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  • Jesus Offers Freedom from a Regrettable Past

    by Harvey Brown

     
    [ene_ptp]The helicopter hovered ninety feet in the air above Mojinga Swamp. Rappel ropes anchored to the floor were cast out the door as the crew chief shouted above the roar of the aircraft, “Hook up!”
    It really didn’t matter how many times I had rappelled from a chopper, my hands were always sweaty in the heavy leather gloves that protected my skin from rope burns and guided my descent. They also operated as my brake when I clamped down on the sliding rope and pulled it against my butt.
    “Ready?”
    I looked back at the chief and nodded. I knew there were two ways to hook my snap link to the rappel rope: The right way, and the other way—which was known to us soldiers as “the fatal hookup.” I double-checked once again to make sure mine was right.
    “On the skid!”
    We moved from sitting with our legs dangling in the breeze of the rotor wash to feeling for the skid with our boots. In one motion we turned around, brake hand holding us in place on the rappel rope, and leaned back away from the chopper. On the command “GO!” we pushed backwards with our legs and let it fly. Ten to fifteen feet above the swamp my brake hand clamped down and slowed descent as I landed in the mire. I finished pulling excess rope from the snap link, waved “Clear” to the chief, and the helicopter flew away as we prepared to accomplish our mission.
    Our job was to navigate our way back to the small headquarters at Fort Sherman. We each were equipped with only a Ranger knife, map, and compass. No easy task, especially when there are no landmarks in the swamp but a lot of lush jungle foliage limiting our ability to see clearly, or far. We had to trust our minimal equipment… and our training. This was the U.S. Army’s Jungle Operations Training Center—22,000 acres of triple canopy jungle bordered by the Panama Canal Zone, the Caribbean Ocean, Rio Piña, and Limon Bay.
    Our group of three assumed different roles: Compass/navigator, pace man, map reader. We had to take the printed map, orient it to the lay of the land, determine our azimuth (calibrate compass direction in relation to a fixed point, North). The challenge was made more difficult as we had to calculate how far we were going and when to change directions based on the lay of the land, obstacles, and terrain features encountered along the way.
    We didn’t set any records. Nor were we the slowest. But we got home safely. No one was left behind. No one was lost.
    There are obvious parallels between my story of successfully finding my way out of Mojinga Swamp and the necessity for us Christ followers—disciples of Jesus—to embrace protocols that will guide us through today’s cultural morass. Our objective is not a return to the security of barracks by the sea, but to realize that we are a part of God’s forever family and his Kingdom. We feel like we are pursuing Him, only to discover that the God who created this Universe has really been pursuing us. It is when we recognize ourselves as his sons and daughters that we can be embraced in the loving, redemptive arms of Father… the One who sent his Son to save the broken and lost. For all of us need a Saviour, and there is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved.
    Map, compass, Ranger knife. With the exception of the knife, none would be any help if there were no fixed reference point. For millennia, the North Star in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Cross in the Southern Hemisphere have provided such reference in the night sky. The magnetic needle of the compass will point to Magnetic North. One might sincerely feel that they are going in the right direction. But directions and outcomes only can be predicted with certainty if the point of reference is not mobile or capricious or open to various interpretations based on whims of navigational culture. Can you imagine crew conversations in an airliner cockpit were it not so?
    One of our Energion Discussion Network bloggers writes of abandoning the idea that being homosexual and Christian are incompatible. He states that the Bible is foundational for Christian faith and the starting point for all conversations. The problem “… isn’t whether the Bible is authoritative, but how we interpret it.”
    Granted. Unless the Bible is authoritative for Christian life and faith, there is no fixed point of reference, no true North for our belief.
    No novel hermeneutic can change the clear statements of the New Covenant scriptures. We either must ignore, deny, or attempt to distort the meaning of language by squinting at the text through lenses contoured to refract the truth into conformity with current cultural trends. The God who bore our sins on the tree, the One who can make a sinner into a saint, the One who (as Jude says) can keep you from falling and present you without fault before His glorious presence… and with great joy, is the same Saviour who can heal the sexually broken and wounded. He is the the One who through forgiveness offers us freedom from our past.
    What we think, feel, and understand about the God of the Bible is rooted in a belief system many of us inherit. Those of Methodist persuasion refer to the Wesleyan quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. Cessationist theology developed as an explanation for the absence of miracles and certain ecclesiastical offices in the life of the Church. But there’s nothing quite like a personal encounter with the power of the Holy Spirit to move someone toward recalibrating their theology.
    I watched this happen in a Conservative Baptist Church in Washington State beginning in 1998. During my ministry there at First Baptist Church, I saw numerous verifiable miracles—some of which had my direct involvement and became front page news in the secular press. Other miracles I witnessed only as an observer. But they were truly miraculous evidence of the same power of the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. As a result, not only did the church’s doctrinal statement change, but the official stance of the Conservative Baptist Association NW changed to acknowledge the possibility that those gifts and offices—previously believed to have ceased—were now officially recognized as existing and also assisting the Church in life and witness. The loving spirit and credible witness of the folks at First Baptist Church helped their association leaders and colleagues to review the Scriptures and shift their theological positions.
    In an earlier blog on this site, Bob Cornwall describes how his brother’s declaration of homosexuality changed what had always been an academic issue into something personal. “What is true for me is true for so many others. Most people who have had a change of mind on the matter of inclusion have done so because of a personal relationship.”
    I believe the last statement is particularly true. Although I am United Methodist, my traveling teaching and preaching ministry allows me to connect with believers from multiple streams of the faith. In every instance where someone has shared with me about their migrating to a position of theological acceptance and empowerment of homosexuality within the church, they have included a backstory—often much like Bob Cornwall’s.
    For each of us there is a backstory—a prequel, as it were—that if known helps us understand the story of today. No matter our sexual behavior or orientation, we are all composites of our life experiences. As one who frequently ministers on topics of sexual brokenness, I have been able to hear the backstory of so many men and women who have trusted me with secrets never before told. One of my great joys is to be able to say, “It’s not your fault,” and invite Jesus and the Holy Spirit to come into deep and previously hidden areas of shame and hurt.
    In my own family, we—like Bob Cornwall—have dealt with some of these issues.
    During the period of our engagement, I met Marilyn’s extended family at her great-uncle’s funeral. Among her relatives was a first cousin, “Don,” from southern Ohio. Don was a hairdresser who conveyed though walk, affect, and flamboyant style a seeming effeminacy that screamed “I am homosexual.” Marilyn, he, and I talked late into the night. Don spoke openly of his broken relationship with his alcoholic father and his dominant mother. He told us of his boyfriend/roommate/homosexual partner. This was 1971. I would get to know Don better through regular family reunions over the years.
    Not long before our marriage, through tears Marilyn revealed that when she was eight or nine years old she was sexually molested by a neighbor—a man who was a part of her father’s Methodist congregation.
    Eleanor (Lou) Vinton is 83 years old now. We attend the same local church. She gave her heart to Jesus when she was eight years old. When she was 13, she began to hang out with a group of girls who drew her into sexual experimentation among them. Before she left high school, she was among those who were pursuing other girls. As she told me last night, for the next 25 years she was “totally in,” participating in every kind of perversion fueled by her brokenness, alcoholism, gambling, and witchcraft. She bought a home with her partner. Yet throughout this whole time she was tormented between two worlds. Trying to gain some separation from the magnetic pull of the death-spiral she felt, Lou left her partner and bought a home in Knoxville.
    Marlene Stokely spent most of her childhood and teen years in rural Appalachia being raped by her grandfather. Marilyn and I became her surrogate parents when she lived with us while attending Asbury University. You can read her amazing testimony (pages 69-72) in my book “When God Strikes The Match: Igniting a Passion for Holiness and Renewal.”
