O Come Let Us Adore Him

We are just a day and a half away from Christmas. I don't know if you'll be able to join me at the church for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship, so just in case I don't see you I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! I know some take offense at the recent movement in society to neuter the story of Jesus' birth from the holiday extravaganza Christmas has morphed into. Personally I don't take offense. Obviously for many Christmas is simply another holiday marked by family gatherings and gift giving. In truth, no one can take from me the meaning of Christ's birth. And I suspect God is less concerned about culture's hijacking of Christmas then about the Christian who doesn't honor the true meaning of Jesus's birth in her or his own heart. So my prayer for you is that your heart will remain ever faithful to Christ. Then you will have Christmas in you, all year round! Joy and peace, Don

Growing Up

I expect spiritual growth to happen. In me and in those who call themselves Christians. I see the role of the church to seed and fertilize Christian faith in others. This process is a corporate effort meaning we all share responsibility for nurturing faith in one another. The preacher's 20 minutes of "this is what I think it says and here's what I think it means" is only a small part of how God nurtures faith in the believer. Its take a whole community to raise a disciple of Jesus Christ. We claim as much in our baptism liturgy where the entire congregation vows, "With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround this person with a community of love and forgiveness, that he/she may grow in his/her service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be a true disciple who walks in the way that leads to life." Its been my experience that when people aren't growing in their faith its for one of two reasons. Either the church as a whole is failing its role as a spiritual mentor to the individual or the individual is resisting the pull of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. The difficulty is measuring spiritual growth. There are no tests for it. Bible knowledge is no guarantee of spiritual maturity; consider the TV evangelist! Nor is frequent church attendance or Bible study any guarantee of growth in faith, though it would be difficult to grow without it. Ultimately spiritual growth is about nurturing a personal relationship with Jesus where the Christian not only recognizes Jesus' presence on the journey of faith but depends on it. And perhaps its the "depending" that is the most difficult. Until our dependency on Christ becomes as natural as taking a breath of air, we remain infants in the faith.  In the words of Hebrews 5:12-14,

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

Jesus World Goes Bust

Historically, United Methodism has been a leader in connecting faith to the larger community. Unlike some churches which believe Jesus calls his Church to isolate itself from the corrupting forces of this world, Methodism sought to go out into the world and redeem it.  There was a time when Methodism was considered radical and cutting edge. Many of the first hospitals, educational institutions, and social service agencies were founded by the Methodist Church. I believe we need to rediscover and kindle the passion that has driven the church in the past to engage in life changing ministry. God wants to transform the world through us, not create "Jesus World," a place where Christians live isolated from a humanity that desperately needs it and the Gospel of grace entrusted to it. We can change the world again if we are willing to get our hands dirty on the brokenness, failure, and sin of others. I'd like to know your thoughts on this and what we can do to transform the world.

A Prayer for the Season of Advent

Often the work of theology (thinking and talking about God) comes in the form of prayer. Some prayers are spontaneous, that is to say, they come off the top of your head. I suspect, however, that all spontaneous prayer is actually not spontaneous at all but derived from deeper ongoing thought and reflection. Thus for me, a prayer I pray spontaneously is merely a verbalized form of written prayer. For me written prayer is a discipline for fleshing out what it is I want to say to God and at times, what I hear God saying to me. I wrote the following prayer for this Sunday's worship:

Lord, you come to us in the most simple yet beautiful of ways,

As an innocent, needy infant!

We thank you for this season of Advent,

For a time of waiting and eager anticipation.

This season has become such a frenetic

and much hyped holiday extravaganza!

What began with a baby born in a stable 2000+ years ago,

has been morphed into an onslaught of sale slogans promising to capture the essence of love itself, in a piece of jewelry, clothing, or toy.

Surely those of us who bear the name “Christ-ian”

know that in fact these extravagances have little or nothing to do with the birth of Christ. 

Its almost as if we’ve become so ill at ease with the sacred,

That we must find some way to gut it of anything holy. Only then, absent of holy fire can we wrap it up and give it away, as if it were ours to give.

