regrouping

so after three months of heavy activity and nonexistent blogging, i've decided to change up my approach here- time to think outside the existing box. rather than post lengthy expurgations of the notes from my talks which just takes too long and is probably not the best use of my time or anyone else's, i'm going to move to something simpler, more direct and (we can only hope) more frequent...

it really helps, though, if there is discussion. that is much more interesting for us all, so leave a comment or leave a remark or take the dialogue in an entirely different direction- all of the above if you like.

let's regroup

okay buddy, where's the fire?

although we sing songs like light the fire again, rarely are we actually seeing ourselves being engulfed by a pillar of fire like the one conjured by my friend in this video.

it's more symbolic.

in scripture, fire is a powerful symbol, used in one of three ways:
1) representing God’s presence and holiness
(e.g. Exodus 3.1-6- burning bush; 13.21- pillar of fire night)
2) representing God’s anger and attitude towards sin
(e.g. Genesis 19.24- destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah)
3) representing purification, testing and refining
(e.g. 1 Kings 18.38- Mt Carmel; Revelation 3.17-18- Gold)

however, there is a related word which is often used in a much different way in scripture: the word burn. burn is often used as an emotional word to describe intense feeling, opinion or desire…
(e.g.Song of Solomon 8.5-7; Luke 24.32- Jesus’ words)

burn refers to the fire of passion that burns within and demands by its very nature, some form of outward expression…and it is used to describe these things in people, not just in God.

we need to ask not only ‘where’s the fire’
but also ‘what does it imply about us and for our behaviour?’

God had a purpose in giving you your inborn interests. Your emotional heartbeat reveals a very important key to understanding his intentions for your life. (Rick Warren)

but when we speak of someone’s passion, what are we really talking about? when we say “she’s very passionate about that” or “it’s my passion,” what do we actually mean?

we read God’s words through the prophet jeremiah about ‘heart circumcision’ (jeremiah 4.4) and at first it's just a rather awkward metaphor conjuring up mental images of scalpels and elective surgical procedures to today's mind. we need to take into account everything leading up to the statement in order to understand its implication.

if we look at those four verses, we can see a little more clearly what was going on. the first bits speak of how a return to God was needed involving some repentance. promises and oaths needed to be reaffirmed in order for the relationship to be restored, for there had been a lot of promise breaking. a radical breaking of hearts was needed, resulting in deeper obedience and ultimately an inside-out change in the very identity of the heart of the nation that would be recognized not merely outwardly, but by those who knew the people most intimately.

circumcision is a loaded word. outwardly there was no evidence that a jew was circumcised. he wouldn't saunter bow-leggedly down the street displaying his gear for all to see. everyone knew that to be a jewish male was to have this mark. however, there was no hiding or disguising it from those most intimately acquainted with the man.

circumcision of the heart would be the same. any outward evidence of it would be superficial at best. however, for those most intimately acquainted with the heart of a person, the passion and submission of that passion to almighty God would be impossible to hide or fake.

there's something more: to be in all ways given over to God's will, God's bigger agenda is to see our larger purpose realized in our faithfulness- as we read in psalm 37.4-5



recently there was a great example of the giving over of the passion of the one to the greater purpose of the many in game 7 of the 2009 stanley cup final series between pittsburgh and detroit. late in the second period of this hockey game, pittsburgh's captain, sidney crosby, was taken out against the boards. as he hobbled off the ice, many speculations were made by commentators and bookies alike concerning his involvement in the final twenty minutes of the game and his team's hope of sustaining their rather tentative lead without their key leader and playmaker.

as the third period got underway, crosby did a bit of skating, but it was unconvincing. as he lined up for the first face-off of his first shift, it was very clear that there was something wrong, and although he survived that shift, everyone knew he was done. although he was still faster and stronger and more intuitive that any of the boys on our church hockey team, he wasn't the sidney crosby that his team was going to need to win the game.

