Not too many weeks ago I had an email "conversation" with a buddy who's trying to wrap his head around the whole Modern/Postmodern issue within the context of Christianity. He wasn't sure where on the spectrum he fit; but of course there really is no well-defined spectrum! If you've read my posts on Postmodernity before, you know that I am always careful to distinguish between the Postmodernity of the Academy [think professor sitting in ivory tower with no connection to the real world] and cultural Postmodernity [think Joe on the street].
Anyway, in an effort to help my friend start the process of thinking and working through these issues I came up with a short "test". I offer it here with the hopes that a) it might help you in the same way it did him, and b) you might critique, add to, or correct it for the future...
I don't make any claim that this is necessarily a good test; only that it was helpful for at least one individual. Nor do I think it's touched on all that could be or perhaps should be. So without any further qualifications:
1.) Do you believe that mankind can, if he tries hard enough, find absolute truth? [Foundationalism]
2.) What's your view on the proper care of the earth? [Environmentalism]
3.) Can you explain the Trinity? [Mystery]
4.) What do you think of The Four Spiritual Laws as an evangelistic tool? [Logic]
5.) True or False: Excellence honours God and inspires people. [Authenticity]
6.) True or False: God doesn't give a flying leap about your personal spiritual growth unless it's in the context of a local church. [Community]
I'll leave you to answer these if you wish, but I'm otherwise searching for input about the questions themselves.
Hatushili
PS: If asked, I'll be happy to give my answers and/or my rationale for each question. But the point is more how you feel about them.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Testing the test
Friday, August 17, 2007
Music!
As most of you know, I love music. I think I have music in my veins (I blame Dad, but that's another story!). Anyway, I added a music player to the site just now. It's all the way at the bottom of the page. You can select a different song to play from my list; otherwise it randomly picks one. For the moment the list is only a few songs long, but that will likely change in the weeks to come.
If you'd like to suggest a song to add to the playlist, feel free to do so here (as a comment) or you can email me at the "Ask the Pastor" link.
Hatushili
PS: If the music simply annoys you, you can mute it from the player if you like.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
One sentence only, please
This is very simple: when you first noticed my new header (or perhaps you're just noticing it now!), what did you think?
Hatushili
Saturday, August 11, 2007
What a broad brush with which you paint!
[Yes, I know this is my fourth post of the day. I'm catching up on my blog reading!]
I just found an article so outlandish that it's almost funny. Except that the guy is serious. I'll cut him a little slack - there are people within the emerging church that fit his description. But to say Al-Qaeda Supports the Emergent Church!?!
This is the same kind of whiny, lack of understanding, bomb-throwing that people on the other side of the aisle are routinely accused of (and rightly so, often). God forbid we should actually try to understand a Christian movement before we declare it anathema! Both sides (traditional Fundamentalists and emerging/missional types) could learn a thing or two about constructive criticism, eh?
Hatushili
Putting social justice in perspective
I stumbled across a very interesting website just recently. It takes various statistics and tries to paint a picture of the whole world if you reduced the population to 100 but kept the same proportions as our present world.
It's fascinating and humbling; depressing yet hopeful.
Check it out here. Select your language (that would be English, most likely!) and watch.
Hatushili
(post)Modern day evangelism
I was browsing through the Resurgence recently and stumbled across a blog post by Ed Stetzer about evangelism. Many voices today are either arguing for or against this or that method of telling people about Jesus. His post shows more balance and serves as a great reminder to us all: there are lots of different people and lots of different contexts out there - share Christ in whatever way is most appropriate to the situation.
I invite you to read his post here.
Hatushili
What's a "Social Conservative"?
As you might have guessed from a cursory reading of my blog, I'm a follower of Christ. I know, big surprise! But what you might also guess about me is that I'm therefore a "social conservative". This is true enough, but perhaps not in quite the way you might think.
It's long bothered me that we, as evangelical Christians, have adopted only some of the really pressing "social" issues of our day as near and dear to our cause. You know the two biggies: pro-life and pro-family. But what about others, arguably just as important? ...
As I see it, there are at least five "social" issues that Christ's followers should be passionately concerned about. In broad categories, these are:
1: Pro-life - I find it appalling that we've killed roughly 48,000,000 (yes, that's 48 million) babies since Roe vs. Wade in 1973. Let me put that number in perspective for you. If you add up the entire population of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and West Virginia you don't quite reach 48 million. That's how many babies America has killed since the year I was born. That fact shocks my soul. It just can't be. But it is.
Followers of Christ must be pro-life.
2: Pro-family - While I don't often agree with the tactics used by many, I nevertheless find it critically important to support the Biblical concept of family. But don't let that mean "anti-gay" in your mind. The fact that I support traditional marriage is only a small part of what it means to be truly pro-family. I support traditional motherhood, too. I believe that it's critically important for the welfare of children that their mother be with them as much as humanly possible. I'm not saying a woman can't work outside of the home, but that if possible she oughtn't while raising children. But pro-family doesn't stop there, either. What about the training of my children? To be pro-family means to be actively involved in their education and training, regardless of what method (public, private, or homeschool) you use.