    When Nathan was 8, he was raped by a man who lived in the same apartment complex. Not long after he wandered into a room in his home to find his father and several other men naked, passed out, and cuddling with one another. “I started having homosexual dreams, and began to live for the times I could connect with pornography or other ways to try to live out the fantasies that kept coming.”
    John was a gifted singer who traveled with an internationally famous Christian music group. Ultimately promoted to music director, he harbored homosexual fantasies. “When I was in graduate school, I buckled under all the pressure and went on a homosexual binge for months. And once I started, I felt like there was no way out. It was all consuming.”
    You may well know the story of musician and composer Dennis Jernigan. If not, you probably would recognize one of his most famous compositions, “You Are My All In All.” When Dennis shared his story with me, I was amazed at his transparency and vulnerability, to say nothing of the miraculous work of God in his life. Delivered from a life of homosexuality, he is the father of nine, and a trusted mentor, friend, resource and brother for those who seek the same freedom he found in Jesus. http://dennisjernigan.com
    And now, my backstory (or, as the late Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story”). Like the vast majority of pre-pubescent males of my generation, my first sexual contact was same sex contact. Sleep-overs, back yard camping trips, friends’ homes with swimming pools and changing rooms became locations and opportunities for sexual discovery. I remember an elementary school trip to Washington, D.C. where in a hotel room full of sexual neophytes my friend Pete introduced us to the process of masturbation. I made discoveries that night that would change my life. I had no idea what orgasm was, let alone how good it could feel. So I decided to reproduce that effect as often as possible.
    At our local Boy Scout summer camp, there were young adult staff members… and to us 11-13 year olds some of the coolest people on the planet. “Frank” was the waterfront director, wore a pith helmet, had his own camper trailer on the grounds, and looked like a young Rock Hudson. Every Scout there wanted to be like him. And I was thrilled after summer camp season was over to connect with Frank through Boy Scout patch collecting. Before long Frank would pick me up at my house, take me to a more secluded area, and let me—a young teen who wouldn’t see a driver’s permit for years—drive his new Pontiac with bucket seats. He made me feel very special. I relished all the attention… not realizing that I was being groomed for the future.
    When I was 16 and had a driver’s license, I began working after school for a wealthy architect in our city. Much of the modern downtown skyline was designed by him and his firm. I ran blueprints, operated a new reproduction device called a Xerox (that should date me pretty well), and as the office boy kept a steady supply of draftsman materials and coffee for the other architects and draftsmen. Not long after beginning there, “Mr. Thornbury” asked me if I would walk down to the car dealership and pick up his Lincoln that was being serviced. Soon, I had added “occasional chauffeur” to my list of tasks. Driving well-respected, statewide known Mr. Thornbury in his big Lincoln was pretty heady stuff. There were days when I would drive to his house, leave my car, and depart from there for the day’s trip or tasks.
    One Saturday, when we returned to Mr. Thornbury’s house, he invited me swimming to cool off and relax after the long trip to Atlanta. I jumped at the chance, changed in the upstairs garage apartment into one of the extra bathing suits, and hit the pool (which was secluded in the woods on his estate). We returned from the swim to the rooms over the garage, and as I was changing, Mr. Thornbury came into the room naked and asked if I could massage his shoulders. But first he showed me a Playboy magazine, and some homoerotic souvenirs that were supposedly reproductions of ancient Greek art. I knew what was coming, but my need for male approval, physical touch, and the possibility of his pleasuring me was enough for me to barter my desires for his request. I was disgusted when he tried to kiss me and told me that he loved me. That was intimacy. Love had nothing to do with it. Orgasm was my drug of choice. I would negotiate a fix, but I did have my principles. His contact with my genitals was as far as it would go. And as I remember, it went there with some regularity.
    I entered the University of Georgia when I was 17. I ran into Frank who was now working at the University. “Let’s do supper. My place tonight. We’ll throw some steaks on the grill.” So I showed up at Frank’s at the right time, like any true freshman, ready to enjoy a good, free meal. Liquor flowed freely, and before I realized it I was so drunk I could hardly stand. “Better spend the night here at my apartment. You are in no shape to drive.” He showed me to the bedroom, where there was only one double bed. “Looks like I’ll just have to share it with you,” he said.
    Much of the rest of the night is remembered through a drunken fog, but what memories there are remain etched indelibly in my mind. I was awakened by Frank’s hand slowly, lightly, moving up my leg, The pace was so slow at first I thought it was incidental contact. But the path was not. I did not move, wondering if what I thought was happening was really happening. Frank had never done anything overtly sexual with me when I was younger. But he was emboldened because alcohol consumption has an inverse effect on inhibition. My consumption was excessive, and my inhibition was virtually non-existent. By the time his hand reached my shorts, he could tell there was a response. I still didn’t move because this surreal moment was a little scary.
    Frank turned on the bedside lamp. “Gotta go to the bathroom.”
    When he returned, he said, “Let’s go see a buddy of mine. He’s a neat guy.” So I staggered to Frank’s Mustang and he drove across town to another apartment complex. More drinks. Frank’s friend, a math instructor, was in the back and came out to meet me. He went back to where he came from, and Frank showed me to a bedroom where I could lie down. “Go ahead and rest. There’s somebody coming over my buddy wants me to meet.” That was fine with me. My head was swimming and I really needed to lie down.
    Sometime later the door to the bedroom opened and Frank’s buddy came in. “You doing OK?” he asked. As he quietly closed the door I mumbled, “I guess so.” He sat on the side of the bed. “Let me help you get more comfortable,” he said as he undid my belt and slipped my jeans off. I did not resist. Soon I was undressed and this stranger started to perform oral sex on me. Even through my drunkenness I was fully aware of being used, but because of the sexual pleasure it brought me I submitted to his overtures. After ejaculation the stranger flipped me over onto my stomach and attempted forced entry. I emphatically said, “NO!”, but he tried again. This process repeated itself several times. I had neither the strength nor coordination to gain physical control of the situation. But my assailant could not force penetration. Eventually, he got up and disgustedly left the room.
    Steve Kindle, Editor of our Energion Discussion Network, wrote an article on another website, entitled, “Ex-Gays: The Big Hoax.” His conclusion reads: “Gay men and lesbians can’t change their orientation any more than straights can. Since God made each of us in our own special way, why would we want to?”
    Interestingly, I both strongly agree and disagree with his conclusion. There is no doubt that God has made us unique and special. To finish, my article (if you have read this far) clearly dispels the assumption that homosexuals can’t change their orientation anymore than straight individuals can.
    Back to Marilyn’s first cousin Don: A life-changing encounter with the Holy Spirit in an Assembly of God Church in Cincinnati set him onto a path of restoration and wholeness. Married to Lisa, a lovely woman who was a flight attendant, they have two sons who are now young adults. His family is active in many aspects of church life, and Don and Lisa are key players in the church’s drama ministry.
    Eleanor (Lou) Vinton: One night, sitting by the fire with pills and a bottle of whiskey, she cried out to God. “Jesus came and stood right in front of me, just as real as you are,” she said. Then Jesus spoke clearly to her. “Why don’t you try it my way?” Lou surrendered to grace. For almost 35 years, “Grandma Lou” has actively given herself through Teen Challenge and other recovery ministries to those struggling with addiction, brokenness, and hopelessness.
    Nathan: God used a dance team in his local church to reach into Nathan’s heart when he was a teen. His skill and dedication to his craft led him to a prominent national youth ministry, where the leader helped him discover healing and wholeness through the sanctifying power of the blood of Jesus. He is now a gifted preacher, choreographer, and Christ-follower who lives to make Jesus famous.
    John: John lost all hope after his homosexual binge. In his despair he reached out to a Christian counselor and author, who helped him walk back into the reality of grace and wholeness through Christ…who not counting our sins against us, but is restoring and redeeming us. Today, John is married and has three lovely daughters. A successful businessman, he reaches out to others who are broken and hurting.
    Me: As for me, since I derived sexual pleasure, I did not really understand that as a teen I was being sexually exploited. I did not understand pedophilia. Or workplace sexual harassment. Or rape. Father has wonderfully restored my life. He has given me the grace to tell the unvarnished truth about my own sexual brokenness. And he has opened amazing doors to help others discover that His forgiveness is the only way to find true freedom from our past.
     

