Ten Reasons Why the Meth Church is Growing Faster than Your Church

#1 They sing, “Lord I Lift You Name and Get High.”

#2 Greeters laugh and giggle uncontrollably.

#3 When the offering plate is passed, people are encouraged to take money.

#4 Everyone shouts “Amen” when the pastor preaches on stoning.

#5 The only committee in the church is the munchies committee.

#6 The typical titles “brother” and “sister” are replaced with “dude.”

#7 Smoking is allowed in the building.

#8 Nobody cares if the music is too loud or if the building is too hot…nobody really cares about much of anything.

#9 An active prison ministry…really active.

#10 The choir sings songs from Pink Floyd.

I hope you read this with the humor in which it was written. This is not a slam on Methodists and it is certainly not intended to make light of drug addiction. Nevertheless, feel free to cast stones my directions if you are so inclined...because everybody must get stoned.

Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good,
They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would.
They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home.
Then they'll stone ya when you're there all alone.
But I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.

Bob Dylan
“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”
1966

Rambling questions

Most of my posts are well thought out reflections, normally responses to things I am reading or listening to. The follow is just a random list of rambling questions. I am in the process of grilling chicken and I have been thinking about a lot of unanswered questions in between flipping the chicken every five minutes. Here is the list in no order of importance:

Will Priest Holmes actually play football for the Kansas City Chiefs this season?

Is all this aspartame in Diet Coke really that bad for you?

Will India every have true freedom of religion?

Will the political inefficiency of the American government ever lead to a political collapse?

What would a post-democratic “US” look like?

Would most churches collapse because they have put too much stock in the so-called “Christian nation?”

How long has the Simpsons been on TV?

Who in their right mind would pay $8.50 to watch the Simpsons Movie on the big screen?

Will Jessica Simpson ever repent and come back to her Christian roots?

How long will I be so privately judgmental?

Will John MacArthur ever like any other Christians that are NOT like him?

Will Dylan ever be recognized by pop culture as the poetic icon he is?

Will I ever learn to play that cool blues riff in “It’s Alright Ma”?

Will I ever write a book?

Will I ever be satisfied in the ministry?

When will we stop obsessively worship the unholy trinity of Paris, Britney and Lindsay?

Is LL’s dad really a Christian?

Will the Church thrive in the post-Christian Western world?

Will innovators in the church ever be above criticism?

Will the voices of the past become the teachers of the Church today?

Can we communicate to a post-Christian, post-enlightenment culture using culturally appropriate means without worship the idol of relevance?

Will I ever find a better word than “culture”?

Will anything ever come of all of this global warming hype?

Will the Internet be the printing press of this millennium?

Will cars ever fly?

Is Drew Carey really the next host of The Price Is Right?

Does anybody still watch TPIR?

Is Michael Vick's career really over?

Will my children grow up and go into the ministry?

Will my wife ever let me listen to Dylan in the van without rolling her eyes?

Ok that is all for today….BBQ chicken is ready!

Gospel-centered Ministry

I just finished listening to a lecture given last May by Tim Keller on the “Gospel-centered Ministry.” Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York City.

They are one of the most successful church planting churches in the country. RPC has planted over 100 churches in the NYC metro area. The lecture has some great thinking on the centrality of the gospel in the ministry of preaching. Good stuff.

You can download the lecture here: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/downloads.html

The direct link is: http://thegospelcoalition.org/mp3/Gospel_Centered_Ministry_Dr_Keller.mp3

The following are my notes that I adapted from some notes I found on another blog.

Gospel-Centered Ministry
Tim Keller
Gospel Coalition Conference
May 2007

Seven ministry insights from the gospel.
1. The gospel is historical.
2. The gospel is doxological.
3. The gospel is christological.
4. The gospel is personal and individual.
5. The gospel is cultural.
6. The gospel is massively transformational.
7. The gospel is wonderful.

TEXT: 1 Peter 1:1-12; 1:22-2:12

1. The gospel is historical.
The gospel is good news, not good advice. From Martin Lloyd-Jones:
Advice is counsel about something you can do regarding something that hasn't happened yet.
News is about something that has already happened and there is nothing you can do but respond.