We fail to realize that the gift of your love and grace in Jesus

would cost us everything we have and are, and yet it still wouldn’t be enough.

God, guide us past the check out lines, artificial trees, and blaring carols; take us to the simplicity of the Nativity,

And open our eyes to the mystery of your presence with us.

Remind us that only when we carry the grace of your son,

Jesus, in our hearts, and share your gift with others,

Do we truly celebrate Christmas.

Only then will we truly adore you.

A Good Reason to Take Action

In a recent article based on a five year project by the Barna Group, researchers documented a number of reasons young adults are leaving the church. While some of their reasons for leaving are predictable, "the church feels unfriendly to those who doubt," and "the church can be antagonistic toward things like science," some are less predictable. For example, 20% of those teenagers interviewed said that God seemed to be missing from their experience of church. That seems odd to me considering traditionally worship involves scripture reading, sermon and prayer. Perhaps another way to understand this is is to say young adults fail to connect with traditional forms of worship. Another reason given for their departure is the church's judgmental attitude. Young adults shaped by a culture that esteems open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance often find the church to be closed minded, intolerant and judgmental. Why should we be concerned? Nearly three out of every five young adult Christians disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. What that means is statistically speaking, the majority of young adults who have grown up in our church, attending Sunday School, Confirmation and Youth Group will disappear from active church life during their teen years, many never to return. That's a good reason not only to be concerned but to take action.

Generosity and Thanksgiving

There's incredible power "on tap" in both acts of generosity and thanksgiving. Obviously, if I'm on the receiving end of generosity I benefit directly from the gift. I can also benefit from the expression of my appreciation. Expressing thankfulness for "the good" others bring into my life, can lead to gratitude, and gratitude can lead to a healthier self and world view. I may even "pay it forward" by gifting another (just as I was gifted). This latter concept has inspired the Kindness Movement... one small act of kindness can lead to global change. If I am on the giving end, I not only have the satisfaction of doing something meaningful for someone else,  I give generosity a chance to change me from the inside out. Generosity is about priorities. It always requires us to turn our focus outward. And such "deadly sins" as greed, envy, and gluttony do not survive well in an environment of kindness and generosity. Too many of us are stuck, unable to move further along our faith journey because we are unwilling or unable to put love of God and neighbor before our love of self, comfort or possessions. God intends to use the power tools of generosity and thankfulness to make of us, cross shaped lives. Check out Colossians 3:14-17. I challenge you to exercise both generosity and thankfulness, and thus allow God's Spirit to do its' thing in your life and in the world!

WHY?

A 10 year old girl visiting the area with her family is abducted, sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. This horrific act is every parent's nightmare and it happened a short drive from where you and I live. How are we supposed to make sense of this tragedy? The fact is, we can't. There's no making sense of why someone would do something like this. These kinds of senseless acts are a painful reminder we live in a sinful broken world that has yet to fully experience the "peace on earth" the angels promised over 2000 years ago. God's Kingdom "on earth" has yet to be fully realized and Christ is counting on us, to not only pray for that Kingdom's coming but to actually get our hands dirty in the process of global redemption. It is no longer okay to hunker down and circle the wagons while everything goes to hell in a handbasket. This is an abandonment of the divine commission and the repercussions of our disengagement will have far reaching consequences for our children, grandchildren, and future generations. Guys, you can only jail so many before the only safe places become prisons for the innocent.

A book recommended to me by our District Superintendent, Rev. Frank Alegria, is Bob Farr's Renovate or Die. The author writes, "The truth is that if we don't renovate (our churches) we are going to die. Many people would already say that we United Methodists are already an endangered species...We are going to have to sacrifice some of our ways of doing things and some of our personal preferences for the sake of those who do not yet know (the Gospel). I am not referring to our values, core beliefs, or our Wesleyan theology. No. I am referring to our focus, our presentation, our systems, and our ways of doing things."

