fact that when you stand at 11:00 on Sunday morning to sing praises, you stand in the most segregated hour of Christian America. They tell me that there is more integration in the entertaining world and other secular agencies than there is in the Christian church. How appalling that is.

So Americans I must urge you to get rid of every aspect of segregation. The broad universalism standing at the center of the gospel makes both the theory and practice of segregation morally unjustifiable. Segregation is a blatant denial of the unity which we all have in Christ. The underlying philosophy of Christianity is diametrically opposed to the underlying philosophy of segregation.

I must bring my writing to a close now. Timothy is waiting to deliver this letter, and I must take leave for another church. But just before leaving, I must say to you, as I said to the church at Corinth, that I still believe that love is the most durable power in the world.

So American Christians, you may have the gift of prophecy and understanding all mysteries. You may be able to break into the storehouse of nature and bring out many insights that men never dreamed were there. You may ascend to the heights of academic achievement, so that you will have all knowledge. You may give great gifts to charity. You may tower high in philanthropy. But if you have not love, it means nothing.

I must say goodbye now. I hope this letter will find you strong in the faith. It is probable that I will not get to see you in America, but I will meet you in God’s eternity. And now unto him who is able to keep us from falling, and lift us from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy, to him be power and authority, forever and ever. Amen.

Rethink Social Media

As we enter into the days around Christmas and relatives arrive or we travel to be with family and friends and the eggnog begins to flow I would like to encourage everyone to rethink your use of social media.  Though Twitter, facebook, blogs and a plethora of other things can be useful tools they can also contribute to the depersonalization of relationships.  Instead of being fully present at the annual family drive looking at Christmas lights or interacting with the person directly in front of you we often are snapping twitpics and dialoguing with those who we don't see or maybe even know.  So during this celebration of the One who entered and fully engaged our world extract yourself from the Twitterverse, go on an iPhone fast or a facebook diet and be personal and present to loved ones that you can see and hear.

In this short video N.T. Wright, New Testament scholar, discusses why he doesn't utilize social media.  Maybe we should be as thoughtful.

 

Why Read Fiction?

When I tell people it is important to read fiction, I regularly get a reaction that sounds something like this - “I don’t have time to read stories. I need to gain something from what I read. I can’t even keep up with all the non-fiction I want to read so why waste time with fiction?” I understand this response as I once shared these sentiments, but I think this approach is shortsighted and misinformed. 

Here are just a few reasons why reading fiction is so important:

Fiction helps us see life through the lens of story.  Reading stories develops an ability to connect characters, timelines and themes. This is so important for believers because the Bible is a story. The Bible is the timeless, cosmic, redemption story of God.

When we only read non-fiction books our minds are trained to think in a linear, cause-and-effect way. The result is treating the Bible as an “if/then” book to be used, often with the intent of mining principles out of it, rather than seeing it as a story that includes us. As believers we are part of the story of God and it would serve us well to connect our story with the people, history and themes of the Bible. So when we read the story of David we see ourselves in his failures and triumphs; when we read the Gospels we remember the covenant to send a Messiah centuries earlier; and when we read Paul’s warnings to be on guard against deceptive philosophies we realize we are that community of faith, with the same tendencies to fall prey to selfish desires. 

The poet Denise Levertov says that poetic story language is not “an examination of what happens but an immersion in what happens.” The Bible is not a life-management book or a collection of moral lessons but rather a story to be entered.

Fiction helps us see the complexity of the world.  When we read fiction we experience the nuances of life and understand that the world is not black and white. Non-fiction books (especially pop-culture, self-help books) are often very black and white with little concern for the layers of complexity that is life. A wise old friend of mine once said “adolescents see the world in black and white…until they grow up and realize the world is a lot of gray.” This is not to say that the Gospel is relative, but that the world around us cannot be comprehended with simplistic naïveté. When reading The Great Gatsby you learn who Gatsby is and develop sympathy for him rather than making sweeping judgments as we can so easily do when we only see people one-dimensionally. Fiction reminds me to see people through the lens of grace.

 Fiction develops our imagination.  The language of non-fiction books is not the same as a well-written novel. Non-fiction language is primarily the language of information, but to only engage the world on the level of information is to miss the beauty and profundity of that which isn’t “useful.” The beauty of relationships, creation and many of the ordinary aspects of life can easily be overlooked unless our eyes are trained to see beneath the first layer.  The Bible has some facts and data but it is mostly jammed with poetry, song, prayer, narrative, metaphor and prophecy.  To only read the Bible for information is to miss out on a significant portion of what God is saying through His Word. In the words of Susan Sontag (Against Interpretation), “We must learn to see more, hear more, feel more.”

Time is valuable and we shouldn’t waste it reading meaningless drivel, but I implore you to have a steady dose of fiction in your reading diet. Regardless of whether you are an avid reader or a meanderer, pick up a piece of fiction and enjoy the story.

 

Eight Essentials for College Ministry

This article was posted by Justin Holcomb on The Resurgence blog in 2009.  I am reposting it because I think there is a lot of truth in it for college pastors (and all pastors for that matter).  The original post has six essentials - I edited #3 and added #7 and #8.

I've learned some lessons about doing campus ministry both the hard way and from great mentors. Here are the top six (now eight) things you need to know if you're doing college ministry:

1. Don't confuse the gospel with religion
To prevent doing this, talk about Jesus (who he is and what he has done) all the time. If you don't, students will think Christianity is really about something else, like morality, philosophy, piety, social justice, or a religious experience. If you start talking more about what they should do instead of what Jesus has done, you're preaching another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), which is to put heavy burdens on them (Matt. 23:2-4).

