What Should We Buy?

Last night I saw on TV that the NBA is borrowing millions of dollars to bail out 15 NBA teams that are suffering budget shortfalls. While I hold to John Wesley's admonition to "earn all you can" I believe that Christians, including me, have failed to consider Wesley's complete maxim on wealth. He also said to "save all you can and give all you can."

Consider with me extraordinary salaries of professional athletes, actors and entertainers. While I love to hear the voice of a professionally trained musician performing songs which I can relate, as opposed to karaoke, are we spending way more on their albums than they are actually worth? Though I prefer movies to children's theater, must we buy the DVD? Though I love the book, do I need to own it? Could I not enjoy a high school football game as much as a BCS college football game.

During this economic crisis the University of Alabama has pledged millions to add 9000 seats to Bryant-Denny Stadium, the NBA is borrowing money, someone at an unamed university is requesting $60,000 to go find Noah's Ark, companies continued to pay millions for 30 seconds of air time during the Super Bowl, and the children who starred in Slumdog Millionare have been returned to the slums.

Have you considered that the bulk of our economy is based upon extravagance?

Have we learned our lesson in the United States? We cannot expect the economy to be fixed overnight, yes. However, can we and should we expect our country to remain stable if we return to the same "keeping up with the Jones's" and "hear we are, now, entertain us" attitudes of the last 30 years?

As I reconsider my own habits, I wonder if the following has any bearing on how I, as a Christian, should manage the wealth God has given to me.


"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." (Acts 4:32-35, NIV)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"What is the Extraordinary? It is the love of Jesus Christ himself, who went patiently and obediently to the cross - it is in fact the cross itself...The Extraordinary - and this is the supreme scandal - is something which the followers of Jesus do." (From The Cost of Discipleship, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1995, p. 153)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young Lutheran pastor whose life has left a lasting impression on many Christians, including mine. Born February 4, 1906 in Germany to wealthy parents, the son of a psychologist, Bonhoeffer received two doctorates before his 25th birthday. A talented scholar and teacher, Bonhoeffer aspired to study and teach theology. He came to the United States in 1930 to study and teach at NY's Union Theological Seminary. While in the United States, his life changed dramatically. He attended church in Harlem, learning many of the Negro Spirituals. Though a promising teaching career awaited him, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany, about the time of Hitler's rise to power. He served churches as a minister as Hitler's swastika and Nazi influence spread to the churches. Bonhoeffer was one of a minority group that declared itself to be the Confessing Church of Germany, and opposed Hitler through preaching, writing and teaching.

In 1937, Bonhoeffer's opposition to Hitler led him to the opportunity to lead an underground seminary, to train young Lutheran ministers in theology and practice of Christian spirituality and ministry, specifically in opposition to Hitler's state-run churches (The image of the swastika on the German church's paraments is haunting). It was at Finkenwalde that Bonhoeffer wrote perhaps his two most influential works, Discipleship and Life Together, at the young age of 31. Discipleship (or The Cost of Discipleship, as it is known in its English translation), is a call to the church to be the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world" through following the teachings of Jesus, rather than relying on the sacraments of baptism and communion, to guarantee salvation. Life Together was written to provide a pattern of devotion for his seminary student's as they lived as one in a nation that hated him.

Later on, after the Gestapo shut down the Finkenwalde Seminary, Bonhoeffer, a pacifist, came under the conviction that the only thing that a Christian could do in response to Hitler was to work for his defeat. Bonhoeffer, along with his brother-in-law, Hans Von Donnanyi, was arrested for conspiracy to kill Hitler. It is this conspiracy on which the movie Valkyrie is based, though Bonhoeffer was not written into the film. On April 9, 1945, Bonhoeffer was hanged as an enemy of Germany and Hitler, but as a true Martyr to the Christ he followed with his life. Two days later, the prison in which he died was liberated by Allied forces.

I first read Discipleship as a college student. It changed my life, and the way I understand Christianity. Thus, I no longer understand Christianity as a religion, but as a way of life. For those who dare to imagine what Christianity would look like if the words of Jesus were actually taught, practiced, and followed, I heartily recommend this masterpiece as a beginning.

On this day I pray to wish a Happy Birthday to Bonhoeffer, whose witness, whose martyrdom, left an impression on the life of many, including mine.