We forget the Church is always one generation away from extinction. All it takes is one Christian refusing to pay the gift of faith forward (for example, because of personal preference) to break the chain leading to the redemption of millions of believers! Remember, its my job to push. " Because I didn't like this or that" won't float when we stand before Christ and he inevitably asks us WHY?

REPENT!

I attended a clergy retreat last week that included lectures by writer/theologian Dana L. Robert, professor of World Christianity and History of Missions at Boston University Seminary. One of the things I found intriguing is the changing face of missions in the 21st century. Did you know there are currently 30,000 foreign missionaries working in the United States? These are trained missionaries who have been sent here to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and plant churches on US soil. In what is often pegged as a postmodern and post Christian era, many in the third world church see this country as a fertile mission field and have responded by sending missioners to the US in response to the perceived failure of Western Christianity! Case in point is the Redeemed Christian Church of God of Nigeria. While the RCCG currently only has 292 churches in North America, the denomination has 5 million members worldwide. The RCCG is developing a 500 acre denominational North American center in Floyd, Texas that will include a 10,000 seat sanctuary, two elementary school-size lecture centers, a dormitory, several cottages, a lake and a Christian-themed water park. We appear to be in the beginning stages of a radical reformation of Christianity in this country. Who would have anticipated this reversal of roles?  Still the church in America must find its bearings and begin to think of itself in terms of the global community it is now a part of. As things continue to change rapidly in this world, do we hang on tight to what we know or do we "think outside the box" imagining God's future for us? I vote for the second.

Me First!

In the Gospels, Jesus saved his harshest criticism for the religious leaders of his day whose hypocrisy  frustrated Jesus to no end! These leaders claimed to be defenders of God's temple and yet sacrificed little out of their own pockets to support it, relying instead on the generosity of others to provide for its well being. Of course, even Jesus' own followers were not immune from self interest. As Jesus turns his face toward the cross, Peter challenges Jesus' understanding of his mission. "Lord, this must never happen to you!" Jesus' uncharacteristic reply? "You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Matthew 16:22-23) This statement launches Jesus into a discussion of the cost of discipleship, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." vs. 24 What this tells me is each of us needs to learn to vote against self-interest and seek God's Kingdom first. When we fiercely defend the status quo at the expense of Jesus' mission to reach the unchurched for Jesus Christ, we become a stumbling block to what Jesus is trying to accomplish through his church. Like Peter, we need to guard ourselves against the temptation to paint "human" concerns as Kingdom issues. For this, Jesus had one response, "Get behind me..."

Discernment

Have you ever been accused of "playing the devil's advocate?" In modern parlance it means someone who takes a position that he or she doesn't necessarily agree with just for the sake of argument. It comes from the Latin advocatus diaboli, a title used to describe an official of the church (RCC)  selected to examine the facts critically and raise objections in the case of a dead person named for beatification or canonization. It's not an attempt to undermine the process but rather to do a careful, exacting evaluation of the facts. I'd like to reclaim that phrase in a more redemptive way. I'm often guilty of  challenging Christians to think critically about their beliefs. I playfully refer to this as playing Jesus' advocate! Have you ever heard someone speak of God with catchy slogans and phrases? I suspect we've all been guilty of that at one time or another. But often these phrases have to do with what sounds good, reasonable or supports our personal agenda but have yet to be thoroughly vetted. I still remember a well meaning church member telling my wife after she suffered a late term miscarriage, "God must have needed that baby more then you did." No one likes to have a cherished belief challenged and yet just because its cherished doesn't mean its right. Just because its pulled from scripture doesn't mean its faithful to the larger biblical witness. At one point both racism and slavery were justified as "biblical." I don't claim to have all the right beliefs. I'm still maturing in the Faith and Jesus continues to teach me through his Church! But shouldn't we all seek to have an intelligent faith? One that's attempts to be faithful to the biblical witness? One that is sound and stands up to test of time and tragedy? We never truly own our beliefs until we learn to question them. This is a process of discernment. Discernment is how we cooperate with God's Holy Spirit to determine how best to behave and believe.