Ministry implication:
From C. S. Lewis's Studies in Words--You don't use words to tell someone how to tie a tie; you show them. Words are required to explain a historical event.

Proclamation/declarative preaching will be irreplaceably central to the gospel ministry. If we are merely invited people to live like Jesus, then we can just show them, but the gospel is a historical event that must be proclaimed.

"Preach the gospel--and if necessary, use words." That's a misunderstanding of the gospel.

2. The gospel is doxological.
Doxology (worship; literally “right praise”) is the basis of the entire Christian life.

Thoughts from Luther's Larger Catechism: The first commandment summarizes all the rest. Underneath every sin is idolatry in general, and underneath that is some form of works righteous. When a person breaks other commandments, it is because they have broken the first commandment prohibiting idolatry.

If a person is not generous, their sin is not only greed—it is also idolatry, because they have made money, material things, security, etc. a functional savior. All sins from eating disorders to racism is the sin of idolatry – the breaking of the first command. It is the worship of a functional savior --the heart's imagination dotes on something more than God (my thinness, my race, etc.). The only way to change is to worship.

Ministry implication:
From Jonathan Edwards-- the purpose of preaching is not just to make things clear, but to make them real. We need to make things vivid. The heart is one's core commitments, capturing our imaginations. Edwards was rational, persuasive, logical--but he uses images. We must teach Christ vividly and practically, from a change life. We must avoid the ruts of pure narrative preaching which shows, but doesn’t tell AND the pure expository-sermon-as-Bible-commentary preaching which tells, but doesn’t show.

The first and primary object of preaching is not only to give information. It is, as Edwards says, to produce an impression. It is the impression at the time that matters, even more than what you can remember subsequently . . . It is not primarily to impart information; and while you are writing your notes you may be missing something of the impact of the Spirit.

3. The gospel is christological.
Jesus gave an advanced hermeneutics seminar in Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus. He told them that they missed the Jesus, because they did not realize that the law and the prophets spoke of him.

Ministry implication:
The ultimate subject of every sermon should be Jesus.
Questions to consider: “What are you looking for when you go to the text? Are you looking for yourself and your congregation or are you looking for Jesus.”

The Scripture ultimately points to Jesus. As an interpreter and preacher of the text, you have to follow the trajectory of the text from people to Jesus.

Examples:

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us.

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends. (This one came across funny.)

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn't just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us.

He's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

The Bible is a book about Jesus not me.

4. The gospel is personal and individual.
1 Peter 1 &2 There are references to the new birth. From Martin Lloyd-Jones-- You cannot make yourself a Christian. You must be converted. Passive. You must be made new.

Jesus has stood in our place and received through his suffering the wrath of God (substitution atonement).

J.I. Packer in Knowing God -- to understand grace, you have to understand both (1) how lost your are; how bad your sin is; how great your debt is; (2) the magnitude of the provision; the size of the payment; the sufficiency and fullness of the provision.

[I have often worded this concept this way – You cannot see the beauty of his grace without looking at the ugliness of my sin.]

Some people may only believe that Jesus died the death I should have died—the death for sin – and not realize that he also lived the life we should have lived – the life free from sin. Without the second part, people think that they need to live a pretty good life to make up for their short fall. The part of the provision is that his life of purity is imputed to us and I would add that transformation into his life is made available by the Holy Spirit.

Two groups of people in evangelicalism: Easy-believism and legalists/moralists. These groups do not see both side of grace.

There are those who in evangelicalism who are actively teaching that the gospel is the kingdom and all you have to do is join the kingdom and become a disciple. Such teaching by-passes substitutionary atonement and short-circuits the gospel

The gospel is individualistic: individual sinners are saved from the wrath of a personal God.

5. The gospel is cultural.
The gospel creates a culture called the church.

All other religions motivate you through fear and pride. Only the gospel of Jesus motivates you through joy in what Christ has done.

We are not merely saved individuals. The gospel is massively transformational and creates a counter-culture, and also makes us as people relate to the people around us. Those of us who believe in an individual gospel often miss the communal implications.