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    Click on the author’s picture for his bio and on a book cover for more information on a book.

  • Negative Experiences Can Produce Positive Results

    by Iris Subel Davis

     
    [ene_ptp]A few years ago, I went through a difficult period that is described in God’s Promise of Victory. By way of introduction to this monthly blog, I’d like to offer this first entry to the reader as an insight into some of the topics that might be discussed in this forum.
    Disclaimer: These entries are purely a mental dialogue offered up as a point that might be considered prayerfully and in context with wherever the reader might be in his/her personal walk of life.
    Today, I was on a trip with some of my family. One of our members had asked us to take her back to multiple sites in our city that were a part of her childhood and deeply imbedded in her heart for reasons that only she would know. We asked her to make a list; I plotted a route; and off we went.
    As the day went on, she began re-counting tales of her life that correlated with each location. She was laughing as she re-told events in her life that others would have found shocking. We were not sure whether to laugh with her or offer condolences. Some events, quite clearly, had had a profound impact on her. Another family member, who was obviously uncomfortable with her memories, made a statement about how everything that came out of her mouth was negative. He sorely missed the point of today’s trip, for her and himself.
    Later, as I read my daily devotion, I was taken to Job 40 where the Lord asked Job, “Where were you when I formed the world?” God repeatedly pointed out to Job that He alone is responsible and in control of all moments in one’s life. The main point of the devotion was to “take notice.”
    As I read that, I thought about how many people do not like to take notice of the negative things in life. Clearly, today, my family member wanted to re-visit the places where things happened that helped shaped her into the strong, resilient woman that she has become.
    Re-visiting negative memories once you are healed is actually quite healthy—and normal. We often need to see these “monsters” in the light of our new reality as a way of understanding that we suffered, endured, grew, and moved on. I imagine that everything looked quite different to her today, as many of the places she had not seen in over 65 years. My heart rallied for her as she looked her demons in the eye and said in her heart, “My Jesus helped me overcome you, satan.”
    My heart also broke for our family member who could not see the heritage of strength and courage that runs through his veins. I pray that one day it will become clear before it is too late for him to appreciate the person that is right before him.
    I shared this experience because I want you, the reader, to know that whenever I write here—I will be thinking of that. I learned through my life experience that being willing to talk about the negative can help so many people. It isn’t to glorify the negative. It is to illustrate to others; to shine a light on; to help lead others towards an alternate route that they might never have considered out of many of life’s deepest, darkest times.
    If just one person grasps the concept, it was meant to be. Please feel free to comment below with any questions or concerns that you might have. I am not a counselor; just a person with a lot of life experience. If you provide your email address, I will follow up with you.
    Thank you for stopping by, and I’ll see you next month!

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    Click on the author’s picture for a bio and on the book cover for information on the book.

