This past week I have been battling the flu and by battling I do mean out and out warfare! I’ll spare the sorted details but let it suffice to say that a rampant fever followed by chills, deep chest coughing and lack of appetite where I ate little to nothing for three days. When Pam returned from Wednesday night services and reported that several of the flock had faced the same fate I didn’t feel any comfort in our shared misery but rather felt great empathy for our common fate. I also felt sorry for my dear wife who puts up with my pathetic sad faced please pity me antics. It will always amaze me that such small germs and viruses are able to take down the mighty and the small alike. The flu takes its toll every year and unfortunately often takes the lives of many. God has given us a marvelous body that when working at its optimum best manufactures antibodies to fight off infection and invaders. The best medicine is a healthy immune system.
On this weekend commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord we are reminded that the power of the resurrection is much like our spiritual immune system. That is, in the resurrection we have the antidote… the antibody that overcomes sin. The first of these sins is the personal sin of pride and self-reliance. Then the battle to be in harmony with Jesus as the suffering servant that leads us on to perseverance and hope. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz who identifies herself to the Great and Powerful Oz as the Small and Meek Dorothy… we know that blessed are the meek. And then finally, we have come to know through Christ Jesus our Lord that it is in His death that we find life! Paul puts it this way, I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).
I hate the flu… but I’m secure in the hope of the resurrection that has allowed me to know my Savior and long for the great day of resurrection when there will be no more sorrow, pain or sickness! Now that’s powerful! –DAN
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Communication
Communication, i.e. the lack of, seems to be the water cooler discussion for a sundry of folks who feel uninformed, by-passed or simply forgotten. In the infamous words of the warden in Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” I love quality control’s assessment… it wasn’t in the bulletin, they didn’t have it on the auditorium screen, it wasn’t announced, nobody told me… and wafting over the crowd the shrill voice of the Queen of Hearts bellowing, “Off with their heads! Off with their heads!” We just don’t put up with poor communication! What we need is a communication specialist –wait, that sounds like a government response and we know where that road ends up. Maybe, what we need is a more specific identification of the problem. Poor communication often is the symptom of several problems or combination of breakdowns. So, how do we do a better job? I know… maybe we should turn to Scripture for insight.
Remember that Moses felt his communication skills lacked something to be desired (O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue Exodus 3:10). God’s response to Moses’ pessimism was to remind him that God made him and God would provide! God initially provided by Aaron speaking for him but as Moses’ confidence grew he spoke for himself. Communication that relies on God and is filled with His Spirit (Paul calls it full of grace Colossians 4:6) is not only articulate but also spiritually motivated. And here is my point (and I hope God’s point)… Moses was misunderstood, and so was Aaron… and Paul, Peter, John and Jesus our Lord. Communication is not just about conveying information… it is also about building and lifting others in the Lord! Communication begins with common union. So, both listener (bulletin reader, screen watcher, oblivious observer, etc.) and speaker share the message. Thus, we all are in this together.
And I said all that to say this… Listen to one another in the Spirit of Christ and come to the table with open arms and gentle spirits that share the joy of the Lord and the challenge of walking in the footsteps of Christ our Lord! -DANWednesday, March 5, 2008
Equal Time
I received a call this past week from Annie Nonomous inquiring as to whether I was willing to give the Women’s Seminar equal time since last week’s article addressed the Men’s Seminar. This was not an egalitarian plea fueled by a feminist spirit of equal rights but rather a desire to share the spiritual feast that Jeanette Rodriguez had passionately shared. Annie was particularly moved by the story of John and Hope Chen of Nandong China. This couple developed an evangelism strategy (Training for Trainers) where they taught a simple farming community to share their faith. They recognized that this handful of hard working common folk didn’t know what to say so they had them write out the answer to three questions: 1) what you were like before Jesus, 2) how you met Jesus, and 3) what your life has been like since Jesus. John instructed them to tell “their story” out loud five times until it was comfortable. Reportedly this resulted in an evangelism explosion that developed into one of the largest churches in China.
I think Annie not only felt challenged to tell her story but realized that the good news of Jesus is not a stagnate dusty tale confined to the ancient text but a living, growing story of people connected by the cross. Jesus body is a living church! We have a story to tell… we have our stories to tell. So Annie meet Arabella…
Arabella Katherine Hankey was the daughter of a prosperous London banker. She belonged to a group who sought to apply the ethics of Christ to personal, social, political and national affairs, and, showed great interest in people who were less fortunate than herself, she devoted much time to Bible teaching, especially among the factory girls of that day, and her efforts were rewarded in that many of her students became leaders in Christian work. In 1866 Katherine, or Kate as she was better known, suffered a serious illness that required a lengthy convalescence. As she laid thinking of the story of redemption, she longed for someone to come in and tell her the old, old story. As a result she wrote a two-part, 50-verse poem on the life and work of our Lord. Part One was called "The Story Wanted" and contained the words of the hymn "Tell Me The Old, Old Story." Part Two entitled "The Story Told" included a companion song, "I Love To Tell The Story."