Followers of Christ must be pro-family.
3: Pro-environment - Here I may begin to lose some of you, but hear me out. If it's true that God created this entire world and all that's in it, and if it's true that God intended it to be Edenic, and if it's true that God will one day restore this earth to that original Edenic state, and if it's true that God gave mankind the responsibility to care for and nurture it until such time as He works this restoration, then how can His children not be environmentalists? I don't mean "tree-huggers", for sure. But I mean Christians committed to the care of His world as much as we care for all the other blessings He's given us. How often have we heard a Christian refer to (for example) their house as a "blessing from the LORD"? [And it is; I'm not denying that.] That same follower of the Son will take steps to care for his house, won't he? He'll not let the roof fall apart. He'll mow the lawn. He'll make sure the pipes don't leak, and he'll fix them if they do. He'll likely even beautify his house and property.
Why don't we think the same way about this planet?
A follower of Christ must be pro-environment.
4: Pro-justice - The Minor Prophets are, more than anything, written to portray God's judgement against His people for their many sins. But do you know what sin seems most often mentioned? Social injustice. God judges His children because they take no care for the poor and destitute of their society. He scolds them for abusing the weak and powerless. He views their material prosperity with contempt, because it's been built on the backs of downtrodden and maligned people. Christ's followers (not the government) have the primary responsibility to see that these things don't happen in our society today. Support soup kitchens and food pantries. Vote against people and measures that would hurt the already helpless. Be a thoughtful consumer - the most important issue in whether you buy from X or Y isn't always price!
And what about the more massive issues? Katrina. Darfur. International child trafficking. AIDS in Africa. There's plenty of work to do, folks.
A follower of Christ must be pro-justice.
5: Pro-peace - "Pursue peace with everyone" (Hebrews 12:14a). I want to be careful here to distinguish between us as individuals and churches, and us as a nation. There is a difference, though perhaps not as great as some would make it. Nevertheless, the principle is clear: whenever possible, peace is a better option than conflict. Do I have a "right" to be in conflict with my neighbor over the bush on the property line that hangs into my yard? I suppose the American court system might say so, but I chose peace. Do you have a "right" to avoid your sister because she's done your family wrong? Chose peace. Do we as churches have a "right" to be in conflict with the local skater kids that we sometimes find in the parking lot? Chose peace.
Whenever possible, chose peace. This often requires active pursuit, as the verse in Hebrews mentions.
A follower of Christ must be pro-peace.
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So what exactly is a "social conservative"? If you mean what the rank of file of America thinks when you say that phrase, I want no part of it. They tend to think "social conservative" means "anti-abortion, anti-gay, no fun and holier-than-thou".
So in that sense I'm not a social conservative. And frankly, I'm not really bothered by that. I'd much rather be known as a Christian that's devoted to these five social issues than merely as a "social conservative". I'm not saying I've got it all figured out and live these principles fully and wholly - I'm a sinner just like you. But these are the social principles I feel passionately about.
What about you?
Hatushili
Friday, August 10, 2007
Finding balance in an off-kilter world
As I've been working through the process of sending resumes to churches, reading online search ads, reading church websites (I'm sure it's more than 100 by now), etc... I've spent a lot of time thinking (and praying, but not enough) about the situation that many of these churches find themselves in...
In a word: unbalance. They've lived without a pastor for months, sometimes years. They were accustomed to having a leader of leaders, but then suddenly (and for varied reasons) they don't. They do fine for a while, especially those that had a good system of leadership training in place. But like it or not, they're rather off-kilter.
It's like waking up one morning with a stiffness in your neck that only allows you to function if you tip your head ever so slightly to the right. At first you rejoice that you've discovered a way of coping with this situation. And as the day goes on, you almost forget that your head is slightly tilted. When you reach the end of the day, you reflect back upon it and fall asleep hoping your neck will be better in the morning.
But if your in the situation of most churches seeking a pastor, your neck is no better in the morning. Hopefully it's no worse either, but it's definitely no better. And so you move through the days and weeks and months in this slightly not-normal position. You get used to it. But then it simply gets wearisome and you begin to long for the day you can keep your head straight up and down.
I've been a part of churches that went through the search for a pastor. I've had good friends and family who've gone through the same. Truth be known, most of us likely have some association with this condition. It's tolerable, but no fun. So how do you get through it?
Faith and patience.
Now I'm looking at the situation from the other side, but I'm beginning to feel the same way - slightly off-kilter. I'm doing fine; I enjoy the research time I have these days, I'm still getting used to not being a seminary student anymore, I love reading through the websites of all these searching churches. But for all my "fine", my head is still tipped ever so slightly off-kilter. Each of us was made to serve Him, and each in varied ways. I was made to serve Him as a pastor, but yet I find myself without a church. It's tolerable, but not fun. So who do I get through it?
