Studying Ecclesiastes

Tomorrow for Sunday School, we will beginning a study on the book of Ecclesiastes.  

Like so many brothers and sisters who flirt with feeling jaded and frustrated when reading the Bible, the book of Ecclesiastes is as comforting to us as the Psalms are to others.

“Everything is meaningless!” Hyperbole alert:  I think if you asked some in this generation, they would tell you that they are the most cynical, the most angry, the least hopeful, and in fact are the creators of despair. Please also check out their other creations, sex, drugs, rock’n roll, among others.

If I knew I wouldn’t be burned at the stake by fundamentalists, I would create an abridged Bible (and if I knew I wouldn’t be burned at the step of the church organ with propane and left-over bulletins I would).   It’s genesis would be Ecclesiastes.  It would be followed by  John, Romans, some epistles, and flashback to Genesis, etc.  That sounds like more of a seeker’s Bible to me.

We’ll be using IBS’s “The Search”.  Which is a Ecclesiastes in pamphlet form void of the text references in the TNIV language.  (Very inexpensive too.  Check out the link).

Among my hopes, I want students to know that they are not the first to feel despair and have to reconcile that with their love for God.  I want them to enjoy the struggle, embrace the tension, appreciate the paradox, etc.  It’s ok to talk like that.  We didn’t start the fire you know.  

 

On our way to New Orleans.

Blogging will be a little suspended (what else is new?) while I’m away with some of our students.  Evan from mynamesarepromiseandpeace and some of his students are with us too.

 

We’re going to the Desperation Student Conference in Birmingham, AL first, then to NOLA to help with a local ministry called The Gathering Community Center.

A lot to be said here but all is good and may we be faithful with the opportunities the Lord has given us.

Looking forward to it.

Faith, Finding Meaning in Tragedies and Superstition Part 2

Like many, I enjoy watching Sportscenter.  Every so often, they zoom in an athlete who is wearing a worn hat or old socks and give the statistic that validates him.  And of course, how we can we discuss this without the classic facial hair superstition?  By the way, Giambi, now that you’re slumping again, how about we see what happens when we shave the stache?

Often I wonder how this looks like in the church.  Do pastors feel they preach better with suits or without?  What color suit?  What color sneakers?  Do we youth pastors we feel we get better discipleship in our ministry when our hair is gelled, spiked, afro-ed , or clean-shaven?  Absurd, no?

As it works out from my perception, Christians use a different kind of superstition in their Christianese language.  It’s much more pragmatic.   The first post was really about the topic I am working on in my head.  Are some Christians led by superstition instead of the leading of the Holy Spirit.  

Referring back to the tragedies of the first post, I see that we as believers, have a tendency to either be trite or unintentional create lessons that are more superstitious.  I remember after Sept. 11th, the many who said, it could have been so much worse, praise God for His mercy.  Which is a really insensitive thing to say in general and unfair to God Himself, as it speaks too much on his behalf but that’s another story.  But after Sept. 11th, many started saying things like, “I don’t rush for the train anymore.  Ya never know what the Lord is protecting you from.”  What if the bus/train/cab you get on is the one with the suicide bomber? Next we’ll be rushing …  

To me, these types of things operate more like superstitions then actual faith.  And many times they are as arbitrary  as Giambi’s stache.  More to say soon.

Faith, Finding Meaning in Tragedies and Superstition – Part 1

Recently I heard a terribly tragic story of a pastor and his son who died in a plane crash.  We tend to ask why in times like these.   Upon hearing the story, some believed the devil crashed the plane since he was a good man of God and one may have assumed that there was sin in his life and God punished him for it.   

Personally, I assume that he indeed was a sinner saved by grace and was in pursuit of the will of God but either he lost control of the plane in the weather or his plane failed him.  To me, either way, God is sovereign.  However, the superstition lies in the way this tragedy is discussed. 

Should we pray for safety?  Well, our life is a but a vapor, no.  On the other hand, God cares for every hair on our head therefore our safety is certainly a concern to Him, so yes.  Contradiction?  No.  Paradox?  Yes.  What’s the difference?  Well, the short answer is that God is sovereign. [Read more…]

Listening to Last Week’s Sermon

If you know me, you may have heard me say that one of the better lessons I’ve learned is listening to a sermon is an act of worship. This attitude does many things and here are a few: a worshipful heart is open to the Holy Spirit, being less critical, and being less focused on the preacher and more sensitive to the teaching behind it. Confession: I sometimes get frustrated when people walk out of a sanctuary complaining. Friends, it’s not a movie theater, not just because the preacher isn’t making 20 million either.

Anyway, last week I head a fantastic sermon on vanity. Not remembering the last time I heard one on that subject, I was very interested. I thought the preacher did a fantastic job balancing the text, the sociology, various illustrations and the practice. Maybe blogging on how I was blessed by a sermon is a little vain in of itself but whatever, there’s so much goodness and depth in so many sermons. May we be open to them.