  • A Cup of Cold Water

    by Chris Surber

     
    [ene_ptp]I never imagined God would lead me to live in a place like Haiti. My first mission trip to Haiti was less than 3 years ago and it was my first mission trip anywhere. For years I’d ministered to what we would call the “least of these” in America. It was meaningful ministry but it was nothing like this.
    My wife went to Haiti a few months before my first trip. God broke her heart there. She subsequently dragged me to Haiti and He broke my heart too. On that first trip nearly three years ago I met a little girl with a big smile that is now a part of my family. I met Carmelie on a dusty, dirty, scorching hot hill in Haiti. Christina met her on her first trip. She was thirsty and asking Christina for water. I met her a few months later when my wife dragged me to Haiti. She asked us for water and in my mind all I could think was that poor little kid was still thirsty.
    I took her around the corner, emptied my water pack into a cup. I gave it to her. She drank every drop of that ice cold water. I was as shaken as uncertain as to why I was so struck by the simple act of giving this little girl some water. I thought I must be the most prideful person to want to pat my own back as to the kind deed I had done. Maybe I was just congratulating myself on the inside for being such a benevolent man. Maybe I was just losing my mind at the sight of the most immense poverty. It was lack on a scale I didn’t really know existed.
    Later that day I was sitting with my wife in the bed of a little barely running truck when it hit me. God brought Matthew 10:42 to my mind. “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” I’ve ministered in all kinds of contexts but this was the first time all of the trappings and veneer that had been unknowingly cluttering my understanding of what it means to just be obedient to God’s call to the poor were stripped away. It was just me, a poor little girl, and a cup of cold water.
    God moved Christina and me so much in Haiti that we decided to spend 2015 living there as a family. She and I and four kids packed up and went on mission. We founded “Supply and Multiply” as a kind of family project to make a difference in Haiti. In barely two years it has grown to be an impactful presence in Montrouis, Haiti. We have done and are doing more things than can easily be mentioned here. From an Elderly Care Home with several full time staff and residents, to bringing scores of mission teams to Haiti, to ministering to children, to opening our lives and hearts up to the poor, and walking alongside so many people as simple fellow pilgrims on this journey, God is using our simple offering of obedience and growing it in every way.
    We’ve recently moved back to Virginia to Pastor a church as we continue to nurture the ministries we established in Haiti through our Haitian staff, and leading mission teams there several times a year. We all came back speaking a second language (Haitian Creole). That little Haitian girl came back with us too. Living in Haiti has changed our family in nearly every way. It has sharpened our sense of God’s heart for Christians to live simple lives on mission for Him. It trimmed a lot of fat off of how we think about stuff and possessions. It has made Christian and me stronger leaders in the local Church.
    Most of all, it has given us a crystal clear view of what it means to live a life on mission for Christ in this world. I’m presently writing a book entitled “A Cup of Cold Water” to be published with Energion. It’s a discussion based on Matthew 10:42, where Jesus says, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”(ESV) The central theme of the book addresses how to do that in real terms in the real world in our lives.
    The book examines how we are to live as those called to fulfill the Great Commission: to lead people to Christ for eternal life, and obey the Great Commandment to love people in this world. Jesus calls His disciples – us – to preach the Cross and live like people dying in light of the Cross. Shout salvation and live compassion.
    Jesus commands us, His disciples, to preach the good news, the good news that He died for sinners and rose again; that He defeated death and the grave, and we can have new life in Him. Jesus also tells us to feed, clothe, care for, and love the least of these. God is calling us to abandon ourselves to lives of Christ-centered compassion. When we do the world sees Jesus on the Cross in us.
    What if He’s calling us to life on mission – and what if we lived on purpose. Go therefore and make disciples and as you go, be a living witness to the power of the Gospel. What if we preached it and lived it. What if it’s simple and what if we simply lived it out? A couple of times a month for the next few months I’ll be sharing the thoughts that are driving this book here. I’ll be asking some “What if” questions about discipleship and service.
    What if we just took the attitude that where people are starving we should feed them? Where they are hurting we are called to help them? All people are spiritually poor. We must preach the saving Gospel that saves souls. What if we started seeing our call in this world to simply and directly be the incarnation of Christ to a hurting broken world in every area of our life? What if we made our Christian walk about sharing a cup of cold water with people in need as an expression of the Gospel having taken up residence in our lives?
    What if it’s simple? What if we simply lived like people God has changed? Is it possible that would change some things? What if?

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    For more information about any of this author’s books, click on a book cover.

  • On Needing Each Other

    by David Moffet-Moore

     
    [ene_ptp]This is my first blog on the Energion Discussion Network; thank you, Henry, for the opportunity. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Knote, gave us an assignment to write an essay about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I did not pick astronaut, fireman or cowboy. I wanted to have a Ph.D. and be a published author. Henry has been part of fulfilling that childhood fantasy. Again, thank you. Now let’s see if I have anything worth reading!
    I grew up in a Methodist parsonage and learned as much about ministry by watching my Dad as I did in seminary, or at least it seems that way sometimes. Dad put in long hours, loved his church members, and bore his burdens quietly. He never returned to a church once we left it. He was always a solo pastor, never on staff or with staff. I grew up thinking of him like the Lone Ranger, except without Tonto. Each episode ended with him riding out of town on Trigger, saying “Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!” and then, “Who was that masked man?” “Why, that was the Lone Ranger!”
    The Lone Ranger works alone, never complains, does his job without expecting assistance or appreciation, never asks for help or seeks companionship, and, once done, never returns. My Dad was a Lone Ranger pastor; I am not! I will take all the help I can get. I readily seek out those who might have answers for my questions or solutions for my problems. I am big on being part of a team. Throughout my ministry I have recruited people with the necessary skills, with energy and commitment to do the assigned tasks, and who appreciate the opportunity to work together. One of my slogans is “Working together for the common good and the glory of God.” “TEAM” stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More.”
    Ministry can be a very solitary profession and I am an extreme introvert; still, I know I need others. I depend on clergy colleagues and prioritize opportunities for fellowship with other clergy. We are social creatures and I believe we are born needing one another.
    Genesis 2:18 records, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’” Jesus, though being God in the flesh, still gathered others around him, to eat and travel, sleep and live together as his disciples. Even God has companionship in the doctrine of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In his mission travels, Paul depended on the company of others: Barnabas, Silas, Luke and Timothy.
    The only place I know where scripture defines an individual Christian is 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” Paul defines us individually based upon our membership in the body, emphasizing the intimacy of our unity, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:26)
    In undergraduate, I took a course in the role of the frontier on our American psyche. One of the lessons we learned was the myth of rugged individualism. Even on the frontier, people found ways to socialize and support one another: barn raisings, quilting bees, harvesting together. Even the mountain men gathered for their regular ‘Rendezvous.’ We are a people who find our individuality while gathered in community.
    I was in a two-year course in spirituality titled, “The Academy for Spiritual Formation.” It was sponsored by the Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee. One of our speakers was a Greek Orthodox priest and professor. The Upper Room has a large chapel and beside it a smaller prayer chapel, with a sign over the door, “Alone with God.” When the priest saw it, he spontaneously laughed. “Alone with God? How can one ever be alone with God? With God, we are with all the saints and angels in glory! With God, we are never alone!”
    So, when I am not at a colleague group, not attending a conference, or sharing with a fellow pastor, when I am studying for the sermon, or struggling late at night with a problem, I remember: with God, I am never alone. As great as my need is, God’s grace is greater still, and by that grace I will never be alone. Thanks be to God!
    I’ll end with an advertisement: I urge you to check out the Academy of Parish Clergy, an international and interfaith association of parish professionals. We emphasize personal growth, professional development and mutual support. With regional colleague groups, an annual conference and a quarterly journal, it’s a way for us to support one another even when we are separated. www.apclergy.org.

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    Click on a book cover to get more information about that book.

