Resurrection Again

For anyone who was thoroughly confused by my post yesterday about resurrection, here's what I was talking about:

I think resurrection is not merely the resuscitation of a corpse. It also entails God putting Israel back together again. Remember Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones? God accomplishes this through Christ, and Christ through the Apostles, and builds the Church upon this foundation. As God was doing this God was vindicating the Church as the means by which Israel was being reconstituted.

Hope that clears things up for anyone who may have been a bit befuddled.

Resurrection

Then Moses said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.'" The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.-- Exodus 32:27,28

Those who accepted his [Peter's] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.-- Acts 2:41

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"-- Revelation 21:5a

Resurrection: reconstitution of Israel, vindication of the Church, new creation!

Answering my own question (thanks Chris!)

So, how do we feed Jesus' lambs today? Seeing that lambs were sacrificed in Jesus' day out of mutual self-interest, I would say that us pastors have to stop sacrificing those entrusted to us for the sake of our own egos. We have a tendency to corral people and jam things down their throats. Instead, we need to lead people to the oases in the desert and let them explore the landscape, walk in the water, and frolic in the pasture. Lambs don't have to be told to eat. When it's really good stuff, they indulge.

One thing that I'm going to try to do this year, as I start Crossways (a two-year survey of the Bible) next week, is to assist people in the art of making discoveries in their Bibles. I will do this by telling the story of the Bible rather than merely rehearsing doctrine.

I'll write more if I think of anything else!

Feed My Lambs

Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my lambs." He didn't say, "Hawk your wares on my lambs.", or, "Divide my lambs into labor gangs."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." How do think this should be done today?

Tigers!

The Detroit Tigers have clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 1987. I was in college when the Tigers won the World Series in '84, and it was simply a blast!!

Please join me in rooting the Detroit Tigers on to a World Series Championship! I will be eternally grateful!!

Change Your Life

I'm leery of people and places that want to "change my life" or "change the world". There's actually a church called "Life Changers International Church" It sounds like a marketing gimmick to get me to buy a lot of "Jesus junk". Here's the truth as I see it:

Life changes all by itself. The world changes all by itself. How can it be any other way?

I'd rather have perspective in a changing world and my changing life. This will help me with life rather than changing it.

Silence

Life is filled with noise from within and without. Sonic booms overhead and racing thoughts in our head. The air is filled with signals and frequencies that, while inaudible, nevertheless have profound effects on everyday life. We exist and interact among a plethora of sights and sounds. Some are amazingly beautiful while others are aesthetically hideous. We hear the call of the mourning dove while leering at a neon jungle. We call it life. And we accept it as indicative of our collective identity. "We are this!"

But what if it all suddenly stopped? Would it mean that life is over and not worth living? Why are we so afraid of silence? Why is life filled with such rapid activity? Are we really that fearful of who we really are? And who are "we" anyway?

We are silence. When we are left with nothing but our whispering thoughts, we tap an inner core of our being, and this is where God works best. When we realize that our ponderances are like the clouds passing in the sky, not here to stay, we may no longer find them as disturbing as we once thought. Perhaps they are just transient, fair-weather friends. Our core of silence allows us to encounter each thought that appears with the understanding that they are not here to stay. They may traverse the cosmos to return, but they are merely travelers through life as we are.

Forget everything you have been taught and just sit with yourself in silence. It is who you are. What are you afraid of?

Don't Tell Anyone

In Mark 7, Jesus goes to the Decapolis and heals a deaf/mute. Then Jesus tells the crowd not to say anything. But verse 36 says that the more Jesus told them not to say anything, the more they kept talking about it.

Maybe I've been missing something all these years. We keep badgering people to go out and tell the Good News, share their faith, tell everyone what God has done, say that Jesus loves you, go to evangelism training, etc.

Looks to me like it would be better to tell people to be quiet. Perhaps then people would reach a point where they can't help but speak of what God has done, like Peter in Acts. Then people would freely share their faith.

Would holding people back help them burst at the seams? Is this all the evangelism training that a person needs?

I'm Back

I just got back from yet another conference where all we did was eat and sit. We had some wonderful presentations about the pastor as evangelist and preacher, but I think I gained a few pounds. The conference center fed us very well.

There is a new development in my status as a circuit counselor. The District Board of Directors approved a realignment plan of the Chicagoland circuits (roughly, a circuit is a group of congregations that are in close proximity to one another), which would make 3 visitation and electoral circuits instead of the two we have presently. Pending approval of this plan I am now the Circuit Counselor Pro Tem of the South Chicago circuit. At the District Convention back in June I was elected the circuit counselor of the West Chicago circuit. The main feature for me in the realignment plan was that I and my congregation be placed in the Chicago South circuit. So, I can't be the counselor of the West circuit if I'm not in the West circuit!

