Discipline

Someone once said that educators, politicians, and pastors are the three groups of people who have the hardest time with accountability. A lot of truth in that. But I also think that this abhorrence of accountability is the result of having some other character traits that make them good educators, politicians, and pastors. In spite of this, I think we pastors should be accountable to others but also focus on personal discipline.

I was in Africa for my 7th-11th grades of high school. The boarding school I went to only went through the 9th grade. For my 10th grade the school agreed to allow about 4 of us students to attend even though we were using home school curriculum. I guess the thought was the structure and resources would help us. By 11th grade we apparently caused too much trouble because they decided to stop the program so I was a true home-schooler for 11th grade.

For some reason my parents allowed me a lot freedom with regards to my schedule as long as I got the work done. A teenage boy in Africa is a wonderful experience and I spent most of my day hunting, fishing and playing soccer. After supper I would work on my school work before hitting the sack and repeating the routine.

Funny how teenagers prioritize. It wasn't long before I started falling behind in my school work. When my dad found out I was over a month behind he put his foot down. No more fun until I caught up. I worked hard until I got my "toys" back but then I had to be disciplined to keep them. That was a tough year and the first time I had to really force myself to be disciplined for a long period of time.

I think pastors need to think about self-discipline every day. There are a lot of good things I could be doing but I need to consider what is the best thing I could be doing. There is a lot of tension between passion and your work. Even though something is your passion doesn't mean there aren't times when you have to do things you really don't want to do. I'm quite sure Jesus was passionate about his redemptive work but I know there were parts of it he didn't want to go through.

So my daily prayer of discipline???? Lord, let this cup pass if possible, but if not, give me the discipline to do your will. Amen

Worship

Saw a beautiful sunset the other day. Absolutely stunning. I was reminded of how incredible God is. It was a very worshipful experience as I humbly felt overcome by his magnificent presence.

I know that there is a scientific explanation for sunsets like this. I suppose it has something to do with light, water droplets, and fine grains of dust, and maybe a few other things thrown in. I don’t believe that those players in the masterpiece have any feelings at all towards God. They are simply objects of his creation. But that doesn’t matter. To me it is all God. They play a part in his revelation whether they like it or not.

Sometimes I hear people say that they are worried about how we approach music in churches today. “It’s not worship, it’s a performance. We shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves, we should focus our attention on Jesus. It’s not about us, it’s about him.”

Well, yes and no. If you have the right attitude, isn’t playing or singing with all the ability God gave you an act of worship of the highest order? Isn’t watching someone perform like that very similar to watching that amazing sunset?

And what if the performer isn’t a follower of Jesus and couldn’t care less about God. When that performer performs at a very high level aren’t they still revealing the magnificence of God anyway, just like the water molecules and light?

Sure, there will be times when inappropriate use of talent occurs. But that works both ways. Failing to use the talent God gives us is just as bad. When people fail to play or sing to their highest ability what is that saying about God? Yeah, it might be excellent technically speaking, but unless it is inspired playing it really is tepid. Does that really reveal God’s magnificence? Or is it just a false humility that really says that the really good stuff we can do is all ours and God has nothing to do with it.

So I don’t care how people participate in worship as long as they participate. If that means they sing along, fine. If it means they sit and enjoy the show, just as good. In either case I’ll be praying they have the focus on God.

As for me, I just want to be mindful of his great creation whether it is a beautiful sunset, awe inspiring mountain ranges, or someone’s virtuoso performance. And the next time I see someone pick up a Stratocaster I’ll be rooting for them to play the hell out of it. Pun intended.

My One and Only Post on Health Care

Wow. Talk about a lot of debate and argument. A lot of lies, half truths, kind of truths, and mostly truths. One thing for sure, it is an incredible complex issue and though there are sources of information that try to simplify it, I'm not sure that's possible. It's a perfect environment for the fear mongers.

The current debate seems to be about the public option. This is key because it flies directly in the face of those who say that a competitive marketplace creates the best and most efficient system. On the other side are those who believe that a government run system has been proven effective in other countries and is the way to go here. Public option proponents claim that the current system isn't as competitive as we think. But instead of fixing it they propose the public option that, despite what they claim, will become a single payer system for all intents and purposes. But it is also obvious that the current system isn't working either. I have a hard time even listening to Republican counter-proposals in light of their failure to address the issue during the last 8 years.