upon leaving the ice, he shrunk back on the bench, his head bowed and his face grimacing in agony- not simply because of the tremendous pain he was enduring, but because he knew that he was done. everything that made him captain of this stanley cup bound team was telling him that for him to pursue his personal passion for playing hockey was to leave his passion for leadership and the desire to lead his team to a stanley cup victory unrealized and unexpressed. so he did what any great leader would do. he led his team to victory by staying off the ice for the rest of the game.

when our passion to do is outranked by our passion to be, we can be part of something bigger- something that is larger than our skillset, interests, education and experience can see through to realization. someone posited recently that there is a fine line between passion and addiction, but that line separates that which burns brightly for all to see, serving as a beacon of truth the way Jesus suggests in Matthew 5.14-16 when he speaks of being the light of the world, and simply being destroyed by a flame that eventually goes out when the fuel is consumed anyway.

so we need to ask:
Q: what passions burn within us that can be used of God if surrendered to him?
Q: what passion has us in its grip in an unhealthy way because it is yet to be redeemed?
Q: what sacrifice is God calling us into as we circumcise our hearts?

Don’t let my love grow cold
I’m calling out: Light the fire again
Don’t let my vision die
I’m calling out: Light the fire again
You know my heart, my deeds
I’m calling out: Light the fire again
I need your discipline
I’m calling out: Light the fire again
(brian doerkson)

of spinning plates and flying saucers

in 1989 i attended a chinese circus and was fascinated by the acts of extreme balance that were performed. one of the acts featured several girls, rolling around on the stage, dancing, posing, even standing on their heads- all the while keeping several plates spinning on long, thin sticks, like large vibrating flowers from an episode of the original star trek tv series…

if people refer to ‘keeping the plates spinning’, they’re typically drawing a comparison between the many responsibilities and interests that they have to balance in their lives. however, when it comes to making analogies about our ability to balance in life, most of us feel like we have more in common with this man…



ever start feeling like the fun is gone-
like your existence on planet earth has moved
from the pursuit of a good living
to barely surviving?

All I really gotta do is live and die but
I’m in a hurry and don’t know why…
(Alabama)

bad theology leads to bad faith, and bad faith could very well be the source of all this anxiety…

see, we have Lordship issues… we see God in the wrong way.

we fail- even refuse- to see God as the author and finisher of faith and all good things involving light and life. some prefer to see God as this perpetually frowning, cosmic spoilsport who is out to take away everything fun a replace it with christian TV, Left Behind novels and awkward attempts at collective spiritual intimacy called ‘church service’ when what they’re really looking for is a party- a celebration of the life they have left after the week has taken its pound of flesh and the taxman has taken his cut of what they got in trade…

i had an opportunity to engage in some interesting dialogue with a friend of mine the other day. it all began with a link to a fun site called The Brick Testament.on this site we find edited highlights of the bible, all illustrated with tableaux created out of lego blocks.

but why is God frowning?

it's not that i think God always smiles- that wouldn't be a real person. however, neither is a God who is perpetually frowning. i mean, why would God say that everything was good and very good if the divine was actually uniformly displeased?

my friend shared some thoughts:

I do believe that God does not have a lot to smile about when He looks at Canada.

Let's be honest about it - we are a nation of luke-warm believers. I don't think He is smiling much when He thinks about spewing us out of His mouth.

When the Bible tells us to "run the race", how many of us do you feel are actually running to win? I think we are power walking at best some of the time. How many of us praise Him as we should - He created us and protects us . How many of us truly walk in obedience - He sacrificed his only Son for our sins. How many of us search the scriptures daily and spend a significant amount of time in prayer - can any of us say as the Psalmist "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee" or as Paul wrote "That I may know Him and the power of His resurection and the fellowship of His suffering"

The race that I am in - I certainly am not running. I know that is a choice of mine - I own that 100%.