1 Peter 2:11 ESV Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. [12] Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Sojourners is not just passing through AND is not a citizen. It is someone who stays in a geographical location for a good amount of time, but his values come from some other place.

The gospel is radical.
The gospel says there are dangers of both cultural accommodation and cultural withdrawal.

We think all the danger is on one side, but there is danger on both sides.

These verses lead us to a balanced approach. We need to live separate as an exile, but also live in culture so that evildoers can see your good deeds. No one sees your good deeds of those who withdraw from the world. On the other hand, people who accommodate the culture are never persecuted. We are called to live in a counter-culture that shows the world that we love our enemies.

This balance is hard to maintain. Think about the exiles in Babylon. God told them in Jeremiah 29: Don’t stay out and be different. Don’t go in and be like them.
Go in deeply in and stay very different. Seek the well-fare of the city.

Those who want to be prophetic tend not to be priestly. Those who are servant-hearted tend not to talk about hell and wrath. If we live this gospel life you will get both approval and persecution.

6. The gospel is massively transformational.
The gospel creates a worldview that touches every area of life…business, art, family…
Keller was running out of time and didn’t elaborate on this point.

7. The gospel is wonderful.
1 Peter 1:12, "It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."

Angels are probably very smart people! Think about elves and humans in Tolkien mythology. They are a lot alike, but the elves don’t die. In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Aragorn (a human) and Arwen (an elf) have a conversation on who will ride Frodo to safety. Arwen says that she is the better rider and you think “Yeah, you are 4,000 years old – of course you are a better rider, you have had a lot more practice!

Angels never die. Angels know a lot. They have been looking into the gospel for a long time.

They "long" (Greek word: epithumaio often translated “lust”) to look into the gospel. Gospel ministry is endlessly creative, ever new, never boring.

The gospel is not the ABCs of Christianity; it's the A-Z. The gospel drives everything we do. It's the solution to every problem. It should be what every theological category is expounding.

It is at the heart of everything we do.

The Sin of the City

This week, I have been reading about the ancient city of Corinth, Ancient Corinth, Old Corinth, the Corinth that had within it a first century Christian community to which Paul the Apostle wrote a at least three letters…two of which appear in our Bible. I am preparing the longest and weightiest sermon series of my ministry thus far…a 16-week study through the 16 chapters of 1 Corinthians, the second known letter written by Paul to the church in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 5:9 mentions a letter that he had written before the letter that we call 1 Corinthians. So there are actually three letters that we know about.

Understanding the letter written to the church in first century Corinth, requires understanding the church in Corinth, which requires understanding the city of Corinth, because as Gordon Fee says, “the church was in many ways a mirror of the city.”

Corinth was known for its sexual promiscuity. The fifth century dramatist Aristophanes added a word to the Greek language -- korinthiazo. It means “to act like a Corinthian” that, is to engage in indiscriminate sexuality activity (Gordon Fee). It is well known that Corinth was the home to one of the largest temples of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility. While the tradition is debated, history notes that 1,000 court maids where present to have ritualistic sex with those who wanted to worship Aphrodite. It became a popular religion as you can imagine. People also came to the port-city of Corinth to worship other gods. There were 26 holy places in the city. There were also Greek philosophers who made their home in Corinth. Sailors were known to stop there and spend all there money. Corinth was a prosperous, sensual, good-time city.

It could be said that what happens in Corinth stays in Corinth. And so many people draw stark comparisons between ancient Corinth and modern-day Las Vegas. The sins occurring in the city of Corinth were similar in spirit and type to the sins occurring in modern-day Las Vegas, although prostitution is NOT legal in Las Vegas. It is legal in other counties in Nevada, but not in the city of Las Vegas itself.

The sins of the city are numerous, but the so are the sins of the towns.

I have served one church for nearly eight years in a rural area. I have found a common “rural life pride” in those who live in small town America. Some people feel like the rural countryside is free from the sins of the city. However, the sins of the city are alive in rural towns and counties.

