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Opening Ancient Wells…

December 13, 2008 in Life, Living our Faith with Leave Your Thoughts

In this journey of digging deep the wells of faith, I realized that maybe I need to re-dig some of the wells of old. Even Isaac realized this. Genesis 26:18 says:

Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

Isaac opened wells that had long been stopped up – he found the wells that his father drew from, and opened them for himself. He realized he couldn’t survive on his wells alone – he needed to draw from the wells of those who have gone before him. Learn from their journeys, their traditions, their failures. He needed more than just his own experience.

I realize I need the same thing.

I can’t go deeper into the things of Christ without pulling from the beliefs of old. I can’t continue and grow in this level if I’m unable to pull from the experiences of believers past and present. The deeper I go, the further back I go – I realize I’m not just satisfied with where God is moving now, but learning where and how He did move. How did those first believers encounter Christ? How did they live in community? How did you come to God before 1000 AD? During the 12-15th centuries? In Mid-evil Europe? In early century Eastern cultures?

If God is as truly big and amazing as we all believe, then maybe on our own we can only glimpse a small part of who He is. Maybe it’s not so much that my doctrine is the one true doctrine, but that combined with the expressions of faith we experience now, and the expressions of faith from centuries ago, and the expressions of faith from Eastern cultures and Western cultures – we begin to see a more balanced view of who God really is.

Maybe I need my brothers and sisters from old – and from other parts of the world now – to encounter Christ more richly. May I never think that the American expression of faith is the “correct” one.

So that’s what I’ve been doing – trying to find and reopen the ancient wells. Learning the creeds. Reading the Apostolic Father’s writings – those who lead the church after the original apostles died. People like Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas and Irenaeus. Studying the writings of Georges Florvosky – a Russian Orthodox priest and theologian. Hearing the stories of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who openly opposed Adolf Hitler -and paid the price for it. What kind of faith can you learn from a man who opposed the injustice of the day. I’m also looking forward to reading the sermons of John Wesley, Martin Luther King, Jr., Martin Luther – the musings of St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Theresa…and more. What understanding of God and depth will I reach seeing the many different ways of encountering Him?

I’m even reopening the wells from my own life. Learning the meaning behind the traditions in the Catholic church. I think it was so beautiful that my current church last Good Friday had the Stations of the Cross for us to walk through. When I was in the Catholic church -it was just what we did. But understanding now the sacrifices and meaning behind each of those stations, brings a deeper expression of my faith in God. Or even Advent – something we celebrated every year growing up – with our required readings, lighting the Advent candles, and preparing ourselves for the celebration of the birth of Christ. I could almost kick myself for letting the first two weeks of Advent go by – and not even realize it. It’s time to reopen those personal wells.

I want to leave you with one of the creeds I re-came across this past week – something I recited every Sunday growing up, but which now holds so much depth and meaning for me: The Nicene Creed, written in the 300′s AD in an attempt to unify the Christian church:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

May this creed, and other creeds from old, help us all to encounter Christ in a deeper, more meaningful way…

Excuse me while I continue to dig…

The Need to Dig

December 13, 2008 in Life, Living our Faith with Leave Your Thoughts

There’s a phrase that’s been stirring in my heart lately:

Dig deep the wells of faith

This past semester, the college ministry – Covenant Groups – has been doing extremely well. Our group is growing, expanding, changing, not necessarily in numbers, but in genuine faith and community. It’s amazing to see. But it has left me very empty. I have poured myself out in ways this semester I have never done before: developing a 3 part series on Knowing Yourself, preaching two messages during that time at church, writing two devotion packets that were at least 6 pages each, planning and facilitating meetings for a missions trip to Czech, leading a weekly prayer group for the students, praying over students to receive the baptism of the spirit and challenging a whole group to go to their own next levels of faith.

It’s the mark of going to a new level.

I have found myself with 6 -that’s right 6 – young men who have asked me to really pour into them. Young men who have great potential and amazing destinies before them. And it’s a little overwhelming. Who am I to speak into these mens’ lives? Who am I to be privileged enough to shape and mold them into their destiny? This isn’t something I can take lightly…

What’s so amazing is that one of these young men is from another country. God has extended me beyond my geographic location, but somehow, saying that I have an international ministry just doesn’t cut it. This isn’t about ministry. This is about a deep love and commitment to see this young man become all God has for Him. It’s relationship, not organization.

