It seems to me that any business or establishment that identifies itself as having the primary purpose of bubbling Christians off from non-Christians is basically ridiculous.
Solid fellowship is one thing, but purposeful removal from the 'world' of our neighbors, co-workers, and friends is antithetical to the basic message of the Great Commission. I am not the first one to throw stones here, as it is obviously more comfortable to stick only with people who look like me, act like me, believe like me, and the like... but what a narrow-minded, sad view of how to live life.
God created us all as unique with unique talents and giftings, and we also struggle and sin in our own ways too. And as Christians it is the penultimate selfishness to cordon ourselves off into comfort. There's plenty of time for comfort and security in in eternity. I write these things as a challenge to myself.
A 'Christian' establishment should be the most welcoming, inclusive, loving environment on the planet... not condoning sin patterns and behaviors, but relating to people and living a God-honoring life alongside them so as to allow them to see what it means to know Christ.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Judging Books By Their Covers
Well, we all do it.
Literally and figuratively. I work in publishing. We judge books by their covers all the time. In fact, I judged three books by their covers in the last 2 days, 2 of these books don't even exist yet, and the other one had a type-o on it.
Standing at B&N or browsing through Amazon or wherever affords lots of opportunities to pass major judgment on the quality, content, marketability, and subjective attractiveness of a book. I mean, if a book cover stinks, you'll never know if the 65,000 words inside might have changed your life because you won't bother picking it up. Conversely, if the book cover is awesome, I mean, just the coolest thing you've ever seen, you buy it, and the insides reek of mundane ramblings, then you're out of luck (and $15.99 poorer).
So, we judge books by their covers, websites by their first-glance, churches by their parking lots, and people by their appearances...
It's not necessarily fair, but first impressions do matter. So, without approving judge-at-first-sight behaviors, I must concede that they happen. And then work toward putting my best first foot forward as a Christian instead of putting my best first foot in my mouth as a Christian.
Literally and figuratively. I work in publishing. We judge books by their covers all the time. In fact, I judged three books by their covers in the last 2 days, 2 of these books don't even exist yet, and the other one had a type-o on it.
Standing at B&N or browsing through Amazon or wherever affords lots of opportunities to pass major judgment on the quality, content, marketability, and subjective attractiveness of a book. I mean, if a book cover stinks, you'll never know if the 65,000 words inside might have changed your life because you won't bother picking it up. Conversely, if the book cover is awesome, I mean, just the coolest thing you've ever seen, you buy it, and the insides reek of mundane ramblings, then you're out of luck (and $15.99 poorer).
So, we judge books by their covers, websites by their first-glance, churches by their parking lots, and people by their appearances...
It's not necessarily fair, but first impressions do matter. So, without approving judge-at-first-sight behaviors, I must concede that they happen. And then work toward putting my best first foot forward as a Christian instead of putting my best first foot in my mouth as a Christian.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Hope
There are at least two kinds of hope.
One kind is inextricably tied to faith: It is an expectation based on trust in God. This kind of hope believes that God has his best in mind for us. This kind of hope breeds a sort of confidence that because of who God is and, more pertinently, what he has done for us on the cross of Christ, we are guaranteed a part in his future actions. "I have faith in what God has done... so, my hope for the future is in him alone."
The other kind of hope is the kind that we read about in the newspapers and the best-seller lists: This kind of hope is more of a feeling. It is really an unfounded desire that what we want to happen is what is going to happen. "My hope is that these things will happen and because they should happen--they will happen. I hope."
The first kind is what we find in 1 Peter 1:3: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
The second kind is more like having a feeling that the stock market is going to go my way today.
Interesting how the same word that can elicit huge emotion is made to mean so many different things. This is why language is so dangerously beautiful.
(On a side note: I am so grateful for my wife, Rachel, and the conversations she starts and the ways she makes me think through things, like 'hope.' Yay for marriage.)
One kind is inextricably tied to faith: It is an expectation based on trust in God. This kind of hope believes that God has his best in mind for us. This kind of hope breeds a sort of confidence that because of who God is and, more pertinently, what he has done for us on the cross of Christ, we are guaranteed a part in his future actions. "I have faith in what God has done... so, my hope for the future is in him alone."
The other kind of hope is the kind that we read about in the newspapers and the best-seller lists: This kind of hope is more of a feeling. It is really an unfounded desire that what we want to happen is what is going to happen. "My hope is that these things will happen and because they should happen--they will happen. I hope."
The first kind is what we find in 1 Peter 1:3: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
The second kind is more like having a feeling that the stock market is going to go my way today.
Interesting how the same word that can elicit huge emotion is made to mean so many different things. This is why language is so dangerously beautiful.
(On a side note: I am so grateful for my wife, Rachel, and the conversations she starts and the ways she makes me think through things, like 'hope.' Yay for marriage.)
Thursday, December 04, 2008
A theology of busy-ness
Well, in this current season of life, my wife and I have become very aware of how so very busy we are. When you add up holiday celebrations, regular work, extracurricular work/teaching, writing, taking classes, and general hanging out, it sometimes adds up to more than a lot.
Now we are grateful for all these opportunities to pursue passions, love people, and be productive, absolutely. When faced with the opposite (boredom, misdirection, and sloth) it isn't hard to choose busy-ness. In fact it is this busy-ness that allows us to really savor different moments, different people, different skills, and make better use of all our time.
There aren't going to be huge profundities here or anything, but I think our lives ought to be a constant balance of work and rest. The difficulty arises when the in between times of hobbies, extra work, learning, etc. are both rejuvenating for the mind and draining for the body. Is it rest? Or is that just more and more and more work?
We'll see. But a more concerted effort will be made in the near future to just sit and awe at the grace of God for where He has brought us and where He is bringing us.
And the best part of our busy-ness at this early stage of our marriage is that we get to do these things and be busy together... at different functions or just at our house typing, typing away.
Now we are grateful for all these opportunities to pursue passions, love people, and be productive, absolutely. When faced with the opposite (boredom, misdirection, and sloth) it isn't hard to choose busy-ness. In fact it is this busy-ness that allows us to really savor different moments, different people, different skills, and make better use of all our time.
There aren't going to be huge profundities here or anything, but I think our lives ought to be a constant balance of work and rest. The difficulty arises when the in between times of hobbies, extra work, learning, etc. are both rejuvenating for the mind and draining for the body. Is it rest? Or is that just more and more and more work?
We'll see. But a more concerted effort will be made in the near future to just sit and awe at the grace of God for where He has brought us and where He is bringing us.
And the best part of our busy-ness at this early stage of our marriage is that we get to do these things and be busy together... at different functions or just at our house typing, typing away.
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