I'm Only Human

John Wesley gave his Methodists three rules to help them stay in love with God and neighbor. The first was to do no harm. How practical is that in today’s world? Then again Jesus demands a lot from his disciples. Love my enemy and pray for them? Turn the other cheek? Forgive someone 7x70 (I did the math…that’s 490 times)! Talk about letting someone walk all over you! “Jesus, just what kind of mamby pamby land are you living in?” Did I just say that out loud? If you and I were to take a Twix moment, you know catch ourselves before we said something unkind or hurtful to another, can you imagine how much work that would be? Jesus once said, “The road is hard that leads to life and few find it (Matthew 7:14).” Why is it we find this “road less traveled” so hard to take? Has Jesus simply forgotten who he’s dealing with? We’re only human, after all.

Goodness from God's Perspective

I’ve been thinking about the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable. I’ve found myself envisioning him as an almost non-religious character. A non-Jew or half-Jew who despite his tribe’s longstanding hate of the Jews, does the kind thing and stops to help someone in crisis. I missed the fact that Samaritans were also highly religious people, with their own version of the Torah and temple worship.  This Samaritan would have been an active participant in the worship life of his people. What makes the Samaritan good is not simply that he stops. It’s who he stops for. I see the Samaritan as someone who is a good steward of his life. He believes that all he has comes from God and acts accordingly. Thus to stop and help the enemy of his people is an act of generosity. Generosity gives me the courage to love my neighbor as I love myself. Generosity is my good use of those things God has entrusted me with. It is my response to Jesus' "Go and do likewise." Such generosity can only inspire an equally generous response from God. "Well done, my good and faithful steward." You see, goodness and generosity define us as God's stewards.

And You Shall Be Blessed

I learned early last week that Mercy Elizabeth has passed away. My heart is profoundly sad, but here’s what I've come to realize. The short time that I got to spend with Mercy, it was not me who had blessed her but Mercy who was blessing me.  Her fight for survival; her parent’s deep abiding joy in her brief life; how many people she has touched simply by being loved. And that’s when it hit me. This was never about me stopping to help. Rather it was Mercy who was holding me; Mercy who comforted me, who warmed my heart and kept if from going cold…and this sweet baby is helping me heal even now. And now it is left up to each of us to respond to Jesus', "Go and do likewise." (adapted from Sunday's sermon on the Good Samaritan)

Mercy and Grace

First, a follow-up on my last blog entry.  Mercy Elizabeth is holding her own and her parents, Rodney and Allison continue to thank God for every moment they are blessed to spend with her. Please continue to keep the Whitfield family in your prayers. I know the unknown weighs heavy on their hearts. I've been thinking about "grace" and how we define it. We say, "It's amazing" and sometimes "prevenient" (meaning, before faith) and something to "thank God for." But what exactly is it? There are as many definitions of grace as you can find salads at a church potluck. One classic definition of grace is God's unmerited favor (i.e. God treating us better then we deserve). In John's Gospel, Jesus tells his Disciples,  "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." (John 14:26). In my view, grace is the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. It is how we experience God's love for us in Jesus on a daily basis. When understood in those terms, I find grace to be less of an abstract concept and more of an ongoing reality. And it is amazing, to say the least.