A New Day

(Luke 12:29-34, NIV) 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


As a youth, the only poem that I memorized was this anonymous poem that Alabama's legendary coach Paul Bryant kept with him, and read daily:


This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is very important because I am
Exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.
Leaving something in its place I have traded for it.
I want it to be a gain, not loss - good, not evil.
Success, not failure in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it.


Each year, I am challenged by the thought of New Year's resolutions. Each year I hope to develop good habits and get rid of the bad ones. I do hope to blog more, pray more, exercise more, spend more quality time with family and friends, and eat less (yeah, right). Somehow, I break these by the end of January, sometimes as early as January 2.


However, Jesus calls us not to worry about the needs of the day. Rather, prioritize the God's plan to bring the world back to himself and let the chips fall where they may. We may be surprised that we could not have planned things better ourselves.


I pray that according to God's plan for the world that you would make the most of 2009 and have a blessed New Year!


Tim

Is This Really the Gospel?

Like many of you, I have been intrigued by the seven day sex challenge offered by pastor Ed Young of the Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. More than that, I have been intrigued by the pragmatic preaching of many celebrity preachers designed to reach the religious consumer market in the United States.

I would venture a guess: The Thesis behind such preaching is that God's sole purpose is to make us happy and successful. God wants us to be great leaders (Jesus modeled servanthood), have great sex lives (taking care of one's spouse seems to be the norm in scripture), be successful (all Jesus' healing and teaching ministry got him was a cross), and have a hunky-doory life (suffering is the norm in this world for Christians).

First, regarding sex, one clear issue driving Jewish worship regulations was God's desire to separate sex from worship. If some of these ministers had any education worth speaking about, it would be clear that the polytheistic religions of the day used sex in worship. They worshipped fertility deities. Our word Easter comes from the goddess Ishtar, the fertility goddess of the Arabic world (that's why rabbits and eggs are symbols of Easter, and why I prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday.) Many religious cults of the ancient world incorporated sex into the service. Priests had intercourse with cult prostitutes on the altars to these gods and goddesses. Furthermore, it is interesting that polytheistic religions expressed their deities with male and female characteristics, as well as having the male deities have sex with human women, creating heroes such as Hercules, Perseus and Gilgamesh (Genesis 6:1-4 takes a jab at these).

In the book of Leviticus, worshippers could not worship (they were unclean, or common, rather than holy) if they had intercourse within 24 hours of worship, if the woman was in her monthly period, if a man had a nocturnal emision. Yes, you will remind me that we are free from the law. You are correct to do so. However, the purpose behind such regulations was to separate sex from the worship scene. I hear the "there is something spiritual about sex" in the preaching of these ministers. However, I think that it is worth pointing out that the ancient world was aware of this, and God was separating sex from worship.

Second, when I hear of such sermon emphases, I ask: "What about the teens in the audience, the single adults, the divorcees, and the widows. What about those who struggle with sexual issues?" Furthermore, what about the story that Scripture tells? I believe that there needs to be an arena to talk about sex in church. However, is the morning worship service the appropriate arena. What about a couples class? What about youth groups in which parents are aware of that content? Is this appropriate material for worship? (By the way, worship is celebrating the story of salvation in such a way that we really believe that what the Bible says is real. It is not a program.)

Finally, it is interesting that the New Testament says very little about sex. Paul encourages periods of abstinence in marriage for prayer. Fasting from sex. What a revolutionary idea? Jesus reminds men to be faithful to their spouses. In Genesis, we are reminded that sex is God's means of procreation. How quickly we forget that.

The concern for Christians is preparing for God to complete his work in the future and being about his mission in the present. While I understand that contemporary churches, post-modern emphases in churches, the emergent church are reacting to the mistakes and misunderstanding of the gospel found in many traditional churches, the implication that God's gospel is but another self-help guide book to make our lives more enjoyable is just as much missing the point as a traditional church's passion to preach the gospel without meeting the physical needs of the poor. I believe that we need help for our couples in our churches to learn how to relate to one another in healthy ways. But consider this...

Is the consumer mentality in religion just the result of the fact that we are bored? We are staring into the sky, like the disciples who watched Jesus disappear behind the veil that separates Heaven and earth. Rather, we should be about the gospel. Teach the lordship of Christ. Realize that we are blessed to be a blessing, not to enjoy being blessed. And, we are called to bear a cross. Life will not always be perfect. But perfection is participating in the narrow journey and completing that journey, rather than getting every step right along the way and enjoying that. Why are we self-centered? Because our life-application religion is teaching us to be.