I do not want to fall into the trap of saying that sin is more rampant in rural communities than in the past and we have to return to some kind of idyllic kind of so-called small town moral purity. I think sin has always been about of the towns. It does seem however that sin has become more public, more mainstream, more visible thanks in part to the sexual revolution of the 60s and to the advances in technology in the 80s, 90s and the 00s. The advent of cable/satellite TV and the internet has brought the visibility of sin and a hedonistic worldview from the cities into the rural communities so that there is not much difference between the large city and the small town in terms of how they process sin and ethical behavior – particularly sexual behavior. Sexual promiscuity before marriage, adultery within marriage, consensual extra-material relationships and pornography all occur within small towns as in the cities, thanks in part to technological advances.

Does this mean we should unhook or TVs and PCs and become technological hermits? I don’t think so. The Church’s answer should never be to run and hide from culture. Instead we should be aware, wise as serpents in regards to the way our society processing sexual ethics. We should also engage culture by challenging sexual hedonism with biblical truth. (The Bible is certainly not prudish or embarrassed to discuss the beauty and sexual freedom found in marriage. Have you discovered the rated R sections of the Bible? Here is one.)

The truth of that the sins of the city live in rural areas like Americus, Georgia make the book of 1 Corinthians applicable. The issues we find in this holy letter are active in our community. Here are some of the issues found in the book:

Sex
Incest
Spirituality
Fights
Celebrity Worship
Lawsuits
Marriage
Food
Pride
Speaking in Tongues
Love
Wisdom
Death

And it all begins with “People & Jesus” the title of my message this Sunday. The first message in my chapter by chapter study of 1 Corinthians. All of this historical review of Corinth has fueled my passion to teach through this book. It should be a fun ride. It won't solve all of our problems, but it will certainly lead us to Jesus, back into a relationship with the triune God, within the gates of Eden where there is no sin.

The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden

Bob Dylan
“Gates of Eden”
Bringing It All Back Home
1965

Heroes

I missed the NBC series Heroes. We are waiting for it to come out on DVD. I have been thinking about heroes a bit today. We had our first every English/Spanish service this morning and it went well....really good actually. We had a packed house…ran out of bulletins and sermon notes...it was great. We had three songs in English…three songs in Spanish. I preached with an interpreter. All was good, except when I messed up the Good Samaritan story. I had the Samaritan on the road to Jericho….I had to rewind the story and get it right! It was funny, but all worked out.

In the beginning of the sermon, I said that I wanted to talk about my hero. I talked about how some people have heroes who play sports or star in movies or TV, but my hero lived 2,000 years ago. My hero is Jesus.

All of the “hero talk” came from Bob Dylan. In 1987, Dylan began his concert tour in Boston I think. One of the songs he did was “In the Garden.” His 1980 gospel song about Jesus. The lyrics are here: http://www.bobdylan.com/moderntimes/songs/garden.html

Before he started the song, he said:

I’m gonna sing a song about my hero. Everybody’s got their own hero. I don’t know who your hero is, maybe Mel Gibson . . . maybe for some people it’s Michael Jackson . . . or Bruce Springsteen . . . Anyway I don’t care nothing about none of those people. I have my own hero. I’m gonna sing about my hero now.

Who ever said that Bob abandoned his Christian faith?
Here is the video from that 1987 concert. The audio is a bit rough, but it is good. Check it out.

What did Pope Benedict XVI Really Say about the true Church?

So I finally had a chance to read up on the latest juicy talk about the Catholic Church and the Pope’s alleged endorsement of a document that reverses Vatican II by stating that the only church is the Catholic Church. Hold the phone. Do what?!?

I had two different people ask me if I heard the Pope’s recent comments. I hadn’t so I spent some time reading news stories on the Google News tonight. I read all sorts of commentary and what the Pope has said and endorsed. I tracked down the original document that has caused all the ruckus. After reading it, I am not so shocked by the Pope’s opinions. I don’t really see what the big deal is.

Vatican II was a big deal.
It was revolutionary.
I am not an expert on it, but I understand a few of the key concepts. You need to have a working knowledge of Vatican II to understand what has happened recently.
What happened recently anyway?