Making Sense of Things Part 2

The newest member of our congregation was born last week. Mercy Elizabeth is a beautiful, precious baby girl. You can read about her story using the following URL, http://m.caringbridge.org/visit/mercywhitfield. I had the privilege of visiting Mercy and her parents, Rodney and Allison Whitfield in the hospital last week. Mercy was born with a rare chromosomal defect called Trisomy 13, meaning she's unlikely to survive long. Its not for want of faithful prayer. Between our church and First UMC Richardson where Rodney works as an associate pastor, there are thousands of prayers being made to God. To look upon this tiny baby and know her odds of surviving, its easy to conclude like Job, sometimes there's no making sense of things. And yet I am continually moved by the incredible grace of this family and their thankfulness for what time they have with their child. They see Mercy's birth as a miracle, not a tragedy. They treat each day, each moment they have with her as a gift from God. As a pastor, I've been fortunate to see hundreds of newborns but I've never witnessed a child more cherished, more celebrated, more the focus of attention. I'm sure at times Mercy's parents struggle with the "why" and are clearly grieving, but I have no doubt that their faith in God has never been stronger. In fact, they have described the support they are getting from family, friends and church as evidence of God's presence with them. Yesterday I learned just prior to the 11:00 service that Mercy's lungs are wet meaning she will probably only live a couple more days. My heart wants to frame this as a tragedy but Mercy Elizabeth's parents have challenged me to see it otherwise...that Mercy's short but beautiful life is a gift from God and a glimpse of the Kingdom of God, where the least of us become the greatest.

Making Sense of Things

Sometimes there's no making sense of things. At least that's the conclusion drawn by the biblical character Job. He doesn't understand why God has treated him unjustly, as if he were a reprobate.  Surely God knows his heart and yet he believes that God has taken from him everything he cares about. Job's theology acknowledges freewill but leaves little room for evil. And because of this, Job spends a majority of his book questioning and even challenging God (see Job 13:20-24).  He's so convinced of God's "sovereignty" that he's forced to accept a God who does evil in the world. As you can imagine, Job is having a crisis of faith. It never dawns on Job to question his theology instead of questioning God's character. That's the same dilema many Christians are faced with. They've been raised on such a hefty diet of God's sovereignty  that they cannot digest into their theology, a God of self-giving love.  In this post 9-11 era, this has contributed to a crisis of faith for many Christians. But the biblical tradition proclaims that the God we crucified on a cross 2000 years ago is at war against (to borrow from our baptismal liturgy) the spiritual forces of wickedness and the evil powers of this world. Isn't this the whole premise of the book of Revelations? The good news is, we know how this ends...God wins!

Unorthodox Lives

I’m not the most orthodox of preachers. With a background in both art and youth ministry, I tend to look at things differently. I often approach my study of scripture by asking, “God, what am I missing?” This question often takes me to places I’ve never been before. 

Both Christianity and United Methodism began as movements within existing religious traditions. Christianity began as a sect within Judaism. Jesus and his Disciples were Jews. Whether it was picking grain on the Sabbath or socializing with tax collectors and prostitutes, Jesus and his disciples were known to cross the line of orthodoxy and were persecuted and killed for it. Methodism began as a renewal movement in the Anglican denomination. John Wesley, an Anglican priest helped pioneer field preaching, appointed Lay Speakers, and even converted a canon foundry into a mission center for the poor providing food, clothing, education and medical care. Such unorthodox activities made him a pariah in the Anglican Church. Despite this, Wesley lived and died an Anglican priest. 

Isaiah prophesied that God's people were to be a “light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:6) and concludes with these words, “See, the former things have come to pass; and new things I will now declare…” I believe that when God said these words through Isaiah God had an eye on us.  Isaiah's words challenge our sense of orthodoxy, forcing us to rethink 2500 years later, how we are to be God’s light to the nations. To borrow a metaphor from Jesus, “You are the light of the world…so let your light shine (Mt. 5:14-16).” 

Seeking An Intelligent Faith

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. I Cor. 10:13b

Peter’s Great Escape (Acts 12) could easily be titled, “God provides a way out.”  Some might interpret this to mean God will always provide a way out of harm or trouble, a response that reveals a tendency to read into scripture something that’s not there. The word for “tested” in the original language is pā-rä-smo's. It can be interpreted as temptation or trial or testing (e.g. one’s moral integrity or faith).

In scripture, context is everything. If you interpret pā-rä-smo's as temptation, then it makes sense that the way out is to resist temptation and flee from it. If you are in a committed relationship and a co-worker “comes on to you,” then the way out is to set clear boundaries and resist his/her overtures. 

