Jesus Is A Revolutionary

Usually when someone says, “I like to hear more of that from the pulpit,” –what they suggest is more sermons on fundamentals, or more detailed invitations, or turn up the heat with some hell fire and brimstone! So, I was a little surprised to hear the suggestion, “I like to hear more about Jesus as a revolutionary.” The suggestion was not to present Jesus as the Che Guevara of first century Palestine but rather the counter-cultural divine dignitary that regaled a kingdom not of this world! Jesus is a revolutionary… and the revolution is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus came not to revolt against the status quo but rather to reveal the grace and truth of the Father. Grace that defeats complacency, apathy, self-righteousness and spiritual arrogance. Truth that uncovers hidden motives of greed, self-centeredness and lust. Jesus came to break down the walls that separated men and to build bridges that kept open the lines of communication and delivered a needed supply of love.

However, in the heat of this battle the casualties of war would be those who love this world (1 John 2:15-17) not some easily identified army of darkness. Many would be from among us and many would be those who claimed to be at the head of the battle. This revolution is about turning things upside down (Acts 17:6) with paradoxes the world counts as foolish (1 Corinthians 1:18) but revolutionizes the world of the believer. Such revolutionaries become strangers to the world (1 Peter 1:1), no longer molded by its dictate or conformed to its image (Romans 12:2). They render unto Caesar that which is his and to God what belongs to Him (Mark 12:17). They are radically committed to being in the world but not of the world (John 17:14, 15) so that they can be light in darkness and love when hate prevails.

So, are you in the battle? How has Jesus revolutionized your world? Has your faith called you to be a counter-cultural warrior armed with love and a message of reconciliation? O, as we sing, “the battle belongs to the Lord”… but the question remains –is Jesus revolutionary in your life or is He just a Sunday morning pal eager to give you five good suggestions on how to improve the quality of your life? -DAN

I Love To Tell The Story

A little bird (a.k.a. Dick Maynard… scientific name –taxmanicus cackler) told me how well the Sunday night presentations of Chris Brewer and Evan Beecher went. He explained how different but individually rich was each retelling of the ancient chronicles. A smile spread across my face as I responded, “That’s what I had hoped for when I first conceived of this program.” It was my hope that each participant would not only recount the text but as they gave it life once again in the retelling they would bring themselves and their insights into the story. Scripture is NOT a dusty lifeless history textbook nor is it indecipherable code or weighty theology relegated to squinty-eyed scholars who stroke their beards and moan, “Well, this is a variegated text with multi-layers of historical aggregate nuance.” They are the words of LIFE (Philippians 2:16)! To tell the stories of God’s Word two things I believe need to be in place: 1) That one truly loves to tell the story… i.e. these stories are beloved because they are our heritage, they read us as much as we read them (Hebrews 4:12); and 2) Because these stories have become a part of our nature… i.e. we sometime Peter out and sink in the waves of trouble and on better days we dream like Joseph and climb past our small thinking to sit with Zacchaeus so we can see Jesus more clearly! Yes, these are the stories we love to tell… we love to live!

My little bird also told me what a great job Mike and David had done with very challenging messages. No surprise there… Mike and David love to tell the story! Tonight Mike will tell his favorite Jesus stories. I don’t expect him to dress up like Jesus with sandals, robe and a wig but I do expect to see Jesus. In Mike’s eyes. In Mike’s heart. In Mike’s telling the story with passion for one who sits with him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). I expect to hear insights that tell me about Mike, myself and most importantly about the one who draws us together… our Savior. Mike loves to tell the story and I love to listen and be challenged once again to be more like Jesus!