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Beacon Of Death
Eli Hooper is an eloquent and articulate exegete that indubitably exacts from a carefully chosen text or life example a powerful application that drives home his point. Or maybe more distinctly expressed, “That boy can preach!” That’s why I am searching diligently for a way to refer to the Bible as the Beacon of Death just like Eli did at our Men’s Day Seminar. I’ve thought of sermon titles like, “The Death Star of Sin Meets the Beacon of Death.” But that’s not working. Maybe, just an allusion to a fatal door knocking campaign involving an over zealous campaigner who vaporizes a neighbor with Acts 2:38… but who goes door knocking anymore? If I may be serious for a moment (and yes, that is possible) Eli really can preach and his point about the Bible being perceived as a beacon of death is truly an important topic when it comes to knowing how and when to share your faith!
Eli challenged us to see how Jesus wanted his disciples to go into the community and interact naturally with others. He relayed how he was able to interact with the Starbuck’s generation more effectively without his Bible open like a counter display flashing, “Christian on duty… Christian on duty!” The time to release the two-edged sword from its sheath is when the battle is on… not when you’re attempting to engage someone in conversation. The Word of God is precious but it’s best introduced first with the living Word of God, Jesus the Christ. The moniker, “Bible Bangers,” unfortunately has sometimes been aptly applied to some who market the Word of God like used car salesmen! Now, don’t take Eli or me as suggesting that one not be faithful or forthright with the Bible. The suggestion is not to compromise the truth but as Paul exhorts Christian slaves, “…show that you can be fully trusted, so that in every way you will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive (Titus 2:10).” The heart of the gospel is that it is for all and therefore our faithful challenge is to learn how we can communicate it to all!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
EVANESCENT
It’s no secret that I like words. I am enamored with the blank canvas of a sentence yet to be. I’m enchanted with a story begging for just the right adjective to illuminate and animate its essence. Words are like arranging the furniture in a dreary parlor to find just the right arrangement and accessories to make the perfect living room. I confess that I even like the way certain words feel when they travel from mind to mouth and exhale through waiting lips to seek out an audience. Words hold both power and delight. They must be used with caution for they have equal potential to lift weary souls and yet also to completely shatter the fragile. Words as treasures and gifts are the messengers of the heart. Words as weapons and unfiltered ramblings become torpedoes that destroy harmony and progress. Their importance cannot be underestimated and must always echo the divine measure: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). So the apostle Paul urges us, “Let your conversation be always full of grace… (Colossians 4:6).”
Which brings me to my new friend and addition to my wrangling corral of words: Evanescent. Don’t be mistaken and think he is my bubbly friend effervescent or jump to conclusions that its something to do with Evan’s natural body odor. This is the word that describes life. It captures both the fragile nature of life as well as the challenge to savor each moment. Evanescent is a word borrowed from the Latin that means to vanish, to dissipate like a vapor. James the brother of our Lord writes, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14).” Yes, life is evanescent and we are as Job suggests withering flowers and fleeting shadows. Life at best is short. Too short not to savor each moment and strive to make the best of what each day brings.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Passing Out
Among those that I count as dearest of friends are Jo and Bob Barker. We were in preaching school together and have stayed in contact through the years sharing both the good and the bad times. My kids call them Aunt Jo and Uncle Bob. Pam and I make sure that we get our Bob and Jo fix from time to time (but never often enough). Recently, we went out to eat with them and to their home to play hand and foot (our preferred card game). Bob has had asthma for a lifetime but has progressed to having oxygen all the time. It doesn’t slow him down one bit though. However, during our card game Bob had a coughing fit and began to pass out falling toward Pam. With her help and the rest of us we caught him and he snapped out of it. Pam’s eyes were as big as saucers (okay, tiny saucers but big tiny saucers)! Jo calmed Pam with recounting that Bob had done this to her on their second date. I had seen it once during preaching school and felt for Pam but remembered that Jo had calmed me then by her composed demeanor and instructive words, “It’s okay, once he passes out his body calms down and he’s okay.”
Bob then related to us that it had happened once at church and that all the members had gathered around him crying out, “Bob we love you!” Bob said, “It was at once both embarrassing and comforting.” That’s why I love Bob Barker… Oh, he’s human enough to be embarrassed but rises above it all to know the love of others and His God. The breath of life may fail him from time to time but the breath of Heaven, the Spirit of God never fails him.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Shacking Up
Yes, I think everyone should consider shacking up! No, I don’t think living together without the sanction and blessing of marriage should even be considered. What I think everyone should investigate is William P. Young’s book, “The Shack.” At the recent Elder-Link Seminar hosted by the Cordova congregation, Rubel Shelley, gave such a glorious review of this book that someone left his class to purchase one of the fifteen copies of the book they had available. The writer of the “Message,” Eugene Peterson, says, “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!” Having read it… I believe that what Peterson means by “that good!” is that through story Young is able to make theology come to life as he takes you on a journey of tears, laughter and spiritual exultation. Yes, it’s that good!
Now here’s what I think you are thinking… “Dan, don’t build it up that much because my expectations will be too high and I’ll be disappointed!” Okay, here’s the deal I’ll make with you… if you promise to read it with an open heart and you feel like you wasted your money –I’ll buy it from you! Yes, it’s that good!
I don’t want to spoil the book for anybody so I’m not going to comment on what new insights you might experience on how you understand God or your place in time and space… I’ll leave that journey to you. But when you’ve made the journey –let’s talk!
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