The approval of the realignment rests in the hands of the president of Synod. If he approves the plan I will have to call a caucus of the South circuit congregations to do two things: 1) Elect a clergy and a lay delegate to next year's synodical convention, and 2) Decide to retain me as circuit counselor by attrition, or elect a different one.

If the plan is rejected, I will remain in my elected position as circuit counselor of the Chicago West circuit. I find out today what the president of synod decides.

A New Hymnal

This past week I was in Milwaukee for the National Circuit Counselor Conference, with about 800 people in attendance. Each one of us received a free copy of the newly published hymnal that the LCMS Commission on Worship has been working on for the past few years. I thought that was very generous of them and I'm grateful to have this new worship resource.

The new hymnal is pretty good. It's structured very well and is user friendly. It also reflects a move toward a bit of balance, as there are new liturgies and hymns. It's always helpful to have some fresh expressions of the Gospel. And get this-- a guitar accompaniment version is available! This is unprecedented in the LCMS, which usually frowns on using any instrumentation other than organ, brass, woodwind, or orchestral strings. Guitars have been taboo because they're too "campfire-ish".

The hymnal also contains new rites for Baptism, Weddings, and Funerals. I don't like some of the wording in these, and I would have written them differently. One thing that I'm not too thrilled about is a phrase in the Baptism rite. It is in the prayer that is used once the candidate has had the water applied. It thanks God that the candidate has become a child of God and has been "separated from the multitude of unbelievers". That phrase concerns me, because it sounds stand-offish and arrogant. It makes it appear that the candidate is to have no interaction with unbelievers. It sounds like "us vs. them". I would've used a more positive statement, like "counted among the multitude of believers". That sounds less polemical and is more truthful.

Other than that, it's a great hymnal! Now the concern is transitioning from the present hymnal to the new one! I wonder if the congregation will go for it.

Sacrifice and Sin

I was pondering the crucifixion of Jesus and asking, "What does it mean that Jesus died for my sins?" I'd like to offer somewhat of an answer.

Luther defined sin as incurvatus in se, or turning in on self. Self-centeredness. When are people the most self-centered? I think it's when people try to appease God by offering things to him (money, food, etc.) so that bad things won't happen to them. To me, the ultimate sin is thinking that I somehow must propitiate the wrath of God. But first I must view God as an angry deity in need of an attitude adjustment.

People throughout history have sacrificed things to appease the gods-- animals, food, people. The Israelites, and later the adherents of Judaism, did the same. They offered sacrifices so that they could be "saved" (whatever they meant by that term). I think this is what the Bible means by "sin". But God took away sin. How?

God provided the sacrifice. The only sacrifice God is pleased with is God. God sacrificed himself. He gave sacrifice-loving people something to sacrifice. He gave them Jesus. Jesus died because of sin!

The early Christians understood this and stopped sacrificing stuff, but instead used their resources to serve others in need. They "died to sin", and lived out from that point. And they saw themselves as giving out of gratitude instead of fear.

We are free from sin; free from attempting to appease God. Free from viewing him as having an eternal rage. We don't need to sacrifice anything. God gave the sacrifice of Jesus.

Balloon Guys

You know those guys who make things out of balloons? Things like dogs and snakes and bicycles? You know what I would like to see one of those guys make? A human digestive system! Or a schematic of the White House plumbing system. Now that would be something worth showing off!

What would you like a balloon guy to make? (This should be fun!)

The Impossible Absence of God

You may or may not know this, but I was recently elected circuit counselor for my circuit. This means extra duty, including a conference I have to attend this week in Milwaukee. So, I'll be away for a few days and probably won't have access to a computer. But if the Milwaukee Hyatt Regency has free wi-fi and house computers for use at no charge, I'll try to find the time to post.

The internet is amazing to me because I can still communicate in writing even when I'm out of town. I can check my e-mail, post a blog, surf. I know that's probably not news to you, but I'm just now discovering all of this. What's incredible to think about for me is that I can still be present even when I'm not around at home.

I know this might be a little bit of a stretch, but I'm going to say that this is analogous to how many people view the presence of God. How often do we think that God is absent? For many, God is like an absentee landlord who just checks in occasionally to make sure everything is alright, and when God's done with his business he checks out and goes home. But God still communicates and sends out "signals" to let us know that he's okay and he'll see us again soon. "Just call if you need me!"

Most people I talk to are deistic in their thinking about God, which means that God is watching us from a distant heaven and intervenes only when God deems it necessary. When someone asks, "Where was God on September 11, 2001?" (a deistic question), a deistic-thinking person will answer, "Well, he's in heaven and he allowed those planes to crash into the WTC and Pentagon." It's like the blind leading the blind, and both will fall into a pit. I actually read recently a piece which said that God is like someone standing on a hillside who can see a road below on which two cars are on collision course. He can see that these two cars will collide, but there's nothing he can do about it. That, my friends, is deism writ large! It implies that God is absent. But that is impossible. How can God be absent? Because terrorism happens? Is God obliged to rid the world of terror? This is not the God I see revealed in Christ.