Modern Slavery Stats from Good Magazine.

I enjoy going to Border’s and checking out some of the magazines.  One that has caught my interest as of late and now considering purchasing a subscription has been “Good Magazine”  (Subscription – 1 year- 6 issues -$20.)

Anyway, they had a couple pages in their “Transparency” section dedicated to some of the world’s problems (Driving, Lobbyists, Oil.   Among them was modern slavery.  Here are some of the stats from Human Trafficking; U.S. Department and A Crime so Monstrous Face to Face with Modern Day Slavery, Free the Slaves, United Nations Global Initiative to Fight.  They post a considerable amount of content from the magazine on their site.  You can also look at it here.

“Slavery – includes both traditional slaves and bonded workers who are not allowed to work off their debts”

The average cost of a slave is $90. – The same price as a Los Angeles Lakers ticket.

A slave is imported into the U.S. every 30 minutes.  – The same time it takes to watch a rerun of Seinfeld.

50 percent of slaves in the U.S. are engaged in the commercial sex industry.  

50 percent of slaves in the U.S. work in agriculture, manufacturing, or domestic work.  

Right now, the number of enslaved people worldwide is estimated to be 27,000,000

14,500-17,500 slaves are bought into the U.S. annually.

Hundred of thousands of slaves are trafficked to Europe and Eurasia every year.

920,000 people are enslaved in Latin America and the Caribbean.

1,300,000 people are enslaved in Africa and the Middle East.

24,000,000 people are enslaved in Asia.”

Like many I’m burdened as I read these things.  Prayer, general reading, one time-contributions, promoting awareness, and signing petitions keep me engaged in the subject (and many important ones like these) but I am in search of the next step.  As far as the point of this post, you may at least know a little more.

Emergent Mid-Atlantic Gathering with Pete Rollins

Hey friends.

You will see this post pretty often on here regarding the Emergent Mid-Atlantic Gathering with Pete Rollins.

Below is taken from the ev site:

“Emergent Mid-Atlantic—the regional grouping of cohorts in New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania—is hosting the first-ever Emergent Mid-Atlantic Conference, November 7-8, 2008, at the Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square. Starting Friday evening, one and all can come to spend time hearing from our speaker Pete Rollins and engaging in our conversation.

The Emergent Mid-Atlantic Conference:
A Humble yet Comprehensive Attempt 
at Kingdom Building

When: November 7-8, 2008
Where: Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square(Philadelphia, PA)
Who: Everyone, but especially Pete Rollins
Why: To participate in a humble yet comprehensive attempt at Kingdom building.

More information can be obtained atwww.emergentmidatlantic.com or by e-mailingemergentma@gmail.com

 

Steve Chalke's message at Mars Hill

Last year, my new year’s resolution was to wake up every morning, spend an adequate time in prayer, read Scripture, read and discard a magazine, read a book, listen to a podcast and among other things, be a better husband, pastor …  So far I’ve managed to wake up every morning.  

I have been listening to a bunch of podcasts and like everyone who loves what is excellent, I’ve been enjoying Rob Bell’s words for a while now.  Though Rob has been on sabbatical (and that’s cool.  Hope he gets rest, enjoys the family, and returns one day refreshed.  Til then, they have had some fantastic speakers), one message that I’ve listened to a couple of times now (one when I was putting together a piece of baby furniture. I probably listened to it twice that afternoon – stupid friggin directions that aren’t clear.  Sorry I digress).  

Back to Steve Chalke:  Among many things, he is the Chair of Stop The Traffik, “a global coalition of over 1000 charities in 60 countries that is working to stop the buying and selling of people.”  Here are some of the stats he shared in the beginning of his message:  There are 27 million people in slavery today. approx. 80% are women.  1 person every 30 seconds is taken into slavery and that’s the equivalent of jumbo jets of people that are taken every day.  

He starts off by telling the story of Telemachus and how his boldness stopped the Roman Gladiator games. (If you grew up in church, you probably heard this story.  If you went to a Christian college within the past few years, one of your teachers showed you Gladiator to create a segue for this.  In fact, if you were a little cooler then your roommate, you probably woke up facing his poster of Telemachus holding his KJV while facing down the gladiators, lions and Cloverfield beast. If he was cooler then you, then it was your poster.  I digress again.) 

Long story short – this is one of the best “all are made in the image of God” messages that also should inspire you to act.  You should listen if you like good things.  To download the mp3, click here.  Also check out stopthetraffik.  It’s a great looking site with a heart-breaking stuff.

Tim Keller interviewed by Christianity Today

Well who doesn’t love Tim Keller?  Keller is probably the most confident speaker that I still liked after listening to him.  Not sure what it is, but I get him.  Though I wish he appreciated some of the values of the emergent conversation, I see his some of his values as almost parallels (You would expect someone like me to say that wouldn’t you?).

