Tag: insights

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The Intoxicating Lie Of the Next Step.

When you’re young, it’s sort of programmed into you.  You are told what to do to prepare for school, and then to prepare for middle/high/undergrad/grad school.  Then they start telling you how to prepare for retirement, or for career advancement, or kid’s college.  You have to learn all over again how to prepare your kids for all of the same milestones.  All of life, it seems, is geared toward preparation for the rest of life.

So what a surprise to wind up where I am, at 29, finally realizing that all of life is not preparation.  At some point, boot camp is over, and it’s time to start fighting the war.  I’m not advocating a lack of discipline in planning and preparing for the future.  I’m advocating a mental shift regarding how we view the present.  And I am going to make a sweeping statement that may or may not offend you with it’s simplicity.

God has you where he has you right now for a reason. And how you handle what you are going through right now has a large bearing on where He will take you in the future.

Nothing gets me fired up (in a “you might not want to emulate this” sort of way) more than sitting across the student union table from a Johnny Sophomore and hearing him say “I am just waiting on God to reveal his will for me.”  As though God were behind on his paperwork, scrambling to get marching orders to this student.  But he and I take the same approach, if I’m honest.  We treat God like we would a barber before our big date.  Show up when you have an appointment, sit patiently and wait while he does some stuff to fix you up, and then leave once he’s done preparing you for the real fun.  We assume that we have no role in the preparation beyond small talk and tipping well.

Sure, God is preparing us and slowly revealing his will to us.  But if we aren’t faithfully executing the tasks he’s set before us now, what makes us think that he’s going to entrust us with bigger tasks?  That’s one of the reasons I think Bill Bright (the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ) saw so many people come to Christ after hearing the gospel one time from him.  He led Taxi drivers, bellhops, and people next to him on the plane to Christ all the time!  Why?  Because, I think, he lived every moment as if it were a divine appointment.  And God ended up entrusting quite a movement to Bill Bright.

So, how are we living every moment?  Like a divine appointment, or the preparation for tomorrow’s divine appointment?  I confess that I’ve been living, in large part, in anticipation of some fabled “next step” without any regard for the extraordinary provision that’s gotten me to this step.  And it’s time to start walking by faith now.

How about you?  Am I the only one who trips over this step in my haste to get to the next one?

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Christian Pacifism, a Second Look.

A while back I talked a bit about my frustration with folks who plaster peace-loving bumper stickers all over their cars but fail to see that they are doing the same thing as the ones they rail against.

I got a great response from a friend asking clarification about what I think of Christian pacifists.  Here’s a bit from her reply that I found particularly good.

I can say that I am acquainted with many deeply spiritual and Christian people-authors, activists, and people I know directly-who are highly motivated for peace, with their ideologies directly informed and shaped by the Gospel of Christ.

In my response to her, I (hopefully) clarified that I have nothing against pacifism as an ideology, but that it can never be based on anything other than a peaceful relationship with God.  I think that only pacifism that is based in a Christian worldview of having achieved (by virtue of the cross) peace with God has any real power in bringing about real peace in our world.  All other brands of pacifism (and especially the agnostic, New Age, hyper-environmentalist, humanist version so prevalent here in Asheville) are impotent, precisely because they are simply another in a long line of worldviews that ignore our most fundamental problem both as a society and as individuals–our enmity with God.  And they are an attempt (just like radical Islam is an attempt) to force others to their way of seeing the world.  The bigoted response of these “pacifists” against what they see as bigotry is astounding.

Though I’m not sure where I stand on pacifism as an ideology (I’d most likely fight someone that was trying to hurt my wife or children), I do think that apart from Christianity, there can be no peace.  What about you?  What do you think?  Comment Below.

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McLaren The Wolf-Shepherd.

NPR ran a story on Brian McLaren last week, so I thought I’d weigh in, as one of the “young” evangelicals the story talks about.  Here’s a line taken from the article. (read it in it’s entirety here)

Campbell adds that young believers are more flexible about Christian doctrine in general.

“We also know that — particularly within the evangelical community — the younger you are, the less likely you are to take the Bible literally, to believe that the Bible is the inerrant ‘word of God,’ as compared to a book of moral precepts,” he says.