And for some reason, I think this is just the start. I have a sense that God has more for me than just these 6. Now THAT is overwhelming. 6 is overwhelming enough. 12? 24? More?

It’s time to start digging deeper wells. It’s time to find that balance between pouring out and filling back up. It’s time to put ministry duties aside for a while and focus on making my wells deeper, so God can fill me up more.

It’s time to dig…

Excuse me while I go grab my shovel…

Faith…with Questions???

December 12, 2008 in Life, Living our Faith with Leave Your Thoughts

If you’ve read my blog at all the past few weeks, you’ll know I’m on a journey – rethinking what I believe. Finding new ways of experiencing Christ. Engaging the text in it’s fullness. I’m wanting a genuine faith, a faith more closely linked to God and His Word. And in this journey one thing has become clear to me:

I’m very weary of Christians who think they have all the answers.

You know the type. Those who can rattle off the “fundamentals of faith” in their sleep – and don’t take kindly to anyone questioning it. It’s all about Doctrine they say – and think you are falling away from Christ if you question it.

But is that what following Christ is all about? Having all the answers?

You see, the more I follow Christ and the more I engage the text, the more questions I have. Now yes, there are certain things that I am not questioning: salvation is most definitely through faith. Christ is the only way to the Father. It is through his sacrifice that I am saved. But what about some other Doctrine we hold so dearly? What about those things we as Christians think we know everything about?

For instance: Hell. Many of us would say that hell is some pit somewhere created for satan and his demons. It is a place where the fire never goes out, where there is gnashing of teeth and that is far from God’s presence. We can all find scriptures to back up these beliefs. It’s in our Doctrine, it’s what we’ve been taught, it’s even in scripture, so that is what hell is like, right?

But what if I look at Psalm 139:7-8 that says:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the DEPTHS, you are there.

In my bible, the word “depths” has a note on it – that it is also translated hell. If I make my bed in Hell, God is there? What? I thought Hell was complete separation from God. How can God be in Hell? All of a sudden, the idea of Hell isn’t so clear.

Or what about salvation? We all believe that salvation is strictly based on faith – if I repent of my sin and ask Jesus into my heart, that is salvation and I am guaranteed a ticket into heaven. We can find the scriptures to back this up. Heck, even a monkey could.

But what about Matthew 25:31-46? This is the portion of scripture about the sheep and the goats – one of a select few glimpses into the final judgment where Christ brings the nations before Him to see who enters paradise and who is cast into eternal torment. And what is the criteria? Not faith. It’s taking care of the widow, feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, clothing the naked. Christ says – those of you who did these things, come into heaven. Those of you who didn’t get cast to hell. Both sets of people call him Lord and there is no mention about their faith. Hmmm. So now what do I do with that scripture?

If I truly believe the scriptures are divinely inspired by God, if I truly believe that as a follower of Christ I need to be a follower of His word, then I HAVE to engage ALL of scripture, not just those that make me feel comfortable about my doctrine. I have to realize that maybe, I don’t know it all. Maybe, I need to start questioning what I believe and why I believe it. Maybe, I don’t need to have all the answers.

Wow. that’s scary. You mean I could journey down this walk of faith and NOT have all the answers? I could tell people -I don’t know all of what heaven will be like, but come journey with me anyways.

Isn’t that the essence of faith? Not knowing, but still believing?

You see, the deeper I go, the more I realize my cookie-cutter answers just aren’t cutting it (yea, pun intended).

Maybe it’s ok not to have all the answers. Maybe I don’t need to have it all figured out to journey down this walk of Faith. I mean, Isaiah 55:9 says:

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God himself says that our brains can’t fathom what his brain can…we can’t even fathom what he can do. His ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts than our thoughts. Maybe that’s why Jesus spoke in parables, because it was the only way our feeble brains could understand the truth – limited as parables are in portraying all of truth. So if his thoughts are higher than ours and his ways higher than ours…maybe it’s next to impossible for us to fully grasp what he is talking about. Maybe we can never fully know what heaven and hell and salvation are all about until we are resurrected and can ask him these questions face to face.