     
     
     

  • Can we remove the cross from our preaching and have an authentic Christian message?

    by William Powell Tuck

     
    Recently I was talking with a minister friend of mine as we were both preparing for the Lenten/Easter season. He observed how difficult it was for him to think about preaching on the cross. I understand something of his reluctance and timidity in speaking about such a theme. But I have been daring enough in my ministry to try and focus attention upon the cross of Jesus. It may not be easy. But, as a minister, I must. There is no way a preacher can possibly preach about all that is involved in the great message of the cross in a few words. Thousands of books have been written about the cross; thousands of sermons have been preached on it. Yet all of them have only touched the edge of the truth contained in its message. But preach it we must, I believe.
    The gospel writers struggled to understand why Jesus was crucified, but, nevertheless, the Apostle Paul, without hesitation, put the cross at the center of his preaching. If the church is to be the authentic Church–authentic Church–the cross will always be at the center of our preaching and way of life. The church cannot really exists as “the Church” without the memory and the impact of the cross being a vital part of our message and ministry.
    On another level we need to observe that many nominal Christians today have removed the cross from the church. As E. Stanley Jones once said, “Many have been inoculated with a mild form of Christianity and they are immune to the real thing.” Unfortunately, that is often true. For many nominal Christians, their basic approach to religion is to ask: “What can I get out of religion?” The church is perceived as a great community club where one can pick and choose whatever one wants from its selection. It is there to be used at my con­venience. “The church exists for me. I make no commitment to it.” ‘I don’t give any time, effort, energy, or money to it. It is there for my consumption, to meet my needs. “Some proclaim a “prosperity” gospel and substitute what a person can get out of religion instead of the cross Jesus has called us to take up and follow him.
    I received a folder in the mail several years ago from a new church which was being started in the east end of Louisville, Ken­tucky. Among other things in the brochure about the new church there were these words: ”A simple promise. Promises are easy to make but hard to keep. That is why the new church family of (name of the new church) makes only one simple promise–‘A positive and enjoyable Experience.’ That’s it! No strings attached. Come and go without any obligat­ions just enjoy yourselves.”
    That’s the Church Jesus founded? Can we really believe that? That view represents in my thinking the heresy of our day! Too many want a church with no strings attached! And many today have bought into this philosophy about church. It is a sad commentary on the church today. Jesus was never interested merely in trying to draw crowds of people around him. One of the heresies of our day is to assume that if you have large crowds, you have a great church. Jesus warned the crowds around him to be aware of “the sandpapered edge” in following him in discipleship. To the crowds he exclaimed: “You must be willing to forsake father and mother, brother and sister to follow me” (Luke I 4:26). To Nicodemus, the great religious leader, Jesus might have said: “I am flattered that you want to talk to me.” But, no, he declared to Nicodemus: ”You must be born again.” To the rich young ruler, who came to him seeking advice on finding eternal life, Jesus didn’t say: “Welcome to my band. It is so good to have you. We can use your money. We need you.” Instead he said, “Go and sell all you have and give to the poor and come, follow me.”
    Jesus was interested in making disciples and not attracting crowds of people. He was interested in disciples who were willing to take up a cross and live his way of life. The medicine of the church always has a warning on its label which reads, “Repent and be converted.” If you and I would follow Jesus Christ, we must be transformed. Our lives are to be made over in his image and we are to become different persons as we follow in his way. I know that the cross was a difficult word when it was originally preached, an offense to some and a stumbling block to others, and it continues to be so today. But I do not believe we can preach the message of Easter without first proclaiming the message of the cross. Can we ignore Christ’s call to discipleship and remove the cross and offer only peace, pleasure, wealth and ease and be proclaiming the real message of the Gospel? I personally think not. This is what I have struggled with in my Lenten book, The Church under the Cross. To disregard the cross is to ignore the central message of the death of Jesus and the reality of the atonement.

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    Click on a book cover for more information on Dr. Tuck’s books.

  • Modern Socialism and the Bible

    by Elgin Hushbeck, Jr.

     
    [ene_ptp]A common defense that modern supporters of socialism use is to claim that it is the model practiced by the early church in the book of Act, and thus it is the model we should seek to follow.   Acts 4:32 states,
    Now all the believers were one in heart and soul, and nobody called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything they owned. (ISV)
    While at first blush socialism seem to be a reasonable inference of this passage, there are a few problems with this view. First off, there is the question of whether this passage is prescriptive or descriptive. Is this something we are commanded to follow, or is this just describing what they did? That it is descriptive is supported by the fact that this certainly did not last very long, and we do not see other churches being told to follow this practice.
    Nor does it seem to have worked out very well, for what we do see is other churches being asked to contribute funds to support the church in Jerusalem.  It should be noted here that had sharing everything in common been a universal teaching of the early church, there would have been no need to make the plea for support. Also Paul makes it clear that “each of you should set aside and save something from your surplus” (1 Cor 16:2) showing that funds were not held in common.
    So it would seem that the socialism of the early church in Jerusalem was not a universal teaching, and did not end up very well. Nor is it really hard to see why.   Acts 4:34 goes on to describe that,
    none of them needed anything, because everyone who had land or houses would sell them and bring the money received for the things sold
    This is all well and good, but accumulating the money needed to buy land or a house takes considerable time. Selling such an assets can generate a lot of money, such that it is not surprising that at first “none of them needed anything.” But as is pretty clear to most, it is easier and takes less time to spend money than earn it. If the people were earning enough money to keep up with the need there would have been no reason to sell property in the first place.
    Since they did sell it, it means the need exceeded their incomes. Selling the property, and the resulting inflow of cash, fixed the short term issue, but it did not address the long term one, and thus it was only a matter of time until the money ran out again.   Yet this time, the property was already sold. With nothing else to sell, now they were all in poverty, and thus the appeals to the other churches for support. This is an inherent problem of socialism. As Margaret Thatcher famously said, “The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” It can produce short term gain by tapping into accumulated wealth but the gains are short lived.   In the end, as Winston Churchill pointed out, “The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.”
    But even if one takes the early Jerusalem Church as a model to follow, there is still a very big and significant difference between the socialism of the early church in Jerusalem, and modern socialism. While the socialism of the early Jerusalem church “shared everything” the sharing was voluntary. This can be seen in Acts 5 and the punishment of Ananias and Sapphira. While they also sold some of their property and gave the money to the church, they secretly held back some of the money they received. The key point here is that they were not punished for holding back some of the money, but for lying about it. Note Peter’s response in Acts 5:3-4,
    “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the money you got for the land? As long as it remained unsold, wasn’t it your own? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? So how could you have thought of doing what you did? You didn’t lie only to men, but also to God!”
     According to Peter, Ananias and Sapphira owned this property and could do with it as they saw fit. There was no obligation to give this money to the apostles. Their sin was to lie and say they gave all when they did not.
    Peter’s words are words the modern socialist cannot say. While those in the Jerusalem church would say, ‘what is mine is yours’, the modern socialist says ‘what is yours, is mine.’ The former is a statement of generosity, the latter is coveting. It may be disguised as concern for some need, but at its core it is seeing what someone else has, and wanting it for their own purposes.
    It is important to note that in the 10th commandment, there is no exception clause. It does not say do not covet unless you have a good reason. Where Peter could say “wasn’t it your own” the modern socialist say “give it to us or else.” The later just does not strike me as a very Christian message.
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  • Best-Selling Book of All Time