And let me be the first to say that the article may be true.  Young people like me may be more likely to believe lies.  But, at least in my case, my mother is far closer to McLaren than I am.  It’s not a generational issue.  Mom’s not real big on commenting on blogs (she’ll likely email me). But the blanket statement that older = more theologically conservative is patently false and a lazy generalization.

Here’s what astounds me:  the article says that the main reason older folks hold to more conservative views of scripture is because the older generation is less traveled, has met fewer folks who are of other faiths, and are therefore far more comfortable condemning them to hell.  What a shocking statement about how dumb/bigoted older folks are. It’s pure academic and chronological snobbery to say that we young folks know more than our parents because we’ve experienced a more “global” classroom and life.  And it’s a direct affront to the older generation to say that they are “comfortable” condemning anyone to hell.  Many of the theologically conservative folks I’ve met are also the ones most passionate about getting the good news out to the most people.  No matter their age.

I’ve been to about 9 countries, not counting my own.  I’ve met folks that were raised Muslim, raised in various eastern faiths, and raised Atheist/Humanist.  Folks as different from my upbringing as night is from day.  Yet I am still a conservative evangelical.  I still believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and not just a book of moral precepts (in fact, take a brief look at the “moral” example set by many of the “heroes” of the faith–David, Moses, Paul, Peter, etc–before you call the Bible such a ridiculous name).  If I have changed any since my youth, it is indeed a shift from strict dogmatism to reasoned faith.  But the dogmatism of my youth was based not in any sort of reason, but rather insecurity.  I didn’t know why I believed the Bible, just that it was the linchpin holding my faith together.  So I spent a great amount of time and energy defending my linchpin.

These days, thanks in large part to some great teachers, pastors, friends, and a lot of study of history, I know many more reasons why I can trust the Bible.  But unlike McLaren might think, I have more concern for folks from other nations, cultures, and languages than I have ever had in my life.  In my pursuit of truth and a reasoned faith, I haven’t had to toss out belief in the authority of the Bible, I’ve had to cling to it.  Without a literal Savior saving me from a literal hell of self-centered “spirituality,” I would have no reason to pursue social causes like justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, and assistance to the poor and underprivileged.  Also, I wouldn’t care that people were going to hell, if it were imaginary.

The tired caricature of a bible-thumping hellfire preacher more concerned with money and “soul winning” than with loving people is one we’ve earned as conservative evangelicals.  But McLaren’s response seems like lazy ignorance of the fact it is a caricature that almost totally misrepresents those of us who hold to an authoritative Bible.  In the excerpt at the end of the above-referenced article, McLaren quotes a critic of his as saying that Jesus only came to save people from hell, not with any social agenda.  I don’t know a single one of my friends, no matter how conservative, who would agree with that statement. Not one.

What an ignorant caricature of our entire team, Rev. McLaren!  How about refute Tim Keller, DA Carson, JI Packer, Mark Driscoll, John Piper, or some other reputable representative of our team? Because they can simultaneously hold to a authoritative Bible and love/help the poor?  Yeah, you’re right.  A lot harder to take aim at folks who really work toward advancing both the gospel and social implications of a gospel-centered worldview.

As others have said, I think with this book, Brian McLaren has finally taken off his shepherd costume to reveal the wolf underneath.  Please, folks, don’t follow the wolf. He’s aiming to blow your house down.

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An Open Letter to Single People.

“I’d love to give to your ministry, but I’m single.”

More than one person has laid this line on me.  I’ll challenge them to partner with us financially, and then they will (with a serious tone) tell me that the reason they don’t/can’t give is because they are single.  Like giving is something that only the grownup married people do.  I have a news flash for you, single folks (and as may become apparent, this news flash does not apply to single parents).  You have more expendable income now than you might ever for the rest of your life.  Yeah, you are single and have less income.  So you can live with three roommates and pay 250 bucks in housing costs per month.

I look back on the financial situation I had as a single guy and marvel at how much money I had.  Mind you, I was pulling in a cool $16,000 per year.  I was by no means a high roller.  But I paid off 16,000 dollars in student loans and bought an engagement ring all within 3.5 years of graduating college.  There were months that, because I was committed to getting out of debt, I would throw 900 bucks at my student loan.  You can do a lot financially as a single person if you put your mind to it.