I am placing no judgement or condemnation on anyone - this is just my perspective and I thought I would share it with you as my friend.

yeah, there is much to frown at in canada and around the world.

however, as he pointed out, the lordship issues are our own. the fact that we are unfaithful, disobedient and spiritually flacid is due to the choices we make- our stewardship of God's greatest gift next to life itself: our free will.

when our kids make decisions that represent some kind of sell out or compromise- the turning from what they know to be true in favour of what they just want to do- i think that we as parents typically have some degree of frustration, sure, but we also love our kids and try to walk them through this stuff, affording them grace and mercy that is only God's to give.

i think that in light of all the willful disobedience and disregard for love and provision, it's more likely that God's eyebrows / \ in sadness, disappointment and teeth gnashing pain, than they go \ / in anger, judgement and retribution. that's how i, with only a small portion of love, grace and mercy, respond to mistakes in the lives of those i love...

here's something to think about: God has agreed to withhold judgement from the earth until that final day. see, grace is really a breach of justice... 'unmerited favour' of God. God cannot be both gracious and impartial because they are polar opposites. we don't get what we deserve and will continue to live under the canopy of God's mercy until there's nothing left to say, no cases left to plead, no intercessions left to be made. then, and only then, will God rise up from the mercy seat and separate the sheep from the goats... yet even then, i can't imagine his eyebrows furrowed with the chill of retribution. not when it means losing his beloved forever. i think the expression of God will contain much more pain and sacrifice and utter hopelessness than sanctimonial fury.

speaking from experience, i think we frown at ourselves far more than God frowns at us.

in his insightful book, The Shack,
William Paul Young observes:

You humans, so little in your own eyes. You are truly blind to your own place in the Creation. Having chosen the ravaged path of independence, you don’t even comprehend that you’re dragging the entire Creation along with you… (W.P Young)

dragging all of creation along with us as we try to be God? hmmm.

what would happen if we saw God without the frown? what else might we see once we realized not only that we were safe with him, but that all of our efforts at command and control are based on bad faith?

the first worship song i ever wrote went this way:
i wish i could find the words to exalt your holy name
but things like 'wondrous majesty' are difficult to rhyme
and i wish i could put my adoration to a beautiful symphony
yet i often struggle with basic 4/4 time

but Jesus, you're the one who loved this prodigal son
even when he showed no sign of humility
upon returning home i see the glory of your throne
and i realize you're God and i'll never be

i think of the love you've given and how much of it i've never returned
it makes me want to slip away to a place where i can hide
because i feel i'm so unworthy like a beggar with a crown of gold
why do you rescue the criminal standing guilty and yet untried?

but Jesus, you're the one who loved this prodigal son even when he showed no sign of humility upon returning home i see the glory of your throne and i realize you're God and i'll never be

Jesus, in his famous talk with some of his friends, challenges us to stop trying to be God, restricting all that God intends to do by the faithless grip we maintain on the many budgets and blessings entrusted to our care. (Matthew 6.19-34)


some questions hang in the air the way plates don't:
Q: what are the plates that we are trying to keep spinning?
Q: how does controlling them with our mortal hands inhibit what God seeks to do with them?
Q: what do we need to do to release these spinning plates to God's supernatural will, allowing them to move beyond the basic rules of this physical, temporal life and into the realm of the miraculous?

of welcome and farewell

the other day i mentioned that i had received an interesting message on facebook which explored this whole business of pursuing the restoration of shalom in our place of employment. the note led both to and from conversations on this topic and resulted in a deeply challenging and insightful interview on sunday morning in the big room with my friend, a nurse on the oncology ward in one of our local hospitals.

here is the entire facebook note...
***

“But I am among you as one who serves” Luke 22:27. These are the words of Jesus when he challenges how we usually think about who is greater and who is lesser.

As one who serves, the first and the only thing that I can offer is a greeting “Shalom“. A greeting to receive the guest, as a host to welcome them in. By welcoming the stranger, I am given the opportunity to receive them as a gift from the Divine. We are told that saying farewell is hard, but for me the welcome is much more difficult.