Anyway, he was interviewed on Christianity Today’s site and here are some highlights.  Full article here.

Also check out his new book The Prodigal God.  (Yep, that’s two this year.  He’s suddenly like Ryan Adams or something).

Are the doubts that believers face the same as the doubts that unbelievers face?

It’s your society that gives you the doubts. If you go to the Middle East and ask people what makes Christianity implausible, they’re not going to say, “Because there can’t be one true religion.” They’re going to say, “Because of how oppressive America has been as a Christian nation, and if you look at their culture, it’s lascivious and debauched.”

If you ask Americans, “What makes Christianity implausible to you?” they’re not going to say, “Your popular culture is filled with sex and violence.” They will say, “How could there be one true religion?” …

… I do think a lot of Christians — because they don’t understand the grace narrative — get out into the world and find it very tough to navigate. I think it’s because they don’t understand the gospel, not because they can’t answer all the theological questions.

 

You reject marketing apologetics like, “Christianity is better than the alternatives, so choose Christianity.” Why?

Marketing is about felt needs. You find the need and then you say Christianity will meet that need. You have to adapt to people’s questions. And if people are asking a question, you want to show how Jesus is the answer. But at a certain point, you have to go past their question to the other things that Christianity says. Otherwise you’re just scratching where they itch. So marketing is showing how Christianity meets the need, and I think the gospel is showing how Christianity is the truth.

C. S. Lewis says somewhere not to believe in Christianity because it’s relevant or exciting or personally satisfying. Believe it because it’s true. And if it’s true, it eventually will be relevant, exciting, and personally satisfying. But there will be many times when it’s not relevant, exciting, and personally satisfying. To be a Christian is going to be very, very hard. So unless you come to it simply because it’s really the truth, you really won’t live the Christian life, and you won’t get to the excitement and to the relevance and all that other stuff.

Many Christians say that the rationality of Christians’ faith is not the obstacle for unbelievers; they reject Christianity because of what they see as bad behavior and toxic attitudes.

There are always three reasons people believe or disbelieve: the intellectual, the personal, and the social… 

——–

There’s more like why he doesn’t include intelligent design as an argument from creation and more cultural insight. 

 

 

Francis Collins – Q Conference – Session 3

Session 3 with Francis Collins was a little more controversial.  Again, we sat in round tables of 10 so whispers were easy to hear.  Not to insult your intelligence, but in case you don’t know, Dr. Collins is the chairman of the Genome Project, author of The Language of God, a devout believer, debates Richard Dawkins on NPR regularly, but does not hold to conservative Christian views of origins.  Frankly, he wasn’t very specific of his position.  One of his points was to leave the audience unsettled with theirs. 

He discussed how science and faith are not enemies stating, “Regardless of what we have heard from the atheistic horsemen, we do not have to choose between the two.” 

I was proud of that because I’ve been teaching my students that for years.  In fact, back when I was in 4th grade and heard of the Big Bang Theory and how that threatened the teaching of Creation, I immediately asked the teacher, “Why couldn’t God create the big bang …” The budding theistic evolutionist trajectory was quickly squashed when I entered youth group.  Today, I am certain that God is sovereign and that not even Francis Collins can figure it out.

Back to Collins, he showed 2 pictures – one of spiritual (stained glass window) and the other – DNA view along its axis which resembled each other.  Cool although the skeptic in me couldn’t help but think this was a little gimmicky for a world class intellectual.  Fortunately the next slide was not Jesus in the nucleus but his point was to segue how the spiritual world and the material one intersect.  It got everyone’s attention.

Collins was not raised in a religious home, his parents did not criticize religion but did not promote it.  He was an agnostic throughout college and then in med school, he was touched by the faith of those in hospital beds.  A woman asked him what did he believe and he did not have an answer, he researched it, found CS Lewis and continued his journey. 

The most unsettling moment (and this would come up in various conversations I had with people) was when he showed a slide of the human chromosome and the chimpanzee’s.  I am paraphrasing but he said the key difference was with the one part in the middle that has  a something mysterious in it while the chimp has two parts but not this particular thing (sorry I didn’t get what it was he said) inside it.  It’s here where they split.  He said something to the effect of it is possible that they had been the same until a certain point in time when God pre-ordained/pre-programmed/pre-something or other to split and create a new species.  Again, this was the unsettling moment.  He mentioned in passing literal meanings of Genesis 1, quoted Augustine, and Chesterton, and asserted his faith in the Almighty God.

Again, each Q speaker only had 18 minutes and his “big point” was, “science and Religion are not incompatible … God cannot be threatened.”  Some attendees were as upset as if he had just slapped their wives and ran out the door.  As for me, maybe their view deserved it.  So the possible lessons are don’t marry your theology or don’t marry an ugly wife, or be smarter then Francis Collins or maybe keep your theology open-handed and maybe your wife won’t get slapped by Dr. Collins.