I am also surprised at fellow Christians who imply that to not support the proposed universal health care system is anti-Christian. I'm sure there are so called Christians with all sorts of different motivations for their opinions. But like most issues there are perfectly good reasons for Christians to oppose it and those views should be accepted gracefully. Some fear that UHC will limit the amount of money spent of research. I personally think that will not be the case but I understand the concern. (Free market systems can actually stifle innovation too. And this doesn't include the loss of innovative capacity in unrelated fields due to innovator's not being in the right situation due to fears of losing health coverage.)

I have my own concerns about the proposal. I don't want to do something that could have a net negative impact on poor people. In other words, it wouldn't do a lot of good to have UHC if it created an economic environment where the same poor could no longer afford to eat due to an adverse reaction by the job market. I also think it is important to consider all poor people and not just Americans. I know that's not popular but I'm a Christian first. So what happens if drug companies don't make as much profit in the US as they do now? Will they still make drugs available to third world countries at reduced cost? Just how much does our current health care system indirectly support health care in poor countries?

When it comes down to it, the worse part of the proposal is that it ends up in the hands of politicians. I'm cynical enough to have this be a major factor. I think I'm right to be concerned because instead of building and improving on a system (like Massachusetts) that has had at least a degree of success they jumped right to what will give them the most control. Go figure.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I am saddened by the allegations with regard to what is the Christian response from both sides. I believe it is possible to have legitimate points on both side of the issue.

Conqueror

Lion heart
Brave
Courageous
True

Ferocious
Muscular
Strong
Fierce

Victor
Champion
Conquering
King

The Character of the Christ
The Lion of Judah
King of Kings
Lord of Lords

And yet He conquers
As a Lamb
A Slain lamb
A Crucified Lamb

Such is the mystery
His secret way
Upside down
Inside out

His character
The Lion
Who Conquers
Like a Lamb

Nationalistic

Admittedly, I haven't researched this post very well as I'm sure their are a ton of ideas written on both sides of the issue. I know there are several books about it as well and I haven't read any of them. And now that I've verified that this post is garbage, here it is.

I don't think most Christians I know would really want to live in a Christian nation.

Have you ever thought about what a truly Christian nation would look like? For one thing I think it would blush at the idea of being called a nation at all. No nationalism here. The height of Israel's glory is usually considered to be during the time of kings David and Solomon. But remember, that was a result of their rejection of God's idea of a nation. Can you imagine the USA governed like Israel in the time of the judges? No flag to wave? No president to rally around? No 4th of July celebration?

It would be far from the wealthiest nation on earth, not because God wouldn't bless it, but because it would give it's wealth away to those in need. It wouldn't seek to be the world's leader. It would seek to be the world's servant. There would be a high possibility that it would be in servitude to another country and they would probably see that servitude transfer among several countries, which ever one happened to be ruling the world at the time.

Some argue that God led Israel to conquer other peoples as proof that a Christian nation today would do the same. But that was all part of God's redemptive plan for the world and it wasn't a pattern he would continue for all time. That's what the Jews were looking for in Jesus' day. They were looking for someone to save them from Roman servitude and lead them to military dominance. But God's plan was the way of the cross. Following through with military victory would have been exactly what Satan would have wanted and was apparently expecting.

So I think a true Christian nation would really struggle with the whole idea of war. It would be severely distressed over the thought of war and deeply troubled about it. There certainly wouldn't be victory parades and we would feel the pain of war just as much as the other side.

How dare I write a post like this while enjoying the freedom of this nation. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. It certainly has it's faults but it has many good qualities too. I have no problem waving a flag or celebrating it's independence. But I don't consider it a Christian nation either. It certainly has drawn on Christian influences to varying degrees over the years and that is a good thing, as long as those ideas are truly from God. But in the end it is a secular nation. It happens to be the nation that I was born in so it is my country. God saw fit that in all the world this is where I should be placed. So this is where I live out his redemptive mission.

Torture

I found the results of this survey by Pew Research disgusting. What part of "...love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..." (Jesus in Luke 6:27) don't Christians understand? Is that too radical of an idea? Well, here's a news flash. Jesus is radical. Following Jesus is radical.