Here is what I have pieced together. On Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI approved a document that clarified Roman Catholic doctrine as related to the doctrine of the Church. The document is entitled “RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH.”

I certainly no scholar on Catholic doctrine, but I don’t see what has got people all upset. The document validates that other churches (besides the Catholic Church) are a part of the mystery of salvation. The document is made up of five questions and five answers. Here are the questions, pieces of the response and my commentary in italics. To be clear, these are not the complete responses, just selected quotes.

“RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH.”
June 29, 2007

FIRST QUESTION
Did the Second Vatican Council change the Catholic doctrine on the Church?

RESPONSE
The Second Vatican Council neither changed nor intended to change this doctrine, rather it developed, deepened and more fully explained it.

Vatican II did open the doors of communication between Catholics and Protestants. A part of the opening of the doors was to clarify what the Catholic Church believed about the nature of the church.


SECOND QUESTION
What is the meaning of the affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church?

RESPONSE
Christ “established here on earth” only one Church and instituted it as a “visible and spiritual community”, that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted.

It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them. Nevertheless, the word “subsists” can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe... in the “one” Church); and this “one” Church subsists in the Catholic Church.

The comment in bold is important to note. It was one of the great clarifications of Vatican II. The Catholic Church acknowledges “the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church.” Let me explain this. The Church of Christ, that is the true spiritual Church that Jesus is building, subsists (exists) in the Catholic Church, according to their doctrine, but the true spiritual Church also is PRESENT and OPERATIVE in non-Catholic churches.


THIRD QUESTION
Why was the expression “subsists in” adopted instead of the simple word “is”?

RESPONSE
The use of this expression, which indicates the full identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church, does not change the doctrine on the Church….“It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation.

Did everyone miss this? The document is saying that separated churches (including Protestant churches like mine) have defects, according to Catholic Doctrine, but we are SIGNIFICANT and we are IMPORTANT in the MYSTERY OF SALVATION. I have no problem with that statement. I may say the same thing about the Catholic Church. In my opinion they have defects, but they are important to the mystery of salvation.


FOURTH QUESTION
Why does the Second Vatican Council use the term “Church” in reference to the oriental Churches separated from full communion with the Catholic Church?

RESPONSE
The Council wanted to adopt the traditional use of the term. “Because these Churches, although separated, have true sacraments and above all – because of the apostolic succession – the priesthood and the Eucharist, by means of which they remain linked to us by very close bonds”, they merit the title of “particular or local Churches”, and are called sister Churches of the particular Catholic Churches.

This response deal with Eastern Orthodox churches. Again, the Catholic Church is calling Easter Orthodox Churches as “sister churches”.


FIFTH QUESTION
Why do the texts of the Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of “Church” with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?

RESPONSE
According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense.

This statement is probably the one that got everyone upset, but I think it must be read in the context of the previous four statements. The Catholic Church calls Protestant church (these are the churches that were born out of the 16th century Reformation) Christian Communities. We are not called “Churches” because we deny the authority of the Pope and we do not practice communion (the Eucharist) like Catholics.

So we are not a church, we are a community. Honestly, I don’t need the Pope or the Catholic Church to validate my church. I don’t mean that sarcastically or disrespectfully. I am just stating it as a fact. I appreciate the Catholic tradition and I feel that they are keeping the door of ecumenical dialogue open by noting that we protestants are important in the mystery of salvation. I think people are unnecessarily making a snap judgment to this recent document. The Catholic Church continues to teach that they are the Church in the truest sense and that we are communites with defects. I find no offense here.

The Holy Spirit as a divine person

In my previous post I expressed my dislike for the age-old theological position that the Father and Son have this great relationship and the Spirit is merely the bond of love between them. I think this depersonalizes who the Holy Spirit is.

Both the Scripture and tradition hold to the full personhood of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit is not like Yoda's force. He is not a divine energy. He is not merely the power of God. He is not the bond of love between the Father and the Son (even though I have great respect for Augustine, who made the point orginally).