These days my rent is 4 times higher, my food expenses are nearly tripled, and there are entirely new categories on the budget, like “childcare,” “kid’s clothes” and “life insurance.”  Yeah, I have more income, but it only doubled, and believe me, my expenses way more than doubled.

Your lack of financial discipline is related to being single (your behavior most directly affects only you at this point), but to be honest, as one on this side of a wedding day looking back, I need to let you know how ridiculous you sound when you use singleness as an excuse not to give.  If you are anywhere near average, just your out-to-eat budget each month could fund a dozen compassion children.  And don’t get me started on shoe budgets and entertainment expenses.  I know, you have to spend money out to find “the one.” But don’t use that as an excuse to be a poor steward of what God has given you.

I am not speaking as one who has it all figured out.  The only reason as a single guy that I paid off loans so quickly was that I had a significant auto-draft taken from my paycheck each month.  It was discipline by default.  I’ve just had one too many people tell me (in a list of reasons why they can’t give) that they are single.

The habits you make as a single person, especially when it comes to finances, will dramatically affect your marriage.  Money fights and money problems are among the leading causes of divorce.  So while it’s just a cute shoe collection as a single person, it may be a huge source of arguments and strife later in your marriage. One of the best things you could do now would be to take an honest look at your finances, and maybe even bring in someone to help hold you accountable to be giving, saving, and spending sacrificially.

And before I get angry comments from single people who are giving and are financially responsible, let me be the first to say that not all single people in America are a fiscal wreck.  I recognize also that the folks that have given me this excuse were just looking to soften the blow.  I primarily wanted to rebuke the underlying sentiment that would make it OK to pick this particular excuse.

Singleness is a great time to give sacrificially.

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A New Kind of The Same Old Heresy

I wish I had been wrong.  I wish I had overstated the case.  I wish this were a retraction post.

After calling Brian McLaren a “wolf-shepherd” in a previous post, I felt bad that I had dismissed him after just reading one excerpt of his new book.  After all, I was just going off of what other people said.  So I bought the book (on the fantastic Kindle app for the iPhone), and read it this past week.

It’s one of the saddest books I have ever read.  Because, like Rob Bell, McLaren is a guy who it is difficult to dislike.  He’s just so nice.  He seems to be very self-critical (in a healthy way) and looking to ensure that his motives are pure.

But to be honest, either he has never actually listened to our side of the argument (“our side” being those who hold to verbal plenary inerrancy) or he’s not interested in what we have to say, or both.

Here’s the thing: he addresses something in this book that desperately needs addressing in the conservative evangelical church.  We have earned the label of bigoted religious snobs.  We have confused capitalism with the kingdom of God.  We have abused the Scriptures, and then used those abused Scriptures to abuse and subjugate others.  We have targeted sins like homosexuality and witchcraft, while ignoring sins like racism and gluttony and greed.  All of these things are true.

And that’s about where my agreement with McLaren ends.

But like nailing jello to a wall, it is really tough to have a level-headed conversation with the guy, because in the book he’s already set the stage for how I am most likely to “attack” his position.  He’s in essence set the terms of engagement, and set them in his favor.  But here’s my three nails into the jello:

  • He has a “trajectory theology” that is impossible to support biblically (though he tries).
  • He is guilty of the worst kind of chronological snobbery.
  • Throughout the book he attacks a straw man, with no indication that he believes we on the other side of the argument have even considered the questions he raises.

I’ll address each of these issues in separate posts, because this one is already getting longer than I’d like.

The final thing I’d like to highlight about McLaren and his “new kind of Christianity” is that it is not new in the least.  Since the earliest days of Christianity there have been folks who said that the key to understanding the Bible was to see it in this “new” light of knowledge.  They too would take scriptures and wrest them from clear meaning to indicate that the point is to gain a transcendent knowledge, and then to pass that knowledge onto others.  These folks were already around during the writing of the Scriptures.  They were called “Gnostics” taken from the greek word for “knowledge.”  So while it might be new to some readers, the idea of special knowledge leading to transcendence is simply the same old heresy being repeated in a new context.

What do you think?  (Melissa, I’m surprised you haven’t weighed in yet…)

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