2. Learn about sexual assault
The prevalence of sexual assault is staggering. At least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. And the numbers are much worse for college students. These young women and men feel crippling shame, deep guilt, and painfully alone because of what has been done to them.

3. Teach students how to read and interpret the Bible for themselves
This means giving a clear picture of the meta-narrative of the Bible.  Having a birds-eye view of the whole story helps one know how the individual stories and passages fit together.  Without context we run the danger of extricating meaning based on our experiences and feelings and thus making the Bible say what we want it to say.  The most simple presentation of the story of the Bible is the Children's Bible called The Jesus Storybook Bible.  We must also teach students that the Bible is not a book to be used but a story to be entered.

4. Be prepared to comfort students because of divorce and death
College students are at a phase in life where their parents seem to get divorced, if they aren't already, now that their children are leaving home. This is also the age when grandparents begin to die.

5. Study apologetics
Many students still have brain cells left, and they've been reading and thinking about their world. They have legitimate questions about who Jesus is and what he did and why he isn't just a good example. They want to know why they should trust the Bible as reliable. The immense suffering in the world makes them doubt either the goodness or power of God or both. They think Christians are hypocrites and bigots, so why should they become one?

6. Be prepared to counsel students about what they're really facing
You must be prepared to counsel about eating disorders, pornography, cutting, abusive relationships, and the lingering damage of sexual sin. College students tend to be the shock-absorbers of the myths our cultural sells. Idols are brutal slave masters.

7. Teach students what to look for in a church.
Students in college ministries will not be there for more than a few years and chances are they will at some point move to another city.  I find that I have a huge opportunity to shape their ideas of what Church is all about.  I want them to embrace and engage the local church, even when they can't find one that "fits" their preferences.  The Church is more than a social club for Christians and goes much deeper than worship style or service length.  Church is the people of God - a supernatural, God-inspired, Holy Spirit-driven, less-about-me-and-all-about-God-and His-plan-for-the-world community of faith.

8. Invite students into a story that is bigger than they are.
Our culture teaches, and our sinful nature believes, that the biggest story is our own.  History began and ends with the story of God and only when we allow our story to become part of His much bigger story are we able to become who God made us to be.

Parker's Paragraph about Jesus

Toward the end of my talk on Saturday night at theMILL Fall Retreat I read a paragraph written by my eight year old son, Parker.  He is in 2nd grade and learning how to put sentences together centered around a subject. Recently, at home he decided to practice his composition skills by writing about Jesus.  Here is Parker's paragraph:

"Even though there are a lot of things I can tell you about Jesus I will tell you three things. First, love Jesus he will love you back. Second, worship him he will be pleased. Finally, don't worship any other God's. All in all, Jesus is the best person in my life."

In the Gospels (Matthew 18:2-6, 10; Luke 18:15-18), Jesus encourages his followers to have child-like faith. I think we have a lot to learn from the pure love and innocent trust of children. Thank you Parker!

Do we Have a Man-crisis?

I have four amazing boys - Parker (8), Cohen (6), Brooks (4) and Smith (1) - and I take the job of training them to be men very seriously.  I am grieved at the trend I see in our society of boys not becoming men.  This has major implications on marriage, children and the Church.  I believe our culture has helped 20-somethings extend adolescence rather than transition to adulthood and the Church needs not follow suit.  We must reverse the trend!

Check out this video.

 

Easy-Christianity is an Oxymoron

I recently had a friend give me a copy of a paragraph titled "Easy-Running is an Oxymoron".  I found the parallels to American Christianity frighteningly similar.  So I modified the essay switching out the word 'runner' for 'Christian'.  Do you think it is true?

"What is it about being a Christian that scares people so much? Why do people feel they have to put friendly modifiers next to being a Christian so everyone can feel good about it? Well, here's the ugly truth; Everyone shouldn't feel good about being a Christian. it's hard. It hurts; being a Christian requires sacrifice and heart and guts. Any attempt to water it down with feel-good adjectives is a slap in the face to those of us who still hold being a Christian sacred. In fact, if being a Christian is easy, odds are you're not a Christian at all."

theMILL Missions 2010: Change a Life

theMILL just sent nearly 200 college students and 20-somethings around the world on a two week missions trip.  I gave a small recap of the trips at theMILL this last Friday (to listen click here / to watch recap video click here). I think every Christian needs to go beyond the borders of their country to share the Gospel at least once in their lifetime (for a more detailed explanation of why click here)

Just as the Israelites (God's chosen people) were given a covenant through Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3 to "bless all the people on the earth", this still applies to us today as the people of God.  This is reiterated in Acts 1:8 as Jesus commissions his disciples to go to the uttermost bounds of the earth.

I had the privilege of going to Peru and being with a team in the city of Iquitos where we literally changed a single mom's life in one day! In six hours we tore her old house down and built her a new one all for $450 - Extreme Makeover Home Edition (Peru style). She and her five kids went from living in the mud in a house held together by string and wire to a solid house with a door, rooms and beds. My favorite part of the day was when one of the girls came home from school - she was gone before we got there and returned when the new house was almost done - she had a mix of shock and joy on her face that won't soon fade from my memory.

Check out these pictures that track this day in Peru and what just this one team did on MILL Missions 2010.