In addition, every scripture must be interpreted under the larger umbrella of the Biblical Witness. For example, a great many of the “faithful” in scripture suffered and even died for what they believed. For these faithful, the way out was the way of suffering and/or death. Thus, to read this verse to mean that God will always provide a “way out” of suffering is simply inconsistent with the greater witness of scripture.  For these faithful, there were worse things then death.

Bon voyage

It's a sort of like building a ship and sending her out on her maiden voyage. This Sunday we move our daughter Clari into her campus housing at the University of North Texas. I realize the metaphor is fundamentally flawed. While we have certainly contributed to the person Clari has become, she is very much her own person. Always has been. So at some level we are confident she'll do just fine without us. Still the last 18 years have all been about preparing her for the day she'd be on her own, sink or swim. The older I get the more I understand that letting go is very much a part of life. Letting go involves change, and change, movement. Maybe that's why we resist it so much. We get comfortable with things "as is." We prefer the familiar and predictable. But change is inevitable, even when we fight it tooth and nail. It is our failure to adapt and move with change that leaves us stagnant and scared, longing for the good old days. But here the ship metaphor helps us. We trust that she'll hold water; that the inner bracing will withstand gale wind forces; the riggings, sail and rudder, provide some level of control. Ultimately we must let go and trust. I suspect that this metaphor holds true for the child of God. While God has certainly contributed to the people we've become, we are very much our own persons. Still, God in his wisdom sets us free. While we often talk about trusting God, we rarely talk about God trusting us. Clearly, it is a leap of faith.

Thoughts about fishing

When I was young my Grandpa Kim used to take me fishing. I totally idolized this man and believed he was the most accomplished fishermen in the entire world. No question Grandpa Kim knew how to catch fish but I doubt he was the worlds best at it! Still, I remember that when we visited new fishing spots grandpa had the habit of asking the locals what kind of bait they were using. This often resulted in a change of tactic when it came to choosing our lures.

Three years ago General Conference voted to embraced a revitalization program called "Rethink Church." Emerging out of our, "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors," campaign, it seeks to raise the question, "What if Church were a verb?" You can find out more about this UMC movement by going to rethinkchurch.org. Presenting the Gospel in a rapidly changing world forces us to rethink how we reach those "fish" who did not grow up in the church or perhaps had a bad experience with it. That discussion has led to further dialogue about how we advertise (i.e get the word out). The hope is that we can get people into the doors so they can experience our church and its distinctive Christian message. We've played with logos and with the shorten reference to First UMC Lewisville of "First church." Some members have questioned whether this meant we were no longer United Methodists. Of course we are not officially changing the name of the church or our denominational stance. We are merely taking seriously Jesus' command to fish for people and that means a willingness to use different types of bait.

Over the years this church has made some difficult changes; relocating, adding new programs (CCDC,  New Hope Learning Center, and YOTO), changing hymnals and even Bibles (remember the KJV?); adding a contemporary service, and so on. None of these changes have made us any less a United Methodist Church.  And just for the record, many times over the last three years I've referred to our church as First Church. Some of you know that my home church no longer exists. As the community changed, the church was either unwilling or unable to address those changes.  I fear for the future of the church if we hold so tightly to our traditions that we can never adapt how we present the gospel. I've been in the church most of my life, much of it as an ordained minister. We don't do church like we used you....that's clear. The good news is, we are a thriving community of faith because of it.