    by Nancy Petrey

     
    [ene_ptp]The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. But it is rare in some parts of the world where it is such a coveted possession that people will risk their lives to have one. In China, believers often share one copy of the Bible. Each person receives a page, and when they have memorized it, they get back together to exchange their portion of the Bible. (http://www.watersourceministries.com/bible-smuggling/) Many Christians in this country have several copies of the Bible, and yet few even read it, much less take it to heart.
    I love the Bible. It has been the guide for my life ever since I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. I have not understood it perfectly, but the Holy Spirit has been given to me to teach me, as Jesus promised. Seeming contradictions have sometimes cleared up, but even when parts of Scripture are puzzling, I trust that it is still God’s Word, and I will eventually understand it either here or when I see Him face to face.
    The assault on the authority of the Bible is troubling to me, because without this “anchor” for the soul, we will drift into dangerous waters and be destroyed. Jesus’ words are a gracious invitation from a gentle Shepherd to follow His way and His words: “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). And the Apostle John instructs his “little children” thus: “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:3). Remember that Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
    Many Christians declare that we are not under the law, we are under grace. But God has made a way for us to keep His commandments: “… the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the SPIRIT” (Rom. 8:4). Remember that Jesus said He didn’t come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. Heaven and earth will pass away, but one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18).
    How important is the WRITTEN Word of God? When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he said, “It is WRITTEN, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). Jesus was quoting from the law in the Old Testament—Deuteronomy 8:3. To apply these words of Jesus to the current debate about legalizing sodomy is irrefutable —“It is an abomination” (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13). To God it is so serious, it incurred the death penalty, as did any form of sexual sin!
    Before I myself get stoned, I will point out that Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, a sin punishable by stoning, that He did not condemn her! But He ALSO SAID, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus didn’t make light of her sin, but He forgave her. He knew He would soon be dying a tortuous death on the cross so that He could be her sin substitute and take the death penalty for her. “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). That is the GOOD NEWS He has commissioned all Christians to go and tell! But if a person will not admit what he is doing is sin and ask for forgiveness, how can he be pardoned? He can’t.
    One last point. The history of how we have the Bible today is a story filled with great sacrifice and death. For instance, John Wycliffe opposed the teaching of the organized Church, which he believed to be contrary to the Bible. He translated the Latin Vulgate into English in the 1380s. The Pope was infuriated, and 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the bones to be dug up, crushed, and scattered in the river! John Hus, one of Wycliffe’s followers, was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire! His last words were a prophecy that God would raise up a man in 100 years “whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” It happened when Martin Luther in 1517 nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention against the Roman Catholic Church on the church door. Luther translated the Bible into German.
    William Tyndale translated the Bible into English “illegally,” while he was in hiding. He was arrested, tried, and convicted, then strangled and burned at the stake in the prison yard, Oct. 6, 1536. His last words were, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” This prayer was answered three years later when King Henry VIII published the English “Great Bible” in 1539.
    In order to shorten this lengthy post, I will quote what I found online as a good answer to the question, “Is the Bible still the best-selling book in the world?” The best answer on www.answers.yahoo.com is: “Still the best-selling book of all time…. People are literally dying for it. People in countries where the book is banned, where getting one in, or taking one in, could get you killed, and people are literally risking life to get them the book anyways. Funny, I don’t see anyone willing to die for a lie. The faith flourishes where persecuted, so by all means, let the atheist taunt and jeer, it helps get rid of the chaff.”

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    For more information on Nancy Petrey or her books click on a picture or book cover.

     

  • The Danger of Not Reading Scripture Literally

    by Joel Watts

     
    [ene_ptp]Growing up, we were told to read Scripture via the plain sense model. The words on the page contained no mystery and were to be received exactly as we understood them. There was limited allegory (usually one instance, Galatians 4.24), but otherwise, things we didn’t understand (Revelation) became “prophecy.”
    You understand what I mean. We were “literalists.”
    As I transitioned from fear to faith, I went too far. I insisted on getting to the absolute mystery of Scripture via the ad fontes! approach. Again, I was a literalist, where I would look for the original meaning of the word.
    The truth of the matter is that the proper reading of Scripture lies in the middle. St Matthew, in his Gospel, destroys the plain sense reading and doesn’t much help the allegorists. The blessed writer of the Epistle of the Hebrews does the same thing. Their modes of revelation always reach to original intent — but the intent as revealed in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
    But this post isn’t really about reading Scripture properly — methodologically, speaking. Rather, I want to address, briefly, the need to take Scripture with a measure of plain sense reading.
    Why?
    In reading the Gospel of Mark, I firmly believe that many of the miracles are meant to be a hidden transcript against the rulers of the age (both the Roman and Jewish governing hierarchies). However, the plain sense reading of these passages reveal something else. The Gospel of Mark has many present-tense verbs, and I am of the opinion that this is more than a stylistic choice of the author, but is every bit part of the Gospel’s agenda. Jesus’s work is never past tense. Jesus’s words are never simply said.
    Rather, the Gospel of Mark has the singular goal to remind the readers that Jesus still is…still is healing the sick, still is casting out demons (either political or spiritual), and still is speaking. Jesus is still speaking to the oppressed, still loving the unloved, and still calling to the hurt, to give them hope.
    Why is this important?
    Simply because, no matter the hidden transcripts, the allegories, or the parables involved, the original authors and their disciples believed Jesus was in fact a miracle worker, a healer, a compassionate friend, and the Son of God. That’s why the stories exploded — because Jesus, for them, was very much a real and present Person. They didn’t wait for Him to return, but knew that He was very much in their presence, healing and exorcising and loving.
    If we focus on making the Gospels into a parable and thus allegorize (and demythologize) the words about Jesus, or if we read the Gospels as a historical account, we are going to make a grave error. One removes the power of Jesus, pretending it is some pre-modernist babble and folklore. The other removes the very presence of Jesus in the life of the Christian today — a presence that goes beyond a conscience or some sort of ethical guide, but a presence that is ever power and ever working.
    We need to read Scripture as if those stories hold mystery, history, allegory, and fact in tandem. Otherwise, we will soon begin to ignore the power of Jesus to be present in our lives. We will miss the power of Jesus to heal our hearts, to heal our sicknesses, and the cast demons out of our paths — however we may interpret that.
    Finally, when you read Scripture, do so as St Matthew did, as St. Paul did, and as others have — always through Christ and always pointing to the present reality by aid of the Holy Spirit.
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  • Science and My faith