God does not deal with individuals or situations like an overworked nurse in a hospital emergency room. God deals with all of humanity collectively and covenantally. God has no favorites, national or otherwise, and God is not capricious. Through Jesus God brought heaven to earth, and so there is nowhere we can go that will place us outside of the God's presence.

The task of ridding the world of terrorism is not God's job. It's ours. How? We must address the terror within ourselves instead of always looking for it outside of ourselves. Jesus revealed the terror that resides in the human heart. Look what we did to him. We nailed him to a cross! When we see that, we realize where the real problem resides. God wants us to see it because his specialty is in cleansing our hearts! And having our hearts rid of terror we are in a position to help others rid their hearts of terror. That's God's peace plan, and it's the only one that works!

Something I'm Tired Of

I'm getting tired of letters in the editorial section of the newspaper that contain the following:

"As a (fill in the blank), I (fill in the blank)..."

For example:
"As a former school superintendent, I'm very concerned about the condition of our schools."

What kind of grandiose crap is this? Must I be a former school superintendent to be concerned about the condition of our schools? Only former school superintendents have the capacity for such concern?

I see at least two letters every day that contain similar phrasing.

I know it's a losing battle, but I consider such twaddle to be grandstanding.

All of God

Kevin had some interesting thoughts on his blog and he used a phrase "all of God". That blew me away because I've never thought in those terms before. I cannot begin to think what "all of God" means. How can there be "all" of endless infinity? The word "all" doesn't really cover it, but it's still the best word that can be used to describe the presence of God. Since God is "all in all", there must be a way to depict this with imagery, and I'd like to offer one that I find helpful.

I think of God's presence as an Infinite Ocean, and myself as a fish in that ocean. To the fish, there is nothing but the ocean water in which it swims, breathes, and lives. The fish is surrounded by the water, but not smothered. The water passes into its mouth and out its gills. The fish is not the water, but is one with the water. The fish maintains its identity and otherness, just as the water does.

Some of you may have heard the term panentheism, which means "all in God". It's a good term to use, but I don't know enough about it to make it part of my everyday vocabulary. I know Kevin has proposed the use of the word agapetheism, so perhaps we can combine the terms. Agapanentheism? Panagapentheism? What word can be used to communicate "all of God is love"?

I'll continue to struggle with language to describe the reality of God.

Photo Explanation or Yes, That's Me!

I feel I should explain my profile photo, in case anyone was curious.

This past summer my family and I took "The Orlando Plunge" and went on a vacation to Florida. We stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando because my boys like to watch some of the programs on Nick, and they saw the ads for this hotel. They begged and pleaded with me and my wife about going there for a vacation, and we finally obliged.

Every night, the Nick Hotel has live shows in which they pull volunteers out of the audience to participate in some goofy competitions. There was one in particular where they needed two kids and two adults. They picked the adults who screamed the loudest and most enthusiastically. I was picked. Hey, I never pass up an opportunity to have a captive audience!

Long story short, I had to dress up like Wanda the Fairy Godmother from the show The Fairly Oddparents. And then I had to come out a do a little fairy dance. The picture was taken during my fairy dance.

That picture also cost me $25 from the hotel photo shop. But I consider it well worth it if it gives you a chuckle at my expense!

Second Post-- The Tao of Yardwork

I don't like yardwork, especially when there's so much to do. For the past few days my wife and I have worked very hard but have little to show for the effort. That sucks. But I know that if we keep tending to our tasks we will have a beautiful yard once again.

I remember as a kid when we got slapped with a citation for not weeding and cleaning up our part of the alley over the backyard fence. Apparently some of the neighbors bitched that it looked sloppy and complained to the Department of Public Works in Detroit. We honestly didn't know that we were supposed to keep it weeded. Ignorance is no excuse, however, and we got the good news in the mail.

Which leads me to a conclusion-- you show me a guy who complains about his neighbor's yard, and I'll show you a guy who's trying to maintain equity.

Equity. The meaning of life. The bottom line. The real reason that yardwork exists.

My New Page

I deleted my old blog because I want to blog from my office instead of from home and I had forgotten all of my ID's and passwords and I didn't feel like fishing for them. Plus I wanted a whole new look on Blogger. My old blog was entitled "Reflections on Following Jesus", but I didn't write about following Jesus very much, and so this change will more closely reflect an attempt at some honesty.

I hope I can break free from the fear of being transparent, and I hope that what I write can resonate with many hearts who find it confusing to live as a Christian in this breakneck pace society. Believe me, I'm just as confused as you are.

My source of faith is Scripture because I believe that God truly speaks through it, and most loudly through the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus is very real to me because his story fits so nicely in the sweep of the Biblical narrative, and I love exploring the various nuances of the New Testament writers as they reflect on this Jesus who has so influenced the world in which we live.