The difficulty is in knowing that in receiving this gift from the divine I am also welcoming the suffering in which we both must sit.

My work is the work of loss. Loss of control, loss of certainty, loss of routine, loss of life here on earth, loss of family, loss of dreams, loss of hope. Strangers given to me as a gift from The Divine, to help redeem pain, to help redeem loss and to help redeem suffering. And here I am, feeling, seeing, touching, holding the gift. The gift holding me.

Redeem-to obtain the release or restoration of, to off-set, to free, to liberate, reclaim.

I weep for the stranger that I welcome. I weep for the sorrow that we will endure. They welcome me into their pain and suffering, I am a guest in their life. Participating in their sorrow and suffering.

“when Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled, and said “where have ye laid him?” They said unto him, lord come and see. Jesus wept.” John 11:33-35

My work is the work of hope. Hope of this moment, hope of showing mercy into this moment, hope of bringing shalom into this moment. The lives of strangers become part of me and I of them. We become intertwined like vines, with memories, tears shed, stories told, obstacles overcome, fear relieved, pain redeemed, hope exchanged.

As much as I would like it to be, this is not the hope of tomorrow or the hope of things to come. My prayers for a tomorrow to offer have been answered with a resounding no and so here I am, left with what often seems so little, only a small, impoverished hope to offer. The hope I have access too is a short-sighted hope, the hope of a caress or a kind word that is perhaps all-to-soon forgotten. If I could offer a tomorrow I would, but it is impossible, impossible for so many reasons.

Tomorrows are a luxury that feels out of place between us, tomorrows would be a dishonest hope, a barbed hope that causes more damage then it can soothe. And so I am left without a future to point too, without deliverance and salvation from the sorrow.

With no future all I am left with is the unexpected greeting and the farewell that always comes too soon, the farewell that is there even in the welcome. The immediacy of my hope leaves me with only shalom, the welcome and the “go in peace” of parting.

canteens of clay

paul writes that we carry the treasure of God in jars of clay (2 corinthians 4.7-12). the idea, of course, is hyperlinked back to those opening chapters of genesis where God picks up a lump of earth and breathes spiritual life, creating a ‘living being.’

in his book The End of Religion, preacher and teacher bruxy cavey posits an idea that religion is merely a container for the living water of God. however, this is still too far away from you and me. speaking of ‘religion’ allows us to distance ourselves from something very important contained in paul’s words here: WE are the containers, equipped, empowered and entrusted with this precious cargo that offers hope to the whole world. God’s hope of realized shalom is placed upon you and me.

being raised a pharisee, the apostle paul chooses his metaphors well in light of the scriptures. not only does he pick up on the Genesis connection, but his little analogy in his 2nd letter to the corinthian church is also informed by the words of the prophet isaiah. (isaiah 64.8) the fact that clay is molded and worked in preparation for its task should be hope to us all. we are clay first, and are formed into containers by the hand of God to carry out his purposes here. it's delightful to remember that, in the fashioning of clay, water is used... the living water which we are created to carry to the world in which we live is used in our formation. we are fashioned for the work we are called into being to do by that which which we are called to carry and share…

does that make you feel big or small?
most days it makes me feel both.

phenomenal cosmic power- itty bitty living space

we are living in exponential times

exponential indeed.

still, people are always making ominous predictions which set the tendency towards paranoia in the masses on fire. i remember sitting around with friends in the late 80's yodeling the nitty gritty dirt band's turn of the century...

There'll be flying boats, and condos with moats;
Cultivated oceans, floating cities in the sky.
Living underneath a bubble, no more toil and trouble
Singin' 'bout that sweet ole by and by.

We'll all have lots of money that we won't have to spend;
You'll be given everything when everyone's your friend
Hanging out together in picture perfect weather -
This time 'round the party never ends.