    by Herold Weiss

     
    The most striking scientific advances of the last few years have been in the field of genetics. Biology has made great[ene_ptp] strides since Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus of the atom in 1909 and Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the double helix in 1953. Among them is the realization that the nucleus of the atom is essentially a void. This basic modification of our understanding of material reality, however, does not demonstrate that science is not to be trusted. It only demonstrates one of the basic characteristics of science. Every scientific declaration is subject to modifications by new discoveries. No scientific demonstration is the last word. All scientific theses only serve to formulate predictions concerning areas in which knowledge is less secure. A scientific thesis serves to design experiments with which to test the validity of a particular prediction. In other words, the validity of a scientific thesis is demonstrated by its capacity to incite the imagination of scientists who design experiments that further reveal the way in which the universe in which we live actually works. Both Newton’s law of gravity and Einstein’s law of relativity are in a constant process of refinement as new evidence comes in from more recent research. These refinements in no way prove these laws invalid or wrong. The recent discovery of gravitational waves has proved Einstein’s prediction of their existence on account of his refinement of Newton’s explanation of gravity. Einstein viewed gravity as a curvature in spacetime. The scientific confirmation of gravitational waves proves Einstein right and now sparks the desire to understand the astronomical events that produced them. In this way new scientific discoveries serve to validate Newton’s and Einstein’s scientific work. On the other hand, if someone proposes an explanation of material reality which cannot be affirmed or refuted by scientific experiments, she/he is not a scientist. Science can only offer explanations of reality which can be confirmed or denied by scientifically controlled experiments or critically reviewed evidence.
    The science of genetics has identified the language of the genomes. In 2006 a team of scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, under the leadership of David Haussler, published the results of a detailed comparison of the genomes of different species. These researchers found two conglomerates of DNA that have remained stable throughout many transmutations in genomes of vertebrates. They designated one HAR1 (Human Accelerated Region 1). This genome is found in chickens, mice, rats, chimpanzees and, highly modified, in humans. During 300 million years, this genome did not suffer modification since the common predecessor of chickens and mice until the common predecessor of chimpanzees and humans. Then, during the following 6 million years, it underwent significant modifications in the common predecessor of chimpanzees and humans. During these 6 million years HAR1 in humans went through 18 modifications. Also discovered was that HAR1 is very active in the cerebral cortex of the fetus during the second trimester of gestation. This is the time when the essential structure of the brain is established.
    The second genome of DNA was designated by the Santa Cruz researchers as HAR2. It is active in the development of the wrist in the human fetus. These discoveries, which some consider to be as important as those of Rutherford, Crick and Watson, are very important not only because they open a new area of study, human biology at the molecular level, but also because they deal with the brain and the wrist, the two organs that more discretely differentiate humans from all vertebrates.
    No doubt, science will continue to advance as it discloses the way in which nature works. The new technology of computers has revolutionized methods of research, as the Santa Cruz team has amply demonstrated. There are Christians who see these advances as follies of human hubris or as attacks on Christian faith. These reactions, however, are based on basic misunderstandings.
    Those who dismiss such scientific discoveries as pronouncements of science “so called” claim that true science concerning the formation of nature is to be found in the text of the first three chapters of the Bible. To assign scientific legitimacy to the Bible is at best anachronistic, and at worst illusionary and ignorant. Science as knowledge attained by the application of specific methods of research that are subject to peer review became part of our culture rather recently. The reconstruction of the past by the critical evaluation of the extant ancient sources and an explicit demonstration why some may be taken seriously and others may not is also a recent development in the writing of history. To claim that biblical authors wrote science or history is to do violence to the Bible. To pretend that the Bible contains science and history of a quality superior to that written by “mere” human beings is doubly wrong. It is wrong because in the Bible there is neither science nor history in the academic sense in which these words are used today. Besides, it is an error because the Bible gives ample evidence that it was written by “mere” human beings who were the children of their times.
    Those who see science as a threat to Christian faith misunderstand both science and faith. I agree with those who understand that science and faith operate in different realms, deal with different objects and do not affirm the same kind of truths. As noted above, scientific truths are characterized by their ability to be modified by new research. No scientist can defend as irrevocable what he was taught in school. Anyone who rejects the critical results of well-designed experiments or historical research ceases to be a scientist or a historian. The believer who has faith in God also constantly searches for better ways to understand the God in whom he/she has faith. Believers who get attached to what they believed as children become immature believers. The faith of a child and the faith of an adult is the same faith. The faith of Abraham and my faith, I am convinced, is the same confidence of living by the grace and the mercy of God. But my way of understanding God and God’s will are not the same as those of Abraham because his culture and mine are quite different. It is also true that my way of understanding God and God’s will now that I am an eighty one year old man living in Michigan is not the same as my understanding of those things when I was a child in Montevideo, Uruguay. In reference to the difference between Abraham’s and my understandings of God and of God’s will, I have the advantage of the revelation of God made available to all human beings by Jesus Christ. On the other hand, I repeat, the faith of Abraham and my faith as a child or as an eighty one year old is absolutely the same, unchanged, undisturbed by different understandings of God and God’s will. Faith is not connected to changes in cultures and historical and scientific constructions of reality in the way in which conceptions of God and of God’s will are. Historical or scientific “truths,” which are temporal and contingent, cannot threaten faith in God, even while they may require that adjustments be made to the way in which God and God’s will are understood.
    The reason I have no problem in taking into account what scientists tell me concerning how life has evolved on the universe is not because I have put my faith in science rather than in God. It is because my study of the Bible has convinced me that it is not concerned with providing academic science or history. When the Bible refers to historical or natural events the information is marginal, tangential and inconsequential. If academic scientists and historians today find some of this information to be correct, according to our present understanding of things, it does nothing to prove that the Bible has supernatural information. It only proves that the ancients had excellent powers of observation. To the contrary, when scientists today find that the way things are described in the Bible are proven wrong by our more refined means of observation, it does not prove that God has nothing to do with the Bible. The Bible’s agenda is to testify to God’s involvement in human affairs, to give testimony to God’s power, justice, fidelity and love. Many of the things that it tells about are not correct and many are not edifying. All its content, however, reflects the way in which a people saw themselves to be guided, protected and punished by God. It is a witness to the faith of these people, and as such it is worthy of emulation. A believer who vetoes the advances of science and history to defend the accuracy of a biblical text is taking leave of his reasoning powers. People of faith express their faith with the concepts available and reasonable to them. Faith does not turn a believer unreasonable. Faith surely goes beyond what can be established on historical or scientific grounds, but faith never vetoes what is reasonable. Faith is a power that integrates the personality harmonizing all the facets of what it means to be human, and being human is not limited to what can be investigated by scientific methods. When faith stands against reason it becomes a distorter rather than a harmonizer of the person. Religion can be either an agent of well-being or an agent of physical and psychological malfunctions. A faith that makes a person unreasonable reflects a religion that destroys the personality.
    Consideration of different ways of understanding anything is an activity of the mind under the power of reason as well as the influence of experience and accumulated intuition. This means that understandings change. I have traced the changes in my understanding of God’s will in Finding My Way in Christianity: Recollections of a Journey. Similar exercises are sometimes described as “how my mind has changed, or has remained the same,” or “Why I changed my mind,” as is the case of the series in this blog. Faith, on the other hand is lodged, as the apostle Paul points out (Rom 8: 8 – 10, 27; 1 Cor. 4:5), in the heart, the core of being. As the activity of the heart, faith is the anchor of life in God. As such, it transcends reason and intuition. Faith grasps the very being of God as Faithful. The truth of God is not to be found in the realm of knowledge, but in the realm of being. I shall never place my faith in either science or history. Their truths are temporary and contingent on limited sources. The same is true, it must be said, of doctrines formulated to account for God and God’s will. My faith is set on the truth of God. God is who accounts for the reason of my being at all. Of my faith I cannot give explanations; I can only confess it. In the meantime I am happy to have science and history give me timely information about the past and the way in which life and what exists in time and space function in the universe that God is constantly creating. With science I have a great debt of gratitude. On account of its many recent discoveries I am enjoying my old age with good health and comfort.