I remember an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Robert and Amy had just been married and had Debra and Ray over for dinner, along with Frank and Marie, and Amy had just read a book on how to have a better relationship in marriage. She shared it with Debra and they began talking about all the theories that the book presented. Marie, whose personality gives me the heeby-jeebies, gave the greatest advice ever. Marriage is not always perfect. People are not perfect. You are going to have your fights, your ups and downs, and your struggles. That is life. However, in the end, there is something greater than sex, romance or affection. There is love.

But maybe I am just a fuddy duddy.

From Pearl Harbor to Calvary, The Story of Mitsuo Fuchida

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals-- one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:33-34, NIV)





Being that today is the 67th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I thought that the story of Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese leader of the raid, might be interesting to see how radical God's forgiveness and salvation really is. Here is the link. What do you think?





www.biblebelievers.com/fuchida1.html

Grace and peace,

Tim

Citizens of Heaven

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/november/16.34.html


"Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!" (Philippians 3:17 - 4:1, NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:9-12, NIV)

They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:37-38)

I miss Duke, especially during election season. I miss the theological conversations with classmates and professors who stretched my mind to consider other possibilities and sharpen my own thoughts and convictions.

Reading an article like the one above calls me to remember the importance and place of the church in the world, the relationship of the church to the world, and the mission of the church - to be the church.

Elections are over, finally. I am excited that I can get on with the work of ministry. I will pray for Barack Obama, just as I prayed for George W. Bush, and his father, along with Bill Clinton.

However, the church should no longer sell herself short. We do not change the world by votes, loud talking, picket signs, but by shed blood.

Someone's blood was shed, and the world has never been the same. The church followed suit. They lived peaceably among the First Century World. They contributed to society, but they lived to the beat of a different drum. Their citizenship was elsewhere. They heard a different voice. That voice called. They answered. They lived for it, and died for it. They were strangers in a new community, aliens in a foreign land, living a foreign way of life. It was the life of a different world.

They died for it. Martyrs, church-goers, radical reformers, charismatics. They died for the faith that led them to call home "Heaven."

Christians are political people. We speak with our life. I appreciate Jordan Hylden, a Duke student, for speaking up in Christianity Today. Thank you for reminding me of the lesson I learned so well at Duke - that the first responsiblility of the church is to be the church, regardless of the world around.

Maybe there is a way beyond conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat, Capitalism and Socialism. May we open our eyes, and join Jesus on the way (Mark 10:46-52). Maybe that way will lead us home.

Grace and peace,

Tim

Evangelicals and Torture?

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080912/poll-golden-rule-coaxes-evangelicals-to-rethink-torture-stance.htm


"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies..." (Matthew 5:43-44, NIV)

I have just read an interesting article on evangelicals and torture (link above). A poll showed that 46 percent of Obama supporters and 67 percent of McCain supporters believe that torturing prisoners can be justified to extract information from captured terrorists. I am not for giving these folks steak dinners, big screen TV's and grounds privileges, but it seems to me that this is contradictive of both Christianity and the political opinion of both candidates.

Let us not forget that one of our presidential candidates spent over five years incarcerated during the Vietnam War. Let us not forget that he endured cruel torture, both mental and physical, until his release in 1973.

Let us not forget that Christians through the centuries were subject to cruel and unusual punishments and even death at the hands of those who were threatened by Christ's claim to power.

Let us not forget that Christians, when in positions of power, have proven no better through the centuries. They have burned heretics at the stake.They tortured mentally-ill people, claiming they were demon-possessed or witches. Protestant state-supported churches martyred many radical reformers, including Baptists, who refused to assent to the claims of these churches. Let us not forget that the bloodiest war per capita known in the history of the western world was fought between Protestants and Catholics.

And may we never forget the cruel torture Jesus endured as Jesus went to the cross to be publically humiliated before He died.

Can we do no better?

As a Christian, my ethics can never be based upon the intended result ever justifying the means to the result. For Christians, our witness is dependent upon the means and not the end result. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his Ethics that this is the rebellion of humanity that began in the garden, not to do evil, but to be our own judge of what is good and evil. Part of living in the world is that my safety and security, and that of my loved ones, is dependent upon God. Part of living in this world is that there are people who intend to do what they believe to be justified harm. Part of living as a Christian is the conviction that for Christians, in the end death does not have the last word, but the last word is spoken by the God who raises the dead. He is in fact "the Alpha and the Omega."

Tim