The Holy Spirit is God.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Cor. 3:17 ESV)

"We believe...in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified." (Nicene Creed 381AD)

The Holy Spirit is a mystery....a sacred mystery....

Below is my half of an email conversation with a friend on this subject.

Most of the theological world lacks in developing a solid, historical
biblical pneumatology that lays out the true personhood of the Holy Spirit.

And I agree that persona (person) cannot be defined in modern
terms. We need to step back and let the Church Father translate that word for
us. It seems from my limited review on the subject that the Western Fathers
including our friend Augustine – focused more on the Spirit as the love. The
Eastern (Greek) Fathers have written more on the personhood other
Spirit.

While I have not looked at this book, Colin Guton’s The Promise of Trinitarian Theology is supposed to deal with that subject. I have yet to tackle Gunton.

The best book I have read on the Holy Spirit / pneumatology is Come Creator Spirit by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa.

http://www.amazon.com/Come-Creator-Spirit-Meditations-Veni/dp/0814628710/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6694551-4086467?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184249074&sr=1-1

RC was the preacher of the papal household and theology professor. He has also been apart of the Catholic charismatic renewal for years. He is still writing in the area of charismatic theology. "Come Creator Spirit" is the only hymn sung by both Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant Christians. It is a hymn sung to the
Holy Spirit.

RC took the hymn and used it as a guideline to lay out his pneumatology. The reason I like the book is that it is not only theological but it has a liturgical (worshipful) rhythm to it. I was re-reading parts of it last night. Here are some excerpts…I would add commentary, but I got to get back to sermon prep.

Liturgical rhythm…sacred mysteries…

________________________________________________________

Come Creator Spirit
by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa
(Translated by Denis and Marlene Barrett)
Pgs. 69-73

“Paraclete” is the title that most clearly expresses the personal character of the Holy Spirit. Using that title, the author of the hymn (“Come Creator Spirit”) takes us a decisive step forward in contemplating the Holy Spirit. If by the term “Creator” he affirmed that the Spirit was by nature divine, now by the term “Paraclete” he affirms that the Spirit is also a divine person.


In John, the relationship of the Spirti to Jesus is modeled on the relationship of Jesus to the Father. The Father is the one who testifies to the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the one who testifies to Jesus (John 15:26)… On this point Paul is in total agreement with John, and we cannot afford not to listen to his testimony as well. For him too, the Spirit is nor merely an action but also an agent, that is, a principle endowed with intellect and will, who knows what he is doing and chooses freely
to do it.


These terms (“person” or “hypostatsis”) mean something distinct from “substance,” they did not exist in any culture until Christian thinkers began reflecting on what Jesus had revealed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and discovering what this revelation implied….The Greek Fathers would later give expression to this discovery of faith, saying that the Holy Spirit was not merely a “divine energy,” but an “active substance” or a “substantial agent” possessing will and intellect.


When we use the term “person” of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we have to be careful to free the word of the meaning we commonly give it. Applied to the Holy Spirit, the term “person” does not mean a center of action complete in itself, an agent independently conscious of self, in the modern sense; it signifies only the relationships-of-origin that “contrast” or distinguish the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as among themselves….if a person in the Trinity is not simply an autonomous center of action and of will, he does participate nevertheless in that unique center common to the Three Persons, and in that sense is capable of acting and willing.

What a wonderful mystery, a sacred mystery...in a world where "not much is really sacred."

Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred.

Bob Dylan 1965

10,000 Hits and Trinitarian Worship

Today I officially recorded 10,000 hits on my blog. I have had the blog up since March 2006. Thanks to all of those who have stopped by. I know that hits are not the best measure of web exposure. (Many of those hits are made by me reloading the page!) The number of hits is the largest number as I look at the stats on my page -- so it something to celebrate. I have had nearly 4,400 unique visitors this year alone and 942 returning visitors. That is amazing.

I have been doing some writing, reading, reflecting on the Trinity today and I came across this idea of the impact of Trinitarian theology on worship. The thought is from J.B. Torrance in Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace. (A good little book on the trinity. Why are so many books about the Trinity so small?!?)