Maybe it’s not about having all the answers. Maybe it’s about Loving Him with all my heart, soul and mind regardless of whether or not I have all the answers…and trusting that He does know them all…

Community, Not Just Doctrine…

December 10, 2008 in Ignite, Life with Leave Your Thoughts

In his book: Antinomies of Christian History, Georges Florovsky (a Russian Orthodox priest and theologian), says:

Christianity entered history as a new social order, or rather a new social dimension. From the very beginning Christianity was not primarily a “doctrine” but exactly a “community”. There was not only a “Message” to be proclaimed and delivered, and a “Good News” to be declared. There was precisely a New Community, distinct and peculiar, in the process of growth and formation, to which members were called and recruited. Indeed, “fellowship” was the basic category of Christian existence.

Wow. Think about that a minute. Christianity started out as a community – not a set of doctrines. Yes, there were certain things the first Christians believed, but their primary focus wasn’t getting people to ascribe to a set of beliefs. It was to join this new community and be apart of this New Way.

We misrepresent Christ when we try to push a set of Doctrine first, before trying to build a community. I believe this is why we are seeing false religions growing so fastly – they offer community before doctrine.

I saw this come alive this past weekend. A family in our community just lost everything: the house they are/were renting started on fire and burnt to the ground. The only thing they had left was the clothes on their back. In a time like this – doctrine means NOTHING to them if there is no action, no community behind it. While she was sitting there, receiving food, clothes, blankets, silverware…anything and everything they might need – doctrine didn’t matter. Knowing that she is in a community that loves and takes care of her and her family did. That’s what the world is looking for. That’s what the “church” is called to be. First and foremost – a community.

Now- I am not saying that doctrine is not important. Some people have gone about falsely accusing that this is what is being said. Knowing what you believe and WHY you believe it is very important. We need a set of doctrine, a clear cut set of what we believe and WHY we believe it, so as not to get caught up in false teachings and turn from the truth. However, when doctrine comes before loving people in community, that’s when we have it all wrong.

Our communities of faith SHOULD have people who don’t believe the same way we do, who don’t prescribe to our set of beliefs and doctrines. They should include people who are at the start of their searching for God, those of other religions asking questions about what we believe, and people who have never been in church before. We should be walking this thing called life with people who don’t believe the same way we do – not JUST to get them to accept our beliefs, but out of love for them.

I believe when we love people with an agenda, when we “love” them just to get them to accept Christ, that isn’t real love. Cause what typically happens – we “love” them to get them saved, and once they make that decision, we are on to the next person. Is that love? Really? Real love says – whether you believe like I do or not, I still love you and will still walk this thing called life with you. Whether we’ll admit it or not, people can tell when you love them with an agenda. It’s why so many people are turned off to the church -cause everything we do is just to get them to believe like we do. Sometimes I wonder if Christ is crying over what His church is doing…

You see, I have caught a glimpse of the power of community in seeing people come to Christ – just a small part of what the disciples saw in Acts 2:42-47, where God added to their numbers daily, those who were being saved:
During the past year and half, we have had a girl involved in our community at the college. This is a young woman who really didn’t know what to think about following Christ – hadn’t even really made the decision yet to give her life to him when she started coming. But come she did, because we loved her no matter what she believed. She felt at home within our community and even started inviting others to be apart of our community.

I can happily say that she has given her life to Christ. Now – this wasn’t because we did a “gospel message” about how she was going to hell if she didn’t accept Christ in her heart. She never raised her hand to accept him and didn’t pray the sinner’s prayer. But through being loved in community, she saw the hope that the rest of us have, and made the decision that she wanted that in her life. She made the choice to turn from her old life and learn more about following The Way, and what it means that God reconciled her to Himself, and how to love Him more. There was no fear (do this or you will go to hell) or false promises (following Christ means you will have joy all the time), but a community that loved her and helped her learn how to follow Christ…and are STILL walking this thing called life with her, because she wasn’t a project, but someone we love.