Wordsmithing Love

There is a tendency for preachers to use a vocabulary often not used in the day-to-day of life. Narthex; its the lobby outside the sanctuary. Sanctuary; its the place we gather for worship. Worship, its a word designating how we can respond to God (and so on). Such church-speak while familiar to insiders, leaves the unchurched baffled and wondering what planet we fell off, which is why I avoid church-speak where possible. The scripture I've been wrestling with this week is from the Book of Ruth. Did you know that there are only 85 verses in this book and yet the word "redeem" is used some 23 times. So I started asking people to define it. Typically my question was met by blank stares and/or silence. God's honest truth? I found the word a bit hard to define myself. If you're old enough to remember Blue Chip or Green Stamps, you might remember the "Redemption Centers" where you could trade in completed stamp books for a can opener. Where else does that word pop up? In the Old Testament "redeem" is a legal concept used to describe the recovery of something sold (by necessity), through payment of some kind. Lev. 25:25 says if someone is forced to sell his or her property to pay a debt, the next of kin was obligated to repurchase it for them, given the means. Of course that seldom happens, hence the popularity of such reality TV shows as Pawn Stars! New Testament writers use "redeem" to describe Jesus' death on the cross, meaning Jesus has paid for our sin, restoring us to a right relationship with God. In other words, we have become the redeemed; and the redeemer? The one who loves us enough to recover what was lost. To quote the Prodigal's father in Jesus' parable, "My child was lost and now is found." We may not use it much but the word "redeem" holds profound meaning both for the one on the receiving end, and the one on the giving end.

Weather Change

Its not every day you have a weather change named after you! Tropical Storm Don "barreled" across the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall yesterday bringing with it much needed rain but not enough to end the oppressive heat wave that has seized south Texas. While I would never wish a hurricane on any one, I'm a little disappointed that my namesake isn't more of a force of nature. Still there's something to be said about bringing relief in the middle of a heatwave. Recently it was reported that a child died in his home from heat exposure. Its a sad tragedy that does raise the question of whether God is to be blamed for such acts of nature. If God is truly all powerful then surely God could have stopped this from happening. To be fair to God, it might be noted that when engineers build poorly constructed and maintained levees, a city floods. When a nuclear facility is built on the coast of a island nation known for its tsunami's, it is a kind of gamble. When utility companies turn off the electricity of a South Texas senior barely able to pay for her prescriptions, she's liable to die from heat exposure. I cannot blame God for the actions of others anymore then I can take responsibility when, for example a mechanic fails to bleed my brakes resulting in an accident.  There is also the acknowledgment that in his wisdom God chooses to govern the creation through certain laws of nature, that while not perfect, do create a kind of predictability we have come to count on. But is God to be blamed for tragedy? I suspect if God constantly intervened in the life of the creation, there would be no tragedy. But wouldn't there also be no free will? After all, you can't tell God he can only interfere when its convenient for us. If my driving will result in a fatal accident some time in the future, God could simply refuse to let me drive. If a child will someday take someone's life, would it be better for them to have never been born? If a nation will establish itself through the genocide of the land's native inhabitants, would God not simply step in to stop this from happening (you and I would likely not be here if that were the case)? Free will even means you and I have a choice to reject God; and yet as imperfect as it is, we claim freedom is necessary for life. We will fight it, go to war for it, even die for it. And that takes me back to Tropical Storm Don. I'm glad my namesake didn't cause any significant destruction but instead brought relief, however brief. I only hope that in the brief span of my life, I have the grace to do the same... God willing.

Starting A New Thing

There's a draw back to hiring people that are young enough to be your children. First, they make you painfully aware of your technological shortcomings. Second, they speak a language that sounds oddly familiar but is punctuated by references that make no sense. Recently one of my staff urged me to begin blogging. I smiled and nodded my headed in agreement, while secretly questioning his newly expressed affinity for folk dance! Still, here I am dipping my toe into the virtual world of digital communication. "Theos-Offroading" is my reference to an "off-road" approach to a discussion about God (Theos in the Greek). My hope is that you'll consider joining the conversation without feeling constrained to agree or necessarily follow conventional norms of thinking about the Christian Faith. The truth is, no matter how tightly we wind God up, we will fail to constrain the true nature of God who has been revealed throughout history to people very differently and to very different people. Why are we so different from one another, one might ask. The obvious answer is God made us this way. And if this is true then God's ultimate goal must not be broad conformity but celebrated diversity. In terms of Christian community, it means acknowledging our uniqueness as individuals while at the same time, recognizing our connectedness to one another. To put it bluntly, this is family business.