Here is the quote:

By his Spirit he (Jesus) draws men and women to participate both in his life of worship and communion with the Father and in his mission from the Father to the world.

The concept is that the Father and Son have had an eternal relationship and by the Spirit we get to enter in.

I dislike the concept that the Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son, which is a part of JBT’s thinking here. The idea goes back to Augustine who said in On the Trinity that God is the lover (the Father), the loved (the Son) and the love itself (the Holy Spirit). I see why this is attractive presentation of the Trinity. It is Christ centered. It is biblically verifiable. It formed a theological launching pad for others to build upon. Barth used similar categories to describe the Triune God as Revealer, Revelation, and the means of revelation (i.e. God himself reveals himself through himself). Nevertheless, it depersonalizes the Spirit who is “the Lord and Giver of Life.”

JBT’s idea has some merit. I would just say that the Triune God has had an eternal relationship among all three persons. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have all been existing (subsisting) in an heavenly relationship for all eternity. And now God the Father, who is the head, opens up his two hands (the Son and the Holy Spirit) and through the Son’s death and resurrection and the Spirit’s outpouring, we have been invited to participant in this eternal relationship.

The triune God lived in self-existent harmony with himself. Jonathan Edwards says “God is infinitely happy in the enjoyment of Himself.” BUT because God is love he opens up his infinitely happy community and invites us in. We were living our lives isolated from God. Away from the enjoyment that God has in relationship with himself. We were as C.S. Lewis says, “fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” (from The Weight of Glory).

And then the Father sent his Son and through his Son he sent his Spirit to whisper in our ear…
“there is more”….
“there is redemption” …
“there is a kingdom” ….
“there is a community of One.”
As we turn by faith to the sound of the voice, we are whisked away into a relationship of knowing, praising and serving the Triune God.

This is worship.

PCB Vacation Reflections

We got back home today from our vacation on Panama City Beach. We had a great trip, although I contracted pink eye. We were driving to supper Thursday night and I felt like there was sand or something in my eye. By the end of dinner it was red and swollen. Friday morning I woke up and it was matted shut with gunk. After two days of eye drops (thanks to a call-in from my eye doctor, Ken Moates), I am doing much better. No swelling. No gunk. No redness (or pinkness).

I read two books while at the beach. Restless Pilgrim: The Spiritual Journey of Bob Dylan by Scott Marshall and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Bonhoeffer book will find its way into my sermon tomorrow morning. I am preaching on “Doing Life Together.” I had long “conversations” with Bonhoeffer while on the beach on the subject of Christian community.

Marshall’s book on Dylan’s spiritual journey was a great read. It continued my headlong plunge into the enigma who is Bob Dylan. Marshall’s research--including firsthand interviews with people who have known Dylan personally over the years--confirms what I believed about Dylan all along.
1) Dylan is a Christian.
2) Dylan will remain an illusive mystery.

Bob Dylan had a powerful and private encounter with Jesus in 1979. The encounter produced two so-called “gospel” albums. Slow Train Coming (1979) and Saved (1980). During a 1979 concert, Dylan said,

I told you “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and they did. I said the answer was “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and it was. I’m telling you now Jesus is coming back, and He is. And there is no other way of salvation…There’s only one way to believe, there’s only one Way, the Truth and the Life. It took a long time to figure that ou bevore it did come to me and I hope it doesn’t take you that long (Marshall, Restless Pilgrim, pg. 30).

People question whether or not Dylan left the faith because he has remained connected to his Jewish roots, but for Dylan, Jesus is Yeshua Ha’ Mashia…Jesus the Messiah. He did not return to his Jewish roots after “experimenting” with the Christian faith. He never left his Jewish roots. His Jewish faith led him to Jesus. Marshall does a great job making this point.

Others question Dylan’s faith because he isn’t as preachy as he was in that 1979-1981 time period. Marshall makes the argument that Dylan feels like he has made his statement of faith and he doesn’t need to preach it in every song. Marshall quotes Dylan from a 1980 LA Times article saying, “I’ve made my statement, and I don’t think I could make it any better than in some of those songs. Once I’ve said what I need to say in a song, that’s it. I don’t want to repeat myself” (pg. 56).