This is what the disciples saw in Acts 2. Out of community, out of gathering together to learn the apostles teaching, to fellowship (being intimately bound together), to break bread and commune together and to pray, they saw God move in miracles signs and wonders. By selling what they had and giving to those in need, people looked at this new group of believers and said – wow, those people from different backgrounds, different personalities, even some who would normally be enemies and hate each other – those people take care of each other, they love each other. They are people who the religious system of the day called outcasts – tax collectors, prostitutes, eunuchs, doubters, liars…and yet they are experiencing God.

Maybe that’s what “church” is supposed to look like. Maybe if we went back to inviting others to walk life with us, we would see God adding to our numbers DAILY those who are being saved…

What we have now isn’t doing it. So maybe it’s time for a change…

Season of Brokenness

December 5, 2008 in Exile, Life with 1 Appreciated Comment

so…lately I’ve been feeling like God is about ready to bring me into a season of brokenness in my life. I can’t really describe it or define it, but it’s just one of those deep down gut feelings that I’m going to find myself crying out for Him like never before…out of anguish and a broken heart. Maybe He’s going to start working on my broken areas. Maybe He’s trying to draw me closer to Himself. I’m not quite sure. But I’m looking at the seasons and realizing that winter is a season of barrenness and brokenness. That God is taking away the pomp and the fluff and working on me as an individual…trimming away the things in my life that aren’t of Him.

You have to love a season of brokenness…

Lately, my soul has been very attracted to brokenness. Whether it’s because of the series I did in November about removing your masks and embracing your brokenness, or because God is bringing me personally into that season, I’m not sure. But I do know that I have been listening to a lot of songs lately about being broken.

My favorite: Breathe Me by Sia

This is a very simple song…the lyrics only last about a minute or two during the song, but the music is so…deep and warm…it just attracts my soul right now and portrays what br

okenness looks like in community…

Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And, the worst part is there’s no-one else to blame

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Ouch I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,Yeah I think that I might break
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold meI am small
and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Listen to it on youtube…it’s a pretty amazing song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6PGrub3jUc

Another of my favorites right now is Broken by Lifehouse…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB2JAgpfg2Y&hl=en&fs=1]

These songs just capture my soul right now…I don’t know where it will lead, but I know if God has a season of brokenness planned for me, it means He’s deepening something within me…

…and I want to go deep
unfold the hidden places

show the real me

embrace the brokenness…
embrace life
be comfortable in my skin

be comfortable in me
be passionate
whole
real
maybe all I want

to
just
be.

I’m not sure where this journey is taking me…and for the first time in my life, I’m ok with that. So if I must walk into a season of brokenness, I will embrace it…
welcome it
love it
Cause I know it is just one more step into bringing me into the man I want to be…

maybe that’s why all my glasses at home keep breaking…

Removing our Masks

December 5, 2008 in Life with Leave Your Thoughts

It’s been a while since I posted anything on here. I’m not really much of a blogger, but am trying to get into it. We’ll see how it goes…lol.

So, lately God has been stirring in my heart this message of taking off our masks, and being real with one another. I think a lot of times we put these masks on to hide areas in our lives we think people will reject. “If they only knew this about me…” So we try to hide that area in our lives and pretend we’re something we

really aren’t…in hopes that it will make us feel better about ourselves.

But masks are so destructive.

This is something that came about because of some advice I gave like 3 of my university students…and God grew it into a 3 weeks series for our entire group. What does it mean to be myself…and like who I am? What does it mean that God approves me, just as I am.

I’ve just grown so weary of the Christianity that says you have to be perfect. Seriously, none of us are perfect. We all have areas of brokenness, areas of weaknesses and flaws. I know I do. I’m broken. I’m flawed. I have things in my life I’m not proud of…areas I would rather hide than expose. But, if I’m going to be real with myself and with others, I need to unwrap myself and show off my brokenness. We all do.

The world isn’t looking for a bunch of perfect people. That’s not going to attract them to God. What’s going to bring them to God is a bunch of broken people, communing together and understanding that God is in love with their humanity…their weaknesses…their broken areas. What a relief that I don’t have to be perfect. I can sin, make a mistake, blow it…and God doesn’t count it against me. And I don’t have to hide it. I can be me…and love myself, flaws and all…cause God loves me…flaws and all.