Now here’s a Danism… “I told you all that to tell you this…” What do you like to tell? Pray that it be not gossip, nor lies, nor “I told you so,” or “book, chapter and verse you!” May it always and forever be GOOD NEWS of the grace that redeemed such sinners as you and I and longs for a world to know that in Jesus is life, truth and the way home! O, I love to tell the story of Jesus and His love! -DAN

Frosted Flakes Theology

If you missed Moses guest appearance at the Sunday night “I Love to Tell the Story” summer series… well, you not only missed a reenactment of the parting of the Red “C” but some rich but slightly skewed theology and creative interpretation. Mo (apparently Moses nickname and obvious three stooge’s reference) recounted his three part life and apparent angst over leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Rob McPherson (Moses alter ego) gave us some delightful insights to this larger than life biblical character. Always the fan of paronomasia (that’s fancy talk for play on words) I literally fell over laughing when Rob (I mean Mo) recounted the first time he encountered manna. God had graciously given the children of Israel the basic needs of life during the wilderness wanderings and the most basic need was food. So, in the morning they found this white frosting on the ground made up of flakes of the bread from heaven. Mo added but it wasn’t quite frosted flakes. Now, every time I read or hear about manna, I’ll think of Tony the tiger’s favorite breakfast food! Manna is Hebrew for, “What?” …that is, they didn’t have a clue about what it was at first –so maybe it was the original frosted flakes?

Now, if at this point you are shaking your head and thinking one should not be so frivolous and cavalier with God’s word… let me suggest that you’ve missed the point of frosting the flakes. The true bread that comes from heaven is Jesus (John 6:32-40) and just like manna, that is as sweet as it gets! Tony’s flakes are frosted to make them more desirable, palatable and inviting. It’s not sugar coating for deception, but rather it’s sweetening up to enhance the flavor and delight the palate. I’ve seen enough sour Christianity to last several lifetimes. Let the sweetness of a peace that passes all understanding put joy in your eyes and graciousness on your lips! When you feast on the true bread of heaven it produces a sweet disposition… so let’s challenge ourselves not to be just a bunch of flakes but manna style frosted flakes.

I hear the objection that one should not sacrifice the sacred on the altar of humor for the sake of a play on words. Let me suggest again that you’ve missed the point if you think this is just about getting a laugh. Frosted flakes theology is about first using God given creativity to see the bridge between our world and the world of the bible. And most importantly, it is about knowing that with that bridge I will find the joy of the Lord who sustains me in all His sweetness! May His sweetness be seen in me! -DAN

Eugenics

On a trip to Salt Lake City several years ago I took my children to see where I lived and where I went to school. To my surprise the school had been replaced with a grocery store and Forest Elementary was but a nastalgic memory. Last year the middle school that Dominic attended didn’t vanish but was renamed from Goethe (pronounced – Gay-tee) to Rosa Parks Middle School. Charles M. Goethe was the primary founder of Sacramento State College, a local banker, philanthropist, naturalist, land developer and eugenicist. Goethe’s social impact in education, the state park system and development of the Sacramento region landed his name on a park, a street, a garden and a middle school. Recent local protest has slowly removed his place of honor. Why? Well, it seems Mr. Goethe as a eugenicist advocated sterilization of certain social outcasts, as well as praising Nazi doctors for their work in genetic selection. Yes, it seems Goethe cloaked his racism in pseudo-science. He was part of a movement that borrowed from the Greek and created the title eugenics (literally –well born) then sprinkled in some Darwin natural selection and a dash of Aryan supremacy and presto justified academic based racism. It’s still back of the bus prejudice so move over Goethe and move to the front Rosa Parks!

So how does this blatant kind of bigotry slip under the radar for so long? “Money talks!” -is too easy of an answer. It is more than the power of the dollar. I believe it is the mechanization of mankind. The intellectual sterilization of the populace was perpetrated by the worship of the god, Science, convincing the masses that God was their invention… life was biology… existence was a serendipity in the midst of cosmic chaos! The postmodern era has passive aggressively reclaimed spirituality and the transcendence of the human soul. God has patiently watched over us all and longs for all His creation to celebrate how man is made in His image with such wondrous and imaginative variety! Through Jesus God broke down the hostile walls (Ephesians 2:14-18) proclaiming He’s got the whole world in His hands. Such is more than a refrain from a spiritual but rich theology declaring that we all are in God’s hands and plans. You see, one is truly “well born” when He is born from above (John 3:3), born of the Spirit and the water. Now, that’s real eugenics! -DAN