Hallelujah, I can't wait to see it
Hallelujah, come on and go with me
Let me show you the way it's gonna be
At the turn, the turn of the century.

We won't need no TV preachers to ask how much we gave
We won't need no TV preachers, see, by then, we'll all be saved
No more fighting for a country - no child will go hungry
We'll be smiling from the cradle to the grave.

Hallelujah, I can't wait to see it
Hallelujah, come on and go with me
Let me show you the way it's gonna be
at the turn,
the turn of the century.

this song came from a record that i bought in 1989 when i was trying to learn guitar for the second time. it speaks of a time of utopic freedom and peace, when all brokenness in relationship and resource is restored- all disparity done away with. it speaks of community Shalom

in jeremiah’s 'epistle,' written to the exiles in babylon, we read some familiar words of encouragement (jeremiah 29.11-14)… yet just a few lines up the prophet issues some words of odd challenge to those who are living lamentation in exile (jeremiah 29.4-8)

jeremiah’s challenge to build houses, plant gardens and raise children is for us all. prophetic words often resonate as truth in many different contexts because God has inspired them as living words…they aren't expressions of what was or what will be- they are expressions of what is current and real in the spiritual and the prophetic, even if this reality has not yet come to be in the physical.

in any event, jeremiah's letter provides us with a framework for life in exile… life on fallen planet earth. within this framework we see three spaces that may not be clearly defined in a life and may not exist bereft of overlap and intersection, but which are very definitely part of pretty much every life in varying capacity.

space1: build houses:
where do you live? your home is arguably your greatest investment- you have literally bought into this neighbourhood and all that it represents.

space2: plant gardens:
where do you work? Your workplace is the place where you are engaged in the commerce of the community. It is the place where your key role as a contributor is marked… that’s why you get paid to be there.

space3: increase in number:
where do you recreate? your recreation reflects those special aspects of you that are uniquely relational. it is a unique subcultural context… the place where, together with others of like interest, skill, or personality you recharge.

see, where the church is not only proclaiming Christ, but also choosing to be part of the healing and well-being of the communities or areas in which it lives, there is God and so there is Shalom

Shalom mission means ‘heralding’ or announcing that God redeems- forgives, transforms, empowers or energizes, sanctifies…

* it means BEING the words of Christ
* it means DOING the works of Christ

particularly amongst the poor, helpless, needy, sick, sinful or, in other words, the lost. but not just doing something to or for someone else; rather- and this is important- working in such a way that we enable or empower the people amongst whom we work.

entrusted to our care is, as robin williams' genie in aladdin puts it, "phenomenal cosmic power- itty bitty living space." God has charged us with the restoration of shalom in the very community we've chosen to pitch our tent. we don't need to change the world- God will do that, as long as those who bear his name give themselves up to be used exponentially to this end in their small part of it.

good news of peace and pizza

it is on cold, dark, rainy nights when i am deeply in need and yet find the prospect of venturing out into the abyss for a dine-in experience overwhelming, that i am most ready for the good news that is pizza, and it is at these times that i am most grateful for those who will bring the pizza to me free of charge.

free delivery is awesome.

it’s not that i want my pizza free- i’m happy to pay for it- i just don’t have what it takes on nights like that to go get it myself… i’m more likely to just be hungry and miserable.

that’s why, if we had a family pizza place, i would offer free delivery… because i know what it’s like to need something and yet to be overwhelmed by the things that stand in the way of getting what i need. see, it’s not that people are avoiding the transaction- that exchange where they give of that which they have in exchange for that which they need- it’s that they are more likely to engage in this life-giving transaction if the transaction itself is brought to them.

sure- we could stick to our guns and keep our exclusively dine-in establishment going for the regular dine-in crowd (for both those our regular clientele and those who like to sample a variety of dine-in experiences) OR we could also endeavor to make our pizza available to those who are hungry and are, for reasons of their own, unable to or uninterested in coming to our fine restaurant.