Faith and patience.
LORD, I pray you might quickly bring my path together with the church family out there that you have ordained. But in the meantime, give us all faith and patience.
Hatushili
Thursday, August 9, 2007
On Dispensationalism
As I mentioned here, one of the fundamental differences between denominations/movements has to do with systematic theology. For those of you not terribly familiar with Dispensationalism, I thought I'd periodically offer small bits of information. This is the first of such periodic installments...
One thing that separates Dispensationalists from others has to do with the birth of the Church. By Church (with the capital C) I mean, of course, the entire Body of Christ - past, present and future. And I, as a Dispensationalist, take the birth of the Church to have happened on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus' resurrection.
This may strike some of you as odd. Perhaps you've always been told that the Church now is more or less the same thing as Israel was in the Old Testament. Or perhaps you thought the Church began with Christ.
Here is the basic reasoning behind Dispensationalism's claim that the Church did not start until the second chapter of Acts:
1. The Church is the body of Christ - Eph 1:22-23
2. The means of entrance and incorporation in the Body of Christ is by the baptism of the Holy Spirit - Cor.12:13
3. The Church was still future when Christ used the word for the first time in the Bible - Matt 16:18
4. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was (obviously!) still future when Jesus predicted such in Acts 1:5
5. In Acts 11:15-16 Peter identifies the filling of the Spirit of Acts 2:4 as simultaneous with the first occurrence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in specific fulfillment of Christ’s words of Acts 1:5
6. Therefore, since the baptism of the Holy Spirit first occurred at Pentecost and baptism of the Holy Spirit is the means of entrance into the Church, the Church began at Pentecost
Hatushili
Forgiveness
Like you, I know that forgiveness is a good thing. A healthy thing. A necessary and commanded thing. I, perhaps like you, know all of that intellectually.
But sometimes experience doesn't line up with knowledge.
Without wanting to get into any of the details, let me just say that there was a person in my life that I needed to forgive. Badly. And the worse part is that it didn't even occur to me that I needed to forgive this person until recently. The LORD brought it to my attention during a time of prayer.
As you may have guessed from my use of the past tense above, I have recently chosen to forgive this individual, and I'm better for it. I almost literally feel as if a weight has been lifted from me - a weight it hardly even realized I was bearing.
Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25
Hatushili
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Expanding our horizons
I've been struck lately by how little Christians of one theological stripe know about Christians of other theological stripes. I guess my perspective is unusual, having spent so many years in seminary. But I just sort of assumed that most Christians had some kind of basic framework to understand different theological traditions. In case you don't, let me explain a bit...
In what follows, I'll list three of the major categories of difference of opinion, then give some examples of different traditions/denominations that hold these various views. This is not intended to be a hard and fast rule, nor is it exhaustive - I'm painting with a broad brush here.
Let's take personal salvation, for example. As most know, there are two dominant evangelical ways of looking at this issue: you either believe in what's called 'eternal security' or you don't. There are variations on the theme, but generally some evangelicals are of the mind that once a person has truly accepted Christ as their saviour, they are assured of their salvation. Others, however, believe that a person could conceivably commit certain sins (or certain amounts of sin, etc...) and thereby lose the salvation Jesus gave them.
Eternal security (generally): Baptist, Bible, Brethren, Assembly of God
No eternal security (generally): Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Nazarene
Here's another major difference: systematic theology. There are (again) two primary ways of viewing the whole nature of the Bible, especially the distinction between the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are those (called Dispensationalist, and they come in at least three flavors) that take a more literal view of the Old Testament and see it as applying directly to Israel (not the church). There are those (in the fold of Covenant Theology) that believe the Church has spiritually inherited the promises once made literally to Israel. What's the difference? Well, among other things, this accounts for why some baptize babies and others don't.
Dispensationalism (generally): Baptist, Bible, Brethren
Covenant Theology (generally): Methodist, Lutheran, Christian Reformed
What about worship? There are two broad categories here: high church and low church. High church folk believe worship gatherings should be more reverent, quiet, and organized. They tend to come to these gatherings dressed well. Their pastors/ministers often wear robes or collars. Think stained glass, high pulpit and dark wood. Low church folk, on the other hand, view worship gatherings as more celebratory. They tend to come to these gatherings 'as they are'. Their pastors/ministers likely only wear a ties, if that.
High church: Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian
Low church: Methodist, Baptist, Mennonite
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Hopefully I've not insulted any one's intelligence - I just find that some of these broad categories aren't very well known across denominational boundaries. I meet lots of people who are only familiar with their own tradition and haven't a clue about others.
So what about you? What other categories have you noted (there are plenty!)? What differences strike you as interesting or curious?
Hatushili