In “Thunder on the Mountain” Dylan sings:
I did all I could and I did it right there and then
I've already confessed – no need to confess again.

He doesn’t preach from the stage like he did in 1979, but he still sings many of his gospel songs like “I Believe in You,” “Gonna Serve Somebody,” “In the Garden,” “Saving Grace,” etc. Dylan is a believer for sure and “some sweet day (he'll) stand beside (his) king.”

We had a great a great time at the beach with our friends Pam and Kenny Philips. We made our second annual trip to Shell Island. Our friends knew a guy who had a boat at the beach and he took us out to the island. Shell Island is as pristine and beautiful as a Caribbean island. There are no buildings…no condos…no gas stations…just sand, winds and waves. We love it there. Here are some pictures of the family on Shell Island--

Vacation and P.G. Vargis Week Two

I am posting today from Panama City Beach (PCB). We are staying at a nice condo on the far end of the strip, away from all of the crazies. It is funny. When I told people that we were vacationing at PCB, their noses wrinkled and they said, “Why would you want to go to PCB!?!” It is nice though. We like it here. We know all the good places to eat and we know our way around. Honestly, I don’t really care as long as I have a good book to read and cold Diet Coke. On this trip I am reading:

Restless Pilgrim: The Spiritual Journey of Bob Dylan

Life Together by Bonehoffer

The Trinity by Fr. Joseph Girzone

Last week, I was with P.G. Vargis in Botkins, Ohio (Only Believe Ministries) and my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri (Word of Life Church). I spent two weeks (off and on) with PG and it was a rewarding experience for me. I had met with him in India a few times and email with him a few times a year. He has prayed for me and my family over the years. I have loved him from a distance and prayed for him often. During these last two weeks, I can say that I know him. He has a deep passion and love for Jesus and Jesus’ mission. He loves Jesus in a real authentic way. He isn’t pretentious or other-wordly. He is grounded, funny and a warm-hearted soul.

His passion for reaching India seems to ooze out of all that he does and says. The motto of IET – reaching the unreached at any cost – is not a cleaver catch phrase. It is the single motivating passion of his life. He has given his life, his family, his money (or the money that is given to him…he doesn’t keep much for himself), for the sake of the gospel. Even at 65 (?) he is still giving everything for the gospel in India. He even resigned as president of IET so that he could travel and speak on behalf of the group and work in some of the hardest areas of India. I love him and his passion. I consider myself fortunate to be invited into the IET family.

Ok enough blogging for know…I need to get back to vacation….

Yesterday, I preached a message entitled Eat This Book on the art of spiritual reading. I invited my congregation to take God with them on vacation and take The Book too. I told them that I was going to bring The Book with me. This morning I was eating The Book in the valley of vision (Isaiah 22) .

Chewing…eating…meditating on God’s judgment on the pride of the pompous. The Book is making my humble. I need to be rescued…more today than yesterday. Not that I have sinned more today, but because I am more aware of my own fallen-ness. My own pride. My own lust. My own sin. I need his saving grace.

Saving Grace
Bob Dylan
Saved (1980)

If You find it in Your heart, can I be forgiven?
Guess I owe You some kind of apology.
I've escaped death so many times, I know I'm only living
By the saving grace that's over me.

By this time I'd-a thought I would be sleeping
In a pine box for all eternity.
My faith keeps me alive, but I still be weeping
For the saving grace that's over me.

Well, the death of life, then come the resurrection,
Wherever I am welcome is where I'll be.
I put all my confidence in Him, my sole protection
Is the saving grace that's over me.

Well, the devil's shining light, it can be most blinding,
But to search for love, that ain't no more than vanity.
As I look around this world all that I'm finding
Is the saving grace that's over me.

The wicked know no peace and you just can't fake it,
There's only one road and it leads to Calvary.
It gets discouraging at times, but I know I'll make it
By the saving grace that's over me.

Copyright © 1980 Special Rider Music