it would all come down to this: what’s the focus of our pizza business-
to provide a dining experience or to get our pizzas into people?
***

Jesus gives us a well modeled example of his answer to this question when he sends his friends out to make a difference in the world in an internship experience of sorts. he acknowledges that there are needs out there... there is work to be done. then he challenges them to go out on purpose, with nothing but a song of peace- of God's shalom to give. he challenges them to build relationships and participate in community by simply engaging in fellowship with those who open their doors to them, and to pursue the realization of this greeting of shalom that they bring to people.
(luke 10.1-9)

a friend of mine (his blog is found HERE) has done some extensive study, leadership, experience and writing on pursuing shalom in cross cultural contexts. he notes in a piece of his writing that

Shalom is a multifaceted word with a complex set of meanings:

Wholeness, health, well-being and belonging - individual, but especially communal or societal VS sickness, fragmentation, broken and divided relationships, greed, hostility, fraud…

Harmony, love, friendship, cooperation - again, between individuals, but most especially in community or societal relations VS competitive, ethnocentric, self-centred, power accumulative and unbalanced economic distributive structures…

Justice, truth (integrity), right (righteousness) -particularly in relation to communities VS the entrapment of much of the world in cul-de-sacs of impoverishment and powerlessness.

Peace, unafraid, safety as characteristics of community relations VS violence, war, rampant crime, and political aggression…

Beauty, order, coherence, radiance, loveliness VS the chaos, disorder, littered, smelly, unsanitary, overcrowded ugliness that characterizes so much of the world's cities, and "developed" countryside.

Wholeheartedness, goodness, Godliness VS environmentally damaging, devious, slothful, non-caring, evil and sinfulness…

in other words. shalom is more than flashing a 'peace sign' or pronouncing a 'God be with you' type greeting. it is loaded with intention. it flies in the face of every consequence of our brokenness, the way the tiniest of lights can gain dominion over the darkest of nights. the original way of things in the garden was shalom. the broken shalom of our world is that problem to which God has been directing all of his greatest energy, creativity, grace, mercy, patience and love since the fall that we read of in genesis 3.

it is God's kingdom come
it is his will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
it is the missio dei.
and it is awesome.

the word 'awesome' was not invented in the valley. it has not always meant the same thing as 'incredible' or 'fabulous' or 'cool' or 'nifty' or 'swell' (depending on how far back we want to go with our little words of exclamation and delight)

the NIV translation of the bible, features this word fairly regularly, in the old testament especially... however, usage of the word awesome is almost always part of a phrase describing God. see, there is no Jewish word for the adjective ‘awesome’... it is part of a two-pronged idea which couples a word describing the greatness or powerfulness of God with deeds, works and wonders. God’s awesomeness is expressed through God's active involvement in things- God's doing, not simply God's being- and we are challenged by Christ to participate in this expressed awesomeness. it's part of why we were created: reflecting God’s image partially means being about what God is about: restored shalom.
(Exodus 34.10; Deut 4.34; 7.21; 10.17, 21)

i found i said the word 'awesome' a lot while watching and reflecting upon an inspiring performance from 'britain's got talent' posted on youtube this past week.in it, unemployed 47 year-old amateur singer susan boyle goes purposefully like a lamb into a pack of wolves with nothing but a song in pursuit of her lifelong dream. in the view of the judges and of the crowd gathered, she's a longshot- you can read it on their faces. (sorry, embedding is disabled by request, so the best i can do is invite you to click HERE)

and then she begins to sing a song of shalom in a way that breaks cynical hearts and reminds us of that which was to be except for life and people's selfish vanity and control getting in the way and creating an environment of disparity. the song is i dreamed a dream from the musical les miserables:

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft and their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

now, the life we bring
the song we sing...
do we freely deliver, taking it to the streets?
and is this delivery so richly steeped in God's love and grace that even the most cynical and hardened heart is touched by this beautiful truth that is the good news of peace?

awesome.


note: can you find the pizza in the picture above?