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    For more information on Herold Weiss’s books, click on a book cover.

  • Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?

    by Drew Smith

     
    Reframing coverThose of us who have read the Gospels, or who are even remotely familiar with the teachings of Jesus, know that he often spoke in parables. Indeed, Jesus tells over 40 parables, some which are very familiar even among many non-Christians.
    But why did Jesus speak in parables? This is the question that his closest followers asked him, trying to get a sense of the meaning and purpose of Jesus’ parables, and it is a question that many of us have when looking back at Jesus’ life and ministry. Indeed, when considering the importance Jesus seems to place on his authority as the teacher of God’s will, one wonders why he talked in stories that are riddles that are hard to understand and interpret.
    Would it not have been easier, and much clearer to his audience, and certainly to us living two millennium in the future, if Jesus would have been more forthright and straightforward in his speech, offering to his listeners lists of commands that are not difficult to comprehend?
    Could Jesus have not done a better job of teaching his followers exactly what he wanted them to learn if he had not been so mysterious by using parables? For sure, Jesus is clear at times (?), but when he communicates in parables, his meaning is very often unclear.[ene_ptp] It is true that there is a sense that Jesus understood his own surroundings and his own culture and people, who lived in an agrarian Palestine, and who understood the cultural norms of the society in which they lived from day to day. The parables, then, were connections to the hearers through relevant allegory. Thus, the parables Jesus tells utilize images and ideas his contemporaries would have understood, and if we look at the parables, we quickly see how earthy many of them are.
    So, in a real sense, Jesus was using everyday images and practices to speak about deeper theological and ethical issues. Some have said Jesus did this to make these ideas easier for his listeners to understand.
    But is this correct?
    Yes, Jesus does use everyday images and practices in the stories he tells, but his parables do not necessarily make theological and ethical issues easier to understand. In fact, several of Jesus’ parables are confusing.  For example, the one he tells in Mark 4 about the sower who goes out to sow seed is very confusing.
    Who is the sower? What is the seed? What do the different types of soil mean, if anything? Sure, Jesus explains his parable to the disciples, the only time he ever explains one of his parables, but even his explanation is confusing. We still do not know what the meaning of the parable is. Is it a call for us to be better soil so that we can receive the seed that will grow? If this is so, do we have any control over this? Can soil actually change its own capacity to be more or less fruitful?
    But in an interesting answer to the disciples’ question about the meaning of the parables, Jesus seems to imply, or perhaps is very straightforward as to why he speaks in parables. He says in Mark 4:11-12,
    “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that
    ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,
    and may indeed listen, but not understand;
    so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”
    In his allusion to Isaiah 6:9, Jesus is clearly stating that his parables are difficult to understand, and they are intended to be difficult to understand. Although he uses images and practices that the people of first century Palestine would have understood, the use of these familiar images does not translate into his audience actually understanding what he is saying.
    So, again, why did Jesus use these parables, which he himself admits are difficult to understand?
    Perhaps the answer as to why Jesus used these stories is that he himself was struggling to understand the mystery of God in the world. And, if it is true that Jesus was himself struggling to understand God’s purposes in the world, and was therefore struggling to make his understanding known to those around him who came to hear what he had to say about God, then we might say that the parables connect us with Jesus’ own imagination as he thought about God and God’s rule in the world.
    If this is plausible, then the parables are not declarations of fixed truths, but are rather journeys of the mind that Jesus invites us to take both as a community of faith, but also as individual pilgrims seeking God. These journeys of the mind, and indeed of the heart, are never ending quests for God. Perhaps this is why the parables have many various meanings, and why they, for the most part, are open-ended and ambiguous.
    And this also may be why Jesus tells his disciples that he speaks in parables so that those who hear might think they understand, but they do not. He wants his hearers to struggle with the images and the actions within a parable, not to find an easy answer so that they can go on their way. No, Jesus’ use of the parable is to invite those willing to invest in the struggle to take the journey with him, and to struggle to seek God.
    But, in their elusiveness, Jesus’ parables describe the kingdom of God itself as elusive. If the parables about the kingdom are difficult to comprehend, how much more so is the kingdom difficult to comprehend?
    Just when we might think we have it all figured out, we are confronted with a new understanding of the kingdom of God that we never expected. This is why Jesus commands us to “Seek first the kingdom of God.” This is no one-time seeking as if searching for an object we can see and touch, and once we find it we can stop seeking.  No, seeking the kingdom of God is a continual seeking, an eternal searching for God’s kingdom that cannot be measured or adequately described by human language.
    So, Jesus uses parables to speak about the kingdom of God because these stories lend themselves to open-ended elusiveness that lead us to more seeking, more searching, and more questioning. And, because these stories lead us to further seeking, searching, and questioning, they draw us slowly out of our lives of safety, security, and comfort, to imagine the reality of God.
    The parables lead us from the world we know, where we feel safe and comfortable, to imagine a world we do not know, one in which God’s kingdom has come and God’s will is done, just as Jesus taught his followers to pray.
    Jesus tells parables to draw his listeners into the stories, not as observers, but as participants. We are meant to find ourselves in these stories as part of our journey to discover who we are in light of God’s rule and how we respond to that rule.
    In this sense, Jesus’ parables invite us to imagine a God beyond our descriptions and our qualifications, to contemplate our own lives in God’s rule, and to imagine a world different from our own. And, if we are willing to participate in the journey of the parables, wrestling with hearing and understanding, we may experience more deeply the God about whom Jesus spoke through these little stories called parables.

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    For more information, click one of the pictures in the slideshow.

     

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